North Maluku students demonstrated outside the Ternate mayor's office on Monday demanding the resignation of Deputy Mayor Arifin Djafar after he was recently photographed clubbing in a local nightclub.

Demonstration coordinator Lukman Esa said the deputy mayor had violated the code of ethics. His act was seen as an even bigger disgrace considering that the Ternate administration has been busy in its efforts to eliminate prostitution and the distribution of alcohol.

"That is why we ask, with all due respect, that Arifin Djafar steps down," Lukman said Monday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

He said that Arifin had spoiled the reputation of Ternate, which was known to be a religious, cultural and courteous city. For that, Arifin must apologize to the people of the city.

"We feel hurt. If a public official is setting a bad example, always breaching ethics, how are the people expected to trust the administration?" he said.

The students also demanded that the administration issue a policy that bans public officials from entering nightclubs.

Arifin insisted that he was in the nightclub for professional reasons as he was accompanying a guest from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry.

Indonesian Islamists protest Obama visit

Agence France Presse - November 13, 2011

Hundreds of Islamists rallied in Central Jakarta on Sunday to protest against this week's visit by US President Barack Obama.

Around 2,500 protesters from the radical Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir shouted "Reject Obama" and "America is Terrorist" outside the US embassy as they brandished banners with slogans such as "Reject Obama, Reject Capitalism, Reject Imperialism."

"We strongly oppose America and Obama coming to Indonesia," the group's spokesman Mujiyanto told AFP. "Obama is a murderer of our Muslim brothers in Palestine and Afghanistan, a thief of Indonesia's natural resources, and an imperialist who seeks to take over the world and will do anything for US interests," he added.

Similar protests were also held Sunday in other cities, including Surabaya in East Java and Makassar in South Sulawesi.

Obama will be in Indonesia for the 18-nation East Asia Summit at the end of the week. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, with observing nations including the United States attending, is also taking place this week.

The delegates are meeting to discuss major regional issues, such as territorial clashes in the South China Sea and the Myanmar's bid to take over Indonesia's role as Asean chair in 2014.

Radical groups like Hizbut Tahrir have little popular support in the archipelago of 240 million people. Indonesia, the most populous Muslim- majority country in the world, is constitutionally secular and culturally moderate.

West Papua

Calls for Aust, US to raise Papua concerns

Australian Associated Press - November 15, 2011

Karlis Salna – Human rights groups have called for Australia and the United States to use meetings at the East Asia Summit in Bali to press Indonesia into addressing concerns of ongoing abuse and violence in Papua.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday, following the conclusion of the summit of ASEAN countries and other nations, which begins in Bali this week.

It's also expected US President Barack Obama will hold talks with Dr Yudhoyono on the sidelines of the summit.

Amnesty International's Josef Benedict said on Tuesday that a ban on international non-government organisations and the foreign media in the eastern province of Papua was allowing security forces to operate under a "culture of impunity".

"They are totally above the law," he told AAP. "We continue to receive credible reports of excessive use of force and firearms, as well as reports of torture by the Indonesian security forces."

"This ASEAN summit, it's a very important opportunity for international governments, including the US president and Australian prime minister, to urge to the Indonesian government to deal with the human rights situation in the country."

He said Indonesia – which is a signatory to the ASEAN declaration on human rights, and as the current ASEAN chair has been pressuring Burma to address its poor record on human rights – was guilty of a serious double standard.

There are also fresh demands for a full and independent inquiry into the deaths of at least three people last month when security forces stormed a pro-independence rally after the raising of the Papuan Morning Star separatist flag.

Video of the aftermath of the rally in Abepura, broadcast on Australian television, also showed police beating unarmed protesters, including children.

Human Rights Watch said the use of excessive force in the incident should be investigated.

"Given Australia's close relationship with Indonesia, the fact that it is providing training to security forces, it's extremely important that the Australian government raises concerns and asks for a full and independent inquiry into what happened," the group's spokeswoman, Elaine Pearson, told AAP.

"It's incumbent on any foreign partner, whether it's the US or Australia, to send that message in their discussions with the Indonesian government on these issues and to raise concerns about the human rights abuses that have been going on with impunity for a long time."

Indonesia has been battling a long-running but low-level insurgency since its takeover of Papua in 1969, but human rights groups say the security situation has deteriorated in recent months.

Human Rights Watch said it remained extremely concerned about "the spiral of violence that seems to be getting worse in Papua".

The concerns are backed up by figures obtained from Indonesia's Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence which show more than 40 people have been killed as a result of the violence in the restive province since the beginning of July.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently voiced her concerns about increasing violence and human rights violations in Papua while speaking in Hawaii on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, but Australia has been accused of being largely silent.

Police raid student protestors in regions

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar/Jakarta – Amid growing protests over the government's apparent inability to resolve unrest in Papua, the National Police have carried out raids against Papuan students across the country.

Oktavianus Pogau, a Papuan activist and law student at Indonesian Christian University (UKI), said police officers and Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel had raided houses rented by Papuan students studying in Jakarta.

The Papuan students had allegedly been involved in a series of protests in the capital.

He said that five Papuan students of UKI and Atma Jaya University residing in Tebet, South Jakarta, were forced to move to other residential areas after being "bullied" by three police officers and one TNI member who had forced their way into their residence on Thursday.

"With fully loaded rifles and pistols, they asked for personal identification and the students' purposes for studying in Jakarta," Oktavianus said on Monday.

Several unidentified persons, who Oktavianus suspected were "police officers dressed in civilian clothes", had also been present around the hostel for several days before the raid finally took place.

Similar raids and acts of intimidation had also occurred in areas where Papuans had been living in Pasar Minggu and Lenteng Agung, Jakarta, as well as in Semarang, Yogyakarta and Bali, Oktavianus said.

Papuan Community Alliance Against Corruption (KAMPAK) activist Dorus Wakum said that the recent acts of intimidation allegedly perpetrated by the police and military might be a reaction to the students' "vocal" approach in responding to recent human rights issues involving their homeland.

Papuan students in several regions have held rallies following a series of fatal incidents in the region over the past two months.

Despite a lack of clarity regarding who might have been responsible, the police have accused Free Papua Organization (OPM) members and dispatched additional Mobile Brigade officers to the region.

Papuan students in Makassar and Jakarta staged rallies on Monday demanding President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stop discrimination and violence in the region. "The government's repressive measures have resulted in the suffering of Papuans," said Yuza, a protester at the Makassar rally.

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar said that the raids were a form of systemic intimidation and terrorism against Papuans living outside Papua.

"The Army and police have violated Article 9 of the 1999 Law on Human Rights," Haris said.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution told reporters on Monday that police had received reports that Papuan students residing in Tebet and Lenteng Agung were heavy drinkers who often disturbed their neighbors.

Oktavianus lambasted Saud's statement, calling the accusations "blatant lies disgracing the Papuan people".

"These are clearly lies. There was never any drinking and we never did anything that disturbed the neighborhood. If there were such disturbances, the local residents could speak to us personally or send an official letter reprimanding such acts," Oktavianus said.

"We are deeply embarrassed by these accusations. We Papuans always feel like we are treated as criminals and outlaws." (sat)

Again, Papuans protest demanding independence

Tempo Interactive - November 14, 2011

Jerry Omona, Papua – Thousands of Papuans demonstrated in the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura today demanding that a referendum or an act of self-determination be held immediately.

The protesters held a long-march from Abepura city towards Imbi Park in Jayapura, a distance of around 10-13 kilometers.

"Struggle never dies, there is only one word, keep fighting", said West Papuan National Committee (KNPB) deputy chairperson Mako Tabuni on Monday November 14.

The demonstrators brought scores of posters and banners calling for a referendum, United Nations flags and pamphlets with pictures of the Moring Star. Throughout the protest action, shouts of "Papua" were greeted with the word "Independence" by thousands of others.

"We call on everyone to join in, we are asking for a referendum, not dialogue", said KNPB coordinator for the Jayapura area, Victor Kogoya.

Scores of fully armed police officers could be seen watching over the action. "There are scores [of police officers], we hope there will be no anarchy", said Abepura sectoral police chief Police Commissioner Arie Sirait.

In mid-October, hundreds of residents also demonstrated in front of the Papuan People's Council (MRP) in Kotaraja, Jayapura, demanding independence. The demonstration was a protest against the government and to demand that a full-scale referendum be held on June 2010 (sic).

As a result of the protest action, traffic from Jayapura to Sentani was totally gridlocked and scores of shops and stalls closed. The demonstrators are still marching towards Jayapura where they plan to occupy the Papuan Regional House of Representatives (DPRP).

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Thousands of Papuans take to the streets calling for referendum

Okezone - November 14, 2011

Nurlina Umasugi, Jayapura – Thousands of Papuans from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) held a 15 kilometer march on Monday afternoon to demand a referendum for the Papuan people.

The long-march from the Abepura district towards the provincial capital of Jayapura city was closely watched over by Papuan police under the command of the regional and deputy-regional police chiefs. Several sections of road became congested because of the the overflow of protesters packing the main road.

During the action, which was centred at Imbi Park, the protesters wore traditional Papuan clothing. Others painted their bodies with designs of the Morning Star flag and brought scores of red KNPB flags. "We demand a referendum, we demand a referendum", shouted the demonstrators during breaks in the action on Monday November 14.

According to the protesters, a referendum is the best solution to resolve the current problems in Papua. Not dialogue between the central government and the Papuan people or efforts to accelerate development as drawn up by the central government through the Special Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), as a consequence of the failure to implement special autonomy (Otsus) the land of the Bird of Paradise as Papua is known.

Action coordinator Yusak Pakage explained that what the Papuan people want is a referendum, not dialogue or the UP4B. If dialogue between the central government and the Papuan people keeps being pushed, it must be directed towards the return of Papua's sovereignty and facilitated by the United Nations Security Council.

"We don't trust the Indonesian government any more, so if dialogue is pushed through then it must be dialogue about the return of the Papuan people's sovereignty and it must be attended by the UN", insisted Yusak.

Yusak said that the march was also held to protest the human rights violations committed by security forces at the recent Third Papuan People's Congress in Abepura and to respond to hot issues in the lead up to the commemoration of West Papua's Independence Day that falls on December 1.

Yusak also appealed to the Papuan people to be creative in the lead up to December 1 because there are rumours circulating that Papua will heat up on the day. These rumours are absolutely untrue and are simply being invented by irresponsible rogue elements.

"We appeal to all Papuan people not to panic about issues that are circulating at the moment. Carry out [your] activities as usual, because there will not be any actions that will be able to harm any of us. Actually we are all sisters and brothers who could not possibly hurt each other. Let's joint together to safeguard security in Papua", he added.

Meanwhile, Yusuf also urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to immediately order to the withdrawal of troops from the areas of Papua that are considered volatile. The situation in Papua is actually safe and favourable, although the central government makes out that Papua is unsafe in order to justify increasing troop numbers in Papua.

"We don't need troops to be sent to Papua simply to shoot the Papuan people dead. So the president must immediately withdraw these troops", said Yusak.

If after a period of time Yudhoyono does not carry out a withdrawal of the troops in Papua, then the Papuan people will request protection from the UN Security Council. Because Papuan is in a state of emergency and the party creating this situation is the Indonesian government.

"The Papuan people are no longer safe in their own land, so SBY must immediately withdraw all of his troops", he said. After giving speeches for around two hours, the protesters disbanded in an orderly fashion. (kem)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Demanding referendum, thousands of Papuans protest in Jayapura

Detik News - November 14, 2011

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – Thousands of Papuans from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) demonstrated in front of the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) building in the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura today. The protesters demanded an end to violence in Papua.

"Those are the demands of many demonstrators. Hold a referendum, end the violence, otsus (special autonomy) has failed", said Papua district police public relations chief Senior Commissioner Wachyono when contacted by Detik on Monday November 14.

Wachyono said that the demonstrators began the action in Abepura then marched on foot towards Jayapura. As of 4.30pm the protest action was still continuing. "Yeah they walked from Abepura to Jayapura. Earlier starting at 2pm. It's still going on", he said.

The protest action was watched over by around 300 police officers and up until now has proceeded without incident. The demonstrators are still giving speeches and there has been no disorderly behaviour or problems. "They made an agreement that there would be no anarchy. So we are keeping watch with 300 personnel", Wachyono explained.

According to Wachyono, as security personnel, the police also have the same commitment as the protesters, namely ending all acts of violence because it has not just been Papuans that have suffered from the violence but police officers also.

"We the police also have such a commitment. We are following up on the earlier [Third Papuan People's] Congress. If there are members [of the police] involved [in violence] we will process them", he asserted. (gus/nwk)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Thousands rally for independence in Papua

Agence France Presse - November 14, 2011

Jayapura – Thousands of protesters staged a pro-independence rally in Indonesia's restive and resource-rich Papua region Monday demanding a referendum for self-determination.

More than 3,000 native Papuans, some in traditional grass skirts, walked 13 kilometers from Abepura city to the provincial capital Jayapura to meet local lawmakers.

"The Papuan people have asked for an immediate referendum for self- determination. We reject any dialogue with Jakarta," protest coordinator Mako Tabuni said. "The referendum is non-negotiable."

Dozens of armed police attempted to block the protesters but failed to stop them from reaching the local house of representatives in Jayapura, where another 100 police waited on guard. "We hope the protest doesn't turn anarchic," a local police chief, Ari Sirait, said.

In late October, armed security forces stormed a pro-independence assembly when a group of Papuan leaders declared the region's independence and raised the Papuan Morning Star separatist flag.

At least three were killed in the clash, and videos recently broadcast on Australian television showed police beating unarmed protestors, including children.

For decades, ethnic Papuans have rejected the region's special autonomy status within Indonesia and poorly armed separatist groups have fought a low-level insurgency. A self-determination referendum in 1969 that officially handed Jakarta power over Papua was widely seen as rigged.

Indonesia has strict treason laws and courts have handed down stiff penalties – from 20 years in jail to life – for people caught with separatist symbols such as the Papuan Morning Star.

Government to boost oil, gas exploration in Papua

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2011

The government says that it will be more focused on the development of oil and gas reserves in Papua.

"According to the results of satellite photos, Papua has huge oil and gas reserves," deputy minister for energy and mineral resources Widjajono Partowidagdo said on Monday.

Currently, many companies conducting exploration activities in the province face various constraints, including difficulty obtaining permission to drill in protected forest areas, he said. "We'll discuss this issue with the Forestry Ministry as soon as possible," he said.

Widjajono said that oil and gas drilling did not require massive destruction of forest. He called on the the Forestry Ministry to grant licenses to companies interested in drilling for gas and oil.

"Moreover, there are blocks located on the border area with Papua New Guinea. That country started production activities in blocks located on the border area long ago. If we don't move fast, our oil reserves can be absorbed intentionally or unintentionally by them," he said.

According to upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas, one of the blocks located near the border is Warim. Several wells were drilled in the block in 1989, but the government then declared the area a protected forest reserve, and ordered that all drilling activities cease.

US-based ConocoPhillips is currently waiting for permission from the Forestry Ministry to begin exploration activities in the block.

Government told to give everything but independence to Papua

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2011

Jakarta – A politician asks the central government to grant Papuan people requests as long as the easternmost island stays within the Republic.

"The government needs only to spare independence from the Papuans," People Consultative Assembly deputy head Lukman Edy said in a press release as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He said that Papua deserved it due to its huge contribution to the country, including Papuan young talented people in the Indonesian soccer team struggling for gold medal in the SEA Games 2011 such as Oktovianus Maniani, Titus Bonai and Patrich Wanggai. "We love them already," he said.

Clinton told: What about Freeport?

Jakarta Globe - November 14, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The United States needs to get its own house in order before it can criticize Indonesia on rights abuses, a lawmaker said on Sunday.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P), said American business practices were partly to blame for the problems in Papua.

"I want to ask the United States to put some order into the business practices of Freeport, so that it does not engage in discrimination," Eva said, referring to the US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan, which operates the Grasberg gold and copper mine in Papua.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in Hawaii on the sidelines of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, voiced her concerns about the mounting violence in Papua and human rights violations there.

Eva said US firms needed to make sure they did take advantage of corrupt local officials and weak law enforcement in places like Papua. Instead of criticizing Indonesia, she said, Washington should crack down on American companies breaking the law here.

Eva said Freeport Indonesia, the local unit of the American miner, may have broken US laws and regulations on bribery.

Freeport Indonesia has acknowledged paying Indonesian police for maintaining security at its Grasberg mine. The issue has sparked indignation here, with critics saying the police should not accept money from companies.

"There is now some momentum for the United States to act justly after staying silent for so long as Papua has been exploited by Freeport," Eva said.

Presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah has dismissed allegations of human rights violations in Papua. "As far as the politics of Papua go, we've already made it clear that there are no systemic human rights violations in Papua," the spokesman said. "There are only isolated incidents. They are not the norm."

Freeport Indonesia, the largest taxpayer in the country, has been mining the area for more than 30 years. Its Grasberg mine has been crippled by a strike since Sept. 15, with workers demanding better pay.

Clinton is set to arrive in Bali with US President Barack Obama for the East Asia Summit later this week.

Raids on Papuan students systemic intimidation: Kontras

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2011

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and several Papuan civil society groups have protested against raids on Papuan student dormitories in several areas in Jakarta and Denpasar, Bali, by Indonesian security forces last week.

The Papuan civil society groups are the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Foker Papua NGOs Cooperation Forum and the Papuan Community Alliance Against Corruption (KAMPAK).

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said in a joint press statement that the raids were forms of systemic intimidation, threats and terrorism of Papuans living outside Papua.

The statement said that during an incident in Jakarta that occurred on Nov. 12, several armed Army and National Police officers entered the Papuan student dormitory in Tebet, South Jakarta, without asking for permission.

The officers said that they were collecting data on Papuan students living in Jakarta. "This incident has frightened and has traumatized Papuan students," the statement published on the Kontras website, kontras.org, reads.

In Denpasar, a Bali Police officer entered a Papuan female student dormitory on Nov. 3, asking for all students to lodge their identity cards with the officers for security reasons.

"The Army and the police have violated the Article 9 of the 1999 Law on Human Rights," Haris said. He urged the Army and National Police chiefs to stop all forms of intimidation of Papuans and to investigate the incidents. (swd)

Armed officers raid Papuan student dorms

Jakarta Globe - November 13, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – As tensions remain high in Papua, rights groups on Sunday said security forces in Jakarta and Bali had arbitrarily raided the dormitories of Papuan students.

"This is a form of intimidation and direct terror," said Haris Azhar, a coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

He said about 10 soldiers and police officers on Thursday night raided a dormitory where Papuan students live in Tebet, South Jakarta. Some officers were armed, he said, and they did not have a warrant.

"The personnel broke the door open and looked at everything in the dormitory," he said, adding that the officers violated national human rights laws and the 2009 police regulation on human rights.

Though it could not be confirmed immediately, he said security forces also raided Papuan student dormitories in Lenteng Agung and Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, and in Denpasar.

"In Denpasar, one of the officers claimed to be from the provincial intelligence unit and asked all the dorm residents to produce their ID cards for security reasons," Haris said, adding that dormitory leaders were threatened when they refused.

Oktovianus Pogau, a Papuan student who lives at the dormitory in Tebet, South Jakarta, said police interrogated five students and asked them to write down personal information.

The Papuan Students Associations for Java and Bali condemned the searches. "Halt the discrimination and racism by Indonesians against Papuan students," they said in a statement. "In Papua we receive and accept people from Java and other areas with love, but here we are treated unjustly and inhumanly."

Papua has seen a low-level separatist movement since the 1960s. Last month, six people were killed and dozens injured in Jayapura after security officers opened fire on an independence gathering whose participants raised the outlawed separatist flag. The government denied firing on demonstrators but witnesses issued statements to the contrary.

Government says striking Freeport workers demanding too much

Jakarta Globe - November 13, 2011

Faisal Maliki Baskoro & Ririn Radiawati Kusuma – The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry says Freeport Indonesia's union workers should be more reasonable in their demand for a raise.

Deputy Minister Widjajono Partowidagdo said on Friday that the ministry would try to help the workers negotiate a raise, but he asked them to consider coming down from their current demand of a tripling in salary.

"They should not compare their salaries with those of workers in other countries," he said. "They should compare them with other mining companies in Indonesia."

Tensions at Freeport-McMoran's Grasberg gold and copper mining site in Papua have risen since October, and ten deaths were reported near the mine last month.

Freeport Indonesia's 8,000 union workers this week are heading into the third month of their strike, and they have said the walkout might be extended to Dec.15.

The workers have demanded a raise from around Rp 6 million a month to somewhere in the range of Rp 18 million to Rp 22.5 million ($2,000 to $2,500). Freeport workers now make about the same as miners at Newmont Nusa Tenggara, the local unit of Newmont Mining, another US mining giant.

Subiyanto, secretary general of the Chemical, Energy and Mining Labor Union (SKEP), said Freeport workers deserved a big raise because Freeport Indonesia was the largest revenue contributor to Freeport-McMoran. "Compared to the Freeport mine in Chile, our brothers in Papua are severely underpaid," he said.

Subiyanto said the strike was one of the biggest labor actions in the country of the past decade and that the Freeport workers had managed to keep the strike going mostly through their own efforts.

"Freeport workers being able to strike for more than two months shows how determined they are and how badly they have been treated," he said. "I heard they have Rp 1.5 billion in emergency funds."

Subiyanto added that labor unions had been disappointed by the response of the government, which has tended to support the company.

Freeport miners fight for a bigger slice of pie

Agence France Presse - November 13, 2011

Tjahjo Eranius, Kuala Kencana – After more than a decade of hard work and long hours driving a truck through the mountains of Indonesia's remote Papua province for US mining giant Freeport McMoRan, Nus Magay refuses to work for anything less than a hefty raise.

Since mid-September the 35-year-old has taken part in an angry strike – which last month turned deadly after clashes with police – together with about one-third of Freeport's 23,000 workers.

"I'm angry. I work so hard but I never got a pay increase or a promotion in all these years," Magay said, while seated on a tattered rug in the otherwise bare living room of his modest wooden house.

Magay and his colleagues, mostly native Papuans, have watched Freeport's US owners reap the riches of the Grasberg mine, one of the largest retrievable gold and copper reserves in the world. Last year Freeport reported sales revenues of more than $5 billion from Grasberg.

Now, the workers are demanding a bigger slice of what they see as their pie. "Aren't we working for a world-class mining company? Why are we paid so little – much less than Freeport workers in other countries?" Magay asked.

The miners claim they are the poorest-paid among Freeport's employees worldwide, including those in Africa and South America. Some complain that they do the hardest physical work at Grasberg for a basic salary of around $400 a month. But after regular bonuses, Magay said he receives close to $900 a month.

That is well above Indonesia's monthly per capita income of about $350, but the striking miners complain it is not enough to live on in the remote, pricey mining compound in the Mimika district 4,000 kilometres from the central government in Jakarta.

Because of poor infrastructure in Papua province the prices for goods consumed by a slowly modernizing region are often much higher than in other parts of the country, according to executive director of Indonesia's Human Rights Working Group Rafendi Djamin.

"Papuans can still get their traditional staples, like sweet potatoes, very cheaply. But they are starting to consume rice and alcohol like the rest of Indonesia, and that can be very expensive," Djamin said. "You can live a much better life in Jakarta on a smaller income because you have cheap options."

The workers say that even though they are paid above the average wage, their jobs in the mines and on narrow roads high in the foggy mountains are dangerous and warrant higher pay.

"After paying for food and other household expenses, I have nothing left. I can't afford to go to the hospital," Magay said, complaining of gout and rubbing balm on his knees and elbows.

"Sitting in a truck all day in the cold only makes the gout worse," he said, referring to the low temperatures that persist in the mountains year-round.

The workers originally demanded the minimum wage of $1.50 an hour be raised twenty-fold to $30 an hour. Later, they said they would settle for $7.50, and then $4. They rejected Freeport's most recent offer of a 35 percent increase. "We are only asking Freeport to be fair," Magay said.

The company insists it is being fair. "Our proposal is fair and generous and we and our local management team are committed to maintaining a working environment that is attractive to our employees," Freeport McMoRan chairman James R. Moffat said in a statement.

Striking workers, angered at colleagues who have refused to stop work and at contract workers brought in by Freeport, have been blockading the Grasberg complex for weeks. The protest turned ugly when eight people were killed last month in several car ambushes and clashes with police.

The company reported that the work stoppage, coupled with another eight-day strike in July, slashed third-quarter copper and gold production, with losses worth around $400 million on the current market.

Freeport Indonesia called force majeure on Oct. 22, announcing it could not fulfill its contractual obligations, triggering a spike in global copper prices. Since making the announcement, the company has lost $19 million a day, Freeport senior administration officer Sinta Sirait said.

The company's losses are also losses for the government, which collected $1.4 billion in taxes and royalties in the first half of the year, and dividends on its 9.36 percent stake in the company.

"The amount the government has lost in royalty payments from Freeport has reached $8 million since we called force majeure a couple of weeks ago," Sirait said.

Where is the money?

Much of the money Freeport pays to the government is meant to return to Papua province, where the company says it contributes 68 percent of the provincial budget.

But the workers say the money is not trickling down to the majority of the 3.6 million population. Basic services like public schools and community health centers are few and far between and come with their own bureaucratic problems, they complain.

Widespread corruption is another problem across Indonesia, where public funds often end up lining official pockets.

Etinus Tabuni, a Freeport forklift driver who lives with his wife and five children, said he could only afford to send one of his children to school. "I can't afford the fees. It costs around Rp 2 million ($224) to register, and then it's around Rp 100,000 a month," he said.

Indonesian public schools should be free, but many illegally impose their own fees and make parents pay for books and uniforms, barring children whose parents do not pay up.

Freeport has built a school for Indonesian children near the mine, but Tabuni said it had a capacity for only 600 and was now full.

Henri Myrttinen from Germany-based NGO Watch Indonesia said it was impossible to track the funds that go from Freeport to Papua via government coffers.

"In theory, 80 percent of mining proceeds are supposed to go back to the provincial level," Myrttinen said. "But there is an immense degree of intransparency there at all levels, starting with the payments from Freeport to various levels of the Indonesian state structure," he said.

Last month, national police chief Timur Pradopo admitted that officers in the Papua police force received what he called "pocket money" from Freeport. Following the revelation, Freeport's US headquarters admitted to paying $14 million dollars last year for "government-provided security" in Papua.

The workers have vowed to stay on strike until at least Nov. 15, and have threatened to extend the action for another month if an agreement is not reached. "If the union says go back to work, I will. If it says we should stay on strike, then I will stay on strike," said Tabuni, the forklift operator.

Government rebuffs Clinton on rights criticisms

Jakarta Globe - November 12, 2011

Indonesia is addressing problems in Papua without prodding from other parties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michael Tene told the Jakarta Globe on Friday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized human rights abuses in the region.

He said Indonesia had taken steps to resolve problems in the province. "We are doing the best [for Papua] for our own interests, not for anyone's else," he said.

Clinton, who arrives next week for a regional summit in Bali with US President Barack Obama, said Washington had "very directly raised our concerns about the violence and the abuse of human rights" in Papua.

"There needs to be continuing dialogue and political reforms in order to meet the legitimate needs of the Papua people, and we will be raising that again directly and encouraging that kind of approach," she said at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) recently highlighted incidents of abuses in Papua. "The list is long," Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim told the Jakarta Globe earlier.

He said incidents included people being shot in the leg, whipped with a rattan rod and hit with rifle butts. He added that there were several reports of people being tortured.

At least 11 people were killed last month amid a strike at a mine owned by US company Freeport-McMoRan and clashes with security forces at a pro- independence rally.

Presidential spokesmen Teuku Faizasyah, however, rejected allegations of human rights violations in Papua.

"As far as the politics of Papua go, we've already made it clear that there are no systemic human rights violations in Papua. There are only isolated incidents. They are not the norm," he said.

Michael also said the government had tried to improve conditions in Papua. (JG, AFP)

Melanesian Spearhead Group to let West Papua apply for observer status

Radio New Zealand International - November 11, 2011

West Papua will be given the opportunity to apply for observer status within the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The Director General of the MSG secretariat in Port Vila, Peter Forau, has told Radio Vanuatu that this was agreed upon at last week's MSG Foreign ministers meeting.

However, Mr Forau says the observer status of the West Papuans has to be established as part of the group representing Indonesia.

At the last MSG summit in Fiji in March, Indonesia was granted observer status. One of the MSG members are the Kanaks of New Caledonia's FLNKS Movement.

Indonesia rejects Clinton allegations on Papua

Agence France Presse - November 11, 2011

Indonesia rejected allegations of human rights violations in Papua province on Friday, hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized abuses in the restive region.

"As far as the politics of Papua go, we've already made it clear that there are no systemic human rights violations in Papua. There are only isolated incidents, they are not the norm," presidential spokesmen Teuku Faizasyah told AFP.

Jakarta has faced a low-level insurgency in Papua ever since its 1969 takeover of the vast, mineral-rich territory which borders Papua New Guinea and has its own ethnically distinct population.

At least 11 people were killed last month amid a long workers' strike at a mine owned by US company Freeport McMoRan and a clash with security forces at a pro-independence rally.

Clinton, who arrives next week for a regional summit on the Indonesian island of Bali with President Barack Obama, said Washington had "very directly raised our concerns about the violence and the abuse of human rights" in Papua.

"There needs to be continuing dialogue and political reforms in order to meet the legitimate needs of the Papua people, and we will be raising that again directly and encouraging that kind of approach," Clinton s aid at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Honolulu, Hawaii.

On Friday, Australia-based activist group West Papua Media posted videos of what it said was a crackdown on an independence rally in October in which rights groups say at least three people were killed. It showed armed Indonesian security forces shooting at protestors wearing the colours of the outlawed separatist flag, and beating children.

Police had earlier said they had only fired warning shots in the air after a group of Papuan leaders declared independence and raised the separatist flag, an offence that carries a maximum life jail sentence in Indonesia.

The remote eastern region is off limits to foreign journalists.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday he would open a dialogue with Papuan leaders to discuss development and prosperity, but not self- determination.

Washington and Jakarta have strengthened ties in recent years, signing new trade agreements and strengthening military an d anti-terror cooperation.

US voices concern on Papua rights

Agence France Presse - November 11, 2011

Honolulu, Hawaii – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday voiced alarm about human rights conditions in Indonesia's Papua and called for dialog to meet the aspirations of the restive region's people.

In rare public US criticism of emerging ally Indonesia, Clinton said that the United States has "very directly raised our concerns about the violence and the abuse of human rights" in Papua.

"There needs to be continuing dialog and political reforms in order to meet the legitimate needs of the Papua people, and we will be raising that again directly and encouraging that kind of approach," Clinton said in response to at student's question after a speech at the East-West Center in Hawaii.

Jakarta in 1969 took over Papua – a vast, mineral-rich territory bordering Papua New Guinea with a population ethnically distinct from most Indonesians – and has since faced a low-level insurgency.

Indonesia denies the allegations but refuses to allow foreign media or aid workers into the region to conduct independent inquiries.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said last month that his government would meet with rights groups to avoid "misconceptions" over the jail conditions of Papuan activists.

Indonesia has rapidly embraced democracy since the 1990s. In 2001, it introduced autonomy in Papua, although local activists say that the policy has had little practical effect.

President Barack Obama's administration has made relations with Indonesia a priority, attracted by the archipelago's democratization, moderate form of Islam and strategic location in a fast-growing region.

Clinton, in her speech at the East-West Center, described Indonesia and India as "two of the most dynamic and significant democratic powers in the world." She will head next week with Obama to Bali for the East Asia Summit.

PT Freeport security deal legal: Police

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jakarta – Responding to mounting public concerns over a conflict of interests in its acceptance of US$14 million from US mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia, the National Police has again denied the issue.

On Wednesday, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution refuted earlier statements by legal experts, who said that receiving funds from Freeport, amounting to Rp 1.25 million (US$140) per officer per month, was strictly illegal for the National Police, which should only receive funding from the central administration.

"From our perspective, there was no legal violation," Saud, a former chief of the National Police counterterrorism unit, said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Saud cited Presidential Decree No. 63/2004 on the National Police in charge of the security of national vital objects and Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Decree number 1762/2007, which stipulates that PT Freeport is a national vital object.

He then added that according to National Police decree No. 736/2005, the costs of securing national vital objects can be charged to the party whose assets are being secured. "That means police should not allocate funding to officers who are assigned [to the PT Freeport area] because the company has already allocated funds for them," he said.

Jakarta open to Papua dialogue, with conditions

Jakarta Globe - November 10, 2011

Arientha Primanita & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Jakarta has said it is ready to open a dialogue with Papuans, providing that it is not based on discussion of self-determination, conforms to the rules of special autonomy and favors "accelerated development."

In addition, lawmakers called on antigraft officials to carry out an investigation into the legality of Freeport's payments to security forces as soon as possible.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday that he was open to the idea of a dialogue, which has risen to the fore of political debate in recent weeks, following intensified military operations and increasing violence in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. However, he said any dialogue must be based on three "pillars."

"The first pillar is NKRI [the Unitary Republic of Indonesia], meaning the enforcement of the sovereignty of the Indonesian Republic; the second pillar is special autonomy, which must be implemented well; and the third is the accelerated development of Papua and West Papua as a national priority," he said.

The move is a response to growing unrest in Papua, where a military crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in October killed at least six people. An ongoing strike at the huge Grasberg mine run by Freeport-McMoRan has also escalated tensions, and a number of violent deaths of workers and security forces have been reported near the site.

Yudhoyono called for a firm stance on Papua while also urging restraint. "I wish for the law to be enforced strictly, fairly and proportionally. Security must also be fostered because it is aimed at protecting the community of Papua and West Papua," he said.

The president also called for government support to end the Freeport strike in order to "promote prosperity," which should include "facilities and mediation." Workers at Freeport on Wednesday further reduced their demands for higher wages from an initial demand of at least $17.50 per hour to $4 per hour.

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, called for immediate action over Freeport's payments to local security forces.

Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said it was not enough for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to wait for the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to audit Freeport's payments.

She said the KPK was taking a step backward since the payments had already been acknowledged by both the company and security forces. There was even a letter from the Papua Police chief setting out the use of the payments, she said.

"All the evidence of bribery has been collected," she said on Wednesday. Eva added that the payments were not a new problem but had been around since the company opened in Papua in 1973.

She also said the mine had been the source of numerous problems in Papua and was a source of popular discontent which fomented separatism and impeded good governance.

"We should root out this cancer. If they wish to work accountably, more justly, transparently and under a new contract of work, then by all means carry on. But if they hope to go on as they do now, bribing, paying workers whatever they like, then they should be made to leave," she continued.

Workers at the mine on Wednesday announced plans to extend their strike into a third month, which if carried out would make it the worst work stoppage in the history of the country's mining industry.

Lemhanas recommends no military approach in Papua

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jakarta – National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) chief Budi Susilo Supandji has urged the government to avoid using a military approach to managing Papua, suggesting that monitoring the implementation of special autonomy would be a good place to start.

"We must focus to using dialogues when dealing with these kinds of issues. A military approach is not an option yet," Budi said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

However, he also said a discussion on the possibility of Papua gaining independence from Indonesia was out of the question. "We [want to] bring more prosperity and dignity to the easternmost province," he said.

He also asked the government to accelerate the implementation of the Acceleration and Economic Expansion Development (MP3EI) master plan that sees Papua as one of its top priorities.

"The government should also synchronize its master plan with the work of Bambang Dharmono's Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua [UP4B]," he said.

President calls for proportional law enforcement in Papua

Antara News - November 9, 2011

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called for all law enforcement officials to settle security problems in Papua and West Papua firmly but proportionally and with full respect for human rights.

He said in a cabinet meeting here on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the problem in Papua that the government and security apparatus must be able to guarantee security for all people in the two provinces.

"With regard to the recent developments in Papua and the settlement of the problems there in political, legal and security terms, I ask for the proper management of political issues in the two provinces. The law must be enforced proportionally and justly," he said.

President Yudhoyono said security must be maintained because security in essence meant protecting the people.

"I urge all people, especially government officials, to prevent actions that are against the law and human rights. I am sure the law as well as security could be maintained without having to violate human rights," he said.

With regard to economy President Yudhoyono meanwhile has ordered for special attention to and prioritization of programs under the government and budget plans for the acceleration of development in Papua and West Papua.

The President has invited a number of ministers concerned with the settlement of the Papua problems in the meeting and has asked them to implement the programs that have been prepared well especially in the economic field.

With regard to people's welfare he asked the ministers concerned to immediately settle the industrial dispute at PT Freeport Indonesia so that it would not be protracted.

"With regard to people's welfare I have given the special order so that the industrial dispute at PT Freeport could be managed well and solution could be immediately found. Disputes between workers and companies are common across the world but in this case the government must help so that solutions could be found immediately," he said.

President Yudhoyono said he would also pay special attention to the ministry of education and culture as well as the ministry of health to assure special programs for the two provinces.

The meeting was also attended by Vice President Boediono, Defense Forces Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono, National Police Chief General Timur Pradopo, Attorney General Basrief Arief and the Chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Marciano Norman.

Government ignored warnings in Papua: Lawmakers

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2011

Jakarta – Commenting on the recent government claim that it was unaware of escalating tensions in Papua prior to a bloody crackdown at the Third Papuan Peoples Congress, lawmakers say it was well-informed of the situation months beforehand.

"Then State Intelligence Agency chief Sutanto informed the security commission on the possibility of an escalation of conflict in Papua at least three months before the congress. So how can the government now say it was left in the dark?" Hidayat Nur Wahid of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said Wedne sday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Helmy Fauzi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P)concurred, saying there was no way President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto could not have been aware of this situation.

"We regret that the government ignored the warnings. We could have avoided unnecessary bloodshed if the government paid more attention," he said.

Djoko, meanwhile, denied having received any information from BIN regarding an escalation of tension in Papua ahead of the congress. "I have just spoken to the BIN chief and he mentioned nothing about that," he said.

National Police officers shot at and beat participants in the Third Papuan People's Congress, shortly after the congress declared an independent state of Papua. The incident claimed the lives of six people and injured dozens of others.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, however, has denied that police handled the incident with excessive violence, claiming that the actions were a justifiable response to the congress aim to form an independent Papuan state.

Freeport Indonesia Union plans to extend strike to 3rd month

Reuters - November 9, 2011

Union workers at Freeport Indonesia Grasberg copper mine plan to extend a strike into a third month, which would make it the worst work stoppage in the history of the country's mining industry.

Workers had been due to end a strike over pay on Nov. 15, but union officials said on Wednesday the dispute that has slashed production from the world's second-biggest copper mine could now continue until Dec. 15.

The dispute at the mine, located in the remote Papua region, forced Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc to declare force majeure on concentrate shipments in late October and raised doubts it can meet fourth-quarter production and sales targets.

It was not clear if the union's latest move represented a hardening of its position, or simply was part of a process that requires it to give notice to the local government to be able to strike legally.

"This is a safety net. If we fail to find a solution, we can extend the strike and be protected by the law. We have already informed all parties this on Nov. 2," union official Virgo Solossa told Reuters. "The strike will be automatically extended, that is the aim."

The union said on Tuesday it would consider almost halving its pay demands if the firm agreed to an extra pay hike when workers are promoted, which appeared to be a step towards resolving one of Indonesia's worst industrial disputes.

"The negotiations are still ongoing and we still have hopes that a fair agreement could be reached," said Freeport Indonesia spokesman Ramdani Sirait, in response to the union's strike extension plan.

A pay deal would end the strike by workers as well as their roadblocks to the mine's supply routes, speeding up repairs of damaged pipes that transport concentrates to the firm's port in the remote Papua region.

The disruptions forced the firm to declare force majeure on shipments on Oct. 26, supporting copper prices that had been under pressure by concerns over the world economy.

On Wednesday, three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.5 percent by 0550 GMT, on data showing China's inflation eased and after the Italian Prime Minister vowed to step down.

Freeport has started repairing the damage but has not been able to gain full access to the affected areas because of the roadblocks, the firm has said.

"The process to fix pipes is going to take more time. We need a security guarantee at several points to fix the pipes," Sirait said.

As a result of low production and processing rates, the firm has suggested it might not achieve fourth-quarter production and sales targets.

Government shrugs off Komnas HAM's reports of alleged Papua abuses

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2011

Jakarta – The government is playing down reports made by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) that the police and the military may have committed human rights violations when they dispersed a Papuan congress last month, allegedly leading to the deaths of at least three Papuans.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was aware of the commission's finding but had yet to issue a formal statement on it, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

"In principle, we have dealt with the Papua issue properly," he said, adding that the police were justified in forcibly dispersing the Third Papuan People's Congress in Abepura when it found that it was an act of treason.

Speaking at the State Palace on Tuesday, Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto slammed Komnas HAM and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) for blaming the state and overlooking the fact that police and military officers have also been killed in Papua.

"Where were Komnas HAM and Kontras when TNI and police [officers] were being shot [in Papua]? The [report] should be balanced," the minister said.

Komnas HAM deputy chairman Ridha Saleh told the Post he objected to Djoko's statement, calling it "subjective" and "out of context". He argued that the commission was assigned by law to monitor violence perpetrated by the state against civilians, not the other way around. "Pak Djoko should not make such comments," he said.

The commission said that the security forces might have violated the rights to life, freedom from torture and sense of security of the Papuans participating in the congress. The violations included the extra-judicial killing of three Papuans who were found dead after the congress and the alleged torture of 96 congress participants in detention after they were arrested.

Damage to cars, motorcycles and mobile phones has been deemed a violations of the right to be free from deprivation, Ridha told the Post.

The commission said it would submit its findings to the President, Minister Djoko, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo and TNI chief Adm. Agus Suhartono.

"We're asking the President to quickly open dialogue with the people of Papua, and also to evaluate its security and military approaches and troop deployment policy," Ridha said.

Indonesia has long been under international scrutiny for how it handled the problems in Papua – one of the poorest regions in the country despite being the world's largest gold mine and third largest copper mine.

Amnesty International has called on the Indonesian authorities to initiate an independent, thorough and effective investigation into the commission's findings.

"If the investigations find that the security forces committed unlawful killings or torture or other kinds of ill-treatment, then those responsible – including persons with command responsibility – must be prosecuted in proceedings that meet international standards of fairness, and victims should be provided with reparations," it said in a statement. (rpt)

Seven soldiers detained in new Papua abuse case

Jakarta Globe - November 8, 2011

Banjir Ambarita, Farouk Arnaz & Ronna Nirmala, Jayapura – Seven soldiers have been detained by the military police on suspicion of abusing 12 people at a public meeting in Papua's Jayawijaya district, in the latest allegation of rights abuses by the armed forces there.

The soldiers were taken into custody after reports surfaced that they had beaten, kicked and humiliated residents of Kurulu village last week, Col. Ibnu Tri Widodo, head of the district military command, said on Monday.

"The soldiers are believed to have tortured the civilians, forcing them to crawl, beating them and holding their heads under water," Ibnu said. "For these actions, they are being held by the military police in Wamena [the district capital]."

Following the reports of the alleged abuse, he said, all the soldiers stationed in the Kurulu area had been posted elsewhere and replaced. He also promised that troops would no longer act "arrogantly" toward civilians. "We have to be better and prevent violence against civilians," he said.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the soldiers saw the civilians participating in a traditional tribal council last Wednesday and assumed the meeting was a pro-separatist gathering.

The participants may try to take legal action in the Wamena District Court, challenging the legal principle that soldiers can only be forced to appear before a military tribunal, Kontras said.

Usman Hamid, a Kontras commissioner, said a tribunal would only hand out cursory punishments, failing to address the litany of rights abuses in the province by the armed forces. He said it was not enough to punish the individual soldiers accused of violence, who in this case range in rank from private to sergeant.

"These cases occur so frequently and it's always the underlings who get blamed by their superiors," Usman said. "But an objective investigation could very well show that violence was also carried out by, or at least ordered by, higher-ranking officers."

Similar cases of military abuse against Papuan civilians have largely resulted in light sentences for low-ranking personnel. In August, three soldiers accused of killing a Papuan man were given 15 months in jail for insubordination by a military tribunal.

In January, the military was criticized internationally for handing out sentences of between eight and 10 months to three soldiers who had tortured two Papuan men, in an act caught on video and posted to YouTube.

The video showed the soldiers applying a burning stick to the genitals of an unarmed man and threatening another man with a knife, while they interrogated both about the location of a weapons cache.

Circumcision 'too Islamic' for Papuan Churches

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2011

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The government has recommended circumcision for people in Papua over the past two years as a new approach to curbing rapid increases in, cases of HIV/AIDS infection.

In other parts of Indonesia, circumcision is common and is a part of a culture that has been preserved within the community over many generations. In Papua, however, people do not always prioritize common practices in place of the lingering presence of older practices.

For Papuans, circumcision is often considered to be in opposition to baptism, because it tends to be related to Muslims.

"The tradition of the church in Papua does not recognize circumcision because it has been replaced by baptism, despite the fact that the Bible does not state that circumcision is replaced with baptism. But baptism is a fulfillment of circumcision. Jesus himself, as a Jew, was also circumcised," Isak Samuel Kijne college theological lecturer Rev. Sostenes Sumihe said on Monday.

"After the circumcision campaign, many Papuans began circumcising their children and many called us to ask whether circumcision is against our religion. I told them that it is not against religion and it is not a sin."

Papua AIDS Eradication Commission (KPA) head Constant Karma said that based on a recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO), circumcision could curb 60 percent of HIV/AIDS infections.

"Based on WHO recommendations, circumcisions can suppress HIV/AIDS infections by up to 60 percent, so we are obliged to disseminate good information," he said.

Constant cited that 100 percent of the Toraja ethnic community residing in Papua are followers of Protestantism, carried out circumcision and there were very few that had been infected by the disease.

"Presently, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Papua has reached 10,500 cases, and 80 percent of them are Papuans and 20 percent are non- Papuans. Of the 20 percent, only 14 cases involve those from the Toraja ethnic community," he added.

According to Constant, the circumcision campaign, which has been conducted over the last three years, has yielded significant results. Last year, of the 350 children circumcised, 76 were Papuan children. The program was sponsored by the National Family Planning Board. "This shows that members of the community are starting to understand the importance of circumcision for medical and health reasons."

According to Sumihe, Papuan churches grouped under the Papua Church Association will issue pastoral calls in efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. "HIV/AIDS is a serious issue in Papua, so that the church is called upon to prevent its followers from spreading it."

Police 'clueless' on how to stop shootings in Papua: Imparsial

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2011

Jakarta – Another shooting occurred on Monday as a Freeport-owned car was attacked by unknown assailants in Mimika. Police officer First Brig. Marselinus was reportedly shot in the head and sent to a Freeport hospital in Mimika, Papua.

It was the fifth shooting in Papua in the past four weeks. Unidentified gunmen attacked another Freeport car on Oct. 14, killing three workers and severely injuring three others, and an attack on a Freeport mining site on Oct. 21 left a contract worker and two local Timika residents dead.

Mulia Police chief Comr. Dominggus Oktavianus Awes was killed by unidentified assailants on Oct. 24.

Attacks that did not result in death took place on Oct. 26, when a Freeport patrol car was shot at mile 35 on the Tembagapura-Mimika road, and on Oct. 30, when Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel guarding an outpost came under heavy gunfire.

The police have been left chasing shadows as they have failed to glean any clues from the shootings to trace back to the unidentified assailants.

Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Saud Usman said the police could not track the gunmen due to the difficult terrain and cold weather, and admitted that the pursuit was "almost impossible". "The field there is tremendously difficult," Saud told reporters on Monday. "The gunmen are controlling the field very well, and our security personnel are having trouble navigating the terrain,"

Al Araf, a researcher from human rights watchdog Imparsial, slammed the police's defensive tone, saying that the police had taken over the security responsibilities of the Freeport-controlled site from the TNI in 2004 and "had more than enough time" to master the terrain in Papua.

Al Araf described the police's inability to identify the gunmen as unjustifiable, arguing that the police and the TNI could actually be held responsible for nurturing the region's never-ending conflict.

"The suspicion here is that the bloody conflicts in Papua could be controlled by certain interests, and the police and the TNI themselves could be the ones who have been nurturing the conflicts in Papua since the [security operation of] Freeport is big business for them," Al Araf told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

In contrast to the police's failure to maintain security in Papua, the they have deployed huge amounts of security forces to the restive region.

According to Imparsial, there are 10,000 police officers and another 14,800 TNI reinforcements deployed in Papua, a region populated by 3 million people – 1 percent of Indonesia's total population.

Critics said that the "excessive" amount of personnel deployed in Papua would only prevent peaceful dialogue from occurring, as the police and military have allegedly been involved in human rights violations in the region.

The National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) revealed on Friday that serious human rights violations occurred in Papua following the third Papuan People's Congress at Abepura, Papua, in which three Papuans were killed by severe mutilation, with dozens of others reportedly also being tortured during police interrogation. (sat)

Police: Use of force justified in Jayapura incident

Jakarta Globe - November 8, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – Measures taken to disperse the pro-independence Papuan Peoples' Congress in Jayapura last month were within the bounds of regulations governing the use of force, the National Police chief said on Monday.

"Everything was done according to the regulations. Police believed participants had committed acts of subversion during the congress," Gen. Timur Pradopo said. "The actions that we took were thus legally accountable."

Six people were reportedly killed and dozens more injured during the crackdown on Oct. 19, when security forces fired warning shots to break up the large gathering after participants read aloud a declaration of independence and raised an outlawed separatist flag.

The government has denied firing on the demonstrators, but several witnesses have issued statements to the contrary.

In addition, witnesses say that security forces pistol-whipped or beat those they arrested with rattan canes and batons, resulting in several injuries.

Timur was responding to a statement by Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM), who said last week that an independent probe had concluded there were clear indications of human rights abuses by the security forces.

The Komnas HAM investigation found that among the violations were the extrajudicial killings of at least three congress participants whose bodies were found in a field near the local military headquarters. They have been identified as Demianus Daniel Kadepa, 23; Yakobus Samonsabra, 48; and Max Asa Yeuw, 33.

However, the rights group said that pending further forensics tests, it could not confirm whether the police or the military were responsible for the deaths.

Comr. Gen. Sutarman, the National Police's chief of detectives, said the officers in Jayapura had been trying to preserve the nation's unity. He said the police would consider the idea of coordinating with Komnas HAM regarding allegations of human rights violations by the security forces.

"We're open to evaluation in order to get to the bottom of this case," he said. "We're not trying to hide anything or gloss over what happened. If indeed there were actions that were inappropriate, we will, of course,look into them."

Sutarman added that forensics officers were conducting ballistics tests on the projectiles retrieved from the bodies of those killed to find out who had fired them. "But remember it's not just the police who have firearms," he said.

Amnesty calls on government to act on Komnas HAM's findings in Papua

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2011

The Indonesian government must immediately act on the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission's (Komnas HAM) findings that human rights violations were committed by Indonesian security forces at the Third Papuan Peoples' Congress on Oct. 19, Amnesty International says.

The Komnas HAM investigation team found that Indonesian security forces opened fire on participants of the peaceful gathering and also beat and kicked them, the organization said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The Commission, which made its findings public on Nov. 4, has called on the Indonesian National Police chief to investigate these human rights violations.

It was reported on Nov. 7 that the President's office had rejected the findings of Komnas HAM, stating that the police were still handling the case.

Amnesty International called the Indonesian authorities to initiate an independent, thorough and effective investigation into the Commission's findings.

"If the investigations find that the security forces committed unlawful killings or torture or other ill-treatment, then those responsible, including persons with command responsibility, must be prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness and victims should be provided with reparations," it said.

"The failure to bring perpetrators of these violations to justice in fair trials will reinforce the perception that the security forces in Papua operate above the law and fuel the ongoing climate of mistrust towards the security forces there."

On Oct. 19, police and military units violently dispersed participants of the Third Papuan People's Congress, a peaceful gathering held in Abepura, Papua province. The bodies of Demianus Daniel, Yakobus Samonsabara, and Max Asa Yeuw were found near the Congress area. An estimated 300 participants were arbitrarily arrested at the end of the Congress. Most were released the following day but six have been charged. Five people were charged for "rebellion" and "incitement" under Articles 106, 110 and 160 of the Criminal Code, while one was charged for "possession of weapons" under Emergency Law No. 12/1951.

According to Komnas HAM, the three people who were found dead had gunshot wounds. The Commission was not able to confirm whether they were killed by the police or the military and have called for police forensics investigators to examine the bullets. Komnas HAM also found that at least 96 participants had been shot, kicked or beaten by police officers.

Human rights & justice

Thirteen years on from carnage, protestors demand justice for deaths

Jakarta Globe - November 14, 2011

Dessy Sagita – Thirteen years after at least 12 university students and other civilians were killed by security forces in a demonstration at the Semanggi cloverleaf in South Jakarta, their former comrades-in-arms have demanded justice.

Ignatius Indro, a former Atmajaya University student who took part in the massive show of people power that took to the streets of the capital on Nov. 13, 1998, said on Sunday that no one from the armed forces had been held accountable for the tragedy.

"Thirteen years have passed, which is a very long time, yet there has been no legal closure or sense of justice for our friends who were killed," he said.

Dozens of former student activists and sympathizers turned up for a memorial on Sunday outside Atmajaya, in the heart of Semanggi, to lay floral wreaths and pray for those killed.

The event came months after a popular uprising, with university students at the helm, led to the ouster of President Suharto.

The euphoria was tempered by widespread dissatisfaction that the New Order's legislature had not been replaced and a sense that the administration of B.J. Habibie, Suharto's hand-picked successor, was illegitimate.

When students and other supporters gathered at Semanggi to march on the House of Representatives, police began firing into the crowd. Ignatius said that five students and seven civilians were killed and more than 800 others were injured.

"The security forces kept firing at us until the next morning," he said. "Our march was a peaceful demonstration. We don't know why the security forces deemed it necessary to attack us with tear gas, water canons and live ammunition."

Okky Satrio, a journalist at the demonstration, said he was disappointed with the government's lack of commitment in bringing the killers to justice. "The current regime... has chosen to overlook the fact that the 1998 incident was a slaughter by the security forces," he said.

Freedom of expression & press

Government to screen media for separatist, radical content

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jakarta – The Communication and Information Technology Ministry has announced plans to begin screening media following an earlier finding that media reporting was prone to misinformation, as well as separatist and radical propaganda.

"We want to be proactive in reminding the media so they don't drift off course," ministry spokesman Gatot S Dewabroto said Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.

Gatot added that the Religious Affairs Ministry and National Education and Culture Ministry would assist in efforts to monitor media, but said any judgement would be made by his own ministry.

"We won't ban either the media or its content, but we are doing this so that people don't say the government lets the media do whatever it wants," he said.

Activists gather to defend freedom

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – As one of the largest democracies in Asia, Indonesia has yet to ensure its citizens access to information, with lawmakers and the government devising legislation that may hinder such a right.

The Institute for Defense, Security and Peace Studies' (IDSPS) executive director Mufti Makaarim told The Jakarta Post on Monday that although the country had a freedom of information law, which took effect last year, people were still inhibited from gaining information freely due to red tape or officials' ignorance of the law.

The condition was not improving, he said, as lawmakers and the government were planning to pass a number of bills relating to national security containing articles that could be inimical to freedom, or even perceived as draconian.

The legislation includes the National Security Bill, the State Secret Bill, the Strategic Industry Bill and the Intelligence Law as well as the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction Law. The Intelligence Law is currently being reviewed by the Constitutional Court.

The ISDPS, along with the Open Society Foundation, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUMASIA) and Tifa Foundation, will hold a two-day meeting where members of civil society organizations in the region can gather to discuss the challenges they face in maintaining security without sacrificing freedom of information. Called the "Asia Civil Society Consultation on National Security and Right to Information Principles", the event will be held on Nov. 9-10.

Civil society representatives and activists from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, South Korea will be attending the meeting, though the highlight would be the confirmed attendance of Frank William La Rue, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

Sandra Coliver from the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and Pos M. Hutabarat from Indonesia's Defense Ministry, are also scheduled to attend the discussion.

Mufti said that the OSJI had been working to establish international principles to serve as a reference for policy makers engaged in drafting or revising related security and information regulations.

He said the principles and the regional consultation event were therefore important for Indonesia, which was now reforming its own national security system. "The principles and the event itself are important for our democratic transition process. We do not want to put the clock back."

Mufti said that the Jakarta regional consultation meeting would be a follow-up from the Budapest meeting in Hungary in June. The Budapest gathering recommended continuing research and holding regional consultations to examine the principles under regional circumstances. It is hoped that the principles will be finalized and launched in 2012.

Political parties & elections

NasDem vows to fight any ban on young parties

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran & Rangga Prakoso – The fledgling National Democratic Party vowed on Tuesday to fight any efforts to bar it from the general and presidential elections in 2014.

The House of Representatives is considering requiring political parties to have been registered at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry for at least five years before they can take part in general and presidential elections. NasDem, backed for former Golkar figure Surya Paloh, was established in July.

A draft bill on elections is set to be deliberated in the House in April. If passed, it will introduce tougher requirements for new parties.

"If it is enacted, we feel that it is a way to hamper us [from participating], and we will fight against it," Ahmad Rofiq, the secretary general of the party, said on Tuesday. "As soon as the bill is passed, we're going to submit it to the Constitutional Court."

Golkar politician Indra J. Piliang on Tuesday said that NasDem, as a newly established party, would not be eligible to field candidates in the 2014 elections.

Arif Wibowo, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the issue would be discussed during the deliberation.

"The idea is to tighten up the requirements for political parties so that only serious parties that are strong and have good credibility can join the election," Arif said.

"But it has not been included yet [in the draft bill], as we're shifting away from revising the election law and toward creating a completely new election law."

Arif said that the details of the requirement would be discussed later with the government, as there were many issues to be considered. The five-year minimum was only one possibility, he said.

"Even though it has not yet been included in the bill, I am not saying that it would not be included," he said. "The possibility is always there, as our aim is to ensure that the political parties in the running are those with good reputations."

I Gusti Putu Artha, a member of the General Elections Commission (KPU), said the commission would comply with the new election law, regardless of what it contained.

"We don't get to decide who runs. The new law does. In any case, the [KPU's] verification process for political parties to run in the election is extremely arduous," Putu said.

Rofiq said that there was no reason for the existing parties in the House to differentiate between new parties and those that have been long- established.

"If they come up with such a requirement, we should question whether it is based on logic or other motives," Rofiq said. "But we're not afraid, as we have the ability to ask the Constitutional Court for a review."

In August, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights announced that 15 new parties had registered for the 2014 election.

Bakrie admits he needs popularity boost before presidential bid

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Anita Rachman – The official announcement that Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie will run as the presidential candidate for Indonesia's grand old party will be made next year, the man in question revealed on Monday.

Aburizal said his prospects in the 2014 election were being discussed by leaders of Golkar's 33 provincial offices and his nomination would be made official after a general meeting of the provincial leaders next year.

"Nevertheless, we will wait for the electability figures to increase before we make the announcement," he said. "For the party, that means at least 25 percent, and for the presidential candidate, which is myself, that means 20 percent."

A recent poll by the Soegeng Soerjadi Syndicate showed that 31 percent of respondents would vote for Golkar in the legislative elections. However, Aburizal said most other surveys put the party's popularity at 18 percent. "We've got to raise this figure to 25 percent," he said.

He added that in terms of his own popularity as a presidential candidate, some polls had him at less than 10 percent. "But the average is probably around 14 percent, so we've got to jack that up to 20 percent first," he said.

In the 2009 legislative elections, no party won a full quarter of the vote. Golkar received just 14.45 percent, behind the ruling Democratic Party, which won 20.85 percent.

In the presidential election a few months later, the Golkar candidate and chairman at the time, Jusuf Kalla, managed to get just 12.41 percent of votes, while President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won convincingly with 60.8 percent.

As part of efforts to boost the electability of both the party and its candidate come 2014, Golkar revealed it would work hard throughout 2012 on a series of programs designed to bring it closer to the people, particularly in rural areas.

Idrus Marham, the Golkar secretary general, said the programs were not aimed exclusively at endearing the party to voters but rather were meant to instill trust and appreciation in the people toward Golkar's efforts in their interests.

"We will be carrying out real programs that are in the interests of the people," he said. They include programs in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and labor, which would "reflect" the party's political platform, he said.

Idrus also said he was confident that an increase in the party's popularity would also translate into a boost for Aburizal's bid for the presidency. "When Golkar's electability increases, so does Aburizal's," Idrus said.

NasDem passes verification, three parties in limbo

Jakarta Globe - November 12, 2011

Ulma Haryanto & Anita Rachman – It's official: the media mogul-backed National Democratic Party will contest the 2014 elections.

The party known as NasDem, which has set its eye on a top-three finish in the next presidential election, is the first of four new parties to receive the stamp of approval from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

"So far, Nasdem is the only party that has fulfilled all requirements as a legal political party," Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin told reporters in a teleconference from Palembang, where he was attending the opening ceremony of the XXVI Southeast Asian Games.

NasDem secretary general Ahmad Rofiq told the Jakarta Globe that the news was a relief, after all the hard work done by the party in preparation for the verification process.

With the ticket for the next election in its pocket, NasDem, which recently welcomed media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo as a member, said it would work even harder. Rofiq said Nasdem wanted to have representatives in 79,000 villages across the country.

"Once we have [representatives] in villages, votes will come," he said. "Our representatives there will listen to people's opinions."

Pundits have noted how NasDem could flex its muscle in the next elections with its increased capital and media power.

Hary, who joined the party as chairman of its Council of Experts, rules over the MNC media empire that includes television, radio, online and print media. NasDem co-founder and former top Golkar Party leader Surya Paloh owns the Media Indonesia daily and Metro TV.

The joy felt by NasDem, however, has yet to be duplicated by three other parties that also applied for verification.

One is the Insulinde National Prosperity Party (PKBN), founded by Yenny Wahid, daughter of the late President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid. The Independent People's Union (SRI) Party, which earned substantial media coverage after it said it wanted to nominate former Finance Minister and current World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati as its presidential candidate, is another. The third party waiting for verification is the Republican Works Party (Pakar), founded by Ari Sigit, a grandchild of former President Suharto.

Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso from Golkar, although congratulating NasDem for its success on the verification, questioned the ministry's decision to only announce the approval of one party. "I imagine they are going to approve all the parties that applied," Priyo said.

The ministry insisted it would give the three parties until Nov. 25 to fulfill all the administrative requirements. "We are giving them another opportunity to meet the technical requirements. We don't want technical matters hindering people's political rights," Justice and Human Rights Deputy Minister Denny Indrayana said.

Damianus Taufan, chairman of the SRI Party, told the Globe he was sure his party would meet all the administrative requirements before Nov. 25.

Nasdem still underdog despite media power: Analysts

Jakarta Post - November 11, 2011

Jakarta – Despite its extensive media resources, the Nasdem Party remained a "young and small party", and its odds of a strong showing in the 2014 general elections were low, political observers said.

By electing media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo as chairman of its board of experts, Nasdem has shown that it is a worthy contender in the upcoming polls.

Hary, 46, whose net media assets stood at US$595 million according to Forbes magazine, added to the party's formidable media clout that already had strong ties to Surya Paloh, owner of Metro TV and Media Indonesia and cofounder of the National Democrat mass organization.

Nasdem chief Patrice Rio Capella told The Jakarta Post following Hary's official welcoming that his party was ready to challenge the dominance of the big parties in Indonesia, aiming to be a top-tier party in the next general election.

Rio said the party supported the House's plan to increase the legislative threshold to 4 percent, boasting that Nasdem "would have no problem to pass even the 5 percent threshold".

Political analysts, however, played down Nasdem's media strength, saying that media influence alone was not enough to help a political party thrive in the upcoming elections.

Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate executive director Sukardi Rinakit said that, because the Nasdem Party was still very young, it would have a "hard time" dethroning well-established parties such as the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) or Golkar merely by media power.

"Media is merely one factor in politics. There are other factors such as party infrastructure, the quality of cadres, programs, its approach to grassroots personalities and networking," Sukardi said on Thursday.

Sukardi told the Post that it would be impossible for Nasdem to repeat Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party's achievement, which as a new party achieve unprecedented successes in the 2004 and 2009 general elections.

He pointed to the fact that Nasdem still lacked any influential, popular figures to lead the party.

Reform Institute political observer Zaim Saidi also dismissed the notion that Nasdem would be a serious threat to the establishment in 2014, saying that parties were built on more than media power. (sat)

NasDem sees a top three finish in 2014 elections

Jakarta Globe - November 11, 2011

Ezra Sihite – With its new media and financial clout, the four-month-old NasDem Party is aiming for a top-three finish in the 2014 legislative elections, but it still isn't ready to talk presidential candidates.

"We haven't discussed a presidential candidate yet because we're not just focused on ruling the government, but yes, it is our target to become one of the big three in the 2014 elections," NasDem deputy chairman Sugeng Suparwoto said on Thursday, the second day of the party's national leadership meeting.

Members of the party, he said, have been urged not to speculate on possible presidential candidates. "We want to focus on winning the 2014 elections without being divided over internal presidential candidates," he said.

NasDem showed it could be a serious contender in 2014 when it announced on Wednesday that media magnate Hary Tanoesoedibjo had joined the party.

It already had plenty of media muscle on its side with party co-founder Surya Paloh, who owns the Media Indonesia daily newspaper and Metro TV.

Even so, Yunarto Wijaya of the political research institute Charta Politika said two things made Hary's NasDem affiliation interesting – media power and money. "But don't forget to look at the party's electoral strength," he said on Wednesday.

Yunarto also said the party should declare its presidential candidate immediately. "Indonesians still basically worship personalities, and I have not yet seen any strong figures from NasDem," he said.

Party chairman Patrice Rio Capella said Hary's affiliation would improve the party's image. "Hary Tanoe's presence [in politics] will definitely have a positive impact on the nation and it will definitely strengthen the party," he said. "He's a national class businessman, not just a regular person."

Hary, who rules over the MNC media empire of television, radio, online and print media, is joining NasDem as the chairman of its Council of Experts. It is his first serious foray into politics.

Patrice is not shy about making it clear that he intends to use Hary's influence in the media and business world to help the party, describing the media mogul's move into politics as a golden opportunity for NasDem.

"We ask people without media outlets to join the party, but imagine our excitement at someone who does have them," he said. Others, however, are not as happy about Hary's jump into politics and have vowed to stop the "unhealthy" trend of turning media outlets into campaign tools by devising new regulations on campaign funding and advertising.

About 1,800 representatives from NasDem's 33 provincial offices and 497 district offices are attending the party's meeting at the Mercure Hotel in North Jakarta. NasDem says it has 4,607,954 members nationwide.

But despite the fanfare, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has not yet verified the new party, a necessary requirement if it is to participate in the 2014 elections.

The ministry was supposed to make an announcement on Oct. 22 but has so far been silent on whether the party had qualified to contest the elections. Sugeng said NasDem had fulfilled all the requirements set by the ministry and the 2011 Law on Political Parties.

The law stipulates that a new party must register at least 30 months before an election. It also says a party must have 100 percent representation at the provincial level, 75 percent at the district level and 50 percent at the subdistrict level.

"This is about our national agenda and the party's legality, which will become our political basis," Sugeng said. He added that the party would consider filing a lawsuit unless the ministry explained the delay and provided a definitive time frame for its announcement.

Megawati still eyeing presidency: PDI-P official

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jakarta – An official from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has confirmed that party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri is still interested in running for president in the the 2014 General Elections.

The announcement comes despite Taufik Kiemas, Megawati's husband, suggesting that Megawati should allow her daughter, Puan Maharani, to have a chance.

"I have confirmed this with Megawati herself," PDI-P youth and sports affairs chief Maruarar Sirait said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

However, he said, Megawati had ordered all party officials to do their utmost to win people's hearts so they could support her again in the coming presidential elections.

According to several pollsters including the Indonesia Survey Circle (LSI), Indo barometer and the Indonesia Survey Network (JSI), Megawati ranks among the top presidential candidates.

SRI 'has no plans' to merge with Dems

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jakarta – The newly established Union of Independent People Party (SRI) says that it has no intention of following fellow newcomer Struggle Work Party (Pakar Pangan), which recently formed an alliance with the Democratic Party ahead of the 2014 elections.

"No, because we want to produce a new kind of politics based on public ethics and integrity," SRI politician Rocky Gerung said on Wednesday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added that for a new party, forming a coalition with another party was a sign of weakness and insecurity. "If we joined with them from the start it would mean we were not confident in ourselves," Rocky said.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of forming a coalition with other parties after the elections.

"We will consider forming coalitions after the elections. If we do so now, our political goals will not be reached. We still believe in the strength of the Indonesian people's common sense. Political ethics are still there," Rocky said.

Earlier this year, SRI declared its support for Sri Mulyani Indrawati as a presidential candidate.

NasDem flexes its political muscle

Jakarta Globe - November 9, 2011

Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The NasDem Party sent out a warning to its rivals that it aims to be a serious contender in the 2014 elections as it added the financial and media clout of Hary Tanoesoedibjo on Wednesday.

Hary, who rules over the MNC media empire that includes television, radio, online and print media, is joining the four-month-old party as chairman of its Council of Experts.

"This move will bring more money into the party as well as social networks," said M. Romahurmuziy, the secretary general of the United Development Party (PPP).

NasDem already had plenty of media muscle, and cash, on its side with co- founder Surya Paloh, who owns the Media Indonesia daily newspaper and Metro TV. "The uniting of these two media powers will be able to influence swing voters," Romahurmuziy said.

But he said religious parties like the PPP, which is based on Islam, were unlikely to be affected by the entry of NasDem onto the political scene. "The ones who will be threatened are the Democrats and Golkar," he said.

Yunarto Wijaya, from political research institute Charta Politika, said two things made Hary's move to join NasDem interesting – media and money.

"But don't forget to look at their electoral strength," he said, One thing that will help NasDem, he said, if it comes out soon with its candidates for the 2014 presidential election.

"Indonesians still basically worship personalities and I have not yet seen any strong figures from NasDem," he said, adding that Surya had not yet declared whether he would run for president and Hary had not expressed an interest in the job.

Golkar Party's deputy secretary general, Nurul Arifin, also said NasDem was lacking any compelling personalities, which could hurt it come election time. "Media strength will mean nothing if they are lacking in personalities," Nurul said.

But Martin Hutabarat, chairman of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), said Hary's decisoin to join NasDem could end up changing the game in 2014.

"He is a media magnate, be it in television or print, and he will make the 2014 election campaign tougher," Martin said. "The role of the media in building the image of a political party is a decisive factor."

Hary said he decided to throw his lot in with NasDem because the party offered him the best chance to forge a political career. "NasDem is a new party, so it's easier to modify and adapt," Hary said.

His foray into politics, he said, would offer him the chance to make a contribution to the country after having established himself as a successful businessman. "No matter what, as citizens we will always want to contribute," he said.

He also said he and Surya had a similar vision for the future of the country, and this shared bond helped him make up his mind to accept a position with the party.

He said he and Surya shared the same ideas on how to build the country. "We want to develop the country in a proactive and honest way, with hard work," he said.

NasDem chairman Patrice Rio Capella said while opening the party's national leadership meeting in Ancol, North Jakarta, on Tuesday that the party already had 4,607,954 members.

[Additional reporting Anita Rachman.]

Sri Mulyani's return sparks speculation

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The arrival of former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in Jakarta has triggered speculation over a possible bid for president in 2014, despite her refusal to comment on the issue.

On Tuesday, Sri Mulyani, in her capacity as a World Bank managing director, met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a closed-door meeting at the State Palace.

Topics discussed in the meeting included Yudhoyono's recent attendance at the G-20 Summit in Cannes, France, and the upcoming 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali, Antara news agency reported.

"Welcome home," said the President while shaking Sri Mulyani's hand at the entrance of his office.

While leaving the meeting, the 49-year-old Sri Mulyani smiled as dozens of journalists asked her if she would run in the 2014 presidential election. She flashed the same smile when asked the same questions before entering the Finance Ministry building, her old office, on Monday.

Sri Mulyani met with her successor Agus Martowardojo and other ministry officials in preparation for Tuesday's ASEAN Finance Ministers' Investor Seminar (AFMIS).

Many observers have touted Sri Mulyani, a reform icon who was famous for her tough policies, as one of the strongest potential candidates for the 2014 presidential election.

However, Sri Mulyani has yet to openly announce whether she would accept a nomination as a presidential candidate, leaving politicians and political observers speculating.

While major parties, except for the Golkar Party which has announced its chairman Aburizal Bakrie as its presidential candidate, have not decided on their presidential candidates, only the newly established Union of Independent People Party (SRI) has openly declared its support for Sri Mulyani as a candidate.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political observer from the Indonesian Survey Institute, said that a lack of support from the major parties was caused by the perception that Sri Mulyani was not very electable. "If her electability were higher, bigger parties would approach her for sure," he said.

Several recent surveys, however, have put Sri Mulyani among the top-10 most popular presidential candidates for 2014.

A study by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate last month placed Sri Mulyani third behind Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) chief patron Prabowo Subianto and Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud M.D.

Another survey by the Indonesian Votes Network (JSI) put Mulyani in 8th position, lower than Aburizal and Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

Sri Mulyani herself has implicitly played down SRI Party's proposal. The party has not been seen to approach Mulyani while the latter has been in town. "We did not and will not meet Sri Mulyani. We respect her official tasks here," SRI Party chairman Damianus Taufan said.

A few sources, meanwhile, said that Sri Mulyani had met with oil tycoon, Arifin Panigoro, hours after she landed in Jakarta on Saturday. Panigoro was believed to be attempting to offer Sri Mulyani political support from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to help her run for president in 2014.

Burhanuddin said that it would be highly unlikely that the PDI-P would support Sri Mulyani.

Social organisations & NGOs

P2B extends deadline for Greenpeace to leave 'residential' Kemang office

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Dofa Fasila & Ismira Lutfia – The Jakarta administration's threat to close the Greenpeace office on Monday fizzled after the environmental group asked for more time to move out of its building in Kemang, South Jakarta.

Widyo Dwiyono, head of the South Jakarta Building Control and Monitoring Office (P2B), said the Greenpeace representatives had explained that they were not extending their lease and planned to move to new offices.

"As a result, the governor has given them more time to move out," he said, adding that the deadline had been pushed to Friday. "Although all the administrative procedures are done as far as sealing off the building goes, they have until Friday before we actually do it."

The P2B served notice to Greenpeace last week that it was sealing off its office on Jalan Kemang Utara for zoning violations, arguing that the entire Kemang area was designated as a residential zone. However, supporters of the organization have questioned why only Greenpeace's office was targeted in the zoning crackdown.

Widyo said the P2B had also "taken note of 41 office buildings, 29 restaurants, seven cafes, 127 shops, four salons, nine garages, five schools and several clinics and pharmacies" in the area.

"So it's not just Greenpeace that we're targeting," he insisted. He declined to say whether the owners of those other buildings had been served notice or threatened with closure.

Nur Hidayati, the Greenpeace Indonesia head, said that while she welcomed the enforcement of zoning laws, she argued that there should not be any cherry-picking in such efforts.

"We support the P2B in turning Kemang back into a residential area, but only as long as it enforces the law consistently and isn't just picking on Greenpeace," she said. She added that while the P2B had assured her organization it also planned to seal off other buildings in the area, it had refused to say which ones.

Nur also confirmed that Greenpeace would be moving out of its Kemang office. "Our lease here runs until June 2012, so we were looking for a new place to move to anyway," she said.

"We'll decide by Friday when we can move, but we've asked the city to give us at least six months to find a new place, because it's not easy to have to move an office, what with finding the right location and preparing the funds to move everything."

The threat of closure is the government's latest legal swipe at Greenpeace. Last month, a Greenpeace UK forest campaigner was deported from Indonesia for reasons that were never made clear. Shortly before that, the Greenpeace UK director was denied entry into the country de spite arriving with a valid visa.

Greenpeace bows to pressure from city government

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – Bowing to pressure from the city administration, which has twice issued a notice of eviction against its national headquarters, the environmental organization Greenpeace Indonesia has decided to find a new location for its office.

"We support the city administration in upholding the regulation. The rent for our office will expire in June 2012 and, in the meantime, we will find a new location for our office," the head of Greenpeace Indonesia, Nur Hidayawati, told a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

Nur said that Greenpeace Indonesia would send a notification to the South Jakarta Building Construction Supervision and Regulation Agency (P2B) about the plan.

The agency had said that it would seal the building for a violation of zoning regulations. Head of the South Jakarta P2B, Widyo Dwiyono, said Greenpeace had turned what should have been a private residence in Kemang Utara into an office building. The agency had earlier said that an eviction would take place on Saturday. It did not.

Widiyo said that Greenpeace representatives had met Governor Fauzi Bowo to discuss the planned eviction. "The governor asked Greenpeace to abide by the city's regulations and gave the organization time to move to a new site," he said.

Widiyo said that Greenpeace was only one among many outfits violating the zoning regulation in Kemang. "In the four main streets of Kemang, there are a total of 275 building owners who abuse their building permits. We have sent reprimands to them calling for the buildings to be returned to their original function as residential houses," he said.

The eviction is the latest move against Greenpeace by the government. Last year, Greenpeace's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, which was slated to dock at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, was not allowed to enter Indonesian waters.

Last month, lawmakers from the Democratic Party and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) called for a review on the existence of Greenpeace in Indonesia. They said that the organization did not have an official permit to operate in Indonesia.

The lawmakers accused Greenpeace of attacking Indonesian companies and authorities but remaining silent about environmental issues linked to giant US companies.

Also in October, Greenpeace UK's executive director John Sauven was denied entry to Indonesia at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, in spite of Sauven holding a visa issued by the Indonesian Embassy in London.

A few days later, immigration officials tried to deport British Greenpeace campaigner Andrew Ross Tait at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta as he was setting off with Mas Achmad Santosa, a member of the presidential Judicial Corruption Task Force, Greenpeace Indonesia activists and several UK officials to inspect deforestation in Kalimantan.

Nur also alleged at the press conference that the eviction had something to do with the organization's stepped-up campaign against deforestation.

"We received the notice of eviction soon after a number of companies cut their contracts with paper company Asia Pulp and Paper [APP]. After so many media reports about the issue, we received the letter. It was originally directed to the owner of this building," Nur said as quoted by kompas.com.

Greenpeace Asia Pacific had earlier claimed that APP used Indonesian rainforest fiber in toy packaging. The organization said that toy companies Mattel and Disney were using packaging produced by APP, which Greenpeace has accused of destroying rainforests.

APP denies the claims, saying that the packaging contains both recycled fiber and sustainably certified fiber, which means the mixed tropical hardwood may have come from overseas.

Embattled Greenpeace gets help from activists

Jakarta Globe - November 12, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – Legal aid activists and supporters showed on Friday their backing for under-fire environmental group Greenpeace, which is being evicted from its office by the Jakarta administration for alleged zoning violations.

"YLBHI [the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation] and other NGOs have pledged to back up Greenpeace and give our support to them," said Alvon Kurnia Palma, deputy chairman of YLBHI.

The Jakarta Building Control and Monitoring Office (P2B) said it served notice to Greenpeace on Wednesday about the closure and would proceed with sealing off its headquarters on Jalan Kemang Utara in South Jakarta on Monday. It said the office had been built in an area designated for residential buildings only.

The YLBHI said the Jakarta administration's move was just a small part of a more widespread problem of discrimination against local NGOs.

Alvon cited an incident on Wednesday, when the YLBHI's headquarters was surrounded by dozens of troops from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) when it was holding a public discussion on Freeport.

"Other NGOs such as ICW [Indonesia Corruption Watch] also had to face scrutiny when it was revealed they received funding from abroad," Alvon said.

Alvon also said the eviction letter P2B had been using was legally flawed. "It did not mention what bylaw the letter was issued on," Alvon said. "The letter only said, 'based on a DKI bylaw.' "

Berry Nahdian Furqan, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), urged other activists to back up Greenpeace.

"Greenpeace has been campaigning for our forests and environment. Don't let environmental criminals win," Berry said, adding that Walhi and the YLBHI have agreed to temporarily accommodate Greenpeace should the sealing off take place. "We are ready to back up Greenpeace politically and concretely," he added.

Widyo Dwiyono, head of the South Jakarta P2B office, said his agency had given Greenpeace an extra 24 hours for the organization to relocate.

"According to the notice, the relocation should actually take place on Sunday," he said. "This is part of our regular law enforcement – – all buildings in the area that violate zoning regulations will face the same thing," he added. Widyo could not detail how many buildings his office planned to cite in the area.

Kemang is also home to scores of restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops, few of which have ever been sealed off or cited for zoning violations.

The eviction follows several months of uneasy relations between Greenpeace and government officials. Greenpeace's Southeast Asia media campaigner Hikmat Soeriatanuwijaya claimed the group had been unfairly targeted after it launched a global campaign against Asia Pulp and Paper.

Last month, a Greenpeace UK forest campaigner was deported from Indonesia for reasons that were never made clear. That incident took place less than a week after the Greenpeace UK director was denied entry into the country despite arriving with a valid entry visa.

Greenpeace cries foul as eviction papers are served

Jakarta Globe - November 9, 2011

Elisabeth Oktofani & Dofa Fasila – Environmental group Greenpeace has lashed out at the Jakarta administration's decision to seal off its office for zoning violations, calling the move just the latest attack in a corporate-backed smear campaign against the organization.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia media campaigner Hikmat Soeriatanuwijaya said the group had been unfairly targeted.

"The continued attacks against Greenpeace started when we launched our global campaign against Asia Pulp and Paper by exposing evidence of APP forest destruction in early June this year," he said.

He declined, however, to say who Greenpeace believed was behind the smear campaign. "Although we know who it is, we don't want to mention the particular company or party because we don't have a capacity to investigate it," Hikmat said.

The statements came as the Jakarta Building Control and Monitoring Office (P2B) said it had served notice to Greenpeace on Wednesday about the closure and would proceed with sealing off its office on Jalan Kemang Utara in South Jakarta next Monday.

Agus Supriyono, P2B's head of enforcement, said the office had been built in an area designated for residential buildings only.

"Like any other building that violates regulations, we will have to seal off this building," he said. "We will only unseal it once the building owners have restored it as a residential property. So that means that come Monday, Greenpeace must stop all activities at its office."

Agus denied that his office had been pressured by outside parties to move against Greenpeace, calling the matter a simple zoning issue. He added that an office building next to the Greenpeace office would also be sealed off.

However, several other office and commercial buildings on the same street have been allowed to operate as usual.

"We don't have a problem with Greenpeace. We're just doing our job, which is to enforce zoning regulations and take measures against violating buildings," Agus said. "If Greenpeace wants to relocate its offices, they're welcome to do so, just as long as they do so in an area where it's permissible."

Widyo Dwiyono, head of the South Jakarta P2B office, echoed the point that the entire Kemang area was designated as a residential zone, making it imperative that Greenpeace move.

Kemang is also home to scores of restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops, very few of which have ever been sealed off or cited for zoning violations.

Hikmat said Greenpeace found it humorous how its "persecutor" kept coming up with different ways of attacking the organization, including past allegations that it was funded by lottery money and that it was intent on stalling Indonesian economic development by attacking the country's palm oil industry.

"We're not against the palm oil industry, nor do we want to stop Indonesian economic development," he said. "All we are asking for is responsible industrial practices by implementing sustainable industrial development rather than destroying and exploiting the rainforest.

"It needs to be understood that Greenpeace's campaigns focus on saving the Indonesian rainforest, hence we continue to urge all companies to save the rainforest through sustainable industrial development."

Hikmat added that Greenpeace was aware it faced opposition to its work, but said attacks and pressure would not stop it from campaigning for better environmental stewardship.

"We just hope that the media and society don't get the wrong idea about our mission in Indonesia because we just want to save the Indonesian rainforest," he said.

Nur Hidayati, head of Greenpeace Indonesia, said at the time that the group was "coming under attack in Indonesia because of our work to stop deforestation in the country."

Lawmakers and religious leaders have publicly questioned the source of the group's funding, while hard-line groups have claimed it is working in the country illegally because it is not registered with the Jakarta administration.

Critics of Greenpeace have also accused it of targeting APP while ignoring foreign companies that operate in Indonesia. APP, though, is foreign, being based in Singapore.

Media & journalism

Concerns raised over politically charged messages in the media

Jakarta Post - November 11, 2011

Jakarta – As political parties prepare for the 2014 general elections, many have started to project their presence through advertisements running in the media, raising suspicions that some parties with media ties could influence news in untransparent ways.

Owned by political party front men, Metro TV and MNC-linked TV stations have been airing Nasdem Party advertisements, while TV One also aired several commercials promoting Golkar Party chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie, who has been named the party's official candidate in the upcoming presidential race.

University of Indonesia communications expert Ade Armando told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that there was no problem in the strong relationship between political parties and media, arguing that such practices had been prevalent in Indonesia in the 1960s.

"[The affiliation between mass media and political parties] only becomes problematic when the politician-cum-media entrepreneur forces its political agenda on the journalists who work at his media company," Ade said.

"This may happen in the general elections, when the mass media could be utilized by their owners to attack political rivals."

Ade explained that "politically dictated" reporting was apparent when the Lapindo mudflow issue rocked Indonesia in 2006. He cited that while common news media referred to the mudflow as the Lapindo mudflow, Bakrie-owned TV One news station referred to the disaster as the Sidoardjo mudflow. Ical and his Bakrie business group partly owned PT Lapindo Brantas, the company that was at the center of the disaster.

Ties between media companies and political parties have become clearer in the past few months. The entry of media czar Hary Tanoesoedibjo into the public concerns over the neutrality of journalists working in his company.

The official installment of Hary as the Nasdem Party's board of experts chairman on Wednesday was the latest example of politics-affiliated media in Indonesia.

Prior to Hary's arrival, the Nasdem Party was believed to already have a strong media influence due to its affiliation with Surya Paloh, the owner of Metro TV and Media Indonesia daily who cofounded the National Democrat mass organization.

Prominent businessman Chairul Tanjung, who reportedly has close ties with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party, owns TV stations TransTV and Trans7, as well as Indonesia's biggest news portal, detik.com.

Ical Bakrie is also believed to have powerful "support" from media as TV stations TV One and ANTV, as well as news portal vivanews.com, are business units under his Bakrie group.

A journalist from Metro TV told the Post that she felt disturbed by his company's strong ties to the political party, pointing to the fact that the independence of Metro TV journalists was sometimes "disputed" when they reported on certain issues, especially on news regarding the Nasdem Party.

"As to the implication [of the strong ties between Metro TV and the Nasdem Party], I sometimes feel the public is questioning the credibility of the journalists at Metro TV," the journalist said.

Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) executive director Hadar Nafiz Gumay urged the government to overhaul the political parties' campaign regulations ahead of the 2014 general elections, saying that current elections still had loopholes that politician-cum-media entrepreneurs could exploit for their political interests.

Hadar called on the government to establish a "level playing field" for all political parties in the 2014 elections, especially in regards to TV advertisements. (sat)

PPP voices concerns over media moguls in politics

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jakarta – United Development Party (PPP) secretary-general M. Romahurmuziy says he is concerned that media moguls' involvement in politics could jeopardize media independence in the coming elections.

"The media plays important and significant roles in general elections. Therefore we need to tighten monitoring to maintain impartiality in media coverage of political parties," Romahurmuziy said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Media such as TV stations should face strict regulations on the coverage of their owners' political activities in proportion to coverage of other political figures, to avoid further bias, he added.

Romahurmuziy also urged both the General Elections Commission (KPU) and General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) to play a more active role in media supervision.

At present, at least three media moguls are crafting their futures in politics, including Golkar Party chief Aburizal Bakrie who owns the Vivanews holding, the home of Vivanews wire service, TV One and Anteve; National Democrat mass organization patron Surya Paloh, who owns Metro TV, Media Indonesia daily and its online service; and newcomer Hary Tanoesoedibjo who owns the MNC media empire, the home of TV stations RCTI, Global TV, MNC TV and SINDO TV, as well as SINDO daily newspaper and its online and radio network. Hary just joined the National Democrat Party as the head of its board of experts.

How positive coverage can be bought: An insider tells of dirty journalists

Jakarta Globe - November 10, 2011

Elisabeth Oktofani – Danu Pratama (not his real name) has worked as a journalist for nearly seven years, covering beats ranging from technology and politics to human rights and legal issues.

During that time he has also taken bribes from sources and others to "play up issues in the media," essentially presenting deliberately biased or inaccurate news stories to benefit those paying him.

"We can play up any issue in the media, especially political, legal and economic issues, because politicians, law enforcement officials and businessmen are willing to spend a lot of money to attack their rivals through the media and make them look bad," Danu told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

He said his demands for bribes ranged from Rp 7.5 million ($830) into the hundreds of millions, depending on the urgency of the issue, who the source was and whether they wanted an issue manipulated in print, broadcast or online media – or all three.

"I never play up an issue alone, because then it'd become obvious," he went on. "I usually work with a team of five other journalists, where I act as the coordinator and make the deal with the source. I assure you that even the so-called cleanest media outlets have journalists who have taken part in this 'mafia' practice."

As shocking as Danu's revelation is, senior media figures say this culture of strings-attached reporting is the norm in Indonesia, fueled by a liberal official stance on bribery and a largely underpaid press corps.

"Government institutions and companies often allocate a portion of their budget to a media development fund that provides journalists with so-called transportation money," said Nezar Patria, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).

"They maintain a list of journalists covering their beats, whom they usually give anywhere from Rp 250,000 to Rp 1 million each. Unfortunately, this money is often accepted by journalists who work for less-than-credible media outlets that don't pay them well."

Nezar said AJI and the Press Council had for the past 15 years been campaigning against the practice of journalists taking bribes. "Indonesian journalists and the media have taken part in the fight because they understand the importance of not losing our sense of objectivity when reporting a story," he said.

"That commitment can be seen in every media outlet, which all state that journalists may not receive any gifts or money." He added that this value was clearly enshrined in the journalistic code of conduct.

"Other than compromising a journalist's objectivity, receiving a gift or a bribe will harm the wider profession because it needs to be understood that journalists are agents of information between the state and public," he said. "A journalist must convey only the truth because society has a right to know the truth."

Agus Sudibyo, a member of the Press Council, agreed. "But we can't accuse any journalists of doing this unless we have evidence, such as phone recordings," he said. "If the Press Council does receive evidence that a journalist has taken a bribe or a gift, we will notify the media outlet or their journalists' association."

Labour & migrant workers

Higher wages will affect domestic industry

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Local business associations have complained about recent demands by workers for wage increases above the proper-living needs (KHL) standard set by regional labor councils, saying that it would bring negative impacts on the domestic industry.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said on Monday that the demanded wage increases would also increase the burden on the domestic industry, especially the labor-intensive sectors such as textiles and garments, footwear and electronics.

"Textiles and garments, footwear and electronic manufacturers have complained about this matter. If they must pay significant raises, it will be very hard for them to survive," he told reporters during a press conference at his office.

Sofjan also said that the demand would also severely affect small and medium-sized businesses in the informal sector that absorbed 70 percent of the country's labor force of 120 million people and would hamper investment in the sector.

"If the wages are raised, it will be difficult for our small and medium enterprises [SMEs] in the informal sector to shift to the formal one," he said, adding that around 90 percent of the country's SMEs could not even pay the regional minimal wage for their workers.

Sofjan said that around 80 percent of the provinces nationwide already met the provincial minimum wage standards.

The 2003 Labor Law protects workers in the formal sector by ensuring that they receive regional minimum wages and various allowances among other benefits.

Indonesian Textile Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat told The Jakarta Post that the wage increase would significantly affect textile firms, as wages were one of the biggest components of the production cost, at between 15 and 20 percent.

"Amid liberalized trade, we are now in tight competition with rivals in other countries. Rising production costs will reduce our competitiveness," he said in a phone interview.

Higher wage demands and worker demonstrations have surged recently as local administrations are slated to determine the provincial minimum wages based on the KHL, which accommodates 48 components of living including the prices of basic needs and house rents, and are adjusted according to the annual inflation rate.

However, the exact figure of wages – which should have been set in October – has not been established yet as a number of worker unions at the local level disagree with standards proposed by local labor councils, which represent related stakeholders including firms, labor unions, local governments and academics.

Hariyadi Sukamdani, the head of Apindo's wages and social security division, said that negotiations for next year's wages were still under way as there had been disagreement over some items in the KHL such as house rent rates and the cost of household items.

He cited the case of the Bekasi municipality and regency administrations where workers demanded a minimum wage of Rp 1.35 million next year.

This year, the regional minimum wage for Bekasi, which complied with the West Java provincial wage standards, was Rp 732,000, which was a 9 percent rise from 2010.

Haryadi said that the spike of minimum wage would cause a higher inflation rate next year.

Despite the stellar macro-economic conditions, the nation still struggles with poverty and unemployment, and overcoming these problems is a priority for related stakeholders before raising standard of wages for workers, Haryadi said.

Calls mount for review of labor law

Jakarta Post - November 12, 2011

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives have been told to immediately review the controversial 2003 Labor Law to better protect labor and revive the partnership between employers and workers in building harmonious industrial relations.

Nawawi Asmat, a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), criticized Law No. 13/2003 on labor for causing industrial conflicts as it contained contentious articles adopting global labor market flexibility, which has created job insecurity among workers in all sectors.

"The practices of outsourcing and contract-based employment were needed to create a flexible labor market as implied by the letters of intent [LoI] between Indonesia and international financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank when providing credit to Indonesia to defuse past crises. However, they have had a negative impact on industrial relations and the condition of most workers today," he said in a labor workshop organized by the Friederich Ebert Stiftung (FES) here on Wednesday.

Nawawi, a member of the LIPI research team assigned by the President to study the labor law, mentioned a great number of flaws in the law which have contributed to prolonged industrial conflict. He warned this prolonged industrial conflict would remain unless the law was revised.

The Constitutional Court has so far annulled five chapters, including the chapter on the compulsory granting of severance pay to dismissed workers committing crimes, and is still reviewing ten others.

Rieke Diah Pitaloka, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and labor activist, stressed the importance of an immediate review of the labor laws to restore the central role of the state in labor protection. "The government, the House and law enforcers have turned a blind eye to the rife infringements by employers of the 2003 Labor Law," she said.

In the future, she said, all stake holders, including experts, the government and employers, had to lay out a pro-labor policy in reviewing the labor laws, including the 2004 national social security system law. "The laws must ensure the protection of workers, domestic businesspeople and not foreign investors and employers," she added.

She said all factions in the House's commission IX on labor and health affairs had adopted this common but fundamental policy in the ongoing review of the 2004 overseas labor placement and protection law.

Former manpower ministers Awaloeddin Djamin and Cosmas Batubara regretted the disappearance of the partnership-based Pancasila industrial relations in the labor law and the establishment of labor courts which were found to be less effective in settling industrial disputes.

Awaloeddin, also a former police chief, said most industrial disputes could actually be settled unanimously and peacefully through a bipartite forum provided conflicting sides were open to dialogue.

Cosmas, also chief commissioner of beer producer PT Multi Bintang, said workers asked for a cut in their monthly salaries when foreign companies were facing financial difficulties during the 1997 economic crisis but demanded higher annual bonuses after the crisis was defused.

Prof. Aloysius Uwiyono concurred, saying the review of the labor laws was needed to provide protection not only for 33 million workers in the formal sector but also 77 million others in the informal sector.

"All workers must be equally treated not as a production factor but as partners of investors in the whole production process. The law should give chances to both sides to exercise their democratic rights in making collective labor agreements," he said.

Telkomsel workers strike over benefits

Reuters - November 10, 2011

About 2,500 workers at Indonesia's largest mobile-phone carrier, Telkomsel, went on strike on Thursday demanding better pay and pensions, the latest dispute over labor in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

The work stoppage at Telekomunikasi Selular follows a surge in the mobile- phone customer base in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country with 240 million people, and a growing clamor by unions for a greater slice of the country's wealth in the wake of rapid economic growth.

On Wednesday, workers at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Grasberg mine in remote Papua province extended their strike into a third month, part of a broader push by workers for a greater share of profits in Indonesia. Pilots and supermarket staff have also recently gone on strike.

About 1,000 Telkomsel workers, in their bright red uniforms and red headbands, marched on a busy Jakarta street, waving placards and demanding better health pensions, compensation and their own cellular phones. Telkomsel workers in several other cities also went on strike.

"If our demands are granted, we will not continue the strike tomorrow," said union spokesman Yogi Rizkian Bahar. He vowed there would be no disruption to telecommunication services or damaged equipment in the strike, which is scheduled to continue until Dec. 30.

The striking workers, out of the company's total workforce of 4,000, refuse to work or to touch production tools. Those who showed up at work simply sat around the office, Bahar said.

Telkomsel is partly owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd and is also a unit of Indonesia's biggest telecoms firm, Telekomunikasi Indonesia. Telekomunikasi Indonesia's share price fell 1.3 percent on Thursday.

Bahar said the union was summoned by government officials to try find a solution to the strike.

Environment & natural disasters

Activists demand legal protection for orangutans

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Jakarta – Members of the Center for Orangutan Protection protested in front the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday demanding that the President support the legal protection of orangutans following widespread news of the torture and killing of the animal in East Kalimantan.

"Orangutans have never been given serious attention. The proof is in front of our eyes. In Kalimantan a lot of orangutans have been found tortured, injured and killed," said Daniek Hendarto of the Center for Orangutans, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added that on Nov.3 an adult orangutan was found battered in a farming district in East Kalimantan, belonging to a Malaysian firm. "We suspect the orangutan was tortured and suffered from broken bones," he said.

The beaten orangutan gave sufficient evidence for the Natural Resources Conservancy Agency (BKSDA) to sue the plantation management and imprison them. "The evidence is there and it is a violation of the 1990 Law on Natural Resources Conservation and the Ecosystem," he said.

Indonesians killed some 750 orangutans in a year

Associated Press - November 14, 2011

A new survey says villagers on the Indonesian side of Borneo killed at least 750 endangered orangutans over a yearlong period, some to protect their crops and others for the apes' meat.

Erik Meijaard, main author of the report that appeared in the journal PLoSOne, says he believes the killings pose a more serious threat to the apes' survival than previously thought.

Indonesia is home to 90 percent of the 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild. But as forests are being cleared to make way for pulp, paper and palm oil plantations, the apes are coming into conflict with humans.

The Nature Conservancy and other organizations interviewed nearly 7,000 people in 687 villages to try to better understand the underlying causes for killing orangutans.

Councilor slams palm oil plantation conversion

Jakarta Post - November 12, 2011

Jakarta – The plan to convert tea plantations in North Sumatra to palm oil plantations could be detrimental to local economies and the environment, a local councilor said.

Councilor Irwansyah Damanik said the conversion would adversely affect the livelihoods of many people in the province, particularly those living in Simalungun and Pematangsiantar regencies, where most plantations are located.

Land conversions also affect the Earth's natural ability to absorb rain, thus posing the threat of flooding, he said. In contrast, water scarcity is also another threat because palm oil plantations consume more water, he said.

Damanik said that he had already discussed his concerns regarding the plan, which was proposed by state agriculture company PT Perkebunan Nusantara IV with Pematangsiantar Regional Development Board (Bappeda) chief Herowhin Sinaga, who also expressed objections to the plan.

Damanik said that the city government had serious doubts about the conversion plan due to potential impacts on water supply for the region.

Health & education

Millions may lose free coverage under new health care law

Jakarta Globe - November 13, 2011

Anita Rachman – The National Social Security Law may have passed, but a troubling question lingers about the fate of the existing health insurance scheme and its beneficiaries.

Critics of the law, known as the BPJS, have been calling it "evil" because it would levy a charge on people, including those in the work force.

The critics say that many workers are currently covered for free by the public health insurance scheme Jamkesmas, and that once the new social security entity is established, those workers will need to pay.

Health Ministry official Usman Sumantri said the government, through Jamkesmas, this year covered 76.4 million people, many of them workers.

The BPJS law requires that all workers' insurance and pension schemes be managed under a single entity, also named the BPJS. Once the BPJS body is established, Usman said, Jamkesmas will be merged into it, with beneficiaries potentially eligible to receive further benefits.

"If there is a question of whether workers who currently receive support will still receive it later, the answer is that they might, but they might not," Usman said on Sunday.

He said the government would continue to support the poor and underprivileged, and some workers would also get benefits, because the law essentially mandates that workers and employers pay premiums, as is the current practice.

The Social Security Action Committee (KAJS), a supporter of the scheme, said on Sunday that it wanted the government to cover the premiums of at least the 30 million outsourced and permanent workers nationwide whose monthly salary is less than Rp 1 million ($112).

KAJS has been pressing the government to speed up the drafting of the presidential and government regulations needed to implement the recently passed law. It said that BPJS could not be properly implemented without the supporting regulations, including detailed regulations on beneficiaries.

Said Iqbal, secretary general of the KAJS, said that 65 percent of the lowly paid 30 million workers it mentioned were not even obliged to pay taxes because they earned so little. "They should receive support from the government for health security," he said.

This commitment is important across the board, but especially for outsourced workers because they could lose their job at any time, he said.

"While they are employed, their employers are responsible for them. But once they are unemployed, the government should step in," he said. He said that workers were often not covered by Jamkesmas, particularly those already covered by state-owned insurance company Jamsostek.

Said said KAJS, which has about two million members, did not reject the premium scheme. He said members understood they should pay for benefits. "We hope that the amount will stay the same as it is today, and that workers and employers pay them [the premiums]. We will object if the government raises the amount," he said.

Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), has said that contributions by businesses to the new scheme should not rise. Companies already cover 20 percent to 30 percent of all employee insurance premiums – health, work accidents, life and pensions, he said.

Under the new law, a BPJS will be formed on Jan. 1, 2014, to provide health insurance to all people, while by July 2015, a second BPJS will provide work, accident and life insurance as well as a pension scheme.

Muhammadiyah bans smoking

Jakarta Globe - November 14, 2011

Anita Rachman – The country's second-largest Islamic group has thrown its full weight behind efforts to rid Indonesia of its heavy smoking habit.

After issuing a fatwa in March 2010 to tell its tens of millions of followers that it was religiously unacceptable to light up, Muhammadiyah is now set to declare all of its health and education institutions smoke-free zones.

Muhammadiyah operates some 500 health institutions such as hospitals and clinics, about 15,000 schools from the level of kindergarten to high school and nearly 200 higher education institutions. It also operates 350 orphanages across the country.

"On Monday [today], we are going to launch our nationwide program that, starting now, Muhammadiyah's offices, enterprises and forums are officially smoke-free areas," Syafiq A. Mughni, Muhammadiyah's chairman for health issues, told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday. The campaign will kick off at the Muhammadiyah headquarters in Jakarta.

"This is also meant to protect the young generation from cigarette smoke exposure and to create a healthy living environment," Syafiq said.

He added that the campaign did not mean Muhammadiyah was telling people to stop smoking or banning tobacco cultivation. "But we want people to smoke in the right place. Not in public facility areas."

Syafiq, who is a professor at the Sunan Ampel Islamic State Institute (IAIN) in Surabaya, said Muhammadiyah understood there would always be people breaking the rules, but officials would not halt their efforts to enforce the regulation.

When coming out with a fatwa against smoking for its followers last year, Muhammadiyah equated smoking to suicide, something sinful in Islam.

Syafiq said the non-smoking zones in Muhammadiyah premises would be applicable to all, members or not.

Zainuddin Maliki, rector of Muhammadiyah University in Surabaya, said the new rule would increase pressure on smokers. But, he added, "It won't be a problem for us. At our university, we banned smoking some time ago."

While Muhammadiyah takes a tough stand against smoking, the country's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, is not likely to follow suit.

NU has defined smoking as makruh, or a habit that is best avoided but does not constitute a sin. Unlike Muhammadiyah, it never has issued a fatwa against smoking.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), however, has declared smoking to be haram, or forbidden, in public places, for pregnant women and for children. The MUI is the country's highest authority on Islamic affairs and includes representatives of Muhammadiyah and NU.

NU deputy chairman Slamet Effendy Yusuf told the Globe that the group applauded Muhammadiyah's move. "The thing with NU is, our senior clerics, most of them are heavy smokers," he said. "We couldn't even stop some of our students in Islamic boarding schools from smoking. But we are going to try," he said.

Douglas Bettcher, the director of the World Health Organization's Tobacco Free Initiative, has said that low taxes, low prices and the lack of graphic warnings on Indonesian cigarette packaging were contributing to a pro-smoking environment in the country.

An estimated 200,000 Indonesians die each year from tobacco-related illnesses. Anti-tobacco activists have accused the government of being reluctant to impose strict controls on tobacco because the industry generates significant tax revenue and is one of the nation's major employers.

Women & gender

Violence against Papuan Women high

Tempo Interactive - November 10, 2011

I Wayan Agus Purnomo, Deddy S, Jakarta – Violence against women in Papua has remained high over the past two years. There were 80 cases between 2010 and 2011, higher than the period between 1963 and 2009 (261 cases).

Sylvana Apituley, the Papua taskforce chief at the National Commission for Women, said the cases were dominated by sexual, physical and psychological violence. "This was not only committed by civilians but also security personnel," she said in Jakarta yesterday.

There were four cases in Jayapura, 37 cases in Merauke and 39 cases in Wamena. The violence, she added, was encouraged by the political, social, economic and security situation in the area.

Between 1963 and 2009, there were 81 cases committed by state security personnel and 98 cases of domestic violence. In the same period, there were 25 violence cases involving the state and households.

According to Sylvana, the commission has reported the date to the government, the House of Representatives (DPR) and the police but there has not been a response. Sylvana said it was hard to reduce the number of cases with a heavy security approach in Papua.

Jeirry Sumampouw, from the Indonesian Church Representative's Women and Children Department, said the only solution was to reduce the number of security personnel.

He said the personnel's attack after the third Papuan Congress on October 19 killed three people. At that time, said Jeirry, the personnel did not differentiate between men, women and children. "The congress results will legalize security personnel committing acts of violence," he said.

Chief of the National Commission for Women, Yuniati Chuzaifah, said the government did not have good intentions in terms of resolving human rights abuses in Papua. "The government must hear and respond to human rights issues in Papua," she said.

Women frequently sidelined in human resources development

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Yemris Fointuna and Elly Burhaini Faizal, Kupang/Jakarta – Women belong to a group which has thus far been frequently sidelined in human resources development in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), one of the provinces with the lowest human development index (HDI) in Indonesia, an NGO said on Wednesday.

"Out of 2.7 million women in NTT, only 40 percent possess an elementary education. The rest are illiterate or have never attended school at all," Libby Sinlaeloe, coordinator of Women's Home, said in Kupang.

Libby, therefore, urged the government to give special attention to this fact because in difficult situations, like times of food scarcity, women were usually forced to bear the heaviest burden within families, being in charge of household management while, at the same time, helping their husbands earn a living.

Libby made the remarks in response to the recent release of the Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which put Indonesia in 124th place in the HDI out of 187 countries surveyed in 2011, a significant drop from the 108th ranking out of a total 169 countries surveyed last year.

HDI rankings are recalculated annually using the latest internationally comparable data for health, education and income.

Kristo Blasin, a member of the provincial legislative council, urged the regional administration to earmark a larger amount of funding from its regional budget for human resources development.

In Cimahi, West Java, a province with a much better HDI than NTT, the absence of business communities and good marketing schemes have made economic and business development in the city unable to move forward, Antara reported.

Didi Djamhir, a member of the Cimahi Legislative Council, said business communities and marketing schemes were badly needed to help improve the welfare of local businesspeople and lead to an improvement in the local HDI, which was still below ideal levels.

Enny Sri Hartati, director of the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance Indonesia (Indef), said Tuesday that Indonesia's poor progress in human welfare, comprising health, education and livelihoods, reflected the country's real living conditions.

"Economic growth as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) is just an aggregation of domestic gains resulting from economic activities within Indonesia," she said.

Lawmaker Rieke Dyah Pitaloka said that vibrant economic growth should have been able to deliver easier access to decent jobs. The fact is, it is not in line with reality.

"It's not easy for people to obtain good schooling and health services. Although they can find jobs, whether they can get proper access to education and health remains an important question. As a result, many Indonesians go abroad to work as domestic workers to earn enough money to send their children to school. It's appalling," she said.

Graft & corruption

Behead corruptors: FPI

Antara News - November 15, 2011

Bandung – The hard-line Islamic Defenders Front is calling for those convicted of corruption to lose either their head or their hands, depending on the severity of the crime.

"How do people steal money, like Rp 600,000 ($67)? With their hand, right?" FPI leader Muhammad Rizieq Shihab said on Tuesday. "So their hand should be chopped off. How do corruptors steal state money, like Rp 6 trillion? With their brain, right? So the thing should be cut off is their necks."

Rizieq said that his support for the death penalty for corruption stemmed from his belief that it was an extraordinary crime that needed to stamped out in Indonesia.

"How many companies have gone bankrupt because of corruption, and how many Indonesian people have lost their jobs because they were then laid off," he said. Rizieq said that he believed enforcement efforts against corruption were weak and selective.

Just how high does Nazaruddin graft case reach?

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Rizky Amelia & Ezra Sihite – A Prosperous Justice Party lawmaker said on Monday that the corruption case against former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin was unlikely ever to be resolved because it threatened so many powerful officials.

"I think Nazaruddin's case touches on many important figures, so I am pessimistic that this case will ever be settled," PKS lawmaker Abubakar Al Habsyi said.

He pointed to the latest rumor making the rounds, which was reported by an online news portal, about the alleged ties between Nazaruddin and National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo.

According to the report, Anugerah Nusantara, a company owned by Nazaruddin, paid hundreds of millions of rupiah to several police officials between 2006 and 2008.

The company was said to have been awarded several contracts linked to the police, including constructing a police academy under the jurisdiction of the Banten Police, which at the time was headed by Timur.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said the police could not comment without more detailed information.

Boy said the rumors would not influence the police's handling of Nazaruddin's case or persuade it to drop its investigation. He said an investigation could be dropped only after an analysis of the facts, if it was determined that there was not enough evidence of a crime.

Abubakar said that if there was evidence showing the involvement of the police chief in any crimes, then the information should be handed over to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) so it could open an independent and transparent investigation into the allegations. "We do not want the Nazaruddin case to be settled under the table," he said.

Nazaruddin's lawyer, Afrian Bondjol, said he had no information of Timur's involvement in any case related to his client.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker I Wayan Koster, who is on the House of Representatives Budget Committee, said he did not think he would be named a suspect in a corruption case related to the construction of an athletes' village for the Southeast Asian Games in Palembang.

The case has implicated Nazaruddin, one of his company executives and the director of another company that won the construction contract. Nazaruddin is also a former member of the House Budget Committee

KPK chairman Busyro Muqoddas has said that another politician will be named a suspect in the case, though he has declined to identify anyone.

"From the results of my questioning, I don't think that it will lead to [my being named a suspect]," Koster said. He said that if he was named a suspect in the SEA Games case, it would be because a "certain party" pushed for it, though he declined to give names.

Nazaruddin has accused Koster of receiving a bribe in connection with the construction of the athletes' village.

Life in the 'fast lane': Daily graft fuels a corrupt society

Jakarta Globe - November 14, 2011

Ulma Haryanto & Lisa Siregar – Over the past few weeks, we have been bombarded with survey after survey about public perceptions of corruption in government, law enforcement and business. If anything, the results show things are not getting much better.

Our corruption perception index (CPI), according to Transparency International (TI), had a miniscule improvement from 2.4 in 2006 to 2.8 in 2010. Another recent survey by the group concluded that businesses in Indonesia are the fourth-most likely in the world to offer bribes in their dealings abroad.

A survey by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center found that some 9 out of 10 Indonesians think government is rife with corruption, although 88 percent said they still trust the police, compared to 56 percent who believe in the judiciary.

Routine business

With bribery and corruption scandals everywhere, from the Southeast Asia Games and the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration to the Malinda Dee embezzlement trial, maybe we need to ask ourselves what we, the general public, have done to make the situation better or worse. So we asked around.

A former government employee told us that corruption is an everyday thing for a civil servant. "It is common to bribe another state institution in order to get a project, for example," he said.

Staff, he said, are expected to "participate" in the corrupt system, because in the end they also benefit from it. Gifts also are routinely passed around to even minor officials, he said, because this is useful for setting up future meetings and following up phone calls.

"Sometimes when we know we couldn't afford to give money, a cake will do," he continued. "It's a matter of maintaining the relationship."

For government employees, our source explained, passing around gifts and money is a way to lobby people, something that workers in the private sector can't understand. "We don't work like slaves to please the company," he said. "It is a matter of getting more benefits [for ourselves]."

A businessman who works in a mining company in East Borneo also confirmed that in his field of work, giving out payments to councilors and the local government is a "normal" way to procure mining licenses. The legal process is too complicated, he said, echoing a common sentiment; paying is easier.

Admitting it

Sometimes, small things – if found out – can get you in trouble. Just last week, Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari from the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) got into trouble on twitter for publicly admitting that she had bribed a police officer because she was late for a meeting.

The outspoken lawmaker is one of very few House members who is vocal on minority rights, such as the plight of the beleaguered GKI Yasmin church and Ahmadiyah. She is also a leading advocate for democracy in Burma, and a woman who does not mind speaking her mind.

"In Tarokan [East Java], I was stopped by the police for not wearing a seat belt. Bargaining occurred, he asked for Rp 70,000 [$7.77], we gave him Rp 50,000. Slipped it into his pocket. The transaction was over," Eva tweeted via her account @evndari on Nov. 5.

Eva then spent the next couple of hours explaining via twitter that she was late for a meeting and that she had only told her driver to "take care of it." "Had I told [the Police] that I was a lawmaker, I would have gotten away for free," she said in her tweet.

She also said that her driver "settled" the matter at the police precinct, not on the street, while accidentally revealing that she did the same thing when she was fined for driving on a TransJakarta bus lane.

"I wouldn't have to bargain. I even paid a Rp 200,000 fine for taking the busway lane at the Jakarta Police office," Eva said on Twitter.

Later she told the Jakarta Globe that she was aware that she was at fault and was prepared to pay the fine. "I was surprised when my driver told me that the officers didn't say anything when he only gave them Rp 50,000," she said. "Previously they asked for Rp 70,000."

According to the 2009 Law on Traffic, the fine for not wearing a seatbelt is Rp 250,000.

Many, including one twitter user @PancaSyah, condemned Eva for allowing the "transaction" to take place at all. "Do you often take the TransJakarta lane, not wearing a seatbelt, and bribe the police? A suitable job for you is a member of the House," he said on his twitter account.

Starting young

But why would anyone be surprised? Bribing the police is something all Indonesians are familiar with.

From a young age Danurdoro Kreshna Murti, 24, was exposed to this culture. Danurdoro got his first driver's license when he was only 13 years old by bribing a police officer at Daan Mogot precinct in South Jakarta who offered to smooth the process. The cost was Rp 50,000. He did it again when he applied for a motorbike license three months ago.

"It was easy, all you have to do is to walk toward the entrance and pretend you're confused," he said.

The first time, the bribe was because he was underage. The latest was because he had to go through four or five windows at the office, and it only cost him an extra Rp 50,000 to speed things up. For Danurdoro, it is obvious that everyone is breaking the law, and all he had to do was "play along."

"I'm aware that I was breaking the law, but to be honest I don't mind," he said. "It's fast and very convenient."

Iwan Setiawan, 40, said he had to face "impossible" tests the last time he tried to get his motorcycle license.

"I was told to do a zig zag through a line of traffic cones and back without taking my feet off my bike," he complained. He failed the test and had to come back the next day. Afterwards, Iwan just decided to take the "fast lane" and pay extra money to the officer.

On the road, many of us will choose to pay the officer on the spot instead of having our license confiscated and returned only after waiting in a crowded court room. It is the same with getting a passport or settling routine paperwork matters in many government offices.

So when is bribery considered corruption? If corruption is so deeply entrenched in our culture, is dreaming of a country free of graft naive and even hypocritical?

KPK spokesman Johan Budi told us that even the smallest amount of money one gives to a state official outside existing regulations can be called corruption.

Johan referred to the 1999 Law on Corruption Eradication, which generally defines corruption as the act of enriching oneself or a corporation through the abuse of one's authority.

"Then there is the level of corruption," Johan explained. "One is punishable by the law if a state loss is incurred, and those above Rp 1 billion that involve state officials can be referred to the KPK."

However, he said, the fight against corruption really needs to start at the grassroots. "The system is still flawed, but it's going to need both state officials and the people's participation," Johan said.

He urged those who feel pressure to pay bribes or are victims of extortion from government officials to report the offenders to the police.

But perhaps first we need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we participate in the system of petty bribery that feeds into a larger river of anything-goes graft. If that is the case, and it certainly seems to be, then the problem – and maybe the solution – is inside each of us.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Three more terror arrests as police roll up cell with ties to Abu Umar

Jakarta Globe - November 14, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – Three more people with links to a high-profile terror suspect have been arrested by the police's Densus 88 counterterrorism unit, officials said on Monday.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said the three suspects were arrested in an operation on Sunday. They are believed to have ties to Abu Umar, who was arrested in July and has been linked to a number of terror plots.

"The three who were arrested were D., alias M., a vegetable vendor from Duren Sawit, East Jakarta; S., a fried rice seller from Jatirahayu, Bekasi; and another man who is still being identified," Saud said on Monday.

Police on Saturday arrested D.A.P. (34), B.H., alias D. (35), A. (31) and S. in different locations in Banten and North Jakarta. One of the suspects arrested on Saturday was shot in the leg after he attempted to open fire on police officers with an M16 assault rifle.

Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar, another National Police spokesman, said all seven suspects arrested over the weekend were linked to Abu Umar.

The 41-year-old Umar, who also goes by the names Muhammad Ichwan, Zulfikar, Abdullah, Indra Kusuma, Andi Yunus and Nico Salman, was arrested after being on the run for more than six years. He is accused of plotting an attack on former Religious Affairs Minister Matori Abdul Djalil.

Police learned of his whereabouts after breaking up an arms-smuggling syndicate from Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, which had been providing weapons for militant groups in Indonesia. Umar was arrested at his home in Bogor. Police also seized a handgun and 50 rounds of ammunition. On Saturday, police confiscated one M16 rifle and 300 rounds of ammunition.

"So far, Densus 88 has seized four firearms – two M16s and two handguns – and hundreds of rounds of ammunition," Boy said. "The seven suspects are currently being investigated."

Saud added that the police believed the suspects arrested on Saturday had stashed weapons in the woods inside the University of Indonesia complex in Depok, just south of Jakarta.

"Based on our initial interrogation, the suspect B.H. received firearms from A. along with 20 rounds of ammunition. The evidence was hidden, buried in the woods in Depok," he said.

Several documents were also seized from the suspects, Boy said, suggesting that they were plotting an attack against police headquarters in West Jakarta. He added that there had also been reports that the group had been preparing to attack the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta.

Boy said there was no indication when they had planned to carry out the attacks, but added that they did not appear to have been aimed at disrupting the Asean summit in Bali this week.

A large number of heads of state and other dignitaries are scheduled to attend the summit, including US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Freedom of religion & worship

Hard-line group lashes out at Bekasi Ahmadis

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – More than 30 people claiming to be from the notorious Islamic Defenders Front besieged an Ahmadiyah mosque in the Jatibening area of Bekasi on Monday, demanding it be sealed off.

Local Ahmadiyah leader Rahmat Rahmadijaya told the Jakarta Globe that the group tried to place a placard in front of the mosque to make clear that Ahmadis were not allowed to worship.

"It happened around 2 p.m., about 30 people entered the mosque. They wanted to hang up a placard stating that Ahmadiyah is banned, based on the Joint Ministerial Decree, a West Java gubernatorial decree and a decree by the Bekasi mayor," Rahmat said, referring to the activists.

Human rights groups have blamed the 2008 joint ministerial decree for increasing violence against followers of the minority Muslim sect.

The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy said the number of attacks rose from three in 2006 to 50 in 2010.

Earlier this year, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan issued a decree banning the sect from spreading its beliefs through any media and forbidding the display of its name in public, including signposts on mosques. A similar decree was signed by Bekasi's acting mayor, Rahmat Effendi, and went into effect last month.

The Ahmadiyah mosque had faced weekly threats from the local Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) branch and had to hold its Friday prayers under protection from Bekasi Police. There are around 200 Ahmadis in the area.

Bekasi Police Chief Sr. Comr. Priyo Widyanto denied there had been a siege. "It is a lie. The truth is that the Bekasi municipality was only trying to hang a placard in front of their mosque, banning Ahmadiyah," Priyo said, adding that the event was also witnessed by officials from the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the Inter-Religious Communication Forum (FKUB) and the FPI.

The police chief of Pondok Gede district, Sr. Comr. Burhanuddin, said police were aware of hard-line Muslim groups' opposition to the presence of Ahmadis and had "secured" the area.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), said the Bekasi anti-Ahmadiyah decree could be used by hard-line groups to legitimize their harassment.

Tolerance draft bill 'not the answer'

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – A draft bill on religious harmony being prepared at the House of Representatives is likely to promote intolerance rather than counter it, a human rights watchdog said on Monday.

Lawmakers preparing the draft bill have touted it as providing a long-term solution for the religious conflicts plaguing the country. It was among the priority bills for this year, but it has remained unaddressed as the House has turned its attention to other issues.

However, the most recent draft of the bill, dated August this year, includes articles that are "discriminative" and "could threaten the country's pluralism," Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace researcher Ismail Hasani said on Monday.

"From early on, Setara has said that in order to give the right treatment to a social problem, there has to be a carefully analyzed social diagnosis," Ismail said, pointing out that the drafter of the bill had failed to consider weak law enforcement as a reason why many religious conflicts linger.

"Religious harmony can only be achieved if the state can guarantee everyone's religious freedom and rights," he said. "But the draft even fails to mention what responsibilities the state has. It also fails to acknowledge the importance of maintaining Indonesia's pluralism."

Setara deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos sad the current version of the bill was a "shortcut," not a long-term solution.

"The bill pinpoints issues that are believed to be the source of conflicts, and then sets restrictive provisions around them," Bonar said. "There are articles that are unnecessary, as well as impossible to enforce."

As an example, Bonar cited an article that requires the consideration of "the local community's wisdom" prior to the construction of a place of worship. "How exactly can you measure people's wisdom? How do you define wisdom?" he said.

The chapters of the current draft, a copy of which was obtained by the Jakarta Globe, specifically regulate how people should spread their faith, celebrate religious holidays, construct places of worship, hold funerals and organize religious education.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the embattled Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), also was less than impressed. "Our Constitution protects religious freedom, but instead of enforcing that, the government is caving in to the so-called majority," he told the Globe.

Setara said it planned to submit an alternative draft to the House by the end of this month, alongside groups with similar concerns such as the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) and the Human Rights Working Group.

Abdul Kadir Karding, chairman of House Commission VIII, which oversees religious and social affairs, insisted the bill would ensure minority rights.

"When there is a non-Muslim person living in a Muslim community, he or she has the right to have the same access to services as the majority," he said. "We want all people to understand the importance of respecting people from different religions."

Ahmadis threatened at Bekasi mosque

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Jakarta – Vigilante groups in Bekasi, West Java, issued a threatening warning to the local Ahmadiyah community on Monday, claiming that the followers of the Islamic sect had not abided by a bylaw issued by the city's mayor a month ago that bans its members from practicing their religion in the city.

The mob, which included dozens of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), entered an Ahmadiyah mosque in Jati Bening, Bekasi, and called on members of the group to halt all religious activities, including Friday prayers.

The mob then erected a banner in front of the Al-Misbag mosque. The banner carried a warning for the Ahmadiyah congregants not to violate the bylaw, or else they would be punished by the local administration.

The imam of the mosque, Rahmat Rahmadijaya, said that six Ahmadis were inside the mosque, having just finished their afternoon prayers, when around 30 FPI members arrived.

"They did not notify us before about the visit. They just suddenly appeared at the mosque's front door," Rahmat told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Rahmat said that some of the FPI members had asked the Ahmadis whether they thought Ahmadiyah was a heretical sect. "They asked us questions such as whether we followed a prophet other than Prophet Muhammad or if we had a holy book other than the Koran," he said.

He said that although the members of the group had not used violence, they had insisted that Ahmadis obey the bylaw, or risk serious punishment.

Rahmat said that the congregation had stopped conducting weekly sermons and prayers after the Bekasi administration issued the bylaw. "We have obeyed the rule. But we won't negotiate with them over daily and Friday prayers. We just can't do without them," he said.

Rahmat said that performing daily prayers was Ahmadis' inalienable right. "Besides, we don't bother anyone around here when we pray," he said, adding that more than 50 Ahmadis came every day to pray.

He said that members of Ahmadiyah in Bekasi would continue performing the ritual inside the mosque despite the ban.

Contacted separately, Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Priyo Widianto said that the FPI had not been the only organization that had stormed the mosque.

"As a matter of fact, there were members of several religious organizations as well as city officials who put up the banner," he said, adding that the number of Muslim activists had been exaggerated.

Priyo said that the Bekasi Police had supported the crackdown. "The bylaw restricts Ahmadis from performing religious practices and members of these Muslim organizations were just trying to remind them of that," he said.

Priyo said that police personnel had been stationed at the mosque to prevent violence. "We will protect the Ahmadis, but it would be better if they abided by the law. They have been warned over the past months but they continue performing their rituals," he said.

Chairman of human rights watchdog Setara Institute Hendardi said that the siege of the Ahmadi mosque was the logical consequence of a discriminatory bylaw.

"The bylaw is against the nation's Constitution. No institution should be allowed to restrict the freedom of citizens from performing their religious practices, not even the government," he said. (lfr)

House told to scrap 'intolerant' bill

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has completed a draft of the so-called religious tolerance bill, which observers claim would threaten the very essence of pluralism and tolerance.

The draft bill, which would regulate religious sermons and segregate graves within public cemeteries according to religion, is seen by some as a potentially giant fan that would spread the growing flame of religious intolerance that has sparked violent conflicts across the nation over the past three years.

The bill does not propose an alternative regulation to the current problematic house of worship licensing system that majority groups have used to make it difficult for members of minority religions to congregate for religious prayers in several regions.

Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy head Hendardi said that if passed, the House-initiated bill would likely legitimize restrictions against minorities for the sake of harmony.

He questioned Article 1 Point 4, which defines blasphemy as any act or interpretation of a religion beyond the scope of that religion's basic teachings.

"Religious harmony is impossible unless religious freedom for every citizen is guaranteed. Therefore, the state must punish all groups that attack this freedom," he said.

"We need a bill to eliminate religious discrimination, rather than this sort of tolerance bill. Thus, Setara urges the House of Representatives to bin the draft and arrange a new one based on plurality, equality and religious freedom."

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority nation, and also a home to many religions and multi-ethnic groups, has been celebrated worldwide as a champion of cultural and religious pluralism.

However, teachings of the Islamic minority sect Ahmadiyah have been deemed heretical and blasphemous by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). Followers of the faith have been increasingly targeted in recent years by violent groups who have persuaded several local governments through intimidation and rallies to ban the sect "to maintain security in their regions".

In February, three Ahmadis were murdered in a mob assault on their community compound in Cikeusik, Banten. The attackers were believed to be members of Islamic hard-line groups. Despite video evidence showing the perpetrators commit the crimes, only a handful were brought to court, where they were handed light sentences of several months each. Setara recorded 50 separate attacks against Ahmadis in 2010.

The much criticized government licensing process for houses of worship is at the heart of an ongoing legal conflict that has stopped a Christian congregation from holding Sunday services in their own church in Bogor, West Java.

The Bogor administration has persisted on banning the GKI Taman Yasmin congregation's members from conducting religious services in their church despite that the congregation has received permission to do so from the Supreme Court.

Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto recently filed a lawsuit against the church, alleging that the petition of local consent used by the congregation to gain approval to build the church contained forged signatures.

The Indonesian Ombudsman has issued a statement saying that Diani's new evidence is not relevant because GKI Yasmin produced the signed petition in 2002, whereas the allegedly false petition was dated 2006.

"The bill is likely to nurture tyranny of the majority. We must know that there is no single majority group in Indonesia. The tyranny of the majority in a certain group might trigger vengeance toward it in the area where it is a minority," said Catholic priest Benny Susetyo, who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) inter-faith dialogue division.

GKI Yasmin seeks PBNU intervention

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Jakarta – The GKI Yasmin church congregation, which has been deprived of its place of worship after its church was sealed off, says it is seeking protection from the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU).

"We have come to ask for protection from the PBNU because we no longer feel comfortable in our worship," GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging said on Tuesday as he met with PBNU chairman Said Aqil Siradj as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Since the Bogor Mayor ordered the Yasmin church sealed off due to permit reasons, the congregation has struggled to find a decent place for its worship services. It has often resorted to worshipping on public sidewalks, but has been protested by local residents.

"We are always intimidated and terrorized when we worship on Sundays by certain groups," he said.

Bona reminded that the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the congregation on the permit dispute, which meant that the Mayor's persistence in keeping the church sealed off was a legal violation. "We ask that the Mayor be legally processed because we have already reported him to the police," he said.

Said Aqil conceded that he did not understand the Mayor's decision and promised to discuss the matter with relevant parties. "I will talk about it with the National Police chief and the President," he said.

Tensions escalate at Bogor church as PKS joins fray

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2011

Jakarta – Members of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) congregation were again prevented from holding mass as police officers and soldiers blocked access to their sealed church building on Sunday.

More than 600 Bogor Police officers and soldiers from a nearby Indonesian Military base were stationed near the church along Jl. Abdullah bin Nuh since early Sunday in anticipation of protests from groups supporting and opposing the re-opening of the church.

"The road closure is to prevent those two groups from going at each other," Bogor City Police deputy chief Comr. Irwansyah told reporters. The roadblock was lifted at around 9 a.m. when protesters started to disperse.

A group calling itself the Indonesian Muslim Communications Forum (Forkammi) called on the GKI Yasmin congregation to stop holding services in the area, which it said threatened security.

Meanwhile, another group, the Peace-Loving Bogor Community Forum, called for a peaceful resolution to the standoff, saying that both sides should maintain order.

Separately, the political battle over GKI Yasmin entered a new phase when the local Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) branch openly supported Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto's decision to close the church.

The local branch issued a statement echoing Diani's previous comments that said the church closure was a legal dispute that had nothing to do with religious discrimination.

Yusuf Dardiri, the secretary of the PKS' Bogor branch, said Diani was actually abiding by a Supreme Court decision that ordered the church reopened.

Yusuf said that the administration later found that GKI Yasmin had allegedly forged the signatures of local residents on a petition supporting construction of the church.

"The individual who forged the signature, Munir Karta, has been sentenced to three months in prison for committing the crime. We stand by this verdict, which is final and binding," Yusuf, a front-runner in Bogor's mayoral election in 2013, said. The document forgery was enough for the city to again revoke the building permit of GKI Yasmin, Yusuf said.

GKI Yasmin spokesperson Bona Sigalinggi said that the PKS was being deliberately deceptive. "They're lying if they say that the Munir Karta case is final and binding. He has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court," Bona said. The Indonesian Ombudsman's office has denied the claims of forgery.

Meanwhile, other political parties have been distancing themselves from Diani for his intransigence over the GKI Yasmin issue and have started a motion that could result in his ouster.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said that it had revoked its support of Diani, while senior Golkar Party members have said that its local branch have proposed an interpellation motion against Diani to review his official conduct.

Pressure continued to increase on Diani over the weekend as Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation chief Todung Mulya Lubis said the foundation had asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene in the case.

"[Yudhoyono] has been successful in stewarding the democratic transition and promoting human rights issue. But a contradiction has taken place that could tarnish his achievement in human rights issue. One of those contradictions is the GKI Yasmin problem," he said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Setara urges house to cancel tolerance bill

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2011

Human rights organization Setara Institute has urged the House of Representatives to cancel a bill that aims to boost tolerance in the country, arguing that it would instead exacerbate religious intolerance.

Setara chairman Hendardi said that the House should revise the bill by taking into account citizens' constitutional rights.

He said that the bill, which has 11 chapters and 55 articles, had failed to outline the government's guarantee of religious freedom as guaranteed under the 1945 Constitution, "and failed to understand inter-faith tolerance".

Setara pointed out at least five controversies within the bill, including that the bill promotes tolerance at the expense of freedom. Under the bill, certain activities can be curbed in the name of tolerance. "That is why we suggest that the House draft a bill to eliminate religious discrimination instead," Hendardi said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Hendardi also cited articles on religious desecration, religious instruction, celebration of religious holidays and establishment of places of worship as controversial.

"[The articles] will only endorse violence against certain communities by particular groups," he said. "The government has shown its reluctance to take responsibility of this sensitive issue," Setara researcher Ismail Hasani added.

Indonesia's appalling treatment of religious minorities

Time Magazine - November 12, 2011

Emily Rauhala – A year ago Barack Obama returned to Indonesia, where he lived as a boy, as President of the United States.

In a speech at the University of Indonesia, he reminisced about catching dragonflies, flying kites and running through rice paddies in the Jakarta of his youth. "Indonesia is a part of me," he told the audience, while lauding the nation and its people for their new democracy, commitment to the rule of law and tolerance for religious diversity. Obama's affection for Indonesia is understandable. But as he prepares to go to Bali on Nov. 19 for the East Asia Summit, he needs to ditch the nostalgia and deliver a stern message to his onetime home for not living up to its purported ideals.

A key measure of the level of justice and compassion in any society is how it treats its minorities – often its most vulnerable citizens. On that score, Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, is failing. In the past year, public violence against religious minorities, who together make up about 12% of the 240 million population, has been relentless: there has been a slew of incidents, from burnings and bombings of churches to attacks by radical Muslims on moderates. The authorities appear unable or unwilling to firmly intervene.

That seemed to be the case when I was in a packed courtroom outside Jakarta a few months ago. On trial were 12 men charged in connection with a mass assault early this year on members of the peaceful Ahmadiyah sect. Ahmadis believe that their Indian founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) was also a prophet, after Muhammad – a claim orthodox Muslims find heretical. This plus other differences have made Ahmadis a target for hard-liners in Pakistan, Bangladesh and, of late, Indonesia too. The attack on the Ahmadis was brutal. A hundreds-strong crowd gathered at opposite ends of a remote rice-farming village on the western edge of Java and converged on an Ahmadi home. The people inside were surrounded and attacked with machetes, sharpened sticks and stones. Three men died; five were badly injured.

At the trial, before the judges entered the chamber, an Islamic cleric in a white robe stepped from the gallery and led the courtroom in prayer. Those inside – plus many more pressed against the outside gate – prayed for the mob, not those killed. People in the crowd told me the Ahmadis had it coming, that the mob was provoked and the violence spontaneous.

One of the accused, 17-year-old Dani bin Misra, was filmed smashing an Ahmadi man's skull with a rock. He and the other defendants were convicted of "participation in a violent attack that results in casualties." Dani was sentenced to three months' jail. The rest, including two clerics, received five to six months. (By contrast, an Ahmadi got six months for wounding an attacker when defending a family's property.) Said New York City – based Human Rights Watch: "The trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities will be treated lightly by the legal system." (See photos of Suharto's Indonesia.)

We expect better from Indonesia. When the 1997 Asian financial crisis sparked mass protests that helped bring down longtime strongman Suharto, the majority-Muslim nation shattered the tired myth that Islam is antithetical to democracy. Today, Indonesia is freer and more open than ever. Indeed, many see the country as a model for the postrevolutionary Arab world. Yet institutions are weak, corruption is endemic, and military repression persists in the forgotten territory of Papua. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has condemned the various religious attacks, but not, say his critics, forcefully enough. Extremists have flourished on the fringes of the moderate mainstream, spawning radical groups and religious vigilantes. Their actions undermine everything good about contemporary Indonesia.

I raised the Ahmadiyah verdict with Suryadharma Ali, Indonesia's Minister of Religious Affairs, one of whose responsibilities is to keep the peace among all faiths. Suryadharma was unapologetic in tone: he said Indonesia respects religious freedom, but that minorities could not use that freedom to "completely modify" Islamic beliefs. He also defended regulations that ban Ahmadis from proselytizing or openly practicing their faith. The minister compared antagonism toward Ahmadis to flag burning: "Your country would get angry if you burned their flag. And the case of religion is higher than the flag." Perhaps so, but for Indonesia to be truly the modern, moderate society it claims to be, it needs to show through word and deed that it will not tolerate intolerance.

Government admits it has been slow in resolving GKI Yasmin church case

Jakarta Post - November 12, 2011

Hans David Tampubolon and Theresia Sufa, Jakarta, Bogor – Religious Affairs Deputy Minister Nasaruddin Umar says the government has been slow to resolve religious conflicts, particularly the GKI Taman Yasmin case, but stressed that it was being careful to abide by the law.

"When a conflict enters the domain of the law, then the process to resolve it tends to be slow. The government cannot intervene in the law," Nasaruddin told The Jakarta Post by phone on Friday.

"The permission for establishing houses of worship is in the hands of the local administration, while the Religious Affairs Ministry is only responsible for the developmental aspects of religious livelihood."

Nasaruddin was appointed as religious affairs deputy minister, and was specifically tasked with "eliminating possible religious conflicts", during the recent Cabinet reshuffle.

Citing the GKI Yasmin case, Nasaruddin said that the ministry acknowledged the Supreme Court's ruling about the church's legality. "However, we must also note that the court's ruling cannot be directly implemented if there is novum [new evidence] in the case."

The GKI Yasmin case revolves around the Bogor administration's persistence on banning the church's members from conducting religious services in their own church despite the fact that the congregation has received permission to do so from the Supreme Court.

The Indonesian Ombudsman have issued a statement saying that Diani's new evidence is not relevant because GKI Yasmin produced the signed petition in 2002, whereas the allegedly false petition was dated 2006.

Nasaruddin said that the ministry was also aware of the Ombudsman's statement and would conduct a joint meeting with all related parties to finally resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, several religious figures and local leaders in Bogor deemed that mayor Diani had disrespected the law by ignoring the Supreme Court's ruling.

Alfalakiah Islamic boarding school headmaster K.H. Asep Zulkifar Falak said that Diani had shown that he had bowed to the pressures of the nation's hard-line Islamic groups, many of which had roots in Bogor. "I see indications that there are certain parties who want Bogor to plunge into chaos," he said.

Sindangbarang village head Achmad Mikami Sumawijaya said that Diani had failed to pay attention to the fact that Bogor was an area with many social groups from many communities and therefore, he should have been able to serve all of the residents' interests, including that of the GKI Yasmin members.

"The mayor has been completely unfair to the GKI Yasmin members. This shows that his only concern is obeying the pressure coming from hard-line Islamic groups despite the fact that the GKI Yasmin case has been resolved by the Supreme Court," he said.

Numerous Bogor residents also urged Diani to reopen the church as soon as possible. "The Supreme Court's order to open the church is clear; why won't the mayor comply with that order so that the church members do not need to conduct their sermons on the side of the road ever again?" Yayah, a housewife from Cibuluh, Bogor, said.

Odang Hermansyah, a local fish trader, also said that he hoped Diani would show leadership by allowing the GKI Yasmin congregation to conduct their sermons in their own building. "We have to be able to show tolerance for those who do not have the same faith as us," he said.

Blasphemy not a crime: UN official

Jakarta Post - November 11, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Amid various acts of discrimination and the persecution of followers of the Ahmadiyah sect, a UN official says blasphemy should not be categorized as a crime.

Frank William La Rue, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, said blasphemy may indeed come from someone who disrespects a religion but that this should not be seen as a criminal action.

"I understand that religion, as well as philosophy, is in the world of context of spirituality and concept and idea, and therefore they are open to discussion and debate, which should never be charged with blasphemy law," Frank told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the Asia Civil Society Consultation on National Security and Right to Information Principles, at a hotel in Jakarta on Thursday.

"I believe in respect, but I don't believe respect can be achieved through censorship," he added. "Europe also has a blasphemy law and I think that is a mistake."

Frank cited article 20 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that all states should prohibit the incitement to hatred hostility and violence and to any form of discrimination on the basis of race, religion or nationality against anyone. In Indonesia, the covenant was ratified in 2006.

Several Islam groups have been repeatedly urging for the disbandment of the Ahmadiyah sect in Indonesia, saying it is a deviant sect that is blasphemous against Islam. Members of the groups insist that the government has the authority to ban Ahmadiyah under the old 1965 Law on Blasphemy.

The sentiment was seen earlier this year in a fatal incident in which an Ahmadiyah sect in Cikeusik, Banten, were brutally attacked by a mob in February, leaving three of its members dead and many others injured. Video recordings of the incident were later distributed online, resulting in a public outcry, however, those responsible for the violence received comparitively light sentences.

In 2008, the leader of the Salamullah (God's Kingdom of Eden) sect, Lia Aminudin, was also detained by police and charged with blasphemy.

In 2010, a number of NGOs concerned with human rights filed for a judicial review at the Constitutional Court, challenging the law against the 1945 Constitution. The petitioners said article 28 of the Constitution guarantees every citizens' religious rights. The court, however, denied the request and upheld the law.

Minister wants governor to deal with mayor

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jakarta – Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said that West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan should intervene in the imbroglio involving the GKI Taman Yasmin Church and the Bogor municipal government.

Gamawan said that Heryawan should prod the Bogor mayor Diani Budiarto into honoring the Supreme Court ruling, which ordered the reopening of GKI Yasmin.

Gamawan also said that the ministry was keeping a close eye on the political maneuvering by political factions within the Bogor Council, which have sought to file an interpellation against the controversial mayor.

"We are continuing to monitor the situation, including the political stance of some of the parties. We are looking to see which way the wind is blowing; whether it will end up with an interpellation," Gamawan said as quoted by kompas.com.

Meanwhile, a non-governmental organization said it supported a recent bid by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to seek clarification from Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto over the GKI Taman Yasmin dispute.

"We fully support the PDI-P's attempt to question the mayor on the GKI Yasmin issue. Now is the right time for a political party to show its concern over such ignorance," United Bogor People's Movement chief Harry Arra said Tuesday.

Earlier, the PDI-P and Golkar Party announced they would likely withdraw their support for mayor Diani Budiarto after the latter openly opposed a Supreme Court ruling obliging him to reopen the gates of GKI Yasmin and allow its congregation to attend services there.

Diani had ordered the closure of the church site at a request from several radical Muslim organizations that didn't want a church in the area.

Sickening attack leaves disabled Ahmadi severely injured

Jakarta Globe - November 10, 2011

A disabled member of the Indonesian's minority Ahmadiyah religious sect survived a brutal attack by an unknown assailant but had both his ears partially severed with a machete, it was reported on Thursday.

The victim was identified as Sadarudin, a resident of the run-down Transito shelter in Mataram, Lombok, that has been home to almost 150 persecuted Ahmadi for the last six years.

Metro TV reported that the victim, who is deaf and mute, was collecting wood near the shelter on Wednesday when he was attacked.

Local police said that according to witnesses, the attacker attempted to behead the victim but was scared off when other Ahmadi heard the commotion, according to the report.

The victim, who would not have been able to call for help, suffered serious head injuries and is fighting for his life in the Mataram General Hospital.

It is understood the assailant had approached his intended victim and asked to borrow his machete before using it in the attack. The Transito (transit) shelter is home to 138 members of the beleaguered sect who struggle to survive.

The electricity to the shelter was cut off more than three years ago, food aid from the government – which has perpetuated their limbo by refusing them the right to return home or register as residents – was halted last year, and sanitation facilities are non-existent.

A stipend from the state was stopped in 2007. Not being registered residents, they have been denied the free gas stoves distributed by the government to all citizens, and they now resort to gathering scrap to burn as fuel.

Golkar stands by Bogor mayor, for now

Jakarta Globe - November 9, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Golkar Party is maintaining its support for Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto who has already lost the backing of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in light of his treatment of the GKI Yasmin church.

Diani, who won the 2008 election with the backing of Golkar and the PDI-P as well as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and six other small parties, has refused to comply with a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to lift a ban on the church.

Priyo Budi Santoso, a deputy Golkar chairman, said the party would first study the role of the mayor in the situation. "I will ask our faction in Bogor. We will look at the problem," he said.

"But I do suggest that whenever a legal institution such as the Supreme Court makes a ruling and it has been endorsed by a state institution such as the Ombudsman commission, the ruling should be followed, to provide a good example to the people."

In October, the Ombudsman sent a letter to the president and Supreme Court reporting the mayor's continued defiance of legal orders to unseal the church.

The PDI-P withdrew its political support for him, and the party's city councilors are planning to seek to question him on his policy and actions in the case.

Diani has revoked the church's permit, claiming that it would protect the congregation's safety amid claims of community opposition to the construction.

The Supreme Court reversed Diani's decision earlier this year, ordering the city to reopen the church. Diani argued that after the court had ordered the first decision be annulled, he had issued another letter renewing the church's closing. The second letter is now contested in court.

Yasmin's congregation has been holding prayers on the sidewalk in front of the church.

PDI-P to quiz Bogor mayor over church

Jakarta Globe - November 8, 2011

Vento Saudale, Bogor – One of Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto's former political allies will question him and his administration over the Supreme Court-defying decision to shut the GKI Yasmin Church.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) were one of several parties who supported the unaligned Diani in his bid to become mayor, but Untung W. Maryono, the chairman of the party's Bogor chapter, on Monday accused him of mocking the rule of law by refusing to reopen the church. "In his disobedience of the law, I see indications of defiance on the part of the mayor against keeping religious harmony," Untung said.

PDI-P Bogor secretary Slamet Wijaya said it was time the party took advantage of its right to interpellation. The PDI-P has six seats at the Bogor city council, one vote short of the number necessary to launch a formal inquiry. "We will quickly reach out to our coalition partners so we can exercise these interpellation rights," he said.

PDI-P, Untung said, had withdrawn its support for the mayor in September, following orders from the party's central board. It was a strong vote of no-confidence for Diani, whose reelection in 2008 was made possible by the political backing of seven parties – including PDI-P and Golkar.

"Diani has committed an ideological violation," the chairman said. "The PDI-P has consistently fought for our independence proclamation dreams based on the Pancasila, the Constitution and the Unity in Diversity [motto]."

The Bogor chapter of the Golkar party, however, said that the party would continue to support Diani's administration until his term ends in 2013. "We will support the mayor until the end. We will decline our right to interpellation," said the secretary of Golkar's Bogor chapter, Heri Cahyono.

Heri said that Golkar Regional Representative Council (DPRD) member Ade Komarudin had been "speaking as an individual" and not representing Golkar when he earlier said the party should no longer support Diani.

"We think the way the GKI [dispute] has been handled is proportional. Diani had proposed relocation and compensation," he said. Diani's decision to revoke the church's permit, he said, was made to ensure security amid claims the community was against the construction.

The Supreme Court reversed Diani's decision earlier this year, ordering the city to reopen the church. Diani, however, argued that after the court had ordered the first decision annulled, he had issued another letter renewing church's closing. The second letter is now contested in court.

Yasmin's congregation has been holding prayers on the sidewalk in front of the church. But the peaceful act of protest has occasionally been subject to violent crackdowns by police and public order officers.

Major parties united to stand against Bogor mayor

Jakarta Post - November 8, 2011

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – More political parties are distancing themselves from Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarjo for his intransingence over the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) issue and have started a motion that could result in his ouster.

Following the lead from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) last week, which annuled its support for Diani, the central board of the Golkar Party said it has instructed the party's Bogor branch to take all necessary constitutional means to settle the GKI Yasmin saga.

A member of the Golkar Party's central board, Ade Komarudin, said that the party branch could start by launching an interpellation motion against Diani, to find an amicable solution to the GKI Yasmin issue.

On Monday, Golkar Party lawmaker Nusron Wahid said that Golkar would throw its weight behind any effort to force Diani to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling to reopen GKI Yasmin.

"The mayor must comply with the ruling. He should not continue this mind game of his. It is our duty to make sure that everybody in this country uphold the 'unity in diversity' principles," said Nusron, who is also chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama's youth wing, GP Anshor.

PDI-P's Bogor branch chairman, Maruarar Sirait, said Golkar's move would be indispensable in launching a move to interpellate Diani.

"However, we need more support as we require more than 50 percent of the seats at the council before we can go ahead with the move. We hope the Democratic Party will join us in this effort," Maruarar said.

Contacted separately, Ruhut Sitompul, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party said his party would also instruct its councillors at the Bogor Legislative Council to join the efforts in launching the interpellation.

"We should work together to elimite human rights violations, especially those against religious freedoms. This mayor must be ousted."

GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging said that he praised the political parties' commitment to support GKI Yasmin's fight.

"We hope that the parties will be able to translate the commitment into concrete action," Bona said. "We also hope that the interpellation, when it takes place, will not become another political show."

Trial begins for FPI members accused in Ramadan raids

Jakarta Globe - November 8, 2011

Rahmat, Makassar – Three members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front appeared in court in Makassar on Tuesday to answer to charges of assault and property destruction stemming from raids on an Ahmadiyah complex and restaurants during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan in August.

Abdul Rahman Assagaf, head of the South Sulawesi chapter of the group, known as the FPI, appeared with two other members, Arifuddin and Ruswandi Abubakar.

"The three defendants are alleged to have abused and assaulted the owner of Warung Coto and another restaurant in AP Pettarani [street], Makassar, in August," Prosecutor Muhammad Adnan said as he read the indictment aloud in court. Abdul is also facing charges of incitement of violence for a later attack by an FPI group on an Ahmadiyah complex.

In the Aug. 14 attack, the LPI, a unit of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), smashed several windows at the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) complex, including at its mosque, and damaged a car and a motorcycle parked in the compound.

The 30-strong mob also attacked Ahmad, the lone person guarding the JAI secretariat, and two paralegals from the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) who tried to stop the attack. LPI members also scuffled with riot police sent to the scene to restore order.

The three defendants have been charged with assault and destruction of property for their alleged roles in restaurant raids carried out by the FPI on Aug. 12, during which about 50 FPI members convoyed through the streets looking for open restaurants and food stalls shortly after Friday prayers.

The mob forced three restaurants on Jalan Pettarani to close, and made the owners sign written statements promising that they would not operate during daylight hours for the remainder of the fasting month. If convicted of the charges, the three defendants face up to five years in prison each.

About 100 police officers were on hand to ensure order during the 15-minute hearing. A group of 50 FPI members showed up to voice support for their comrades, but the scene remained calm.

Islamic law & morality

Ad billboards featuring 'sexy' women banned in Depok

Jakarta Globe - November 12, 2011

The municipal government of Depok, one of Jakarta's satellite cities, banned advertisement billboards featuring 'sexy' women this month.

The deputy mayor of Depok, Abdul Somad, said the policy was adopted because one of Depok's missions is to become a religious city.

A few weeks ago, Depok officials took down a deodorant ad billboard featuring a woman showing her underarm. They deemed the advertisement to be "sexy."

"The limit between what is moral and immoral is closely related to the culture and personality of the city. For example, when I was on vacation in London, I saw a billboard featuring a woman wearing very little clothing and there's nothing wrong with that because the London dwellers are OK with it, but it may not apply here [Depok]," Abdul told news portal Okezone.com.

He welcomes debate or discussion regarding the policy. "It is closely related to the debate of what constitutes pornography. The limit is not clear and it is very debatable," he said, adding that different cities may have different policies.

Depok, located 20 kilometers south of Jakarta, is led by a politician from the Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Nur Machmudi Ismail. The mayor is known for his campaign to transform Depok into a religious city.

Last year, he banned karaoke establishments and closed at least five big karaoke parlors located in the city center, stating that those places could be used for "negative" activities such as prostitution.

Short skirts to be banned at schools in Jambi

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Jambi – The Jambi provincial administration has decided to ban female students from wearing short skirts that reach above the knee, Governor Hasan Basri Agus said.

"The circular will be distributed soon," said Hasan, adding that he would ask the head of the provincial education agency to gather all the heads of regency and municipal education agencies across the province to reach an agreement on the matter. The rule is expected to come into operation in 2012.

Hasan said that while short skirts were not comfortable to look at, long skirts were. The policy, he said, was to maintain and protect decent values. "Female students look more elegant in long skirts," he said.

Separately, provincial education agency head Idham Kholid said that the policy would be applied to all female students of junior and senior high schools across Jambi. "We encourage them to wear long skirts down to the ankle," he said.

The policy received a warm welcome from parents, who believed that it would help prevent their daughters from crimes and other acts of juvenile delinquency. "Short skirts are often accidentally opened, inviting others to commit crimes, especially on public transport," said Marniati, a local resident.

Islam & religion

MUI wary amid barrage of Chinese halal food exports

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) confirms a sharp rise in halal food products coming from China, but it remains skeptical over China's halal industry, which is presumed to still be in its developmental stages.

"The number of halal products from China has increased by 50 to 100 percent since last year," MUI Food and Drug Analysis Agency (LPPOM) chief Lukmanul Hakim told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said that some of China's halal food exports – which far exceeded those from Europe and the US – came from Ningxia, a province known for its Muslim Hui ethnicity.

Muslims in Ningxia account for around 38 percent of the province's 6.3 million residents. The province recently announced it had developed a halal industry to accommodate not just the needs of Chinese Muslims but also Muslims in other countries.

Ningxia's halal food commission said that the province had more than 10,000 factories and restaurants that were certified halal.

The region's halal industry, which is supported by a high tech laboratory, 15 experts and 300 staffers, was currently worth up to 50 million RMB (US$7.9 million).

The commission added that the industry had been working with foreign counterparts since 2008, cooperating on a reciprocal basis with halal institutions in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Malaysia, with Indonesia soon to join the mix.

Lukmanul acknowledged the booming development of China's halal industry, but said that the LPPOM, acting as Indonesia's halal certification authority, did not see itself engaging in any Chinese cooperation in the near future.

"They can cooperate with Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, but here we pay great attention to standards and human resource competency. It is not just a matter of issuing a certificate."

According to Lukmanul, establishing cooperation with foreign halal institutions meant agreeing to the validity of their certification systems and trusting their assessments of products to be exported to Indonesia.

The LPPOM has so far approved the halal certification of 46 overseas institutions from 22 countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and the Netherlands. For all its halal exports to Indonesia, China did not make the list.

"We are not yet able to approve their halal certification, partly because of their political situation," Lukmanul said.

He explained that the MUI had to consider China's trade policy. He said that given the country's dominance and pragmatic approach in the politics of trade, China could be inclined to sacrifice halal aspects in favor of economic efficiency.

"China knows that the [halal] market is here. They are willing to follow any foreign standards as long as they succeed in getting into the country. The MUI has to decide what is best, and, for the moment, our hearts are telling us no," he said.

Lukmanul believed that China's surge in halal product exports – including those to Indonesia – was more of a reflection of its economic sensibilities than its Muslim growth.

Therefore, the MUI decided that it was best to take on the responsibility of assessing Chinese halal products independently rather than leaving it up to a local institution.

"We have to make sure that they are really halal," he said.

As of the first eight months of this year, Indonesia's non-oil and gas imports from China reached $16.4 billion, up by 27 percent compared to last year, making a total trade deficit of $3.55 billion.

Government & regional autonomy

Government officials criticized for holding dual positions

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2011

Agus Maryono, Banyumas – The Central Java Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism Investigation and Eradication Committee (KP2KKN) is strongly criticizing government officials who hold concurrent positions at regional administration-owned enterprises (BUMD).

The criticism was voiced by KP2KKN secretary Eko Haryanto, who urged Central Java provincial administration secretary Hadi Prabowo to resign from his other post as president commissioner of Bank Jateng.

"His two positions create a conflict of interest that could lead to further state losses," Eko told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said such dual roles were clearly against Article 17 of the Law on Public Services that banned public officials from holding concurrent positions as a commissioners or executives of business entities.

Based on Article 17, Eko said, Hadi Prabowo and other public officials in the provincial administration that held dual roles had to choose one position.

He was referring to Sriyadi, Assistant to the provincial administration secretariat, and Danang Atmojo, head of the provincial Bina Marga agency, who also held the positions of commissioner at Bank Jateng and president commissioner of PT Trans Marga Jateng (PT TMJ) respectively.

Both Bank Jateng and PT Trans Marga Jateng are provincial administration- owned enterprises.

Dual roles, according to Eko, were prone to corruption, collusion and nepotism.

"This is very dangerous because BUMDs – especially Bank Jateng – manages the provincial administration's money as well as the money of the 35 regency and municipality administrations across Central Java," he said. He urged Central Java Governor Bibit Waluyo and the province's regents and mayors to intervene and make public officials holding dual roles choose one position. "If necessary, impose stern sanctions on them," Eko said.

The KP2KKN has been an active critic of corruption, collusion and nepotism in the province, which it considers increasingly troubling.

Similar criticism has been expressed by Central Java provincial councillor Bambang Haryanto Baharuddin of the Indonsian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

He said that if the law really banned public officials from holding concurrent positions in the regional administration and regional administration-owned companies, both Bank Jateng and PT Trans Marga Jateng had to replace Hadi Prabowo and Sriyadi.

The fact is that Bank Jateng is a company whose shares are owned by the provincial administration, he said. As a councillor, he added, he was obligated to remind Bank Jateng to manage itself according to the law.

"It is an important commitment to upholding government that is clean from corruption, collusion and nepotism. As a consequence, provincial administration officials involved in this case must be willing to accept this for the sake of upholding the law," Bambang said.

Parliament & legislation

Marzuki defends lifestyles of Indonesia's rich and elected

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Anita Rachman – House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie has found himself in a familiar position, back on the defensive over the extravagance of legislators.

Even while acknowledging a small problem with lawmakers living "hedonistic lifestyles," he attacked the head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for making that same claim.

Busyro Muqoddas, the KPK head, this week criticized lawmakers for their shows of wealth, which he said were out of place for so-called people's representatives. And on Tuesday, Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud M.D. called on lawmakers to curb their extravagance.

Marzuki, from the president's Democratic Party, responded by saying that Busyro should focus on his own job. "Stop with the inflammatory statements," he said.

He also denied Busyro's claim that most lawmakers lived lives of luxury. "Not even 5 percent live these hedonistic lifestyles, and we've been calling on those who do to change," he said.

But many, including the coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch, Adnan Topan Husodo, aren't buying Marzuki's defense.

He said the reality was that many lawmakers were showing off their wealth, including when they visit their constituents in luxury cars with security escorts. And many people have pointed out that the parking lot at the House often resembles a luxury car lot.

Marzuki, though, says the critics are being unfair. "We can't forbid people from becoming rich, we cannot. But if they enter the legislature, they should live like true representatives of the people," he said.

But Adnan said lawmakers needed to learn how to take criticism. "They overreact to everything. This is a reflection of their oversensitivity," he said.

Bambang Soesatyo, a vocal lawmaker from the Golkar Party who was independently wealthy before entering the legislature, however, said Busyro was on target in his criticism "Public officials, including lawmakers, should not forget who elected them and not be lured by power," he said.

Ruhut Sitompul, who was a successful lawyer before he became a lawmaker, said that although he had several luxury cars, he drove an Innova to work. Ruhut also joked that he knew of several lawmakers who used public transportation before being elected and were now being driven around in luxury cars.

Mahfud, from the Constitutional Court, said the lure of the luxury lifestyle ended up snagging many lawmakers. He said it was obvious that many members of the House suddenly found themselves awash in mansions, fast cars and financial assets after entering the legislature.

The problem, he said, is not the existing laws on corruption, but a decline in morality among the nation's elected officials. If officials are corrupt, he said, they will find ways around anticorruption laws.

"It is true that not all lawmakers are like that. Bambang Soesatyo, for example, I know was already rich before. But many suddenly became rich after becoming lawmakers," he said.

Poor quality laws due to corruption, Indonesian legislator admits

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran – An Indonesian politician has responded to allegations that poor quality laws passed by lawmakers were due to corruption and vested interests by admitting the claims are partly true.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday that shoddy laws were due to "article trading" and the poor quality of Indonesia's elected representatives.

"[Poor quality laws] are the result of a combination of factors: the small amount of article trading that might exist; and mainly the poor quality of the lawmakers," said Eva, who sits on House Commission III that overseas legal affairs.

Eva said, however, that it was unfair just to blame legislators, saying draft legislation was prepared by both the House and the government. "So why only blame the House," she asked rhetorically.

The House of Representatives (DPR) has been roundly criticized for failing to pass legislation in a timely fashion, and when it does enact new laws they are often regarded as poorly constructed. The phenomenon has seen a number of laws challenged in the Constitutional Court, which has resulted in many of the laws being overturned.

Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD, speaking on Tuesday morning, said the number of legal challenges to legislation passed by the House was the result of corruption.

Speaking during a seminar on national legal reform, Mahfud said people "could buy" to have articles inserted or removed from the law. "So, the laws passed are based on personal interests, instead of the public interest," he was quoted by Vivanews.com as saying.

He said that of 406 judicial reviews filed in the court between 2003 and November, 2011, 97 were found to be unconstitutional and overturned.

The DPR is perceived to be one of Indonesia's most corrupt and under- performing institutions.

240 Indonesian legislators absent for first day back at work

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2011

Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives was back in session on Monday, kind of. With more than 240 lawmakers failing to show up for the first day of the new session, little work got done and some discussions had to be shelved.

"I am concerned that so many discussions failed to meet the targeted quorum," said House Deputy Speaker Anis Matta. "I think there needs to be a change in our disciplinary sanctions."

Only 88 of 148 lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party were at the House on Monday, while 67 of 106 lawmakers from the Golkar Party were present.

Eleven of the 17 lawmakers from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) were present, while only 12 of 26 Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) lawmakers showed up for work.

Anis, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said it should be up to the parties to reprimand their absent members. "We will leave it up to the parties," he said. "If they can't control their members, that is their problem. It is their image that is at stake."

When lawmakers could muster enough people for talks, the results were often controversial.

Several lawmakers criticized Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Busyro Muqoddas for saying that some legislators had lifestyles that did not reflect their mandate as representatives of the people.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie, from the Democrats, said Busyro was off the mark. He said a number of lawmakers had been successful businesspeople before entering politics.

"If there are House members who were penniless and suddenly became rich after becoming lawmakers, then it is the job of law enforcement to investigate them," Marzuki said.

"There are a lot of rich people at the House, but they should live modestly," he added. "Take me, for example. I have postponed the renovation of my house in Halim [East Jakarta]."

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said Busyro's remarks were off-base.

"Lifestyle is an irrelevant measure of a politician's performance. Whether your live modestly or lavishly, if you do not contribute, then you should be criticized," she said.

Priyo Budi Santoso, a House deputy speaker from Golkar, said Busyro should focus less on judging lawmakers' lifestyles and more on fighting graft. "Lately, [Busyro] has a new habit of meddling in other people's business," he said.

"Just concentrate on rebuilding the KPK's image, which, for the last year, has been under fire. I am sure if the chairman focused on his primary goals, the institution would perform better."

Anis speculated that Busyro's remarks might have been part of a hidden agenda, but he did not say what that agenda might be.

Marzuki seemed unfazed by the large number of truant lawmakers on what should have been their first day back to work. The speaker said he was confident that at least 13 legislative items would be enacted during the current session, which lasts until mid-December.

"The leaders of the House are pushing ourselves to perform our legislative functions, although our budgeting and monitoring tasks must also be done," he said.

Among the 13 bills the House is focusing on is the law on the special status of Yogyakarta, which has been stalled since 2009. As of October, the House has only passed a total of 18 bills for the year.

Ethnic & communal violence

Poor law enforcement, mob mentality blamed for weekend rash of violence

Jakarta Globe - November 8, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran, Ronna Nirmala & Ulma Haryanto – A spate of violent incidents that led to two deaths during the weekend was partly caused by weak law enforcement, a sociologist said on Monday.

"People are easily provoked. They become frustrated, and this is made worse by the reality that the law is not being properly enforced in this country," sociologist Ricardi Adnan said.

In Donggala district, Central Sulawesi, a massive brawl between two villages was triggered by a traffic accident on Sunday afternoon and went on until Monday morning. The incident began when two youths from Labuan Induk and Dalaka villages collided on their motorcycles, injuring both.

"When one of the injured boys and his friends approached the other one to demand compensation for his medical costs, he was attacked," Donggala Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. I Nengah Subagia told state news agency Antara on Monday.

A fight then escalated between the rival villagers, disrupting traffic between Palu, the provincial capital, and Tolitoli. Three houses in Dalaka were burned in the melee. The mobs only withdrew after hundreds of police officers arrived at the scene on Monday.

In Central Jakarta, meanwhile, a teenager was killed by a mob on Sunday after being accused of stealing a motorcycle in Gambir.

Police said Jendri Simanjorang, 19, had been pushing a motorcycle after Idul Adha prayers when he was caught by a group of men. He told them the vehicle was his friend's, but they ignored his protestations and attacked.

"Officers tried to settle the mob down but failed because they were outnumbered," Central Jakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Angesta Romano Yoyol said on Monday.

Ricardi said that in these cases, a mob mentality took over as people assumed the worst. "The feeling that law enforcement is absent also prompts them to believe that in order to get justice, they have to take it on their own," he said.

In a third case of weekend violence, 17-year-old Raafi Aga Winasya Benjamin was stabbed to death during a confrontation at a popular bar in Kemang, South Jakarta, on Friday. No suspects have been named and police say they have no leads, in spite of the fact that dozens of people were present at the time.

Criminologist Mohammad Irvan Olii blamed the police's slow response for the lack of development in the case. "It is no secret the police are slow. The bar probably took this as a chance to clean up the mess before the news broke," he said.

The management of SHY Rooftop, where the incident occurred, has been criticized for mopping the blood from the floor and rolling up the carpets.

"No, we haven't found anything yet," South Jakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Imam Sugianto said on Monday. "We have questioned 16 people so far, but there are no developments yet." He added that police were still searching for the murder weapon and a motive. The bar's management has declined to comment.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said on Sunday that the victim's school, Pangudi Luhur Catholic boys' school, was notorious for its brawls. "The school has to focus not only on its students' academic achievements but on molding their behavior," he said.

Vice principal Heri Prasetya denied the allegation. "Our school has never been involved in a single brawl, never," he said. "We have strict regulations and we always warn the students that if they are involved in any kind of violence, they will be expelled immediately."

Sports & youth affairs

Indonesia brushes off chaos threat at Southeast Asian Games

Agence France Presse - November 10, 2011

Southeast Asian Games organizers insist the event will be a roaring success, but a raft of problems including corruption and unfinished venues threatens to turn it into a laughing stock.

Drawing 11 nations in sports from athletics and swimming to sepak takraw – a cross between football and volleyball – the biennial Games will be held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Palembang in South Sumatra from Friday.

The omens for the 26th SEA Games have been bad since the ruling party's treasurer allegedly pocketed $3 million in bribes from a firm seeking tenders to build the athletes village, and then fled to Colombia with the spoils.

And the potential for a shambolic start to the showpiece event, echoing the embarrassment heaped on India's Commonwealth Games, has been heightened by the failure to finish venues or provide enough rooms for athletes and visitors.

The chaotic build-up has seen Indonesian navy ships drafted in for extra bed space, while food poisoning has reportedly laid low players from several football teams staying at one five-star hotel.

Under the slogan "United and Rising," the SEA Games were designed to showcase Indonesia's rise as a regional powerhouse, with a booming economy backed by a massive 245 million population.

Defiant organizers Inasoc say the show will go on – even if they are still putting "finishing touches" to some venues.

"It's God's will that the Games will run smoothly. We've been working hard for a long time under difficult circumstances, but I'm confident the Games will go well," Inasoc chairwoman Rita Subowo said.

"We have finally finished the venues, but we are putting finishing touches on them, like scoreboards and mattresses for the wrestling matches."

But the critics are circling. On Wednesday, a top Philippine sports official branded the event "the most chaotic" ever, according to a report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing a lack of rooms and transport as the most pressing problems.

The Singapore Straits Times reported that a stomach bug struck football players from Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia who are staying at a leading Jakarta hotel. And as the Games torch reached Palembang, thousands of workers were still rushing to complete basic drainage.

Inasoc has been forced to convert navy ships into floating hotels for its staff because Palembang hotel rooms are fully booked for athletes, media and officials.

Back in Jakarta, about 500 kilometers away, there are concerns the capital's notoriously grid-locked roads will be made impassable by the 12,000 athletes, officials and staff expected at the Games, as well as thousands of spectators.

City officials have pledged to cordon off roads to allow athletes speedy access and schools will be closed for the duration of the November 11-22 event to help clear vehicles from the streets.

"Traffic is always bad in Jakarta but when they start blocking roads, it can be impossible to get anywhere," said Sumanta, a motorcycle taxi driver who has struggled to work through major events in the past.

Although it will be largely ignored by the rest of the world, the Games are big news in Southeast Asia, capturing the imagination of the competing nations, with dozens of gold medals and regional bragging rights up for grabs.

It also gives smaller nations such as Singapore and Brunei the chance to emerge from the shadow of Asia's big guns – China, India, Japan and South Korea. The 2009 edition in Laos saw Thailand claim 86 golds out of 372 – just three clear of Vietnam and double third-placed Indonesia's tally.

Time running out for organizers

Straits Times - November 9, 2011

Terrence Voon, Jakarta – The digital countdown clock in Palembang, located on a busy roundabout leading to the famous Ampera Bridge, says it all.

With just two days to go before the cauldron is lit for the SEA Games, every minute will count as the organizers scramble to get venues and facilities ready for South-east Asia's biggest sports extravaganza. It is a race they are confident of winning, but the picture on the ground is worrying.

When The Straits Times visited the sprawling 300-hectare Jakabaring Sports City yesterday afternoon, dust swirled everywhere as thousands of workers dug drains, planted grass and installed the basic facilities needed for a major multi-sport event.

Pools of stagnant water and muddy embankments still line the roads leading to the main Sriwijaya stadium, where hundreds of student performers braved the mid-day heat to undergo rehearsals for the opening ceremony on Friday.

That is D-Day for the provincial capital of South Sumatra, which has struggled to pull the show together under the weight of government red tape, mismanagement and construction hiccups.

These include a well-publicized corruption scandal involving a former politician and a lengthy delay in government funding that forced the organizing committee to threaten to quit unless the money it needed was released.

For the 4,000 athletes from 11 nations who are due to arrive this week, their main concern is whether the competition venues are up to scratch.

The swimmers need not worry. The aquatics complex – which reeked of fresh paint and lacquer – was completed earlier this week. Though the water appeared slightly brackish, the host nation's synchronized swimmers were seen getting ready to dive in.

For those in track and field, the situation appears more dire. The athletics stadium, which will see action from Saturday, is still without three of its four floodlights. Equipment for the pole vault events were just being moved in, and there were no signs of the starting blocks and throwers' cages.

The air rifle and pistol range, which will be used this weekend, is also not quite ready yet. Electronic scoring equipment was still being tweaked at the 50m and 25m ranges, though the 10m range was already being used for target practice by the Indonesian shooters.

For the visiting media, the main press centre located in a bank building was devoid of furniture, cabling and computers. LCD television sets lay unpacked in the corridors, while reporters and photographers from various nations slumped in the lobby, unsure of what to do next.

The situation is just as grim in Jakarta, which will host 23 of the 44 sports. The press center there is still awaiting air-conditioning. "It's so hot inside," complained a volunteer. "They keep saying they'll bring in the air-con but nothing's been done so far."

Maryama, the secretary for the South Sumatra SEA Games organizing committee, gave an assurance last night that the preparations remain on track.

Some 5,000 workers and volunteers have put in double shifts over the last few weeks, she said, to ensure that South-east Asia's sporting showpiece will kick off as planned. And, with the SEA Games torch arriving in Palembang yesterday after a two-week relay across Indonesia, failure is no longer an option.

"The contractors assure us that everything will be fine,' she said. 'We were very worried in the beginning, but we know we will finish on time. We must."

Judicial & legal system

Mahfud says he is all for the tapping of judges

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2011

Constitutional Court (MK) chief Mahfud MD says that he has no objections to the Judicial Commission's (KY) authority to be able to tap into the phone calls of judges, a law which will be implemented at the end of the year.

"MK as an institution does not have an opinion. But Mahfud, as the MK chief, has submitted his phone number, as well as those of his wife, child and home number. So, I don't have a problem because tapping is only done when a there are already suspicions or indications linked to a person," he said on Sunday, as quoted by kompas.com.

The Judicial Commission is expected to cooperate with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and other law enforcers such as the police and prosecutors, as has been regulated in the KY law No. 18/2011.

Mahfud said that implementing the wiretapping would hopefully help improve cooperation between law enforcers.

KY's tapping authority applies not only to conventional court judges but also anti-corruption court judges who are suspected of violations. The results of the tapping will be used as evidence and a point of consideration in deciding sanctions for the implicated judge.

We've got our eye on you, judicial body tells judges

Jakarta Globe - November 12, 2011

Agus Triyono – Revealing that it had kept convicted Central Jakarta Commercial Court Judge Syarifudin Umar under surveillance for three years, the Judicial Commission says it has another, unnamed miscreant judge in its sights "in a certain major city."

Judicial Commission head Eman Suparman said the judge, under intensive monitoring, was in addition to 10 other justices the body announced it was watching since July.

"I don't know about any developments regarding the previous 10, but right now I am concentrating on one particular judge," Eman said after a workshop with journalists in Bandung.

Without wanting to give details that might tip the judge off, Eman said the judge was handling a civil lawsuit.

"In wiretapping this judge, we have used the Judicial Commission's regional network, because the individual frequently changes mobile phones. The target used to work in Java but has now been moved elsewhere," Eman said.

He said the 10 unnamed judges who were said to have been under surveillance in July each came to the attention of the judicial watchdog body via tip- offs by members of the public.

"Spying on crooked judges isn't a snap. It takes time, as it did in the case of Syarifudin Umar, who we had under surveillance for three years. We must be patient," Eman said.

Eman's revelation means Syarifudin had been wiretapped since the days when the Judicial Commission was under the leadership of Busyro Muqoddas, who is now the head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

"When Syarifudin was arrested, everything was totally prepared – the arrestee had certainly taken bribes, it wasn't just based on suspicion. In fact, his behavior didn't change over the whole three years he was under surveillance, from initial suspicions to the day we picked him up," Eman said.

Syarifudin was arrested at his home in Sunter, North Jakarta, as he took possession of a Rp 250 million ($28,000) bribe from Puguh Wirayawan, the bankruptcy trustee of garment maker Skycamping Indonesia, in exchange for help unfreezing land assets worth Rp 35 billion.

The secretary general of the Judicial Commission, Muzayyin Mahbub, said the oversight body had received thousands of complaints and tip-offs of corrupt behavior by judges.

"Based on data from August 2005 to September 2011, the Judicial Commission has received as many as 11,783 reports from the public," Muzayyin said, according to state news agency Antara.

According to Muzayyin, of the 11,783 complaints received, 2,487 case files had been opened.

Not every case could be followed up, he said, because often complaints did not allege any clear transgressions of the rules governing judges' behavior.

"But a large number of them can be acted on because they contain elements of breaches of judicial ethics," he said.

The large number of complaints, the secretary general said, was a good thing, indicative of the public's enthusiasm to fight corruption and demand judicial responsibility.

He said the commission was busy reviewing decisions by judges in the Anti- Corruption Court. "The investigation will be focussed on the recently emerged sticking points in the Anti-Corruption Court," Muzayyin said.

The recent spate of not-guilty verdicts in graft cases heard before regional anticorruption courts had spurred the review. "There are four big cities – Surabaya, Jakarta, Bandung and Semarang – where we will conduct investigations," he said.

He added that the Judicial Commission was unsure of the reason behind the recent spate of graft acquittals. "It's probably due to multiple factors. That's exactly why we are going to look into problems in the anticorruption courts," Muzayyin said.

Meanwhile, Suparman Marzuki, the head of judicial monitoring and investigation at the commission, said the country's judicial system faced four main problems.

The first was excessive meddling by the executive branch, resulting in a lack of independence, Suparman said. The second was the confusing legislative regime governing courts and judges. Human resources was the third problem he mentioned, in particular a shortage of judges and court staff. The fourth problem, he said, was poor infrastructure and low wages.

New Indonesian Supreme Court judges unveiled

Jakarta Globe - November 9, 2011

Agus Triyono – Supreme Court chairman Harfin A. Tumpa swore in six new judges on Wednesday to fill vacancies in the country's highest legal forum.

The new judges are outgoing lawmaker and lawyer Topane Gayus Lumbuun, career judge Andi Samsan Nganro, Suhadi, Dudu Duswara Machmudin, academic Nurul Elmiyah and tax court judge Hary Djatmiko.

Gayus, who Harifin said would be assigned to the military sector, vowed to honor the responsibility assigned to him.

"Independence, professionalism and integrity, all three will become the foundation for my duties here," said Gayus, 60, who was a member of House of Representatives Commission III on legal affairs and once chaired the legislature's Honor Council.

Dudu, 60, who was last a part-time judge of the Anti-Corruption Court, said he was ready to handle corruption cases sent to the Supreme Court "if given the opportunity."

Suhadi, 58, spent more than 20 years at the Supreme Court and was last a clerk of the court.

Nurul, 54, is the only academic among the new judges. A long-time lecturer at the law faculty of the Indonesian University, she was last an assessor of the National University Accreditation Board.

Samsan, 58, is a career judge who was last the head of the Samarinda appeals court.

He was a long-time judge at the Central Jakarta District Court and in 2002 was member of the panel of judges which sentenced the favorite son of former President Suharto, Hutomo Mandala Putra, to 15 years in jail for paying an assassin to kill a Supreme Court judge.

Harry Djatmiko, 60, was last a judge at the tax court and a law lecturer at Narotama University.

This year, 43 candidates applied for the positions, from whom the six were chosen. The candidates selected by the House had their appointment confirmed by the president.

The Supreme Court is the country's highest judicial body and oversees about 20 high courts and the some 250 district courts across the country.

Analysis & opinion

Enforcement needed for religion tolerance

Jakarta Globe Editorial - November 15, 2011

The freedom of religious belief and the right to practice one's faith are protected by our Constitution. Indeed, Indonesia – with its myriad religions and ethnic groups – has been touted as a role model for religious tolerance, despite having a strong majority of people who belong to the Muslim faith.

We can point to many examples of mosques and churches standing side by side, and of communities celebrating different religious holidays in harmony and a spirit of oneness.

But with recent instances of religious strife and discrimination against minorities, the nation's social fabric has begun to fray.

To restore religious tolerance and harmony to the country, lawmakers are now working on a draft bill they are touting as a long-term solution to the religious conflict that has plagued the country in recent years.

Human rights groups and minority communities are not convinced, though. Many have raised concerns over some of the articles in the bill.

They rightly point out that the root cause of many cases of religious conflict is weak law enforcement, not an absence of regulations. Religious harmony, they note, can only be achieved if the state guarantees every citizen's religious freedom and rights. The new bill, as it currently stands, does not clearly spell out the state's responsibilities and duties in protecting religious freedom.

What it does is to set out regulations for how people can spread their faith, celebrate religious holidays, construct places of worship, hold funerals and carry out religious education.

The bill, therefore, must go further. It must spell out punishment for those who attack places of worship or who injure those of a different faith in the name of religion. The punishment must be severe if it is to act as a deterrent.

Maintaining religious harmony in this country is as crucial as having a strong military defense against foreign invaders. Religious tolerance is the very fabric of this multi-faceted nation. If we do not protect minority groups and ensure their safety, the nation's internal security will be undermined.

The state has a responsibility and a moral duty to every citizen in the republic to enable and preserve their freedom of worship. This is what the new draft bill must address.

Why Indonesia, Asia must ratify the Rome Statute

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2011

Usman Hamid, Jakarta – Indonesia and other Asian countries have for better or worse to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ratification of the statute will contribute to peace and security throughout the region as it will help end the culture of impunity for serious crimes both through the threat of international prosecutions and the strengthening of each country's national capacity to prosecute such crimes in the future.

The ICC is a permanent international court with the mandate to investigate and prosecute the most serious international crimes, namely crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

However, the ICC's jurisdiction is limited to actions that take place within the territory of a member state, by the citizen of a member state or, in extreme circumstances, an action referred to it by the UN Security Council.

To become a party to the ICC, and subject itself and its citizens to the protection of court's jurisdiction, a country must ratify the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the court.

Once a country ratifies the statute, the ICC then has the ability to investigate and adjudicate cases of serious crime, but only crimes committed after the country's ratification and only if the country itself proves that it is unable or unwilling to prosecute those crimes within its own domestic courts.

To date, Asia has the lowest number of member states to the ICC of any region, with only 17 countries having ratified the statute, compared with 33 African states, 26 Latin American states and 44 European and other states.

While ASEAN neighbors like Cambodia and the Philippines are among those 17 non-ratifying countries, Indonesia remains resistant to joining this important court.

Indonesia was initially set to ratify the Rome Statute in 2008, but has now rescheduled this commitment to 2013. Why has Indonesia not yet ratified the Rome Statute?

A major reason for the delay in implementing Indonesia's plan to ratify the Rome Statute appears to be a lack of understanding of the ICC and its mandate.

If Indonesia joins the ICC, its national courts will still have primary jurisdiction to investigate and adjudicate questions of serious crimes. Indonesia will be able to hold the perpetrators to account and justice will be served to victims of these serious crimes in its domestic courts.

It is only if Indonesia's own domestic justice mechanisms prove unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute these, then the ICC would be able to step in to initiate its own investigations and processes, after first communicating with the government of Indonesia about these issues.

The ICC does not adopt retroactivity either. Therefore, it has no power to investigate old cases which occurred prior to the ratification of the Rome Statute, unless the state makes a specific request to extend the ICC's jurisdiction to an earlier date.

Past cases that remain sensitive will not be dealt with by the ICC, although they will remain issues of serious concern for national mechanisms.

Being an ICC member will help Indonesia overcome challenges to the country's fulfillment of human rights. Although our record has improved, in some areas of the country the human rights situation remains poor, particularly in Papua, where serious crimes are occurring but impunity is rampant. Joining the ICC can help Indonesia improve this record, which will bring greater support from citizens and recognition from the international community.

Despite the ICC membership, citizens cannot take their cases directly to the ICC; rather, national courts are responsible to bring those responsible to justice.

The goal of the Rome Statute is not to interfere with national legal systems, except in extreme cases where countries fail to take the requisite steps themselves, and to urge and assist countries to fulfill their national and international obligations in relation to serious crimes.

By joining the ICC, Indonesia will send a clear message and demonstrate a desire to put the rights and safety of its most vulnerable people above the interests of a few who would profit through the abuse of others. Indonesia should no longer support the position of those who have committed the most terrible crimes against the innocent.

On Nov. 15-16, 2011, experts, government officials, prosecutors and civil society groups from Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Thailand and Nepal, are convening for a two-day regional symposium in Jakarta to discuss challenges, strategies, lessons learned and the need for progress on prosecuting serious crimes in Indonesia and across Asia.

It will serve as a forum to share and learn for Asian countries, where serious crimes have been prosecuted, either by domestic courts, international tribunals, or "hybrid" courts – a mixture of domestic and international law and courts.

It will include discussions with international experts who have worked on domestic prosecutions of serious crimes in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa; and on prosecutions of serious crimes at the ICC, the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Let us all hope that this important discussion will help spur our leaders to take the necessary steps to end impunity and provide justice to those whose access to justice has been denied for too long.

It is only through a commitment to justice and the rule of law that we will be able to create a strong, peaceful and prosperous Indonesia for all.

[The writer is chairman of the board for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), and an advisor to the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).]

Deradicalization begins in the mosques

Jakarta Post - November 11, 2011

Jajang Jahroni, Boston, Massachusetts – The phenomenon of our mosques today reflects the idea of incongruity. I recently visited Samarinda, East Kalimantan, where the local government has built a beautiful mosque near the Mahakam River.

It is equipped with a library, seminar rooms, office space, parking spaces and 24-hour security guards.

In Depok, West Java, Dian al-Mahri Mosque is popular. Tourists frequent the mosque not only to see its architectural arrangement, but also the place of worship's dome, which is gold-coated. It is therefore called the Mosque of the Golden Dome.

About five kilometers away to the west of Jakarta, precisely in Sawa-ngan, Depok, a mosque has been built by collecting pennies from drivers. From a distance, a man with speaker urges people to donate. God's name is uttered.

Drums are installed in the middle of the street to force drivers slow their cars. Men and women, covering their heads, faces and hands to fight the heat, are holding containers to collect donations.

It is unclear whether it is legal to collect donations in such a way. But I know people who do this job earn money for themselves. So this is not really about donations. It is business!

We don't have to talk about the Samarinda Mosque or Mosque of the Golden Dome. But we need to talk about those poorly organized mosques that are at risk of being manipulated by any group of people.

Embezzlement is so rampant in this country that it involves not only white collar workers, but also white cap clerics.

Poor organization raises problems that are relevant for our discussion: Mosques are at risk of being used by radical groups.

I argue that any deradicalization attempts in Indonesia without taking mosques into account will come to failure.

Efforts should begin from the mosque because the mosque is the place where everything happens. Like it or not, many terrorist groups have misused mosques for their activities: promoting their ideologies or recruiting new cadres.

This is because most mosques are too informal and too exposed. Anybody can come in, pray, read, talk, sleep, or even date.

Informality is not necessarily bad. In the previous times, Islam was easily advocated through informal networks (family, marriage, sufi order, student, trader). But in modern times, this is serious.

In a seminar, Liberal Islam Network (JIL) activist Luthfi Asysyaukanie complained about findings that more and more mosques were taken over by non-moderate Muslim groups.

Muslim professionals working in downtown Jakarta have also complained about the same thing. They love to go to mosques but not to listen to the cleric's arguments which, in the name of God, sometimes urge Muslims to attack other groups.

Sadly to say, moderate Muslim intellectuals at all levels do not really care about the mosque. They go to the mosque once a week, hesitatingly sitting under the verandah and waiting for the preachers to end their speech.

To give a sermon, let alone to be active in mosque management, is a big deal. Yet they are too busy with seminars and conferences, giving talks on TV or radio – a job that earns them money and popularity.

The mosque has gradually lost its magnet on these groups. Whereas in the past, quoting Sidi Gazalba, it had become the place for ritual and the center for Muslim civilization.

I know the late moderate Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid gave sermons. But most of his successors do not. One by one, Muslim intellectuals are gone as the hall of fame moves to the media, which may link them to politics and power.

This is probably the reason why I have never heard Komaruddin Hidayat or Bahtiar Effendy give a sermon.

The question is, what will happen if this strategic institution is taken over by narrow-minded people? What will it be if massive audiences are injected by bigoted doctrines? The answer is radicalism.

We need to reform our mosques that, at least, should take care of with two important issues: management and financial support.

Management is not something new for a mosque. In 1972, the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI) was founded.

This organization claims to have the largest number of members in the country. Instead of improving mosque management, DMI is involved in politics together with other Islamic organizations that tend to oppose religious pluralism.

Needless to say, moderate Muslim groups are not interested in this organization. So, wherever you go, the story of this country is the same. Bus stations are run by vigilantes, parliament by nasty politicians and mosques by radical groups.

How can mosques find strong financial support? This is a tough question. But realizing that most of the mosques in our country belong to society and realizing that there are a number of charities society pays to support religious and social activities, mosques deserve top priority.

This means the state should refrain from organizing and distributing alms, religious endowments and other forms of charity. Let civic associations, in this case mosques, organize this. The charities can be used for salary payment of mosque functionaries.

Deradicalization begins with empowering civic associations and redistribution of economic resources. For this reason, we don't need a bill on giving alms, as it will impoverish civic associations. It is a backlash.

Radicalism will never be resolved unless the state and civil society mutually co-exist.

[The writer is pursuing a doctoral degree at Boston University.]

Monkey Mail: Soekarno-Hatta Airport, I love thee

Jakarta Globe - November 10, 2011

Robert Finlayson – No one I know loves Soetta, aka Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, except me. I don't love it simply because it's unloved; I'm not that much of an altruist (altruism is an impossible position, anyway). I love it for a number of reasons, some of which are why I loathe the new Terminal 3 at Soetta. So please take note that my love applies only to Terminals 1 and 2, not that awful Terminal 3 that everyone else fawns upon like a sinetron starlet.

"Its so clean and neat and modern," they say, though they may not say the same things about a sinetron starlet, I agree. And they say it like it's a good thing to be clean, neat and modern!

Soetta 1 and 2 aren't modern anymore, but they once were – their design was unique, referencing Indonesian traditional housing styles: Minangkabau and Javanese roof-lines come to mind without much effort. They're airy without being cavernous, spacious without being echoingly empty. But there is actual emptiness! Astonishing that an airport that saw 43.7 million passengers go through its doors in 2010 can still provide a sense of emptiness, and even coziness.

My favorite cozy spot in the international terminal is a tiny hole in the wall called, somewhat modestly, Snack Bar. It's opposite a place called Duty Free, which is where one goes to spray oneself with perfume in preparation for having someone stinky next to you on the long haul to wherever.

Snack Bar has cold beer. Very cold beer. And smokers. And Our Arab Brethren and Our Japanese Friends and Our Aussie Surfer Dudes all mingling on the three seats. It's like being in Kuta or Mombasa in the 1970s, but it doesn't have ice cream – the nice young chap in the batik shirt laughs mildly at you if you ask for ice cream. If you want ice cream you have to go somewhere else. Where, I don't know, but certainly somewhere else. Snack Bar has instant noodles on display and, I suppose from time to time, someone buys and eats them. It also has cockroaches roaming around; not the giant sort that take control of the bathroom and write Great Novels, but the long, slim, limousine-type with a mild, burnished, red-gold sheen. They cheer me up if I'm feeling a bit glum. Snack Bar is a Great and Good Thing. There is no Snack Bar in Terminal 3. In Terminal 3 you can probably only get yogurt sandwiches with lots of white teeth, to go.

There is no stainless steel in Soetta. There are empty shops. There are staff lounging about happy to flirt, giggle and slap each other. There are places with no air-conditioning. There are nice gardens to look at. There are signs saying "no smoking" and delayed passengers sitting under them, smoking. There are lots of places to get your feet massaged. There is a general air of relaxation and "couldn't care less" about the demands of Efficiency and Progress.

What an enormous relief. Soetta makes me happy. Soetta makes air travel seem like hanging out in a warung. May the gods keep it so!

When politics, law collide

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 8, 2011

The decision by the Law and Human Rights Ministry last week to issue a moratorium on sentence remissions for graft convicts while observing frequent cases of controversial sentence reductions for convicted corruptors deserves the full support of us all, for better or worse.

Such a policy will expectedly ensure justice is served and eventually improve the image of the country's judicial system, which has been repeatedly tarnished by cases of irregularities and violations of laws and regulations.

Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana recently announced a policy that prohibits all penitentiary facilities from granting freedom to graft convicts. The policy was made following reports and allegations that graft convicts had found ways to get out of prison early by paying off prison supervisors. With the new policy, priorities for sentence remissions will only be given to, among others, justice collaborators who have cooperated with law enforcers and helped uncover corruption cases.

Media reports have said that no less than 21 corruptors walked free after being granted sentence reductions on Independence Day in August and another 235 corruptors received remissions. Eight were actually released from prisons on Idul Fitri in September – all because they had demonstrated good behavior during their prison terms. Those receiving remissions included former chairman of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Widjanarko Puspoyo, former Bank Mandiri president director ECW Neloe, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Muhammad Misbakhun and businesswoman Artalyta Suryani.

The decision, which came in light of the recent leadership change within the ministry, is not free from political consequences. Perhaps the idea was genuine and completely meant to enforce the laws and regulations intended to uphold justice. However, the fact that it had automatically put a halt to the release of politicians – particularly from the Golkar Party, where several members had been convicted of receiving bribes during the 2004 election of central bank senior deputy governor Miranda S. Goeltom – has angered political parties that are part of the Democratic Party-led coalition and the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P), whose politicians have also been implicated in the case.

Despite their political interests, the related political parties have their point when challenging the ministry's decision. The policy is obviously against Government Regulation No. 28/2006 regarding the treatment of inmates, which clearly lays out the provisions for inmates who meet certain criteria to receive remissions, in addition to Law No. 12/1995 on correctional institutions.

While the spirit behind the ministry's decision to temporarily halt the issuance of sentence remissions for graft convicts is merely to uphold justice in the fight against corruption and is largely acceptable among the general public, the policy itself will undoubtedly bring legal consequences that may cause the immediate termination of the policy itself. It is very likely that individuals or parties who have been impacted by the new policy will legally challenge its validity and lawfulness at the Supreme Court – a channel available for contesting all legal products that rank lower than a law.

The Law and Human Rights Ministry has been determined to move on with the new policy. The fact is, however, that substance is against the 2006 government regulation and the 1995 law and could cost the government losses in a legal battle.

It is, therefore, advisable for the ministry to postpone the implementation of the new policy while awaiting the revision of the government regulation and the law. Justice delayed does not necessarily mean that justice is denied.

West Papua's cry for help

Aljazeera - November 8, 2011

William Lloyd George – While the international community is fixated on events taking place across the Middle East, they are turning a blind eye to desperate cries for help by the Papuan people. Seeing Indonesian rule of their land as illegal, countless West Papuans across the island are growing increasingly frustrated with the status quo.

As video of Gaddafi's dead body haunted TV screens across the world, images of beaten and murdered Papuans boomed around social media in the Asia- Pacific. Their crime: to peacefully raise their national flag and declare independence.

The meeting was supposed to be peaceful. Thousands of Papuan leaders from across the country descended on the region's largest city, Jayapura, to attend a national congress. Then, after the Papuan leaders installed a national government, the peace was broken.

Having waited on the fringes of the congress, the signal was given, and hundreds of heavily armed police stormed the compound. It is reported that the attendees had been peacefully dancing for an hour when the crackdown took place. While the Indonesian police say only warning shots were fired, several bodies have been found with bullet wounds. More than five people are believed have been killed – local human rights groups say 17 – some are still missing, hundreds arrested, and countless people wounded and in hiding.

The government was quick to blame the incident on "separatists". Jayapura's Chief of Police, Imam Setiawan said they had no choice but to crackdown on the congress, as an act of treason had been committed. Despite the mortalities and suffering, he showed no remorse for what had happened. "Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity, I will do the same as yesterday. I'll finish them," said Setiawan.

"So, if there is anyone supporting such movements, I'm ready to die and finish them. This is my duty."

While the government calls their declaration for independence an act of treason, those inside West Papua see it as part of a struggle to reclaim their land.

Although Indonesia officially gained independence in 1949, the Dutch government kept control over West Papua until 1961. Eager to get his hands on the resource rich region, Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, made repeated attempts through the United Nations to gain ownership. Frustrated with a lack of progress, Indonesia deployed tens of thousands of armed troops to take the western half of New Guinea Island, by force.

The Kennedy administration, keen to avoid confrontation and the loss of another Asian country to communism, brokered the New York Agreement between the Dutch and Jakarta in 1962. The agreement transferred control of the colony to Indonesia on the condition it committed to hold a referendum on independence, to be called the 'Act of Free Choice'.

In 1969, 1,025 handpicked Papuans – out of a population of over one million – were chosen for the vote. These 'representatives' unanimously elected for West Papua to remain within Indonesian sovereignty. Amid allegations of threats to voters, a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office briefing that year found "the process of consultation did not allow a genuinely free choice to be made", while the US Ambassador to Indonesia said, "95 per cent of indigenous Papuans wanted to have freedom".

Across West Papua, the Act was seen as a complete sham, fuelling protests and inspiring parts of the population to take up arms. The Indonesian military launched widespread campaigns to quell dissent. Thousands of refugees fled the country and members of the resistance set up armed groups deep in the jungle – where they remain today still fighting for independence.

A teary-eyed general

In February this year, I travelled undercover to West Papua. Foreign journalists are restricted from working freely there, so I had to evade detection by the authorities. Relying on networks of the independence movement, I was whisked into a boat and taken deep into the jungle to meet General Richard Youweni, one of the longest running commanders in the rebel army.

Flanked by tribal soldiers in traditional attire, the teary-eyed general told me how he was an engineering student in Jayapura when the conflict began. Hearing what was happening to his people, he quickly returned. "I could not just stand by and let Indonesia take our land," Youweni told me seemingly haunted by the memory. "They do not care about our people or our land, they just want to take our resources." The same grievances were reiterated by the rest of the commanders. Many cried at the memories of Papuan people being tortured or killed by the Indonesian army.

Many West Papuans see Indonesia as a neocolonialist power that is only interested in the country's resources [EPA] The rebels are fractured, poorly armed, and lack international support, but their dedication to their land and people is evident. One of the commanders, Freddie Laboi, makes sure I know this. "We might be small and poorly equipped," he says with a cheeky grin. "But we will continue to fight to win back our land, which is rightfully ours." The day I came out of the jungle, thousands of protesters had gathered outside a government building to protest against the continued rule by Indonesia. In recent months, the protest leaders, inspired by events remaking the Arab world, are launching protests on an almost weekly basis.

The following day, I met with the student protesters on the outskirts of Jayapura – They were hiding from the security forces, fearing arrest for their organisation of the protests, the day before. One by one they took it in to turns, telling me about their dreams of liberating West Papua. Explaining how poverty levels are high, and they believe Jakarta's only interest in their land is resource extraction. They said they did not want international companies to continue destroying their land.

"They have no right to be here, they did not ask for our permission," said the student's spokesman who is currently behind bars in Jayapura for organising the congress on October 19. "It is destroying our land and does not help the people".

The Grasberg Mine has been criticised by environmental groups worldwide – and by Indonesia's own environment ministers – for the severe damage caused by its waste deposits. The Norwegian government went as far as divesting around US $1bn of shares in Rio Tinto, citing concerns over environmental damage from the mine.

Other concerns lie in Freeport-McMoRan-Rio Tinto paying the Indonesian military millions of dollars every year to protect the mine, which have been accused of committing human rights abuses against Papuan villagers.

Freeport's beginnings in West Papua are particularly shady. The first contract was signed with Indonesian President Suharto in 1957, before Indonesia had even gained control of West Papua. Former US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger having visited Indonesia the day before the invasion of West Papua, now sits on the board of the company,

In the week leading up to the events at the congress, separate protests had been held near the Grasberg mine. While these protests were isolated, the incidents share the same underlying roots and grievances. "We're being exploited by Indonesia and these international companies," said one protest leader. Their main demand was a rise in wages. Each miner receives only $1.50 per hour, from a company that is the biggest taxpayer to the Indonesian government and has such high profits that the strikes cost the company over $30m every day.

While the Indonesian government and international companies make vast profits from natural resources on the island, the local Papuans live in abject poverty. The United Nations Development Programme says about 35 per cent of West Papua's population lives below the poverty line, contrasting with the Indonesian national average of about 13 per cent.

Neocolonialist ventures

According to the United Nations Children's Fund, secondary school enrollment in Papua is only 60 per cent compared with a national average of 91 per cent. And as more companies come to the islanders, bringing non- Papuans, the situation is not expected to improve.

According to Jago Wadley, senior forest campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency, if the fast rate of resource extraction continues, Papua will "lose millions of hectares of forests and be stripped of valuable resources without the benefits of value-adding industries to create wealth and jobs locally".

Instead, only foreign companies, Jakarta and a small group of Papuan elites will benefit. Wadley adds that the rising interest in Papua's resources "will see an influx of millions of migrants from other parts of Indonesia, likely limiting indigenous Papuans to a tiny minority in their own land".

Some commentators, he notes, see the rapid development as "politically ideological in its aims" and an "effective foil to calls for independence".

While some Papuans have become pacified over the years, it is clear there is growing dissent from within West Papua. Few are willing to stand by and watch Indonesia continue to exploit their land, and violently repress their desperate pleas for independence. The violence, which took place in congress, is likely to further ignite hatred towards Jakarta and many are expecting the situation to get more tense in coming weeks.

The international community has done little to help or even highlight the West Papuan struggle for independence. Human rights groups estimate that over 400,000 Papuans have been killed since Indonesia began its quest to colonise the nation. Despite the plight of Papuan people, few around the world are aware of the how they have suffered over the years.

Like the international community recognised Indonesia's wrongful occupation of East Timor, it also needs to recognise the illegal occupation of West Papua. The international community must pressure the Indonesian government to listen to the voices of the independence movement, and the Papuan activists' repeated calls for dialogue with Jakarta, which have been ignored.

Having been denied the right to democratically vote for the future of their country in 1969, the Papuan people deserve a referendum free of pressure and harassment. Jakarta needs to immediately allow human rights groups into the country to monitor abuses taking place, almost daily.

It is clear that the Papuan people will not back down. Despite the violent attack on congress, thousands of Papuans rallied on October 31 demanding an investigation into human rights abuses committed at the congress. Shadowed by hundreds of Indonesian security forces, the protesters defiantly called for the release of all political prisoners.

The question remains on many West Papuan minds, why can Indonesia get away with shooting unarmed people, but other governments cannot. The international community also must ask themselves the same question. The pleas of the Papuan people were ignored in 1969, and with growing tensions, cannot be ignored again.

"The difference between us and the Middle East," Jacob says, "is that we're not fighting a dictator. We're fighting invading neocolonialists who have stolen our land."

"If the international community doesn't help us, West Papuan people will slowly perish while fighting for the independence we deserve."

[William Lloyd George is a freelance correspondent reporting on under reported stories around the globe. Follow him on Twitter. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.]

Book & film reviews

Film: Dancing through Indonesia's dark days

Jakarta Globe - November 8, 2011

Lisa Siregar – The new movie "Sang Penari" ("The Dancer") is only the third Indonesian film to chronicle one of the country's most violent, unspoken periods: the anti-communist purge that heralded the start of the New Order era.

The movie – based on the novel "Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk" by Ahmad Tohari – tells a love story in the 1960s that unfolds during the 30 September Movement, which led to the fall of former President Sukarno and the killings of hundreds of thousands of Indonesians.

"I like that this film visualizes what the poor were going through, and it shows the killings I witnessed at the time but couldn't write about in my novel," Ahmad said.

"Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk" was first published in the 1980s, when Suharto's anti-communist New Order regime was still in power. "Had I written about the killings, I probably would have been shot by Suharto," Ahmad said.

Following a three-year absence after his first feature film, "Garuda di Dadaku" ("Garuda on My Chest"), Yogyakarta-born director Ifa Isfansyah has harnessed all his creative energy for "Sang Penari." "I know I have to represent my generation, so this film takes the perspective of the Millennial generation," Ifa said.

Other films about this time period include the late Arifin C. Noer's "G30S/PKI" from 1984 and Riri Riza's "Gie" from 2005, about the life of activist Soe Hok Gie.

"Sang Penari" describes the love story of Srintil (Prisia Nasution) and Rasus (Nyoman Oka Antara), and it takes place in the poor Central Java village of Dukuh Paruk.

Young Srintil has a passion for dance and wants to become a ronggeng, a traditional dancer who plays an important role in Dukuh Paruk rituals, and who villagers believe must be born, not made.

Srintil's parents, meanwhile, unknowingly sell poisonous tempeh to the Dukuh Paruk villagers, including the established ronggeng, who dies from the food along with Srintil's parents and other community members.

Twelve years later, a magic man (Slamet Rahardjo) declares Srintil a gifted ronggeng, though the job is not quite what she expected. If she wants to officially become the community ronggeng, she must be willing to please any man who offers the highest bid to spend a night with her – a tradition known as buka kelambu (opening the veil).

For Srintil, the tradition is an opportunity to devote herself to the village and make up for the tragic accident involving her parents. But for her longtime lover, Rasus, buka kelambu is hard to stomach; he wants Srintil for himself.

Torn between guilt, devotion, love and her passion for dance, Srintil decides to proceed with the tradition and become a ronggeng, prompting a broken-hearted Rasus to join the Army. In the service Rasus meets a sergeant named Binsar (Tio Pakusadewo), who teaches him to read and wins his loyalty.

Beyond the love story, the movie's larger narrative focuses on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), whose members are spreading their ideology.

Bakar (Lukman Sardi), the Communist Party's representative for Dukuh Paruk, encourages the villagers to demand their land rights and convinces them that the party understands agrarian causes. The villagers, who lack knowledge of national political conflicts, heed his call and align themselves with the PKI.

But when the 30 September Movement sweeps across the country, their allegiance works against them, and they are slaughtered by Indonesian soldiers on a mission to purge the country of communists.

"Sang Penari" features regular Indonesians who are simply struggling to survive their day-to-day lives, in keeping with Ahmad's novel about normal people who are naive about the country's complex political situation.

Screenwriter Salman Aristo said he went through 12 drafts for "Sang Penari" before settling on a plot, a process that took about two years of research and discussions.

"This is a rural point of view about the 30 September Movement, and I had to make a few changes from the book to support this perspective," Salman said.

"This novel is a brave one," he added. " It is important not only for Indonesian literature, but also for our history."

Indonesian history is full of layers, he said, including some that remain unexplored today.

Ifa, the director, said making the film was an eye-opening process. Born in 1979, nearly a decade after the tragedy, he said he was more familiar with the occupation of the House of Representatives in 1999 than the mass killings of the 1960s.

For many people born during the New Order, the mass killings took on the status of myth, as they were typically left out of the country's history books.

Ifa said he also struggled to adapt a 1960s love story for a contemporary audience. "I had to include kissing scenes, even though, as Slamet [Rahardjo] told me, young people in the 1960s didn't kiss," he said.

Also working on the film was veteran cinematographer Yadi Sugandi, as well as a team that worked with Ifa on his first feature film, including producer Shanty Harmayn, screenwriter Salman Aristo and composers Aksan Sjuman and Titi Sjuman.

"Sang Penari" opens in theaters on Thursday and Shanty is confident the movie will end up selling at least a million tickets.

The film will be available with English subtitles during screenings at Plaza Senayan.