Nani Afrida, Jakarta – An Acehnese civil society group says it has reported Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf to the National Police for issuing a business licence to a company to convert 1,605 hectares in Tripa Swamp, Aceh, into a palm oil plantation.

Koalisi Masyarakat Peduli Tripa (Community Coalition for Tripa Swamp) said it had also reported six other officials allegedly involved in the business license issuance, including the Nagan Raya regent and the heads of Aceh's forestry and plantation agency, land agency (BPN) and integrated permit service agency (BP2T).

Tripa Swamp is part of the Leuser Ecosystem Area (KEL), located along the west coast of Aceh, which comprises vast swaths of peatlands rich in biodiversity, including the world's largest orangutan population. Irawandi imposed a moratorium on forest conversion in the area in 2007.

"The governor announced the forest moratorium in 2007, but he broke his promise by issuing the permit licence for the company," Kamaruddin, the lawyer representing the coalition, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The coalition's document showed that the Aceh governor had issued a permit to the company on Aug. 25 of this year. The company had first requested the permit from the Nagan Raya regent in 2007.

"The issuance of the license for the company to develop Tripa Swamp is a criminal violation of spatial planning. The government should protect the area for the people's sake," Sexio Yuni Noor, another lawyer, said.

Riswan, a spartial planning expert focusing on Aceh and North Sumatra, said that half of the total 60,000-hectare area of Tripa Swamp had been converted into palm oil plantations.

At least four companies have licenses to develop plantations in the swamp, Riswan said. The companies are PT Astra Agro Lestari, PT Gelora Sawit Makmur, PT Cemerlang Abadi and PT Patriot Guna Sakti. The four companies attained official land use certificates (HGU) from the central government before the governor announced the moratorium.

Riswan said that the latest licence issued by Irwandi could further reduce the peatland, and disturb the environmental balance.

"The company has worked in the area even though they do not have HGUs. They have converted the peatland, burned the plants and created canals for the plantations. This has disturbed the orangutans and other animals there," Riswan said.

Sexio said that the coalition demanded that the governor revoke the business licences and restore the Tripa Swamp to its original state. The Aceh governor could not be reached for comment.

Tripa Swamp is well-known for being home to the world's largest population of Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii).

Aceh chief sued over plantation in forest

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A leading environmental group is suing Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf for allegedly approving a permit for an palm oil plantation inside a protected peat forest.

T.M. Zulfikar, executive director of the Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said on Thursday that his organization filed suit at the Banda Aceh State Administrative Court a day earlier.

He said the suit arose from Irwandi's decision on Aug. 25 to issue a permit to palm oil company Kallista Alam for a concession inside the Tripa peat swamp in Nagan Raya district.

"The permit signed by Irwandi is for the conversion of 1,605 hectares of protected forests in the Tripa peat swamp into a palm oil plantation, destroying forests and peatlands protected by prevailing laws that forbid any new permits on primary forests and peatlands," Zulfikar said. "By issuing the permit and violating these laws, the governor could face up to five years in prison."

Zulfikar said he believed that Irwandi had been pressured by interest groups to approve the plantation permit.

"Sources in the provincial administration have stated that this 'uncharacteristic' signing of the permit suggests Irwandi was under heavy pressure to sign it," he said. "That it was issued shows the governor didn't really understand what he was signing."

Zulfikar said that Walhi and other nongovernmental organizations filed the lawsuit to have the permit revoked. He added that they went to the court only after earlier pleas to the governor were ignored.

Kamaruddin, the lead lawyer for the NGOs, said that in addition to the lawsuit, they had also filed a criminal complaint against Irwandi with the National Police on Wednesday.

He added that because the permit was for a concession in a peat forest, it clearly went against a two-year moratorium adopted in May on new permits for primary and peat forests.

The moratorium, formalized under a presidential decree, is part of an agreement between Indonesia and Norway in which the Scandinavian country has committed $1 billion to help Indonesia meet its carbon emissions reduction target.

Kamaruddin said the governor had also breached the 2008 National Spatial Planning Law, which designates the entire Leuser Ecosystem Area a protected zone. "For that reason, issuing plantation permit within the area is a criminal offense," he said, adding that Irwandi could be charged with abuse of power.

He said the affair brought into question Indonesia's commitment to honoring the terms of its agreement with Norway.

Irwandi and the provincial administration's legal affairs head, Makmur Ibrahim, did not respond to a request for comment from the Jakarta Globe.

West Papua

West Papuan leader urges peaceful defiance in the lead-up to December 1st

West Papua Media - November 30, 2011

[Exclusive interview by Alex Rayfield (New Matilda) with West Papua Media.]

The President of the Federal Republic of West Papua may be behind bars, he may have been savagely beaten by the Indonesian police, but he has not been silenced. From his 5x4 meter cell in the bowels of the Jayapura Police Station – quarters he shares with five other Papuans also charged with rebellion against the Indonesian state – Forkorus Yaboisembut recently issued a rousing call to action smuggled out of prison.

"To all the Papuan people" Yaboisembut writes, "don't be afraid to celebrate December 1st, whether you do so simply, or as part of large gatherings. Do not be afraid because we, the Papuan people, do not intend to destroy any country; we only wish to defend our political rights."

Our interview, the first – clandestine – interview with Western media, may be constrained by time and space, but I can picture the tribal elder from previous meetings. He is a quietly spoken man, late in years but strong and alert. He walks tall, sits up straight and dresses neatly in long dark pants; polished slip-on shoes and patterned but subdued crisply ironed business shirts. His short hair and longish grey beard gives him the look of an Old Testament prophet, grandfatherly if you like.

It is painful to think that he when he was arrested on October 19 he was tortured so badly that he could barely sit down – or stand. Dominikus Surabut, from the West Papua Council of Customary Tribal Chiefs, who was detained with the man who is now the President of the Federal Republic of West Papua and who was also badly tortured, tells me that when Mr Yaboisembut was arrested the Police beat him mercilessly with a rifle butt, raining blows down on his head and crashing their weapons into his solar plexus. In a widely published Indonesian language account of the arrest, a religious leader said that an Indonesian soldier was ready to shot him dead but was urged not to by a policeman.

West Papuan's political rights, Mr Yaboisembut says, are inalienable. "Whether you take the United Nations founding document, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Political Rights or even the Indonesian Constitution as your starting point, Papuans have the right to self-determination."

"The preamble to the 1945 Indonesian Constitution mentions expressly, that independence is the right of all Nations, and because of this colonialism must be swept away, it is consistent with the principles of justice and humanity. Consequently, the people of Papua cannot be blamed in accordance with any law for wanting to celebrate their national day."

These ideas, the same ideas that inspired Indonesians to liberate themselves from Dutch rule, are igniting the imagination of entire generation who yearn to be free. What makes Mr Yaboisembut's ideas even more extraordinary is that he is urging an insurrection that grounded in what he calls "human dignity".

"December the first 2011, is the fiftieth anniversary of when Papuans first raised the Morning Star flag. It is our golden anniversary, the year of God's liberation" he says evoking the images of the ancient Jewish custom of Jubilee – of freeing captives and erasing debts. "It must be celebrated in an atmosphere of peace, safety and calm".

"To Papuans, I therefore say, do not carry out acts of terror, intimidation or commit violence of any kind towards anyone, for whatever reason, whether they are Papuan or migrants.

"Do not be afraid," Mr Yaboisembut repeats, "God is with us."

"The roots of our oppression is political" says Mr Selphius Bobii, Chair of the Committee of the Third Papuan Congress, who also shares a cell with Mr Yaboisembut and Surabut. "The annexation of our country by Indonesia and the acquiescence of the international community has resulted in state sanctioned human rights violations and creeping genocide."

Those arrested on October 19 in the wake of the Third Papuan Congress are not backing down from the declaration of independence. "We are committed to using people power, diplomacy and the law to achieve our rights" Bobii tells me.

Dominikus Surabut says that he and the other prisoners are refusing to sign police statements charging them with "rebellion" (makar) under sections 106 and 110 of the Indonesian Criminal Code.

"We have done nothing wrong" Surabut says. "We have a political right to declare independence. We do not seek to destroy Indonesia or any other country. On the contrary, it is the Indonesia state that has attacked us."

How can it be, they rhetorically ask, that the Indonesian police get written warnings for killing Papuans when Papuan activists nonviolently exercising their rights to freedom of expression are beaten and jailed?

Is this the same country that Obama and Gillard lauded for being a beacon of democracy?

In a widely published letter in support of Papuan political prisoners Human Rights Watch says that the articles under which the six Papuan political prisoners arrested after the Third Papuan Congress have been charged "are a legacy from the Dutch colonial era".

Charging nonviolent activists with rebellion is "in violation of the Indonesian Constitution, Articles 28(e) and 28(f) which respectively afford "the right to the freedom of association and expression of opinion," and "the right to communicate and obtain information for the development of his/her personal life and his/her social environment, and shall have the right to seek, acquire, possess, keep, process and convey information by using all available channels."

The charge of rebellion is also inconsistent with Indonesia's international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which Indonesia ratified in 2006, a point which the jailed Papuan leaders make repeatedly to me. Besides, the Papuan leaders sigh, we have been left with no other option. "Special Autonomy has totally failed and even the MRP, a state institution convened a meeting which came up with eleven recommendations, one of which was to hold the Third Papuan Congress."

Outside their police cell, in the streets of the cities and towns of West Papua, in the cloud covered mountains and on the coconut palm fringed coasts a new political consensus is emerging. This consensus has been forged not through endless meetings of the Diaspora, nor in stillborn discussions with political elites in Jakarta, nor in the conference halls of NGO deliberations, but in the furnace of political action. It is simply this: that West Papua must be free.

After the Congress three overlapping political groupings have emerged: the Papuan Peace Network who is calling for political dialogue, the West Papua National Committee who demands a referendum, and the Papua Congress leaders (supported by a loose alliance made up of the West Papua National Authority, the Council of Customary Papuan Chiefs, the Presidium Dewan Papua, and the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation).

The killings of nonviolent Papuans by the Indonesian police and military on October 19 have divided ordinary Indonesians, flushing out ultra- nationalists and their racist discourse, and outraging political moderates longing for a different kind of future than the one left to them by former dictator Suharto.

Inside Papua the massacre appears to be having a unifying effect, although Papuan politics remains complex affair. The West Papua National Committee who opposed the Congress later marched in support of the six political prisoners. Father Neles Tebay, respected intellectual and leader of the Papua Peace Network has intensified the demand for political dialogue. It is a call that has been supported by Yaboisembut and others. "All Papuans, wherever they are must respect the dialogue process democratically initiated through the Papuan Peace Conference and the Papuan Peace Network" wrote Mr Yaboisembut in a message smuggled out of prison.

Whether the Indonesian police and military act in a similarly dignified manner, or not, remains to be seen.

As I write this a long-term Papuan human rights activist sends me this message: "there's an increase of military patrol of soldiers around Jayapura Township." Some put the numbers as high as forty thousand. Reports are filtering in of troop surges in Sorong, Paniai (where gunshots have been heard), the border region and Jayapura.

"The atmosphere here is quiet but eerie" my friend writes. We are all waiting to see what December 1 will bring.

Papuan leader's welfare causes concern

Australian Associated Press - November 30, 2011

Karlis Salna – Concerns are held for the welfare of a prominent Papuan leader allegedly beaten by Indonesian security forces in the aftermath of a pro-independence rally last month.

The concerns have been raised as thousands of people prepare to attend rallies in various cities across Papua on Thursday to mark an unofficial independence day and the 50th anniversary of the first raising of the Morning Star flag, a symbol of Papuan independence.

At least three people were killed and scores more injured when Indonesian security forces stormed the rally in the Papuan capital of Abepura on October 19 after the raising of the Morning Star flag. The raising of the flag is illegal under Indonesian law.

As many as 300 people were arrested, while video footage broadcast on Australian television also showed police and military personnel beating unarmed protesters including children.

While most of those arrested have been released, Forkorus Yaboisembut, a senior figure in the Papua Customary Council, remains in custody. Along with four others, Yaboisembut is now facing charges of treason.

A medical officer who visited the 72-year-old this week reported he had been badly beaten on his chest. Another council member, Dominikus Surabut, had severe injuries to his back, said the medical officer, who did not wish to be named.

The report could not be verified because the Indonesian government has banned foreign journalists and non-government organisations, including human rights groups, from travelling to Papua.

A spokesman for Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday said he had concerns for the welfare of the group but especially Yaboisembut and Surabut. He also criticised the use of force by Indonesian police and military at last month's rally.

"The Indonesian government justifies the use of violence in Papua on the grounds that the police were doing it in self-defence," he told AAP. "Is hitting a 72-year-old man considered to be self-defence?"

Before Yaboisembut's arrest, documents from Indonesia's special-forces unit, Kopassus, which receives training from Australia, showed he was at the top of the military's watch list.

The journalist who recorded the footage of the aftermath of the rally on October 19 was also subsequently arrested and interrogated, but later released.

A spokesman for the Papua police, however, denied Yaboisembut or any other members of his group had been beaten. Colonel Wachyono said authorities had also taken "pre-emptive" measures to avoid further violence at pro- independence rallies planned for December 1, including ensuring that police would not be carrying firearms.

"But on the other hand, law enforcement will still be applied," he said. "We will let them do their event and if anything happened like raising the Morning Star flag, then they will be summoned to give explanation."

The comments come after the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre and HRW earlier this week raised concerns about the likelihood of a repeat of last month's violence on Thursday. The day will also mark an unofficial independence day and the 50th anniversary of the first raising of the Morning Star flag.

Indonesia has been battling a long-running but low-level insurgency since its takeover of Papua in 1969. But the province in recent months has been wracked by its worst violence in years.

At least 40 people have been killed as a result of the violence since the beginning of July, according to figures from Indonesia's Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence.

Police: 'We are proud of and love Papua'

Antara News - November 30, 2011

Despite a plan to deploy two-thirds of Papua's police force to ensure security on the anniversary of the Free Papua Organization on Thursday, police said on Wednesday that they love Papua.

"We advise all people to maintain public order," National Police spokesman Ins. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said on Wednesday. "If they want to conduct religious services, please do it. We are proud of and love Papua."

Papuans plan to raise the Morning Star flag, an independence symbol, to celebrate the anniversary on Thursday. "Papua police will deploy two-thirds of its force to secure several regions, among others Puncak Jaya, Timika and Jayapura," Saud said.

The national police will also send a mobile brigade company from North Sulawesi to secure the celebration in Jayapura, Puncak Jaya and Paniai. Another 800 police officers will secure the Freeport mining area in Mimika.

"Preventive action will be done by regional and provincial police by patrolling in all regions," Saud said. "There will also be vehicle searches."

Saud said police will try and persuade people not to raise the Morning Star flag. "If we can advise and guide them, why should we arrest?"

Tensions high in Papua ahead of OPM day

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura – Authorities are beefing up security in Papua amid rumors of unrest ahead of events scheduled for the 50th anniversary of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) on Dec. 1.

Residents in several cities in the nation's easternmost province have reported receiving fear-mongering text messages warning of possible unrest or violence on Thursday.

The rumors come in the wake of a series of shootings by unidentified gunmen, allegations that authorities were involved in the wrongful deaths of native Papuans and violent protests led by striking workers against mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said 1,688 officers had been dispatched to key locations in Papua and would be supported by an additional 400 Mobile Brigade special operations unit officers temporarily assigned to the province.

National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman said the agency had intensified talks with community leaders on security issues.

"Building communication with all stakeholders is necessary in order to avoid any bad things from happening on Dec. 1," Marciano said, adding that he had persuaded community leaders to ignore calls from some groups demanding Papuan independence.

Markus Haluk, the head of a Papuan student association, said students would hold peaceful activities on Thursday. "The Dec. 1 commemoration is the political right of all Papuans. We should not be afraid to celebrate it," he said, adding that Papuans should ignore rumors of violence.

Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Alfred Papare denied that the police had taken part in distributing alarmist text messages about OPM's anniversary.

One such text message read: "Emergency: those who do not originate from Papua are advised not to leave their houses after 9 p.m. The political issues concerning the OPM have been heating up. The movement has allegedly been picking-up power and support." "This info is from the police," the massage continued. "Pass it on."

Jayapura Mayor Benhur Tommy Mano also dismissed the rumors. "Don't buy into such rumors coming from irresponsible culprits. Keep going about your daily business," Benhur told reporters in Jayapura on Tuesday.

Previous celebrations of OPM's anniversary have been marred by contentious incidents, such as the raising of the group outlawed "Morning Star" flag, leading to the arrest of several Papuans for treason.

A Papuan studying in Jakarta, Oktovianus Pagau, said that some of his fellow students had returned home due to an intensifying campaign of intimidation, including several raids on Papuan student dormitories.

"Some who have decided to stay in Jakarta and Yogjakarta will hold rallies against the government on Dec. 1," Okto said. Papuan students in Jakarta would go on a long march from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta to the Presidential Palace to mark the anniversary, he said.

A student from Timika, Papua, Carly Wilson Takimae, died on Tuesday. His colleagues alleged the student activist was killed to prevent him from mobilizing Papuan students in Jakarta on Dec 1.

The police allege that Carly died due to an illness. The third Papuan Congress in Abepura in October devolved into mayhem, leading to four deaths. (rpt)

Papua shootout shatters calm before 'independence anniversary'

Jakarta Globe - November 30, 2011

Banjir Ambarita & Ulma Haryanto – A shootout between security forces and guerillas has rocked the restive province of Papua, already on high alert for today's planned demonstrations by pro-independence activists.

Gunshots were heard on Tuesday evening in a village in Papua's Paniai district as officers from the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) clashed with members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM).

"The shooting started at about 6 p.m.," a resident, Yafet Gobay, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. "Some people have sought refuge in other villages."

As part of a government plan to quell security disturbances in the province, it has sent more police officers and soldiers into districts it says are known OPM bases. "Yesterday 96 officers attempted to set up posts here but then the OPM came and started shooting at them," Yafet said.

Both sides, he said, were only trying to scare each other off, and they were all shooting from a significant distance. "Nobody was hurt, but after awhile the Mobile Brigade troops left the area," he said.

Hanok Pigai, the director of Yapkema, an NGO that works to improve health services in the region, said the appearance of the soldiers and police officers had intimidated residents.

"People feared that it would turn into another big military operation, while we still don't know what the OPM is planning to do for tomorrow," he said.

"In Paniai around 500 Mobile Brigade officers have set up new posts at several villages in anticipation for Thursday." Officers, he added, had also conducted raids for weapons and OPM-related paraphernalia at checkpoints and harbors.

A prominent Papuan priest, the Rev. Neles Tebay, said OPM guerillas led by John Yogi might be behind the latest shooting. "They burned several government offices and damaged bridges connecting one subdistrict to the next," he said.

Fifty years ago today, Papuans declared independence from Dutch colonial rule. Believing Papua to be part of the country, Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, responded by launching a military operation in the region on Dec. 19, 1961. A bloody war ensued before Papua was formally recognized as part of Indonesia in 1969.

But resistance to Indonesian rule continues today, with pro-independence activists still observing the Dec. 1 declaration by raising the Morning Star flag.

From his cell in Jayapura, Papuan independence leader Forkorus Yaboisembut on Wednesday called for "a peaceful December 1 celebration" and condemned acts by the armed OPM militias. "We just want recognition, a show of respect for indigenous Papuan rights to self-determination," he said in a statement.

Forkorus was arrested last month for treason after the Papuan People's Congress named him president of an independent Papuan republic.

Markus Haluk, secretary general of the Papuan Central Highland Student Association, said thousands of activists in 20 cities across Papua and West Papua would observe the celebration. He did not specify what they were planning to do or whether the banned flag would be raised.

In Jayapura, the capital of Papua, the celebration will take place at the grave site of Papuan leader Theys Eluay, where activists will hold prayers, he said. Papuan students in Manado, Makassar and Jakarta also plan to stage similar rallies in their respective cities.

Maj. Gen. Erfi Triassunu, commander of the Cendrawasih Military Command, which oversees military operations in Papua, said the Army was on alert ahead of possible large demonstrations. "[Papuan] Police have asked for our help, especially anticipating any possible chaos," he said.

He said the military had deployed 100 troops to each district in Papua to assist the local police. "There are no troops from outside Papua," he added.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono said they had received additional officers from South Sulawesi and East Kalimantan, as well as Brimob officers from Depok. He said 300 officers would be deployed to the conflict hot spots of Puncak Jaya, Timika and Paniai districts.

The three districts have seen sporadic shootouts between rebels and security officials.

Is a US mining company funding a violent crackdown in Indonesia?

The Atlantic - November 29, 2011

Jakarta, Indonesia – Up in the remote mountains of West Papua, Indonesia, a road winds along steep cliffs, tall trees, and security checkpoints to the world's richest copper and gold mine. More than four thousand meters above sea level, the mine is said to be so high that its mining trucks must be tracked via satellite, as clouds typically cloak them from view. Adding to the isolation, the American mining company, Phoenix-based Freeport- McMoRan, rarely allows visitors to enter its facilities. The access road is for official vehicles only, and foreign journalists are almost exclusively forbidden.

Yet despite its cover, Freeport's giant Grasberg mine is on high alert. Production there has ground to a near halt as 8,000 workers strike for better wages, currently set between $1.50 and $3 an hour. Now in its third month, this strike is not only the longest in Indonesian mining history, but also one of the more violent, with sabotage to pipelines and deadly attacks on company employees. "We don't feel secure to work at Freeport or to travel between the mine and our homes," said Juli Parorrongan, a spokesman for the All Indonesian Workers Union, which organized the strike. "Too many people have been killed, but we don't know who's shooting us. We need the police to protect us."

Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world's largest mining companies, with interests across the globe and just under $19 billion in revenue in 2010. The Grasberg mine, which holds the world's largest gold reserves, has been so profitable that Freeport is the Indonesian government's biggest single taxpayer, with about 1.75 billion in taxes and royalties last year alone. An analyst for Forbes.com projected the protests may cost the firm $250 million in revenue; a company spokesperson cited daily losses of $18 million to $19 million.

The strikers have a reason to be wary for their safety: Freeport is paying millions of dollars directly to the police officers who guard its mine, although Indonesia's police force has a history of brutality and corruption. When the National Police chief admitted to these payments last month, he called it "lunch money," writing it off as "operational funding given directly to police personnel to help them make ends meet." A 2005 investigation by the New York Times found that individual military commanders had received tens of thousands of dollars, in one case up to $150,000, from Freeport. Ironically, the mining company allowed the officers to eat lunch (and breakfast and dinner) in the company mess hall.

Rights organizations fear the security payments are tainting police neutrality in the region, creating a conflict of interest for officers who are legally bound to protect the Indonesian people. "If they receive money from Freeport, it means their boss is not the Indonesian government, but rather Freeport – a private company," said Poengky Indarti, executive director of the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor. "With this money, we worry that police tend to protect Freeport rather than protecting the workers."

In October, police officers opened fire on striking Freeport workers who were trying to board Freeport buses from the nearby town of Timika to demonstrate by the mine's gate. One striker died from gunshot wounds, at least six were injured, and a security officer later died from injuries sustained in the clash.

Freeport has given $79.1 million to police and military forces in the past 10 years, according to a group called Indonesian Corruption Watch. Most of that funding has been through in-kind contributions such as food, housing, fuel, and travel costs, but officers have also received direct payments. A report by the NGO Global Witness shows that, between 2001 and 2003, Freeport gave nearly $250,000 to a controversial commander who in 1999 led military action in East Timor, where soldiers killed more than a thousand people.

Since then, the security funding has grown: Freeport's financial documents show that the company paid $14 million to support government security forces in 2010, up from $10 million in 2009 and $8 million in 2008.

Eric E. Kinneberg, Director of Communications for Freeport, wrote in an email, "This provision of support is consistent with our obligations under our agreements with the respective governments, our philosophy of responsible corporate citizenship and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. We periodically review our support practices to ensure that they are appropriate, lawful and properly controlled." Of the 2010 funding, he emphasized that "approximately 80% of that amount is non-cash, in-kind support" that is "necessitated by the remote posting."

The guards of Grasberg

Even under normal circumstances, Freeport's Grasberg mine requires an unusually high level of security. Situated in the restive province of West Papua, the mine has long been a site of mysterious shootings by unidentified gunmen, and instances of violence have risen since the strike began in September. On November 18, gunmen wounded three police officers and killed a security officer with a shot to the head. Since early October, at least four workers and two residents have also been shot and killed by unknown gunmen near the main road.

The police say they cannot afford to protect the mine without money from Freeport, which has reported a security team of 725 company guards and 3,000 government guards. "We cannot fully equip our members [assigned to guard Freeport] or provide patrol cars. But Freeport said they could and didn't mind," National Police spokesman Senior Commander Boy Rafly Amar told the Jakarta Globe, where I work as a copy editor and reporter.

Back when Freeport set up its Grasberg operations in the late 1980s and early 90s, soldiers received a wage below the poverty line. They were encouraged to pursue local business ventures to supplement their incomes, but some exploited the local population and engaged in illegal practices, such as panning gold from the Freeport area and promoting prostitution in nearby towns. "Such military activities would adversely impact [Freeport] employees and the surrounding community," said Prakash Sethi, head of the New York-based International Center for Corporate Accountability, who traveled to West Papua between 2002 and 2007 to conduct an audit of the Grasberg mine's operations at Freeport's request.

The project allowed Sethi and a team of experts a rare look into the mining facilities, as well as access to interviews with company workers, community members and management. "It is my interpretation that... because the military did not have adequate facilities at the mine site, Freeport agreed to provide the military with 'largely' in-kind support in terms of housing and eating facilities," Sethi wrote in an e-mail, adding that his audit did not examine how the military used those funds. "At the same time, some funding was provided for 'miscellaneous expenses.'"

That interpretation seems to be supported by a statement in Freeport's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010: "From the outset of PT Freeport Indonesia's operations, the government has looked to PT Freeport Indonesia to provide logistical and infrastructure support and assistance for these necessary services because of the limited resources of the Indonesian government and the remote location of and lack of development in Papua."

The problem with pocket money

In April, Papua Police's chief of operations sent a letter to a local rights organization, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, which states that security allowances were not just "incidental and administrative," and that each police officer receives $140 in direct payments every month.

The National Police has since confirmed and defended Freeport's monthly allowances. "That's only Rp 40,000 [$4.42] a day. Even if they want to spend it, the nearest shop is two and a half hours down the mountain," police spokesman Boy Rafly Amar told the Jakarta Globe. Another police spokesman said police otherwise make only Rp 53,000 in a month, or $5.86. It is unclear exactly how the payments are made, or how security forces use the funds. According to Sethi, Freeport used to give money to security commanders because lower-level officers lacked bank accounts, and then the commanders distributed the payments themselves. "The question was, how much was actually given to the soldiers and how much was kept by the commanders in the headquarters?" said Sethi. "I don't know, and I think the company doesn't know. If you ask the question, it would look like you're insulting the professionalism of the commanders."

In addition to creating a conflict of interest for officers during the labor strike, activists worry the money helps perpetuate human rights abuses in the region, as the police and military attempt to stamp out the separatist movement. Papua formally joined Indonesia in 1969 after 1,024 Papuans voted unanimously to relinquish their sovereignty during a UN referendum (though Papuans allege that the representatives, hand-picked by the Indonesian government, were held at gunpoint during the vote). As Papuans in the region continue to fight for independence, Human Rights Watch has accused security forces of engaging in a number of rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture.

Police and military officers – who rely on Freeport for funding and equipment – say they would not be able to perform their security operations in the region without the American company's support. In that same vein, activists argue that without Freeport, these officers would not be able to suppress the rights and independence aspirations of the Papuans to the extent that they do now.

51 tortured by Indonesian security forces in Papua violence: Elsham

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2011

Farouk Arnaz & Ronna Nirmala – The National Police said on Monday that it handed out punishments to a total of 17 officers for last month's deadly crackdown on the Third Papuan People's Congress but refrained from firing or demoting any of their own.

Ethics tribunals were held for members of the Mobile Police (Brimob) and the Jayapura Police believed to have been responsible for the incident, according to a National Police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution.

Two Brimob officers were reprimanded, while two low-ranking enlisted officers were sentenced to 14 days detainment in a special cell.

In Jayapura, the capital of Papua, the chief of police at the time of the violence, Adj. Sr. Comr. Imam Setiawan, and seven of his subordinates received reprimands, while five enlisted officers were sentenced to seven days of detainment.

"They failed to follow proper police procedures in carrying out their security duties," Saud said of those punished. "[Their actions were] excessive."

No officer, however, was dismissed from the force or demoted for a violent incident that left at least three congress participants dead.

Saud said the none of the officers would be charged with murder or face any other criminal charges. Police investigators, he said, put the victims' times of death after the officers had left the scene.

He said one of the congress participants, Daniel Kadepa, had died from a stab wound, while the other two victims, Max Saseyo and Jacob Samansabra, could not be autopsied because they had already been buried by their families.

Separately on Monday, the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) and the Communion of Churches in Papua (PGGP) said at least 51 people had been tortured by members of the military and police during and after the congress.

Congress participants told the groups they had been beaten and kicked repeatedly by security forces both at the congress site and while being transported to police headquarters. Some participants said they were beaten at the police station. There were also reports of verbal abuse, the groups said.

One person said a policeman hit him in the head with the butt of an assault rifle. Another said he was shot in the buttock and thigh. Also, a nearby monastery was looted and vandalized by security forces, the groups said.

The Rev. Wellem Maury of the PGGP said the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) needed to take over the case and form a fact-finding team to investigate allegations of human rights abuses, torture and excessive use of force.

"Komnas HAM must also announce its findings to the Coordinating Ministry for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs so there is an open and fair trial," he said.

International human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, he added, must also be given access to those still being detained for treason, particularly Forkorus Yaboisembut, who was named president of an independent Papuan republic at the congress.

In a report released on Nov. 4, Komnas HAM alleged that the crackdown violated a raft of basic human rights and called on police to conduct a thorough investigation. It also said the central government should accelerate a dialogue with the Papuan people and do more for development in the province.

Police processing five Papuans' cases over congress

Antara News - November 28, 2011

Jakarta – Police are still processing the cases of five Papuans charged with attacking the legitimate government at the 3rd Papua People's Congress on October 19, 2011.

"Their cases ares now still being processed," the head of the National Police's public relations division, Inspector General Saud Usman Nasution, said here on Monday. He said the police had made three files on their cases and one of them dealt with sharp weapon possession.

"The first suspect is Sortorus Yagosembut who violated Article 106 of the Criminal Code and his dossier has been sent to the Jayapura High Court," he said.

The four other suspects, namely Dominikus Serabut as congress chief executive, Iyus Boboy as organizing committee chief, Agus Makbrowen Sananai as organizing committee member and Edison Fladius Waromi as congress participant meanwhile were charged with violating articles 106 and 110 of the Criminal Code, he said.

"Gatwenda who was caught carrying a sharp weapon meanwhile has been charged with violating Article 2 of Emergency Law Number 12 of 1951," Saud said.

Regarding the finding of three bodies at around 9.30am local time on October 20, 2011 at the location of the congress he said it was a separate case and now being handled by the Papua Regional Police Command.

The three bodies belonged to Daniel Kadepa, Maksayo and Yacob Saman Sabra. Daniel's body had a sharp weapon and Maksayo's body a gunshot wound. No autopsy was made on Yacob's body because it had been buried immediately so the police were unable to determine what had caused his death, Saud said.

"They were believed to have died at 4am or 5am. This is a separate case and our team is still chasing the perpetrators," he said.

Benny Wenda: 'There's a silent genocide going on in West Papua'

The Telegraph - November 28, 2011

Leah Hyslop – Issued at the request of Indonesian authorities, in relation to charges of arson and murder which he vehemently denies, the Interpol "red notice" means that Wenda can be arrested in, and possibly extradited from, any one of the crime-fighting agency's 190 member states.

Considering that he has been living relatively undisturbed in Britain since he fled from his homeland nearly a decade ago, the softly-spoken lobbyist admits he was "surprised" to learn about the alert – but thinks he knows why it's happened now.

"Indonesia is getting worried," he says simply. "I'm campaigning to free my people and I'm travelling abroad as well as up and down the UK, speaking in Parliament, things like that.... It's definitely politically motivated."

Wenda, 37, is at the forefront of a long and bitter battle over the sovereignity of West Papua, the former Dutch colony on the island of New Guinea which passed into Indonesian control in the 1960s. Although a referendum on the takeover was held in 1969, the fact that it involved only around 1,000 hand-picked Papuan men (just one per cent of the native population), under the watchful eyes of the Indonesian military, means that many people – Wenda included – regard it as little more than a sham, and the decades since have been marked by bloody conflict.

Wenda, a tribal chief who describes himself as a "leader" of the West Papuan people, has long been considered a hero by those in support of the independence movement. Others, however, have denounced him as an inciter of conflict – and even a potentially dangerous criminal. In 2002, he was placed on trial for spearheading a deadly attack on buildings in the town of Aberpura, but broke out of prison and fled the country before judgement was passed.

It is for this reason that Indonesian authorities say they want him back on Papuan soil; though Wenda, of course, has a very different opinion as to their motives: "I had no involvement. I wasn't even in the country. They just wanted me in prison."

He says that he had no choice but to escape from jail: already doubtful that he was going to be given an fair trial, a number of threats he received there made him fearful for his life, and he finally resolved to go one night when a guard whispered through the bars of his cell: "You are already fed, man" – a reference to the Papuan custom of fattening pigs up before slaughter. "I thought, if I try to escape and they kill me, well that's ok, because at least I won't have been killed like an animal." Shortly afterwards, he broke into a ventilation shaft and escaped over the border into neighbouring Papua New Guinea.

After being granted political asylum in Britain, Wenda decided to set up the campaign, Free West Papua, dedicated not only to promoting the province's independence, but to exposing what he alleges are serious human rights abuses taking place under Indonesian rule.

In this, he is not alone. A number of human rights groups have spoken out in the past against what they see as Indonesia's oppressive approach to resistance: a report from Amnesty International released just earlier this year warned that: "The people of Papua are subject to severe human rights violations at the hands of the Indonesian authorities. Their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are heavily curtailed. Many people are imprisoned simply for having taken part in non-violent demonstrations, or having expressed their opinions."

Wenda, however, alleges that it is not only those who speak out who are badly treated. The picture he paints is of a place where institutional racism is rife, and where the the indigenous people are regularly beaten, sexually assaulted and tortured, without provocation. As a child, he claims to have to have seen countless atrocities, from his village being razed to the ground during an Indonesian air strike, to family members being murdered and raped in front of him, and "has lived with that trauma all my life." Today, he believes, the situation is "even worse".

What actually goes in in West Papua is, however, difficult to know; a ban on foreign media, as well as many charitable organisations, means life there is shrouded in secrecy. This, Wenda believes, is why international awareness of the situation is so low. "Because the media are banned, because groups like the Red Cross and Amnesty are banned, no one knows what's happening. That's what lets them get away away with it.

"It's a silent genocide of my people. Just last month, three people peacefully protesting were killed, and hundreds detained, beaten and tortured. No one's been charged. No one's been arrested – just a few police questioned."

Wenda's quest to tell the world about the fate of Papua will certainly be weakened by the Interpol alert; fear of arrest means that foreign travel is now out of the question. Alongside the campaign group Fair Trials International however, he hopes to be able to pressure Interpol to remove the notice, and until then will continue fighting his corner from Oxford, where he lives with his wife, Maria, and six children.

Does he find it difficult, I ask, working so many thousands of miles from his homeland? "Physically, it is hard being away from the people," he concedes. "But I'm in regular communication, and I am watching 24 hours to see what's going on." One day, he hopes to return to his homeland. "But only," he says firmly, "when it is free."

Ex-US soldiers' presence in Freeport arouses suspicions

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Controversy has again erupted over security arrangements for copper and gold miner Freeport Indonesia, this time amid reports that armed American guards are operating around the Grasberg mine in Papua.

Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, acknowledged on Sunday that the US-based miner was employing four "security consultants" at its concession from a company that also provided security contractors to the US government and companies operating in Iraq.

He added that they were all former US military personnel but were employed by Freeport as civilians. "There are indeed a number of former American servicemen working at Freeport who were hired as civilians, like all the other workers there," Djoko said.

He insisted there was nothing unusual about the arrangement, saying Freeport adopted similar security measures at its other operations worldwide. However, the minister's explanation failed to quell the growing suspicion over the presence of armed foreign nationals operating in the country.

Tjahjo Kumolo, a member of House of Representatives Commission I, which oversees foreign and defense affairs, said he was stunned by the initial reports from Friday that there were up to 70 US servicemen deployed at Freeport. "If indeed this is true, then we've clearly sold our sovereignty as a free people," he said.

Tjahjo, from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P), said there was a tendency for the government to kowtow to the wishes of the US government.

He added that the presence of US troops operating in the country could be linked to Washington's decision to grant 24 used F-16 fighter jets to Indonesia. "We shouldn't barter away our national sovereignty for a batch of planes that we're going to have to pay through the nose for to upgrade anyway," he said.

He called for the formation of an independent team to look into the issue. "What's important is that there's an official explanation from the government on this matter," Tjahjo said. "There's a good possibility of violations by the foreign party, so an investigation is very much needed."

The issue was first raised last Friday by Ali Kastela, from the opposition People's Conscience Party (Hanura), who claimed he saw 70 US military personnel on active duty when he visited the mine recently.

The allegation was echoed by Jimmy J., the speaker of the Papuan provincial legislature, who said he could not understand what armed foreigners were doing in the province. The issue has also sparked speculation that the armed presence was part of a wider plan to embed US security officials in the Indonesian government, including in the Ministry of Defense.

However, Air Marshal Eris Herryanto, the ministry's secretary general, denied the claim, saying there was no move to employ foreigners.

The controversy is the latest linked to security arrangements for Freeport. Late last month, National Police Chief Gen. Timor Pradopo admitted that police on the ground at Grasberg took millions of dollars in "lunch money" to provide security for the miner's operations.

The attacks on Freeport and security forces have intensified recently, as a strike started by mine workers on Sept. 15 drags on. Two people were injured on Tuesday in the latest ambush on a vehicle on the road leading to the mine. A week earlier, gunmen opened fire on another Freeport patrol vehicle, injuring a police officer.

Seven officers given slap on the wrist over Papua violence

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2011

Jakarta – The National Police reiterated that they had sanctioned seven officers deemed to have violated codes of ethics while overseeing the third Papua Congress in Abepura, Papua, in October.

"Seven officers have been sanctioned, including the local police chief," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said Monday, as quoted by kompas.com. He explained that six officers were given written reprimands, while the local police chief had been relieved of his post.

"The former local police chief with the initials HIS has been moved to the Papua Police and is now serving as the deputy director of traffic police," Saud said. He added that there were also four Brimob officers and four non-commissioned officers who had received disciplinary sanctions. "Non- commissioned officers have been disciplined with between 7 and 14 days detainment," he said.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said earlier on Friday that the police had meted out sanctions to police officers for "having taken the wrong approach" during the incident that left at least three Papuans dead.

International human rights watchdog Amnesty International denounced the light punishments given to the implicated police officers.

National police hold four code of ethics trials over Papua violence

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – The national police internal supervisory commission has found that officers used extreme measures during the disbanding of the Papuan People's Congress in Abepura, Papua on Oct. 19.

The police held code of ethics trials for members believed to be responsible for the incident. "They have neglected the police code of ethics on duty," said national police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution on Monday.

According to Saud, there were four code of ethics trials. The first trial involved four Papua police brigade mobile members, including two officers who received written warnings, and two enlisted officers, who were held in a special cell for 14 days.

The second trial was for a former Jayapura Police Chief, who also received a written warning. The third trial included seven Jayapura police officers, who received written warnings, and the fourth trial included five enlisted officers, who received seven days in jail and written warnings.

"Officers, a police chief, persons in charge and members have been on trial and have received their punishments," Saud said. They were found not guilty of the deaths of three congress members who were found dead on Oct. 20.

Autopsy results showed that the victims were killed after police had already retreated from the congress site. The police are still looking for the perpetrators. The victims include Daniel Kadepa, Max Saseyo and Jacob Samansabra.

Exodus in Papua amid fears of crackdown

Australian Associated Press - November 27, 2011

Karlis Salna – Human rights groups have called for Australian monitors to be allowed into Papua amid reports people are fleeing parts of the Indonesian province due to fears of another violent crackdown on pro- independence rallies planned for next week.

In a joint letter to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, Human Rights Watch and the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre have called for Australian embassy staff to be deployed to the restive Indonesian province to monitor events on December 1.

Large numbers of people are expected to gather in cities and other areas in Papua on Thursday for rallies to mark an unofficial independence day and the 50th anniversary of the first raising of the Morning Star flag.

The flag has been adopted by the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) and is regarded as a symbol of independence in the province which has been racked by a surge in violence over the past six months. However, the Indonesian government considers the raising of the flag an act of treason.

At least three protesters were killed and another 90 people injured last month when Indonesian police and military stormed a pro-independence rally in Abepura after the raising of the Morning Star flag.

Video of the aftermath of the rally, broadcast on Australian television, also showed police beating unarmed protesters, including children. As many as 300 people were arrested.

A spokesman for the pro-independence group, the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), has told AAP that large numbers of people have begun leaving Jayapura and Manokwari in Papua, fearing a backlash from security forces at rallies planned for Thursday.

As Indonesia remains off limits to foreign journalists, the report could not be confirmed.

In the letter to Mr Rudd, Human Rights Watch and the Human Rights Law Centre raise concerns about the likelihood of a repeat of last month's violence as well as the use of excessive force by the police and military.

The letter calls on Mr Rudd to urge the Indonesian government to allow full and free access of journalists to Papua and to deploy Australian embassy staff to monitor and observe events on December 1.

The human rights organisations say there should also be a full and impartial investigation into the deaths and injuries, and allegations of excessive use of force by the authorities, arising from the demonstration in Abepura on October 19.

But the letter also criticises the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty who had described the actions of the protesters at the rally as provocative.

"In our view, a clear and firm public statement on Australia's position on human rights in the area is critical, especially since there is a real risk that Australian Ambassador Greg Moriarty's recent reference to the actions of Papuan People's Congress leaders as illegal, provocative and counterproductive may otherwise be interpreted as supporting a government crackdown on the congress," the letter said.

Mr Moriarty, however, had also pointed to the response by Indonesian security forces as being disproportionate.

The letter to Mr Rudd also questions Australia's funding and training of Indonesia's elite anti-terrorism squad Densus 88, members of which were among the security forces present at the rally on October 19.

"Australia plays a critical leadership role on human rights in Asia and the Pacific and should take a principled and proactive stand on human rights with a key partner like Indonesia," the two human rights organisations said.

Indonesia has been battling a long-running but low-level insurgency since its takeover of Papua in 1969. However, the security situation has deteriorated in recent months with the province experiencing its worst violence in years.

Figures from Indonesia's Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence show at least 40 people have been killed as a result of the violence since the beginning of July.

Freedom fighter is wanted by Interpol

Oxford Mail - November 26, 2011

Laura Jones – An independence campaigner wanted by Interpol last night said he still feels safe in his Oxford home.

Benny Wenda, 36, of Marston Road, is the subject of a red notice issued by the international police organisation which states he is wanted by the CID of Papua Regional Police who accuse him of murder and arson.

A red notice means other police forces are expected to arrest a suspect, although Thames Valley Police yesterday said they knew nothing about Mr Wenda's case.

Dad-of-six Mr Wenda yesterday denied the allegations and told the Oxford Mail he was not in the country at the time of an attack on a police station in Indonesian Papua (also known as West Papua) on December 7, 2000.

He claims he is being targeted by the Indonesian authorities because of his political campaigning for the freedom of Western Papua, including rallies in Oxford.

Despite the threat of deportation to Indonesia, where Mr Wenda claims he would be tortured and would not receive a fair trial, the 36-year-old said he believes he has enough support in the UK to help him fight the order.

He said: "That's why I'm speaking to free my country as soon as possible. I hope I've got enough grassroots support to help me speak out against the Indonesian Government."

Since escaping jail and fleeing his homeland in 2002, Mr Wenda has been campaigning for independence for Western Papua, which is ruled by Indonesia.

He has lived in Oxford for almost 10 years. Since discovering he is wanted by Interpol Mr Wenda said he has received reports from his homeland that members of his family have been targeted by the Indonesian government. He only became aware of his most wanted status after searching his name online.

He is being supported by charity Fair Trial International. Jago Russell, the charity's chief executive, said: "Interpol must remove the politically-motivated red notice against Benny."

Billy Wibisono, of the Indonesian Embassy, said: "It should be noted that Mr Wenda escaped during his trial."

Reprimands of Papua offenders condemned

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2011

Jakarta – An international human rights watchdog has slammed the National Police for giving light punishment to police officers involved in the bloody Papuan Congress, calling it a "failure of human rights accountability".

During the meeting with the House of Representatives on Friday, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said the police had meted out sanctions to police officers found guilty of breaching the police's code of ethics. Timur conceded that some police officers had taken the wrong approach during the third Papuan People's Congress in Abepura, Papua, which left three Papuans dead.

According to Timur, the police had officially reprimanded 13 district police officers, four Mobil Brigade (Brimob) officers and one district police chief, while five Jayapura Police officers had been given seven-day detentions.

International human rights watchdog Amnesty International denounced the light punishments given to the guilty police officers.

"This is yet another example of how in Indonesia most human rights violations committed by police officers never reach civilian courts, but are dealt with through inhouse disciplinary hearings," said Sam Zarifi, the Asia Pacific director of Amnesty International.

"Internal disciplinary procedures are for dealing with minor offenses, not serious human rights violations," he added.

Zarifi also urged the Indonesian authorities to set up an independent police complaints mechanism to deal with human rights violations by police officers, describing the current established bodies, such as the National Police Commission or Komnas HAM, as "powerless" to deal effectively with complaints about police abuses.

Despite punishing his officers, Timur defended the measures taken by officers at the congress in Abepura. "What we did [at Abepura] was part of law enforcement," he said.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, who also attended the House meeting, echoed Timur's statement. "I hereby defend my colleague from the police. I think it's impossible for officers [military and police] to commit violence for no reason... there must be a logical explanation for their anarchist deeds."

Human rights violations have been prevalent in restive Papua, with the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) repeatedly being blamed. Previously, the TNI was vilified by the international community after a video showing soldiers torturing native Papuans was uploaded on YouTube.

The ruling of the military tribunal, which sentenced the three soldiers to between eight and 10 months in prison in January this year, was widely criticized as a "miscarriage of justice" by human rights activists.

President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono has also been criticized by the international community for his failure to uphold human rights principles in Papua. (sat)

Indonesian police forced to release 12 innocent 'Papua rebels'

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2011

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – In a major embarrassment for Indonesian authorities, police have been forced to release 12 innocent men just 24 hours after National Police announced they had made a major breakthrough in the war against the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

Puncak Jaya Police shot and killed one man, also presumably innocent, during a raid on Wednesday.

On Thursday, National Police Spokesman Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said that after months of pursuit they had arrested the 12 men believed to be part of a larger group responsible for a number of armed attack on security authorities, including the killing of Mulia Police Chief Adj. Comr. Dominggus Otto Awe on Oct. 24.

"We have successfully arrested 12 people alive, but one was shot dead when he tried to escape during the operation on Wednesday," Saud said. Puncak Jaya Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Alex Korwa said on Friday, however, that they had released the men because they had "no proof" that the men were OPM rebels.

Julex K, a prominent member of the Mulia community in Puncak Jaya, told the Jakarta Globe that people in the violence-torn are were living in fear, scared that police would repeat the same mistake. He said a curfew had also been imposed.

"After 7 p.m, there are no more people going out of their houses," Julex said. "Mulia people are uneasy with the existence of Brigade Mobile [police officers] as they suspicious of our communication and limit the freedom of people's activities."

He also said that people with a certain appearance, such as with beards and long and dread-locked hair were often arrested. "We are scared and are no longer free to do daily activities."

The National Police has struggled to locate the Papuan militants, who use dense forest areas and rugged terrain to cover their tracks. Saud, speaking on Thursday, said that group members had also been blending in with civilians in the area.

He said the National Police were increasing security ahead of Dec. 1, which is the OPM's anniversary. With the date nearing, a number of text messages have been circulating calling for massive pro-independence rallies and the occupation of strategic government installations.

Papua Police chief Insp. Gen Bigman Lumban Tobing said people should not believe the messages, which he blamed on "irresponsible" people.

Violence has plagued Papua since 1969, when Indonesia took over control of the region from the Dutch, ignoring Papuan demands for political sovereignty. Allegations of injustice have fueled the mounting pro- independence demands in Papua.

Jakarta granted the region special autonomy in 2001, but with the absence of improvements on the security and human rights fronts, the situation has failed to quell widespread separatist sentiments.

Interpol seeks Indonesian tribal leader living in UK

BBC News - November 25, 2011

Danny ShawHome – A tribal leader from an Indonesian province who has been granted asylum in the UK has been named on an Interpol wanted list, the BBC has learned.

Benny Wenda, who is 36 and living in Oxford, leads a movement for the independence of West Papua.

Indonesia wants to put him on trial for several offences he is alleged to have committed before he left, including murder and arson. Mr Wenda said the charges were "made up" and politically motivated.

Charles Foster, a lawyer who is supporting Mr Wenda, said the move by the Indonesian authorities was designed to stop Mr Wenda arguing his case for independence.

West Papua is an Indonesian province on the western tip of the island of New Guinea.

Mr Foster said: "It's plainly affecting his ability to go around the world, doing the job which he set himself and his people have set him, which is saying to Indonesia 'you have an obligation to have a free and fair election in West Papua and that the continued annexation of West Papua, Indonesia, is illegal under international law'."

The government accepted Mr Wenda's asylum application in 2002 after hearing allegations he had been persecuted by the Indonesian authorities.

Riddled with corruption

Mr Wenda had been arrested for his alleged involvement in an attack on a police station.

He claimed that during his detention he was held in appalling conditions and threatened and beaten by prison guards and intelligence officers, who had tried to kill him. His subsequent trial was said by an observer to be "riddled with corruption".

However, Mr Wenda managed to escape from the country and fled to the UK, eventually settling in Oxford with his wife and six children, and was granted British citizenship.

It has now emerged that earlier this year he was issued with a red notice by Interpol at the request of the Indonesians.

A red notice acts as an alert to Interpol's 190 member countries that an individual is wanted by another country. Anyone subject to it can be arrested and is liable to be extradited.

In Mr Wenda's case, Interpol said the red notice was issued by Papua Regional Police CID for "crimes involving the use of weapons/explosives".

"When I saw this it really made me scared," Mr Wenda told BBC News. "This is Indonesia watching me, even here. That was shocking me you know," he said.

Mr Foster said travelling outside the UK would in future be "risky" for Mr Wenda. "Whenever he goes across a border his name is likely to flash up on the screen of the immigration officials and he's likely to be ushered into a little room for questioning," he said.

"Of course, the politics of that country will determine to some extent what happens after that."

Peaceful campaigner

An Indonesian Embassy official said Mr Wenda belonged to a "clandestine organisation dedicated to secede from Indonesia using any means available to them" and was wanted on suspicion of offences including murder and arson.

Billy Wibisono, Third Secretary (Information and Socio-Cultural Affairs), said: "Mr Wenda and several other accomplices participated in an attack of the Abepura Police Station on 7 December 2000 and caused the deaths and destruction of property."

He said six police officers and civilians died in the attack, and that several government buildings and other premises were damaged.

"Weapons, firearms and munitions were stolen from the police station," Mr Wibisono said, adding that the red notice would be withdrawn if Mr Wenda "can prove his innocence in our court of law".

Mr Wenda said the allegations were "completely made up" and that he had always been a peaceful campaigner for independence.

"I was not even in the country at the time and Indonesia could not find a single independent witness against me. It is these political-motivated charges that meant the UK gave me asylum but, years later, Indonesia is still threatening me with them," he said.

Jago Russell, Chief Executive of Fair Trials International, which is backing Mr Wenda, is calling on Interpol to withdraw the red notice.

"There are a number of countries which are using Interpol red notices against political opponents, or freedom fighters, so clearly Indonesia is in the case of Benny Wenda," said Mr Russell.

He said red notices had been issued on behalf of the Syrian and Iranian authorities and that Colonel Gaddafi used the scheme in Libya.

"There certainly is a pattern of it having been used for political purposes even though it is expressly stated in the constitution of Interpol that that's not what it should be used for," he said.

Interpol refused to comment on Mr Wenda's case but released a statement saying that red notices were issued only when details of a valid arrest warrant were provided by the requesting country. "Interpol's role is not to question allegations against an individual, nor to gather evidence, so a red notice is issued based on a presumption that the information provided by the police is accurate and relevant," it said.

The agency added red notices would be withdrawn where the information provided was insufficient or "not convincing".

Interpol criticised over attempt to arrest Asian separatist leader

The Guardian - November 25, 2011

Owen Bowcott – An Interpol red notice has been issued for the arrest of the Oxford-based leader of an Asian separatist movement, triggering allegations of political abuse of the international police alert system.

Benny Wenda, 37, who has been granted asylum and has lived in the UK since 2003, fears that if he travels abroad he could be detained and returned to Indonesia, where he is a wanted man.

Wenda, head of the Free West Papua movement, claims the charges against him have been trumped up in order to silence him. Fair Trials International is supporting him and calling for greater accountability of the police notice system which, it claims, has become "a legal black hole".

It is not the first time, according to the civil liberties group, that an Interpol red notice has been issued for the arrest of a political opponent or deployed to prevent someone from travelling.

An Interpol red notice requires police forces to "seek the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition".

Wenda, whose wife, Maria, and six children live with him in Oxford, was a tribal leader in West Papua, a province of Indonesia, which separatists say was forcibly occupied in the 1960s when the Dutch left the region.

His home village was bombed, he was injured and his relatives killed. After leaving university, he led a group which promoted West Papuan customs but had to flee on several occasions to neighbouring Papua New Guinea.

In 2002 he was arrested in West Papua and charged with inciting an attack on a police station. None of the witnesses called at his trial turned up, according to legal observers who were present. He denied participating in any attack.

Wenda was jailed but, after what he believes were several failed attempts on his life, he decided to escape. "I broke into a ventilation shaft and crawled out," Wenda, who is now a UK citizen, told the Guardian. "I crossed into Papua New Guinea and reached the UK in 2003.

"[Indonesians] knew that if I was free I would promote the struggle for [independence] and tell about the suffering of my peoples. Indonesia has committed crimes. In East Timor, there were 100,000 deaths; in West Papua there have been 400,000."

Wenda, who insists he supports a peaceful transition to self-rule for his native land, had been travelling widely to gather support for his movement. "I had been at a conference in Senegal," he explained, "and when I came back I looked online and found my name and saw I had a red notice. This is Indonesia intimidating me. They are trying to limit my movement.

"No one has tried to arrest me and I've had no approach from the [UK] police. I have not travelled about since then. [Indonesia] says I'm a criminal but I'm campaigning for my people. I would like to see the red notice removed so that I can continue my campaign."

Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with the UK. Any extradition request is unlikely to succeed, given that Wenda was granted political asylum.

Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said: "Of course police have to work across borders to fight crime but they should not be allowed to operate in a legal black hole. Despite the major human impact of Interpol red notices, there is no effective way to challenge cases of abuse. As a result refugees like Benny Wenda, who have travelled half way around the world to escape persecution, continue to be threatened from afar by oppressive governments."

Interpol denied that its notice system was subject to political interference. "There are safeguards in place," a spokeswoman at the organisation's headquarters in Lyon said.

"The subject of a red notice can challenge it through an independent body, the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF). It is up to Mr Wenda or his representatives to contact the CCF." If persuaded that it was not valid, the commission would remove a notice, she added.

A spokesman for the Indonesian embassy in London said: "Mr Wenda should answer to the crimes that he has committed in a free and independent court in Indonesia. Then he can prove whether or not he is guilty."

The Indonesian government accuses Wenda of being part of the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka - OPM), which it claims is "a clandestine organisation dedicated to secede from Indonesia using any means available to them including killings of innocent civilians and destruction of private properties".

As calls for Papua dialogue rise, government asks: Who speaks for locals?

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2011

Agus Triyono & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – While experts and activists agree that mutual dialogue is the only way to solve problems of growing separatist sentiment and lack of economic development in Papua, finding the right people to talk to is a different matter altogether.

Farid Hussein of the Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) said on Wednesday that with hundreds of tribes and political elites, finding a unifying figure who could speak on behalf of all Papuans was nearly impossible.

The unit, he said, is mapping out the various leaders in Papua, with whom the government will stage discussions.

"The mapping is done to get figures who can truly represent Papuan people and communities, whose voice can immediately be heard and implemented by people there," he said. "And there are a lot of figures there."

Farid, who previously negotiated with rebels in Aceh, said the mapping could take some time.

"Based on my experience in Aceh, the mapping could take two years," he said. "But it could be less or even more than that." The UP4B, he said, will try to accommodate different groups in Papua, including armed rebel group the Free Papua Organization (OPM).

Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman, a Papuan religious leader, said in a hearing at the House of Representatives that Papuans could not afford to wait out a lengthy mapping process, stressing that dialogue must be conducted immediately.

"This is about a mutual and dignified dialogue," he said. "Papuan problems are not those concerning welfare. Papuans are not poor, they are not hungry, so stop these demeaning statements. Just go to each district and listen to the people there one by one, listen to what they want. Just listen with your own ears."

The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) called on the government to reorganize the security forces' presence in Papua. "We don't need units like Brimob [the police Mobile Brigade] or Densus 88 [antiterror unit] to uphold the law there," said Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim.

Muridan Satrio Widjojo, a senior researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the overwhelming number of security forces in Papua and West Papua had created a vicious cycle of violence there. "You cannot break the cycle [of violence] by deploying more troops and conducting more military operations," he said.

Police and the military have been accused of torturing and abusing the human rights of unarmed Papuans as well as enjoying impunity under the excuse that they are fighting a rebel movement in the province.

Sayid Fadhal Al Hamid of the Papuan Customary Council (DAP) said that military officers from Jakarta always stigmatized Papuans as "curly-haired men who cause trouble". "The military must commit itself," he said. "Stay out of the dialogue. Don't do anything that can destroy the peace process."

[Additional reporting from Antara.]

Acting governor denies Papua's special autonomy has failed

Antara News - November 24, 2011

Jakarta – Papua Acting Governor Syamsul Arief Rivai has denied allegations the province's special autonomy had failed to bring progress for its people.

"Papua's special autonomy has not failed," he said here citing data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) showing improvements in Papua's economic conditions in past ten years and a district reduction in the region's poverty level.

"I believe in the statistical data because BPS is an official agency assigned to give standard measurements. So, what is the basis used by those who say that the implementation of the special autonomy law in Papua has failed," he said.

He said BPS had sent workers to the villages to collect data and therefore the government would stick to those data as its reference.

There were indicators and operations that had been used to make decisions with regard to welfare improvements. For that purpose the government would only use accurate data as its reference, he said.

"The government will not refer to unclear information collected through monitoring from afar. To make a conclusion on welfare improvement there are indicators and certain operations that have to be used. If there are other data for comparison let us sit and see how they have been collected," he said.

He said to collect accurate data the government had set up a Development Data Forum which was launched on Wednesday.

He said all units of regional apparatus (SKPD) had to conduct coordination and synchronization of basic development data to build common perception and data for use as a basis for development planning, implementation, supervision and control.

He said SKPDs also had to make communication breakthroughs and coordination the management of data vertically with district-level SKPDs and ministries concerned to create integration in the management and updating of data.

"It is hoped the data forum will open the minds and hearts of all administrators so that every plan is based on data," he said.

Rivai hoped with the data forum all key problems and challenges could be solved and all parties could work better for the people. "I believe we still have strong foundation for starting to materialize the ideal of a new Papua which is peaceful, secure, just and prosperous," he said.

Stop violence in Papua, says Komnas

Tempo Interactive - November 24, 2011

Ishomuddin, Edi Faisol, Jakarta – The National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) as well as public and religious leaders yesterday urged the government to stop violence in Papua.

"We've six resolutions that we will convey to the government. The violence issue in Papua is urgent and must be resolved through a dialogue," said Komnas chief Ifdhal Kasim.

The six resolutions include improving security management through evaluation, improving public order management without involving the Mobile Brigade or the special anti-terrorism detachment 88 team, stopping all kinds of intimidation against Papuans, reinforcing the law fairly and continuously, building dialogue and, developing the sectors of education, health and economy that prioritize people in remote areas in Papua.

Papua and West Papua Development Acceleration Unit member Farid Husein, analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences Muridan Satrio Widjojo, member of the House of Representatives' (DPR) Defense Commission T.B. Hasanuddin, Imparsial executive-director Poengky Indarti, Father Benny Soesatyo and Priest Gomar Gultom, also supported the resolution.

Papuan Customary Government head Sayid Fadhal al-Hamid, said that Papuans need consolidation as a means to have a dialogue with the government to prevent suspicions between the public and government. "The consolidation would be a policy material for the future," he said yesterday. He said he lamented the violence allegedly committed by military personnel, adding that when 300 people were arrested and taken to the police office, they were spat on and yelled at.

DPR's Governance Commission deputy Hayono Isman, also supported the halt of military acts that have led to violence in Papua, saying a dialogue was the best way to deal with the conflict.

12 alleged OPM members arrested, one killed

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – After a series of violent attacks in the restive region of Papua, the National Police announced on Thursday that they have arrested 12 men believed to be members of the separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM).

"We have successfully arrested 12 persons alive but one was shot dead, SW, when he tried to escape during the operation on Wednesday," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said on Thursday.

The 13 were allegedly behind attacks on the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) operational command and food security office in Mulia, Puncak Jaya district.

It was not clear whether the same men were involved in the fatal shooting of Mulia Police Chief Adj. Comr. Dominggus Otto Awe on Oct. 24.

"The investigation is still ongoing," Saud said, adding that the case was being handled by Papua police.

Saud said the police would beef up security in Papua approaching the Dec. 1 anniversary of the OPM.

Two injured in shooting near Freeport mine

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2011

Banjir Ambarita – Two people were injured on Tuesday in the latest ambush on a vehicle on the road leading to Freeport Indonesia's mining concession in Papua.

The incident occurred at 12:37 p.m. local time when a bus carrying military and police personnel was fired on by unknown gunmen at the Mile 51 point of the road leading to the Grasberg mine.

The bus driver, Abubakar Sidik, was hit in the face and shoulder by a ricochet, while one of the soldiers, First Pvt. Tekad, suffered a gunshot wound to the arm. They were immediately taken to a clinic at Kuala Kencana, Freeport's base.

Sr. Comr. Wachyono, the Papua Police spokesman, confirmed the shooting but said he had no further information.

The incident is the latest in a series of ambushes on vehicles traversing the road. Last Wednesday, a truck driver was injured when gunmen opened fire on his truck and a Freeport patrol vehicle at the Mile 51 point.

A week earlier, gunmen opened fire on another Freeport patrol vehicle at Mile 45, injuring a police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer. The attacks on Freeport and security forces have intensified as a strike started by mine workers on Sept. 15 drags on.

Wachyono said police were investigating an incident on Monday in which an officer from Tiom subprecinct police in Lanny Jaya district had his assault rifle stolen.

The officer left his AK-47 with two full magazines with a civilian friend while he went to eat. But three men held up the friend and took the weapon and magazines before fleeing.

TNI in Papua for peaceful purposes: military command official

Antara News - November 23, 2011

Jayapura, Papua – Chief of Staff of the Cendrawasih Military Command Brigadier General Indra Hidayat said National Defense Forces (TNI) personnel were in Papua for peaceful purposes.

"They are present in Papua to maintain peace. In fact, some of them have died during their tours in this region. So please stop blaming or pointing fingers at TNI personnel over recent events in Papua," he said here on Wednesday.

He spoke after a meeting with Papua Governor Syamsul Ariv Rivai, Chairman of the Regional Legislative Council Jhon Ibo, Papua district chiefs, police and armed forces personnel stationed in Papua province.

"Our job is to maintain peace. But many times we are insulted or even shot at. Our soldiers are only defending themselves but there are always people calling them human right offenders, while the media sometimes publish news without first checking the validity of their information," he added.

Indra said the TNI actually already knew the masterminds of the terror attacks that had happened in the region but always chose to apply a persuasive approach towards them.

"We could have just cracked down on and arrest them but because we adhere to humanitarian considerations, we always resort to persuasive approaches. We don't want Papuans to resent our presence here," he said.

Indra called on all elements of Papua's community to cooperate in creating a conducive situation in the province.

Jakarta, TNI 'must directly talk to Papuans'

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2011

Nethy Dharma Somba and Bambang Muryanto, Jayapura/Yogyakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI), lawmakers and experts all agree that Jakarta must directly talk with Papuans who have separatist aspirations to immediately end conflict in the province as the international community continues to urge Indonesia to respect human rights there.

Papua Military Commander Maj. Gen. Erfi Triasunu said in Jayapura on Tuesday that all differences between separatists, or the so-called Free Papua Movement (OPM), and the government could be resolved through dialogue.

"We have seen a series of clashes in recent weeks, but they happened because there was lack of communication. I am sure if we can talk, then we will avoid conflict."

Concerns have increased over the latest violence in Papua, especially the fatal shooting on Oct. 19 in Jayapura during the third Papuan People's Congress, which attracted a crowd of about 5,000 Papuans.

The police and the military forcibly dispersed the assembly and arrested 300 people. At least three dead bodies were later found near the venue, leading to an allegation that the police had committed human rights violations while dispersing the congress. More than a dozen people have been killed in the province in the last three months.

US President Barack Obama raised the subject of human rights violations in Papua when he met with President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, last week.

Erfi said the TNI had initiated talks with Papuans at the subdistrict, district and regental levels. "Talks aim at finding a solution to the conflict so that Papua can become a land of peace," he said.

In Jakarta, Ian Siagian, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that no party but Indonesia could be faulted or blamed for recent developments in Papua, stressing that sending police and Army reinforcements would not solve the problem.

"I used to deal with OPM leadership overseas [in Australia]. I told them, 'If you want direct talks with Jakarta, you have to accept our condition: territorial integrity.' And they said OK."

"So, the solution to the Papua problem is direct talks with the Papuans, including those who want to separate from Indonesia, not a security approach like the government is doing now."

The Indonesian Bishops Conference on Papua also urged Yudhoyono to hold a dialogue with Papuans and stop using violence.

"President Yudhoyono's commitment to solve Papua's problems publicly expressed earlier in his term needs to be realized. Dialogue should start with the heart. With an open heart, without any stigma, the government should listen to the Papuans' history of suffering since integration with Indonesia," the conference's chairman, Martinus D. Situmorang, said.

Peace Papua Network coordinator Neles Tebay also said that a dialogue with Papuans needed to be held immediately before more people died.

In Yogyakarta, Gadjah Mada University Papuan expert PM Laksono said in a discussion that a sense of injustice had sparked prolonged conflict in the province.

Why now? A West Papua backgrounder

New Matilda - November 23, 2011

Jim Elmslie – NM has kept a close eye on West Papua as pressure in the breakaway Indonesian province builds. Long-time Papua watcher Jim Elmslie explains why the situation has escalated – and may get worse in coming months

Two seminal events have shattered the uneasy status quo in West Papua: a labour strike at the Freeport mine, and the declaration of an independent West Papua at a landmark mass meeting of Papuan nationalists, the Third Papuan Congress.

Papuans are in a weak position to effectively pursue any policies that would improve their situation, or move towards the desired goal of many – independence. In fact their situation continues to deteriorate as more non-Papuan migrants arrive and the militarisation of West Papua continues unabated.

By 2010 the indigenous Melanesian population comprised slightly less than half the total population of 3.6 million. Military repression has contained, but done nothing to abate, Papuan resistance to what many perceive to be their "slow-motion genocide".

It is hard to disentangle the history of the Freeport mine from the larger history of West Papua since the Indonesian takeover.

Indonesia took West Papua by diplomacy backed by military force: a force that no other country, including Holland, was ultimately prepared to oppose. President Sukarno and his successor, President Suharto, felt fully entitled to the riches of West Papua, won in the face of adversity. The greatest of these riches has been the Freeport mine, the most valuable mining operation in the world. It was imposed on the Amungme people against their will and has been dominant in the political economy of West Papua ever since. The Freeport mine is very much a metaphor for the occupation of West Papua by the Indonesians and developments at the mine site cannot help but have profound effects across the entire country.

The status quo at the mine has been irrevocably transformed by the miners' strike.

Blowing up the diesel and concentrate pipelines and blocking the mine access road has not only temporarily crippled the mine; it has permanently weakened the company. Once the epitome of aggressive American capitalism, it is now a victim of its own success, beholden to many forces and actors beyond its control which threaten the very survival of the company in Indonesia. Whether it be Papuan tribesmen, Indonesian unionists, the TNI or nationalist politicians in Jakarta, many people are out to get Freeport.

This phenomenon loosely coincides with the world-wide movement against authoritarian regimes (such as the Arab Spring) and against capitalist excess (such as the Occupy Wall Street movement). These movements have at least partly been fueled by the technological revolution that has thrown up new forms of communication such as the internet, mobile phones, Facebook and You Tube. Whereas Freeport and West Papua have always been hidden by their remoteness, they are now no more remote and disconnected from the rest of the world than anywhere else. What has worked in the past will no longer suffice.

Similarly the shooting by the TNI of unarmed protestors after the Third Papuan Congress did not take place in a vacuum. Within minutes of the first shots being fired news reports were being sent out by SMS, followed by mobile phone calls, emails, Facebook postings and uploads on You Tube.

Organisations around the world, such as Human Rights Watch in New York, were quick to condemn the shootings.

In Australia, Greens Senator Richard Di Natale moved a motion in the Senate calling for an end to military aid for Indonesia – a motion that now will have to be taken seriously as the Greens hold the balance of power in the Australian Parliament. There was no public condemnation of the shootings and associated human rights abuses from the Australian government, reflecting its extreme reticence to criticise Indonesia and the fragility of the relationship – at least over the issue of West Papua.

Other countries were not so constrained. Lord Avebury, Vice-chair of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group, said, "this appalling display of excessive force has no place in a modern democracy". In the US, Congressmember Eni Faleomavaega, well known for his outspoken support for West Papuans' human rights, wrote a letter to the Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Dino Patti Djalal. Faleomavaega expressing his concerns about the Congress shootings and calling for the safety, "humane treatment" and immediate release of Forkorus Yaboisembut.

The geo-political importance of Indonesia, as a "moderate" Islamic nation, emerging economic force and potential bulwark against growing Chinese power, tended to mute further negative comment.

While the old status quo has been shattered with the strike and the Third Papuan Congress, no new equilibrium is in sight. In fact by 4 November the workers' strike had coalesced with the Papua peoples' political demands when tribesmen joined the strikers at the Freeport blockade and successfully fought back police attempts to break through. The tribesmen were drawn in by the strike and, armed with spears and arrows were expressing their own grievances over land rights, pollution and (lack of) compensation from the mine.

This was a seminal event in the political evolution of West Papua wherein all of the different agendas – and different sets of players – have come into play together at the political and economic heart of West Papua: the Freeport mine.

Freeport will probably (but not certainly) reopen in the coming months and resume production, but the mine and the company will now live forever in the shadow of the events of the past six weeks. The next attack will always be hanging imminent: maybe tonight; maybe never. But the illusion that the mine is safe and secure is gone forever. It is, for the time being, a defenseless victim which can be brought to a grinding halt at will. The security bought with the tens of millions paid to the TNI and police has proved to be no security at all; on the contrary those payments have made the mine even more vulnerable. All those billions seem up for grabs now.

Politically West Papua is in an even more chaotic and dangerous stalemate. Papuan aspirations for independence are being expressed ever more openly, defying the guns and threats, defying what most observers would see as logic: that independence seems an impossible dream. The Papuans believe that God is on their side; that history will vindicate them; that, like East Timor, their day will come and their imprisoned nation will one day be free.

Simultaneously the Indonesian nationalist position has hardened: the Papuans are seen as traitors trying to break up the nation and deserving of armed response, of death. Against this there are elements of Indonesian society that are considerably more flexible and nuanced in their understanding of the West Papuan conflict, exemplified by leading academic researcher, Muridan Widjojo, who has co-authored an important study on West Papua which strongly advocates negotiations.

Indeed, by 10 November even President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was starting to talk about dialogue, but with such restrictive preconditions – predictably the non-negotiability of sovereignty, but also the centrality of Special Autonomy – that many Papuans may baulk at participation, sensing another pointless exercise in propoganda. Meanwhile the real power continues to reside with the military in West Papua, which clearly views separatism as a traitorous threat to national sovereignty and negotiation or concessions as a sign of weakness.

As the currents that are rippling across the rest of the world inexorably flow through cyber space and into the computers, smart phones and consciousness of Papuans, the scene is set for an ever-bigger confrontation. The trends are ominous, and the process structurally violent.

Other nations, particularly Australia (as near neighbour, Indonesian military ally and home to the most significant foreign based corps of pro- free West Papua supporters – both Papuan and non-Papuan) are being drawn into this struggle. Just as Australia was drawn into the East Timor struggle, against the fervent wishes of both the conservatives and the Labor Party, Australia is now involved in West Papua.

If nothing else the Lombok Treaty signed in 2007 makes Australia a virtual military ally of Indonesia. One purpose of the treaty was to suppress support for West Papuan separatism, particularly in Australia. Official Australia is, therefore, directly participating in the repression of the Papuans, as it participated in the Indonesian occupation of East Timor with military cooperation and diplomatic support. This reflected the view within Australia's foreign policy establishment that erroneously saw East Timor's status as an Indonesian province as final (as they now see the status of West Papua). Eventually the Australian public rejected this position over East Timor; the same is likely to happen over West Papua as an understanding of the situation there filters out.

However the cards unfold the situation in West Papua will likely get much messier and more violent. The possibility of a quiet genocide occurring is real. Australia must come to expect this and realise that the future relationship between Australia and Indonesia will be forged in how our respective nations deal with this difficult and traumatic conflict, not through trade deals and jaunts to Bali. In this context, the call by Senator Richard Di Natale to cut military ties with Indonesia is the best immediate policy response available and should be widely supported.

Human rights & justice

Dutch state in compensation talks over massacre in Indonesia

Associated Press - November 25, 2011

Mike Corder, The Hague, Netherlands – The Dutch government is discussing compensation for relatives of men executed by Dutch forces in a notorious 1947 massacre during Indonesia's battle for independence.

A Dutch court ruled in September the state was responsible for the massacre in the village of Rawagedeh on Java island in which up to 430 men were rounded up and shot. The court ordered the government to pay compensation.

The landmark ruling was the first time the Dutch government has been held responsible by a court for the massacre in its former colony.

The Dutch government said it has held preliminary talks with the relatives' lawyer "about the possibility of reaching a settlement." The victims' lawyer, Liesbeth Zegveld, welcomed the talks and said she hopes to reach a conclusion soon.

"I am glad the Dutch government has made this move," Zegveld told The Associated Press. "It is good for the country's moral standing."

Zegveld is representing nine relatives of slain men. "We want to complete this quickly, my clients are all very old," she said.

Sukarman, an Indonesian who for years has campaigned for compensation for the victims, welcomed the talks. "We are exhausted waiting for good news... this is a remarkable move by the Dutch government that we certainly welcome happily," said Sukarman, who like many Indonesians uses only a single name.

Sukarman's mother, Cawi binti Baisa, was one of nine widows of slain men who sought compensation. Cawi was only 20 when her husband of two years left their house to work in the rice fields, never to return.

Sukarman said villagers commemorate the massacre each year on Dec 9, and he hopes that this year the victims will be able to hear good news of a settlement at that time.

The Dutch government has never prosecuted any soldiers for the massacre, despite a United Nations report condemning the attack as "deliberate and ruthless" as early as 1948.

A 1968 Dutch report acknowledged "violent excesses" in Indonesia but argued that Dutch troops were carrying out a "police action" often incited by guerrilla warfare and terror attacks.

After a television documentary explored the bloodbath, the government conceded in 1995 that summary executions had taken place in Rawagedeh, now known as Balongsari, but said prosecutions were no longer possible.

It was not until 2005 that the government formally faced up to the past when former Foreign Minister Ben Bot expressed deep regret for offenses by Dutch forces throughout Indonesia in 1947.

It remains to be seen if the Rawagedeh ruling will open the floodgates for more compensation claims from relatives of people killed during the fight to retain control over the Dutch East Indies, which became Indonesia in 1949.

The September ruling had a very narrow focus, saying widows of men killed deserved compensation.

[Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this story from Jakarta, Indonesia.]

Dutch discuss settlement in Rawagede massacre

Agence France Presse - November 23, 2011

The Hague – Dutch authorities are discussing a possible settlement with families of victims executed by Dutch colonial troops in an Indonesian village in 1947, a foreign affairs spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The (Dutch) state opened discussions yesterday (Tuesday) with the lawyer representing the relatives to see if a settlement can be reached," Job Frieszo told AFP.

In September, a Hague-based court ruled in favour of seven widows and a survivor of the massacre at the village of Rawagedeh east of Jakarta, known today as Balongsari. An eighth widow in the case died earlier.

The court said the Dutch state was liable for executions during an operation to root out a suspected independence fighter during Indonesia's war of independence and ordered that the victims' relatives be compensated, but it did not set down an amount.

Asked about a possible amount Frieszo said: "No, no, the discussions are still in an early stage." The talks was a result of the court's decision, he added.

Although the Dutch government in the past expressed "deep regret" over the conduct of some of its troops in pre-independence Indonesia, it has never formally apologized for any excesses including the massacre at Rawagedeh.

Dutch authorities say 150 people died in the atrocity while a victims' association claims 431 lost their lives. Indonesia's former colonial masters, the Dutch colonized the Asian country from the early 17th century. Indonesia gained independence in 1949.

Political parties & elections

Muhaimin asks government to reject Yenny's party

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2011

Jakarta – The chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), who is also the manpower and transmigration minister, Muhaimin Iskandar, has submitted a letter to the Law and Human Rights Ministry, requesting that it not approve PKB's splinter group becoming a political party.

The letter, which was made available to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, was dated Aug. 25 and signed by Muhaimin and PKB secretary-general Imam Nahrawi. In the letter, Muhaimin asks the ministry "to reject the proposal of the National Archipelago Prosperity Party [PKBN]".

The PKBN is a splinter group of the PKB and was founded by Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh "Yenny" Wahid, the daughter of Indonesia's fourth president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

The logo and the name of Yenny's party "have so many similarities to those of the PKB, which is against the 2011 Political Party Law," the letter states. Yenny said the letter was "merely" part of Muhaimin's moves to "prevent the PKBN from becoming a political party".

Delayed recognition for NasDem, other new parties raises questions for 2014

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The National Democrat Party and other new parties may be unable to field candidates in the 2014 election due to a just-missed age requirement.

If the election were held in April 2014, a party would have had to have been officially recognized no later than October of this year in order to be two and a half years old at the start of voting, as required by law.

NasDem was announced by the government on Nov. 11. As for other new parties, the government and the House of Representatives agreed on Monday to announce their status by Dec. 16.

Arif Wibowo, a member of the House commission on home affairs, blamed the government for "inciting conflict between parties and the House" and causing the delay.

"If the House finally decides to hold the election in April 2014, the new parties who cannot qualify will blame [the House]," Arif said in a hearing between the commission and Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin. The last legislative election was held on April 9, 2009.

Arif said that while the government had argued it was giving more parties more time to contest, its real motive was to keep them away from the election. "Because of the government's negligence, new parties will not be included in the 2014 election," Arief said.

But the Justice Minister didn't respond to the allegation, saying in the same hearing that his office's responsibility was mainly to verify political parties. "The election is handled by KPU [the General Election Commission]," Amir said. "Everything about it is in their hands."

The delay in announcing the verification results "was meant to allow more time and opportunities for the citizens to fulfil their political rights," he said. The minister argued that the schedule had been provided by his predecessor Patrialis Akbar, who was replaced in an October cabinet reshuffle.

Nasdem's chances for the election may be in doubt, but other parties are still struggling just to get government recognition.

Among them are the Independent People's Union (SRI) Party, which seeks to nominate current World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati as its presidential candidate; the Insulinde National Prosperity Party (PKBN), founded by Yenny Wahid, daughter of the late President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid; and the Republican Works Party (Pakar), founded by Ari Sigit, whose father is Sigit Harjojudanto, Suharto's oldest son.

Under the tough new Law on Political Parties, applicants are required to have at least 1,000 members spread throughout the country's 33 provinces. Parties must have at least 30 registered members in each of the provinces, and they also need permanent offices and members in 75 percent of all districts and half of all subdistricts.

Malik Haramain, from the National Awakening Party (PKB), said no new parties would pass the verification process unless they had submitted the administrative requirements by this year's Sept. 22 deadline.

"It should be kept in mind that any party who handed in the administrative requirements after September 22 should not be approved," he said. "That could mean Nasdem was the only new party who got the official recognition from the government."

Indonesian political parties spent Rp 300 trillion from 2007-2010

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Indonesian political parties spent upwards of Rp 300 trillion ($33 billion) from 2007 to 2010, a member of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said on Monday.

The source of funding remains unclear. Rizal Djalil, a member of the BPK, said that funding was likely taken from the government's social aid fund managed by regional heads. "The report per Dec. 31, 2010 is Rp 300 trillion. This is irrational," Rizal said in a seminar as quoted by Detik.com.

The figure is large compared to revenue received by political parties. The political party law limits individual donations per year to Rp 1 billion and company donations to Rp 7.5 billion.

Rizal said the government should issue clear regulations so the BPK can track and monitor funding sources. "The funding sources should be clearly monitored," Rizal said. "Political parties now can secretly use the state budget."

He said that for the sake of transparency and to prevent parties from secretly stealing from the state budget, the government should not limit donations from the private sector or from individuals.

Is it time to give military and police right to vote?

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – House factions are split on whether members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police should be allowed to vote in the 2014 polls.

Some politicians said 2014 would be the perfect time to allow them to vote, while others argued that such a political right among the armed forces would only hamper the nation's fledgling democracy.

Chairman of the House of Representatives' special committee tasked with deliberating the general elections bill, Arif Wibowo, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), asserted that his party strongly rejected the idea, saying that "fundamentally, as [members of the] armed state apparatus, they must be neutral".

The law was clear, he added, that they had to be non-partisan in terms of politics, as any election conflict involving them would only harm the country. "There are growing concerns that they might lapse into practical politics," he said. "Also, if they were divided into several political groups, I'd say it would only cause splits within the corps."

Committee member Abdul Malik Haramain of the National Awakening Party (PKB) confirmed that his party supported giving the TNI and the police the right to vote at the next elections, saying that the two institutions have shown their commitment to reform.

"After all, these personnel have the same rights as citizens, and granting them voting rights supports our democracy," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Thursday.

He dismissed public concerns that such voting rights would be misused by certain actors and those with power in the military and the police. "The right is for each individual. And I'd say they would not use it for political mobilization," he said. "Their total number is small: no more than 500,000 personnel in each institution. It is not a significant [number] for an election."

Taufiq Hidayat from the Golkar Party said his party was open to the possibility of granting voting rights. "Any concern is only because of our bitter experience with the Army in the past," he said. "We need to move on as soon as we are all ready."

He emphasized that 2014 was the perfect time for these personnel to exercise their right to vote. "We all have the same concern; so, just give them the voting rights in 2014. If it fails, withdraw it," he said.

However, Arif, speaking as the head of the committee, said his team consisting of all factions at the House tended to not want to allow the two institutions to vote in 2014.

The TNI and the police are not too eager either at the thought of being able to vote soon, although there have been cases where military or police officers are known to have openly endorsed certain political parties.

In 2004, former Banyumas Police chief Sr. Comr. Andi Mapparesa admitted during a police professional ethics board hearing on Wednesday that he had endorsed former president Megawati Soekarnoputri for reelection at a May 29 meeting in front of police officers' family members and retired police officers.

In the same year, TNI headquarters discharged a lieutenant colonel, who was allegedly responsible for authorizing the use of army vehicles to transport thousands of people from Jakarta to the Al-Zaytun Islamic school complex in West Java, where all of them voted for the Wiranto-Salahuddin Wahid pairing.

Democratic Party elite face another graft scandal

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – More and more senior politicians from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, including party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, have faced public suspicions over their involvement in major corruption scandals.

Sutan Batoegana, one of the Democratic Party's most senior legislators, was implicated in a high-profile graft case. This time, the accusation came from the lawyer of a defendant in a similar case.

The spokesman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Johan Budi, told reporters that his office was considering questioning Sutan over corruption allegations surrounding the 2009 procurement of Rp 526 billion (US$57 million) of solar energy equipment at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

"Should the corruption court say Sutan's testimony before trial is necessary, we will summon him," he added.

Sofyan Kasim, the lawyer of ministry official Ridwan Sanjaya, who has been named a suspect in the case, accused a number of figures of having a role in the case. Included in his accusations were Sutan and "a police general with the initial G.".

"The companies that won the project tender were backed by those powerful figures," Sofyan said on the sidelines of Ridwan's trial hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday.

Sutan denied that he was involved in the case. "I was instead the one who uncovered the mismanagement," he said.

Sutan recalled a moment when a businessman who had lost the tender came to his office at the House of Representatives. "This businessman protested the ministry's bidding processes, which he said was unfair. He said he would file a report with the KPK, and I supported his move," Sutan said. He said he would be ready should the KPK or the court summon him.

The KPK has also named the power and energy utilization director-general at the ministry, Jacobus Purwono, and a contracting officer at the directorate-general, Kosasih, as suspects.

The two allegedly accepted Rp 4.6 billion from the winning contractor, which was transferred into a "tactical fund account" at the ministry, according to Johan.

The KPK says that the procurement bidding had been engineered to benefit certain parties. The case caused at least Rp 131 billion, equal to 25 percent of the project's total value, in state losses, according to the KPK.

The Democratic Party is facing massive waves of criticism after many of its members have been charged with graft.

The party's central executive board has sacked four of its members involved in corruption cases, namely As'ad Syam, a member of the party's central executive board, Murman Effendi, the head of the party's Bengkulu branch, Djufri, a lawmaker who also heads the party's West Sumatra branch, and former party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin.

The head of the party's anticorruption division, Didi Irawady Syamsuddin, the son of Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin, said the media tended to over-react when a Democratic Party member was implicated in a corruption case.

"We won't interfere with any of our members' legal processes, but I think the media should also be neutral and publicize graft-implicated politicians from other parties," Didi said.

Akbar warns Golkar to beware new parties

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2011

Jakarta – Golkar Party patron Akbar Tanjung has warned the party not to underestimate new political parties, among them the National Democratic Party with former Golkar figure and media tycoon Surya Paloh as its patron.

"The people behind these new parties are national figures with distinguished reputations. Thus, we should be alert," Akbar told a party meeting in Maros, South Sulawesi, on Thursday.

He said there was no option but for Golkar members to maintain close relations with their constituents in village areas as a sign of the party's concerns. "We need to build and strengthen the party's infrastructure so we can win the general elections," he said.

Former Golkar figure and media mogul Surya Paloh walked out of Golkar after failing to claim the party's chief seat, which instead went to Aburizal Bakrie. Paloh repeatedly cited the fact that Golkar had become very pragmatic and heavily influenced by corruption as reasons why he chose to leave.

Financial woes may trip up Ical's presidential bid

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Bangkok/Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie may not find it easy to compete in the 2014 presidential elections amid the financial woes which have beset his business empire in the past few years.

Once firmly in the top-tier in the list of richest Indonesians, Forbes magazine put Aburizal in 30th place in its recent 2011 richest Indonesians list, with his wealth estimated to have dwindled by 57 percent from US$2.1 billion last year to $890 million.

Earlier this month, Bakrie and Brothers group sold its 23.8 percent stake in London-listed Bumi Plc. to another coal company, PT Borneo Lumbung Energi & Metal, reportedly to avoid defaulting on its piling debt.

The company had previously announced a plan to carry out a so-called "quasi reorganization" to revalue its debts and assets after the company recorded a deficit of Rp 27.7 trillion ($3.02 billion) between 2008 and 2010 from its business units and partnerships.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political observer with the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said on Thursday that Aburizal's business woes could significantly affect the electability of both Golkar and Ical in the 2014 elections, given that a run for president needed at least Rp 10 trillion to finance a meaningful campaign nationwide.

"The trillion rupiah loss suffered by Bakrie and Brothers was a massive blow [for Golkar and Ical] in the 2014 general elections but especially for Ical in his presidential bid."

As the Constitution bars President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono from running for a third term, Aburizal is seen as one of the strongest contenders in 2014 along with Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party patron Prabowo Subianto and former finance minister Sri Mul-yani, according to several surveys.

The country's largest party, the Democratic Party, has yet to officially announce its presidential candidate, even though the names of several potential figures have been circulating, including the President's in-law and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo. Golkar is also reportedly eying Pramono as Aburizal's running mate.

Aburizal has been touring several Asian countries to meet with business and political leaders, a move believed to be part of his strategy to fuel his presidential bid. Aburizal denied that his trips had anything to do with his presidential bid, claiming that it was business as he and Thailand's leaders had discussed the possibility of Thai investment in the oil and gas sector.

To foreign parties, Aburizal is known as a businessman who often uses his political clout to support his business interests. A 2007 classified diplomatic cable, released by WikiLeaks and published by Reuters, quoted Cameron Hume, a former US ambassador to Indonesia, as saying that "in the mining sector, Cabinet minister Aburizal Bakrie has been most successful in using nationalism for his private personal gain".

Aburizal, who resigned from the Bakrie and Brothers group in 2004 when he became Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare in Yudhoyono's administration, declined to comment on the selling of Bakrie and Brothers' stake in Bumi. "I don't deal with business matters anymore," he said.

Although Aburizal has distanced himself from Bakrie and Brothers, Burhanuddin argues that Aburizal's claims might be rhetorical. "The businesses of Bakrie and Brothers are highly dependent on politics. Even if Ical is not directly involved in day-to-day operations, there is no doubt that Ical is an important political factor for the Bakrie and Brothers group," Burhanuddin said. (sat)

Labour & migrant workers

Labor unrest on the rise

Straits Times - November 29, 2011

John McBeth – For all the democratic space created after the fall of President Suharto, with Indonesia signing on to the core principles of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, the country's trade union movement has not been the force many have expected.

Prominent labor activists like Muchtar Pakpahan and Dita Indah Sari, both jailed for fighting for workers' rights during the New Order years, have faded from public view, unable to parlay their national exposure into broad political popularity.

Pakpahan's Labor Party failed to gain a single seat in the 2004 and 2009 elections. Sari is now a useful adviser to Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar. Other former unionists have also moved out of activism and into mainstream jobs.

But the days of docile labor may be changing, with a 6.5 percent growth spurt giving many Indonesians a new-found prosperity.

The three-month-long strike at Freeport Indonesia's copper and gold mine is significant because of its unmistakable message: that employers cannot expect business as usual when commodity prices – and profits – are at an all-time high.

"It is having a huge impact," Indonesian Employers Association chairman Sofyan Wanandi told The Straits Times, pointing to the way unions are educating themselves on the Internet. "The workers here are trying to copy what they are doing at Freeport and our government is too weak (to respond)."

Faced with a threatened strike – and a looming gubernatorial election – Jakarta's city administration last week buckled to demands for a 20 percent increase in the monthly minimum wage to 1.52 million rupiah (S$220) – the lowest salary for a single person with less than a year's experience.

More than 10,000 workers marched in Batam on Nov 24 demanding a similar increase, and there have been signs of further unrest among state railway, airline and telecommunications employees, and in industrial parks around the nation's capital.

Only 3.3 million of Indonesia's workers belong to unions, or 10 percent of those in the formal economy, which in turn is just a third of the total economy. That number is actually less than what it was in previous years, but labor experts say it takes time to build a genuine movement.

Apart from the Confederation of All-Indonesia Workers' Union, the only state-sanctioned union during the Suharto era, there are now three other confederations embracing nearly 80 different federations and 11,000 workplace unions.

Critics claim the national-level organizations have been hijacked by political interests, leaving the workers in much the same situation as before, with inadequate wages and poor conditions.

The cash-strapped confederations are more political in their approach because their main role is to lobby for changes to the labor laws and seek improved social protection. They are also very weak.

Freeport union leader Sudiro seems to have forged stronger linkages to international labor organizations, such as the United Steelworkers, than to his own confederation.

There is also evidence of intra-company collusion, borne out by the 60-day strike at parent company Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru, where the workers may not be demanding as much, but have been equally tenacious.

At the company level, unions look for direct benefits, services and cooperation with employers. In many cases, however, they do not have the skills and the leverage needed for collective bargaining, usually relying on government mediation to resolve disputes.

Payrolls are only part of the equation. Wanandi says the government has to do more to remove infrastructure bottlenecks that cost producers time and money, particularly at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port, which handles 70 percent of the country's exports.

Logistical headaches add 15 percent to the price of doing business in Indonesia, compared with 5 percent to 6 percent in better-developed countries. Add a further 5 percent to 10 percent for corruption and bureaucratic red tape, and it is inevitably the worker who loses out.

Indonesia's new labor laws, pushed through by the populist Megawati Sukarnoputri government, appear out of balance. Employers face onerous severance payments of 30 times a worker's monthly salary, even when criminal activity is involved. Yet Indonesia occupies the 86th place among 100 selected countries on the International Labor Organization's 2010 list of workers with the lowest average minimum wage – or below US$250 (S$330) a month.

That ranges from US$155 a month in far-off Papua to US$65 in Central Java, well below levels in Thailand and the Philippines, where even the lowest monthly wage is US$160.

Eight of the country's 33 provinces recently agreed to raise the minimum wage by up to 17 percent, employing what is now a nationwide mechanism in which employers and workers conduct their own livelihood surveys and try to find middle ground.

In Jakarta, the recent 20 percent increase still means workers are barely keeping pace with the cost of basic living standard scale, which contains 48 components covering rent and basic necessities that are adjusted for inflation.

Freeport is offering a 35 percent rise, partly because Papua has a much higher cost of living. But that is only for the lowest-paid worker. Others on higher pay scales all want the same deal.

It is the same for Jakarta's workers, particularly those engaged in the car assembly, electronic and textile industries, who feel the minimum wage should be 5 percent higher than other less profitable sectors. All that remains to be seen now is how far the contagion will spread.

What minimum wage is enough in Jakarta?

Jakarta Globe - November 26, 2011

Anita Rachman – Nanik Sutiyah rents a small room in North Jakarta, about three square meters all around, but it still seems sparsely furnished.

A mattress fills most of the space. Nanik shares it at night with her husband and their two-week-old baby.

In front of that, a television sits beside a plastic cupboard. Less than half a meter away, a table has assumed the role of an entire kitchen – stocked with a five-gallon water dispenser, a rice cooker and a small stove. A green gas canister is tucked underneath. This is where Nanik cooks her family's one daily meal: tofu or tempe and vegetables.

"My monthly salary is not enough – far from enough. But what can I do?" said the 29-year-old, who moved to Jakarta from Bogor to work as a seamstress at a garment factory in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

She is entitled to a sectoral provincial minimum wage (UMP) of Rp 1.38 million ($152) because textile work is among 11 special sectors. About 60 percent of that money goes to her three other children who live with her mother and her brother in Bogor.

In Jakarta, Nanik tries to live on the remaining money, just Rp 600,000 a month. Her husband, Ngatno, sometimes contributes to their income as a temporary driver, but there are often quiet months when he can't find work.

"I need to pay the room rent of Rp 300,000 per month," Nanik said. "So I try to put food on the table with only Rp 300,000 each month. But now with the baby, I don't know how I will manage. I'm still on [maternity] leave, but once I get back to work, I will need a baby sitter. That's not going to be cheap," she added.

How much money does her family actually need? Nanik, a junior high school graduate, said she would be happy with enough money to send her children to good schools and feed them with nutritious food.

"Like my fellows in the Factory Workers Forum [FBLP], we only want Rp 2.022 million a month," she said.

A pipe dream?

But Nanik can only hope. The Jakarta administration has settled on a monthly wage of roughly Rp 1.52 million for next year, up from an earlier proposal of Rp 1.29 million. It is now waiting for Governor Fauzi Bowo to approve the figure.

That figure did not come easily. It followed a heated debate between the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), which demanded a monthly wage no higher than Rp 1.41 million, and the Jakarta Workers' Forum, which demanded at least Rp 1.52 million.

Deded Sukendar, the head of Jakarta's Manpower and Transmigration Agency, said that the administration would likely pass the recommended Rp 1.52 million wage. "Apindo must follow it, or we'll inspect the companies," Deded said.

Nining Elitos, coordinator of the Indonesian Trade Union Alliance (Kasbi), said Rp 1.52 million would in no way afford workers better living standards. In setting the minimum wage, she said, the local government still referred to the 2005 Manpower Ministry Regulation, which regulates the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL). The KHL considers 46 components of living costs, including rice and other basic needs.

However, Nining said, there have been few updates since the index was first established. The Jakarta-based Committee for Living Wage Action (KAUL) has asked the ministry to annul the regulation, saying more components must be considered today.

"[The regulation] was set in 2005. It's 2011 now, and no updates have been made to the KHL," Nining said. "Take for example the places where we live. The KHL says a two- by three-meter room costs Rp 200,000. But can you get a room for Rp 200,000 now?"

"Also, the [index] was set for single workers. What about those who have families?" she added.

Nining said the proposed new minimum wage for Jakarta's workers was only just enough to keep them alive but far from enough to provide a quality standard of living. "How can you expect workers to do a good job if they hardly get enough to eat?" she said.

Workers, she said, seem condemned to live forever in rented accommodations. "Workers still won't be able to save," she said. "They won't be able to put their children through higher education. Many of us are living in debt once we have kids that should be sent to schools."

Living in debt

Jumisih, chairwoman of the FBLP, said 70 percent of the 80,000 workers in North Jakarta's special customs bonded estate (KBN) were trapped in a cycle of debt.

Workers struggle to pay off their debt because of towering interest rates, sometimes as high as 20 percent. Nanik herself spent a year trying to pay off a Rp 1 million loan.

"Many workers have children, whether here or in their hometowns," Jumisih said. "They need money to send home for their kids. When their wages are not enough, they are forced to resort to moneylenders."

The FBLP once calculated that if industrial businesses were willing to increase workers' monthly wages to Rp 2 million, they would only reduce their profits by about 3 percent, Jumisih said.

"The point is, they are still making profits," she said. "But you know businessmen; when they're making less of a profit than before, they say they are suffering a loss."

Orizet Mbo'oh, 35, a worker in a multinational company in East Jakarta, earns more than the minimum wage. Nine years into his career, he makes about Rp 3 million per month. Nevertheless, as the head of a family with two children, he says his wage isn't enough to support his family.

Though he moved to Jakarta in 1995, Orizet has never owned a house in the capital. He said he once borrowed money to buy a house, but he gave up on actually getting one because he couldn't keep up with other expenses. At the moment, he is living with his parents-in-law.

"I'd say that the minimum wage is just too little," said Orizet, a vocational school graduate. "It isn't enough, especially if you have kids."

Suparti, a pregnant mother who works in the KBN bonded estate, described the results of getting the provincial minimum wage in Jakarta: a slum area home, a small rented room and a shared, filthy bathroom.

"[I spend] Rp 10,000 per meal two times a day," she said. "The only entertainment is television. I never go to malls or cinemas, I walk straight home after work. "I have to send money for my family and my child in Pati, Central Java."

The businessmen's argument

The chairman of Apindo, Sofjan Wanandi, told the Jakarta Globe that the business body had carefully considered the workers' needs before recommending a figure for the provincial minimum wage.

"But raises should be based on productivity," he said. "And let's be honest, who actually protested the minimum wage? It's not the workers. Many of them are NGO staff who are not even workers."

"We didn't come to the [UMP] meeting," he added. "We sent a letter to the governor [that we cannot accept the 2012 UMP]. They agreed to make it Rp 1.52 million to appease the protesters, and because it's nearing [regional] election time."

Rieke Diah Pitaloka, member of House of Representatives Commission IX, which oversees manpower, said workers today were only seen as commodities. She said the government should be leading the discussion and seeking input from workers, but it has not taken up its proper role.

"In this context, I see the government only as a spectator, or even a close companion to the businessmen," she said.

Mayor defies workers' higher wage demands

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2011

Fadli, Batam – Although the city was quiet on Friday, the situation remained volatile in Batam with Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan continuing to reject the demands of local workers seeking a much higher minimum wage, arguing that only the Riau Islands governor had the legal authority to increase the workers' salaries.

Accompanied by the local Army and Navy chiefs, the mayor insisted he had done all he could in accordance with the law, by putting forward the three options as proposed by the workers, the employers and the local tripartite wage council. The workers demanded Rp 1,760,000 (US$200), the employers' assocation proposed Rp 1,260,000, while the wage council suggested Rp 1,360,000.

"It is up to the governor to make the decision, and we will wholeheartedly support him," said the mayor.

The workers ran amok because Ahmad refused to meet with their representatives. He denied he was not prepared to deal directly with the workers on Wednesday, saying he had to attend another meeting, which had been scheduled long before the strike.

"I was ready to meet with them on Thursday but on the condition that they guaranteed my safety. But they failed to meet my requirement. It would not be good if a mayor was hurt by the workers," Ahmad added.

Meanwhile, many factories, shopping malls, government offices and banks ceased their operations on Friday in anticipation of the continuation of riots, which rocked Batam on Wednesday and Thursday. The police also revoked the permits it had issued to labor unions to hold demonstrations on Friday.

The Army deployed three platoons in several strategic positions, while the Navy sent one platoon to help the police in restoring public order. "If the police need our help, we are ready to send many more personnel," said Col. Iwan Isnurwanto, the chief of Batam Navy Base.

A number of industrial estates and ship dockyards also closed their gates to prevent public access, including the Tunas Industrial Estate in Batam Center, the Panbil Industrial Estate and Batamindo Industrial Estate, the Batamec Shipyard, the PT Drydock World Graha and the PT Jaya Shipyard.

"We are closing temporarily for preventive measures, but we will resume our operations on Monday," said Rizaldi, chief security officer at the Batamec Shipyard.

Comr. Widodo, who is in charge of the island's security, announced that police had arrested 27 protesters, only two of whom were still being detained on Friday. "We want to intensify our investigation into this case, and we will no longer allow the workers to take to the streets," Widodo said.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers' Unions (KSPSI), Saiful Badri, blamed the Batam mayor for the violence. When asked what the union's next move would be, Saiful only responded, "We will merely consolidate and wait for the government's decision on the new minimum wage."

27 arrests after Batam riot violence

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2011

Batam – Indonesian National Police said on Friday that 27 people have been arrested in connection with two days of violent wage demonstrations that rocked the industrial zone of Batam, Riau Islands.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said two of the men had already been named suspects, namely A, 32, who had been charged with allegedly instigating the riots, and A.M., who was caught read handed throwing rocks at the mayor office.

Authorities in Batam, agreed on Thursday to a more substantial increase in the city's minimum wage for next year, following the demonstrations.

Sahat Sinurat, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry's director of industrial disputes, said that after lengthy negotiations, all sides had agreed to peg the minimum wage to the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL).

As a result, the minimum wage will be Rp 1.32 million ($147) a month, less than what workers had been demanding.

"Initially, there was disagreement about the monthly minimum wage," Sahat said. "Apindo [the Indonesian Employers Association] wanted it set at Rp 1.26 million, but the workers wanted Rp 1.72 million. This is what caused the rioting." The minimum wage this year is Rp 1.18 million a month.

Workers had taken to the streets since Wednesday to demand that the local wage council immediately decide on the minimum wage for next year, following a lengthy deadlock between employers and the workers' union. Under a Manpower Ministry decision, the minimum wage should be set 40 days before it goes into force, or last Monday.

Protesting workers clashed with police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the crowds.

Records from municipal clinics on Wednesday showed 15 people were treated for injuries sustained in the clashes, while five were taken to Kamatya Sahidah Hospital and Awal Bros Batam Hospital. The Batam branch of the Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPM) said at least four workers were injured by rubber bullets.

The violence resumed on Thursday morning when workers and police officers hurled rocks at each other outside the mayor's office. Police once again fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Shortly before noon, the governor of Riau Islands, Soerya Respationo, and the provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Budi Winarso, met with demonstrators.

Soerya called on the workers' representatives to meet once again with Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan for negotiations on the minimum wage. Budi told the crowd there was no need to resort to violence because "we all are brothers."

About 40 minutes later, the workers' representatives got their chance to meet with Dahlan. The governor, however, left not long after the meeting started, saying the issue was no longer within his authority to oversee.

The Jakarta-based Committee for Living Wage Action (KAUL) had earlier called for the Batam wage council to set the 2012 minimum wage at Rp 1.76 million and Rp 1.848 million for jobs in certain sectors. It also demanded that Dahlan step down over the violence.

Also on Thursday, thousands of workers in Bekasi, another largely industrial area, took to the streets in a peaceful demonstration to demand a higher minimum wage than the level set by the local wage council.

Earlier this week, a threatened massive strike in Jakarta was averted after the wage council here agreed to peg next year's minimum wage to the current KHL for the city. (Antara, JG)

Hospital workers protest boss 'intimidation'

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2011

Oyos Saroso H.N, Bandar Lampung – A strike involving medical workers, including doctors and administrative employees at the Abdul Moeloek General Hospital (RSUAM) in Bandar Lampung, Lampung, over the last several days has affected medical services to patients.

A number of patients getting inpatient treatment with Jamkesda health insurance sponsored by the provincial administration, are confused because they are asked to immediately return home, despite still being sick.

Around 600 doctors, nurses and paramedics affiliated with the RSUAM Employees Communication Forum (FKK RSUAM) have been protesting since Wednesday demanding the ouster of hospital managing director Hermansyah Zaini, calling his leadership style draconian.

FKK RSUAM spokesman Aswedi Putra said his group demanded the immediate dismissal of Hermansyah because doctors and employees were no longer working in a favorable atmosphere. "The petition of replacing Hermansyah is ultimate. As professionals, we deem his leadership as excessive, authoritarian, full of intimidation and unprofessional," Aswedi said on Thursday.

Aswedi cited Hermansyah's practice of disrespecting senior medical attendant Syahroni. "During a ceremony, he said, 'Look at Pak Syahroni, who is already old and smells of the grave, running like a dog'," Aswedi said quoting Hermansyah.

"We will continue to fight, especially if there is no guarantee from the provincial administration that the hospital director be replaced. Despite that, we will continue to provide medical services to patients," Aswedi said.

He added that Hermansyah's arrogant attitude toward doctors and medical attendants had led to four specialists resigning after being threatened, pressured and humiliated.

"His is often rude to medical workers in front of the public, such as during ceremonies and forums, whereas in fact he should have discussed issues politely," he said.

An oncologist at the hospital, Adi Nugraha, said five specialists had resigned due to the poor leadership of Hermansyah. The resignations, added Adi, could be fatal because the government might stop placing specialists in Lampung.

However, Hermansyah denied the accusations that he was authoritarian and unprofessional. According to him, as the hospital managing director, he must uphold discipline. "But my efforts in upholding discipline have instead raised strong reactions. This is because they are not prepared," he said.

Hermansyah added that, to uphold discipline, he implemented the policy of morning roll call at 7:30 a.m. at the hospital. "However, many are opposed to it, especially the specialists. Maybe they are working at other places during that time," he said.

Lampung Governor Sjachroedin Z.P. said their aspiration could be accommodated as long as it was conveyed in a less pressing way.

Indonesia scores in fight for women migrant workers protection

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – A UN committee has approved a draft resolution presented by Indonesia on violence against women migrant workers, but activists warn that it wields no power unless it is ratified by all host and origin countries.

In a statement released on Thursday, Yusra Khan, Indonesian deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said that the resolution was meant to improve protection for women migrant workers from violence, abuse, discrimination and exploitation.

The resolution was initiated by the Philippines and Indonesia, the countries sending out the highest number of migrant workers, and was approved by consensus at a meeting of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.

"The issue of violence against migrant workers, especially women, has long been a major concern for the government and the people of Indonesia," Yusra said.

"This resolution stresses the importance of a holistic approach in dealing with women migrant workers, where protection of the workers' rights must be accompanied by efforts to recognize their dignity and their contribution to the development of the community in both the origin and destination countries."

According to a UN statement, the approval means the General Assembly will call on governments that have not yet done so to "adopt and implement legislation and policies that protect all women migrant domestic workers and call on them – in particular those of the countries of origin and destination – to put in place penal and criminal sanctions."

It also urged all governments to "take action to prevent and punish any form of illegal deprivation of the liberty of women migrant workers by individuals or groups."

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), welcomed the approval of the draft resolution, but raised some doubt about its effectiveness.

"It's a positive step, but a resolution is politically binding by nature, and not legally binding, which would require all governments to implement it into their legal systems," he said.

He added that it was important that the provisions in the resolution be made legally binding for all destination countries for migrant workers that were members of the United Nations.

"If it's only adopted by countries that send migrant workers, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and not by the host countries, then it will be one-sided," Haris said.

Massive worker rally in Batam erupts into chaos, six injured

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2011

Fadli and Arya Dipa, Batam/Cimahi – A massive rally involving nearly 10,000 workers demanding a pay rise in Batam, Riau Islands, ended in chaos as six were injured, including one person who was shot and three cars were severely damaged.

The chaos erupted from a deadlock in talks to establish a new minimum wage involving the Batam city administration, the Indonesian Businessmen Association (Apindo) and workers unions.

The protesters became enraged after they were denied their request to meet with Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan on the grounds that the mayor was out of town. The mayor is reportedly on a vacation in Singapore.

During the rally, the protesters demanded that the city administration raise the local minimum wage to match the official minimum cost of living figure. The workers unions had threatened to strike several days earlier if their demands were not met.

The strike brought a significant portion of industrial activities in Batam to a standstill as local labor organizations called on workers to join the protest. The city police said they were unable to break up the protesters as they were heavily outnumbered.

The call to strike was aired by three labor organizations – the All Indonesian Workers Union, the Indonesian Metal Workers Unions Confederation (KPSI) and the Federation of the Prosperous Indonesia Workers Unions.

KSPSI Batam secretary Saripyian, who is also a member of the Batam remuneration council, told The Jakarta Post that the three labor organizations had been assured that the minimum wage in 2012 would be increased to match the minimum cost of living. The promise, he said, was part of an agreement made earlier with Apindo during the arrangement of the 2011 minimum wage.

"We were promised by Apindo that the 2012 minimum wage would be equal to the cost of decent living if the 2011 wage arrangement was made in line with Apindo's wishes," Saripyian said. "However, they reneged because of the European economic crisis and Thailand's big flood. The two reasons are not reasonable."

Saripyian said that the 2011 minimum wage was set at Rp 1,180,000, while for 2012 it was proposed at Rp 1,302,992 or equal to the minimum cost of decent as established by a survey conducted by the tripartite, involving the city representatives, businessmen and workers unions. But Apindo agreed to raise the monthly wages only to Rp 1,260,000 and not as promised earlier.

Saripyian said that the talks on setting a new minimum wage had reached deadlock eight times. Therefore, he said, the mayor had sent a letter to Riau Islands Governor Muhammad Sani to fix the wages according to proposals based on various factors. The protesters demanded that the arrangement of the new wage not involve the governor.

Meanwhile, hundreds of workers in Cimahi City, West Java, also went on strike Wednesday, protesting West Java Governor's Ahmad Heryawan handling of the minimum wage revision. The new wage, which was set on Monday, is Rp 1,209,442 a month, 3.15 percent higher than the 2011 minimum wage of Rp 1,172,465.

Head of the Cimahi chapter of the Indonesian Workers Union Edi Suherdi said that he would call on workers to strike for one week if their demand for a bigger increase was not met. The protesters asked that the minimum wage in Cimahi be raised to Rp 1,224,422. They said their proposal was based on a revision by the tripartite institution.

Environment & natural disasters

Experts criticize East Java draft water bylaw

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2011

Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Experts say that the East Java Legislative Council's recently approved draft bylaw on water management does not reflect the public interest is not ecologically friendly.

Corporations would be able to exploit underground water if the draft bylaw was enacted – proof that the proposed legislation was not protecting the public interests, environmental and natural resource legal expert Purnawan Dwikora Negara of Malang Widyagama University said.

"The bylaw does not protect the water supply or ecological sustainability," Purnawan said over the weekend.

Water needed hundreds or thousands of years to descend into empty spaces or basins beneath the earth, increasing the possibility for land subsidence if underground water was continuous extracted, Purnawan said. "Underground water is a vulnerable resource because its availability is limited," he said.

Purnawan was critical of article 40 of the draft, which he said would oblige companies licensed to extract underground water to give 10 percent of the water to local communities.

"It's contempt of humanity... an obvious form of eco-plunder. Water is not just a source of life for the community. It's life itself."

Purnawan said bottled water companies were allowed only to use surface water, including natural spring water. "A well should only be given on the condition that the company can only exploit the water after the local community can meet its needs for water and after they agree to the exploitation," he said.

Separately, Zia Ul Haq, the director of the Pooldev Institute Malang, a public policy NGO, said the bylaw was not drafted with the public interests foremost in mind. "There is a possibility that the bylaw was drafted at the request of some corporation to secure their business in the province in the long run," Zia said.

Many critical issues were not adequately addressed in the draft, Zia said, including a stipulation that ignored pressurized aquifers, providing limits on water extraction from unpressurized aquifers only.

"It also does not specify company settlements on sustainability for the water resources. It should mention something about it," he said.

Separately, Irwan Setiawan, one of the East Java Legislative Council members who approved the draft, said the proposed legislation would address all the concerns of the community on underground water management.

"We will keep an eye on the bylaw so as not to prioritize commercialization, but on resources instead," Irwan, a member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said.

The governor would have sole authority approve technical recommendations under the draft, Irwan said. "The governor has to have the capability of mapping the province's underground water condition."

It would not be possible for the administration or the council to stop businesses from using underground water. "We still have time to revise the bylaw if we later find deviations from the facts," Irwan said.

Increasing energy demands will force Indonesia to go nuclear: Minister

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2011

Ririn Radiawati Kusuma – Indonesia's growing energy needs make the building of nuclear power plants unavoidable in the long term, a senior government official said on Monday.

"In the future, whether we like it or not, nuclear power has to be added [to the energy mix] because it's cheap and reliable," said Dahlan Iskan, the minister for state enterprises. He was speaking at an energy policy seminar at the House of Representatives.

Referring to the Fukushima nuclear disaster following the massive March tsunami in Japan, Dahlan said it was important to note that technology continued to evolve.

"The Fukushima technology was 10 years old. When I was general director at [state utility] PLN, I was once offered nuclear technology that wouldn't even be affected if it were hit by an airplane," the former Perusahaan Listrik Negara chief said.

Tatang H. Soerwidjaja, an expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), agreed with the minister. He said nuclear power was necessary because the country's demand for electricity would continue to increase.

According to Tatang, in 14 years, power consumption is set to quadruple. "Such an extraordinary increase in a relatively small amount of time would be impossible to tackle without taking recourse to building nuclear power plants," the expert said.

Currently, Indonesia uses around 30,000 megawatts of electricity, but only 71 percent of households are connected to the power grid. That means almost a third of Indonesia's 240 million people do not have access to electricity. However, the population is expected to grow significantly and so is the demand for electricity.

The National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) has announced it will conduct seismic testing next year on Bangka island, the proposed site of a 10,000- megawatt nuclear reactor.

The agency is working together with state-run contractor Surveyor Indonesia, which will plant 300 TNT explosives weighing one kilogram each 20 meters below the ground. Using a geophone, which reads seismic waves in the ground, geologists will be able to determine whether the site is suited to contain a nuclear power plant.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) will analyze the test's results and the data produced will be forwarded to the central government for further deliberation and should dictate the final design of the plant.

Bangka was chosen for its relative proximity to Java and Sumatra, Indonesia's most populous islands. Construction is expected to begin in 2015 and the reactor is set to be operational in 2030 after a five-year testing period.

The power plant is expected to supply 40 percent of electricity needs in the islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. The government plans to build four nuclear reactors by 2025.

Paradise lost at hands of palm oil companies

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Life was idyllic in the village of Muara Tae, in East Kalimantan's West Kutai district – before palm oil companies moved in, Petrus Asuy says.

"Before then, we'd never experienced unrest," the Muara Tae villager said in Jakarta on Friday. "But from 1995, when the first of the palm oil companies came in, things got worse because they didn't respect our way of life. Without letting us know, they began clearing the forest as they saw fit."

In 1996, he went on, the villagers had seen enough and began demonstrating against the deforestation. But the move backfired when several of the demonstrators were arrested and jailed for up to five months. Asuy only evaded arrest by hiding out in the jungle for three months.

"Because of the palm oil plantations, our water has become polluted and many of our springs have dried up," he said. "We took our case to the local government, but they ignored us. We are completely against these companies because they have compromised our way of life. What hope is there now for our grandchildren?"

The Muara Tae villagers are currently in a standoff with the oil palm firm Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa, which has begun bulldozing 683 hectares of forested land that the former have long considered their own.

The UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency said on Wednesday that the company, backed by police and other security personnel, had been clearing approximately five hectares a day for the past week.

"With the situation at crisis point, the EIA and its Indonesian partner Telapak fear the conflict could spill over into violence," the group said on its Web site.

Asuy was adamant that the land belonged to the villagers. He said what happened was that a neighboring village, Muara Ponak, had sold the land to the company on the pretext that it belonged to them.

"But they never owned that land. That is land that we have always worked on, but they claimed it as theirs and sold it to the company," he said, adding that the land in dispute was sold for just Rp 1 million ($110) a hectare. "We are pleading for help for our situation and for this activity to stop."

Abu Meridian, a forest campaigner with Telapak, the EIA's Indonesian partner, said the Muara Tae case was just one of several thousand similar disputes playing out across the country.

"Muara Tae is a comprehensive object of study because it involves not just palm oil companies but also mining firms, so it's a pretty complex case," he said. "To coin a phrase, they're being eaten by a tiger, a crocodile and a snake at the same time."

Abu called for greater focus on the case, arguing that if it was properly managed, the 11,000 hectares of ancestral forest in Muara Tae could be restored to primary forest, which would put it out of the reach of palm oil, mining or logging operations.

Seizures from illegal Indonesian loggers show deforestation impact

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan. With millions of hectares of forests being cleared each year to make way for palm-oil plantations, even illegal loggers are now starting to see the impact of dwindling rainforests in Indonesia.

Unlike previous years when illegal loggers were spotted with top quality wood, the National Police this year have only been able to seize low quality goods during a series of raids conducted between Nov. 8 and Nov. 26.

"The quantity and quality of illegal logging has dropped significantly, but that's because there isn't as much forest area," West Kalimantan police chief Brig. Gen. Unggung Cahyono said.

"We have been conducting a joint operation between the National Police and West Kalimantan Police in terms of enforcement, intelligence, preemptive and preventive measures designed to reduce deforestation and state losses."

A total of eight suspects were arrested during the operation. During the operation 6,300 logs of woods were confiscated, but they were mainly under 1 meter in diameter. It is estimated that the logs were worth Rp 1.5 billion to Rp 2.5 billion ($165,000 to $275,000).

The dwindling rate of illegal logging seems to confirm earlier estimates from the Indonesian Forestry Ministry that there is now less forest to log.

Indonesia had been losing 3.5 million hectares of forest per year since 2003, but this number was reduced to 1.1 million hectares in 2009 and 700,000 hectares in 2010.

Despite government efforts, Indonesia still has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, according to a survey released by British risk analysis and mapping firm Maplecroft last week.

Indonesia ranked second after Nigeria in terms of deforestation rate among the 180 countries surveyed.

Ministry on the defensive after scathing deforestation report

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2011

Jakarta – The government says that a global risk analysis and mapping company has compiled a "misleading" report claiming that the rate of deforestation in Indonesia was one of the worst in the world.

"The study is misleading if it is used to picture Indonesia's current deforestation rate because Indonesia has been implementing a two-year moratorium on issuing new licenses to clear primary forests and peatlands since May last year, and also has selectively issued licenses for tree cutting," Forestry Ministry secretary-general Hadi Daryanto told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Hadi said that Indonesia had decreased deforestation to 700,000 hectares as of 2010. "I believe that the number will be even smaller [considering] this year's reduction," he said.

Maplecroft released a study on Thursday showing that Nigeria, Indonesia and North Korea had the world's highest rates of deforestation, while the top two greenhouse polluters, China and the US, had the lowest rates.

The company said that growing demand for food and biofuels, rising populations, poverty and corruption were driving deforestation in developing countries.

However, Hadi said that Indonesia's deforestation rate was very high between 1999 and 2002 due to Indonesia's political transition. "We were losing 3.5 million hectares of forest a year until 2003, but the number went down to 1.1 million hectares in 2009," he said.

According to a report compiled by South Dakota State University in the US, Kalimantan and Sumatra lost 5.4 million hectares of forest, 9.2 percent of their total forested area, between 2000 and 2008.

The university's researchers as well as researchers from the London School of Economics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have highlighted the link between Indonesia's fluctuating deforestation rate and its election cycle.

According to the researchers, illegal logging increased before elections but fell significantly thereafter, showing that Indonesian politicians relied on funding from logging, plantation, and mining companies to fund their campaigns.

Iwan Wibisono, Word Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia's forest and climate policy coordinator, told the Post that Indonesia's deforestation rate was still high. "It is decreasing but it's not enough. Stakeholders must work together to keep decreasing deforestation in the country," he said.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Wahli) campaign manager Deddy Ratih said that Maplecroft's study depicted the true condition of Indonesia's forests, predicting that deforestation would increase due to a change in the forest spatial management plan (RTRW) that would allot 50 percent of the land for business.

Deddy added that the moratorium would not work if the government failed to acknowledge practices in the field or failed to punish local officials who broke the law.

Wahli said that 3.7 million hectares of forest in Central Kalimantan, 4 million hectares in West Kalimantan, and 1.6 million hectares in Merauke, Papua, were slated to be cleared this year by businesses.

"The areas are yet to be functionally transferred but the local governments have issued permits clearing them. We also note that there are three oil palm plantation companies that are requesting licenses to operate in Moluccas," he said.

"Indonesian officials seem to ignore the future impacts of deforestation and focus only on the financial benefits they might earn when issuing permits. They forget that careless land clearing will destroy us," Deddy said.

Ongoing deforestation would increase the intensity of flooding in Indonesia and intensify disasters caused by climate change, he added.

"The conflict between human and animals will worsen if we don't seriously handle it. More animals will lose their habitats due to land clearing and therefore force them to attack people. This has been happening at different provinces such as Sumatra and Kalimantan."

A Sumatran tiger attacked 5-year-old Fitria binti Judin in Bengkulu in August this year. A month later, another tiger also attacked 18-year-old Milyan in another part of the province.

Rampant deforestation is also said to be behind the near extinction of several animals, including Sumatran tigers and orangutans. There are only 400 Sumatran tigers and 50,000 orangutans left in the wild. (msa)

Indonesia tops world's deforestation list

Reuters - November 24, 2011

Singapore – Nigeria, Indonesia and North Korea have the world's highest rates of deforestation while China and the United States, the top two greenhouse gas polluters, have the lowest, a global ranking released on Thursday shows.

Growing demand for food and bio fuels, rising populations, poverty and corruption are driving deforestation in many developing countries, said risk analysis and mapping company Maplecroft, which compiled an index for 180 countries.

The company used the latest data from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization to calculate changes in the extent of overall forest cover, and in primary and planted forests between 2005-2010.

Those at the top are ranked extreme risk. Extreme risk countries are losing plant and animal species that help provide benefits such as clean air from forests, watersheds for rivers and mangroves that protect coastlines, services that help underpin economies.

Australia is ranked tenth and listed as high risk, while India, Vietnam and Spain are at the bottom, with low risk. Brazil is ranked number 8.

"Deforestation can also hamper efforts for a country to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as forests play key role in mitigating global climate change through carbon sequestration," told Maplecroft analyst Arianna Granziera in an email.

Forests soak up and lock away large amounts of CO2, helping act as a brake on climate change. Yet deforestation is disrupting this cycle and is responsible for at least 10 percent of mankind's annual greenhouse gas pollution.

The index comes days before the start of major UN led climate talks in South Africa in which delegates are expected to discuss ways to try to curb emissions from deforestation.

Indonesia is losing about 1 million hectares of forest a year. That's about 13 times the size of Singapore, with palm oil expansion accounting for about 16 percent of deforestation, Maplecroft said.

The government in May began a two-year moratorium on issuing new licenses to clear primary forests and peat lands and will conduct regular satellite surveillance to monitor the ban.

Brazil's deforestation fell to 2.2 million hectares annually between 2005- 2010 but green groups worry changes to national forest protection laws awaiting Senate approval could ease restrictions on the amount of rainforest farmers can clear.

Green group WWF said on Wednesday approval of the revised laws could open up vast amounts of forest to agriculture and cattle ranching.

Nigeria, ranked first in the index, lost just over two million hectares of forest annually between 2005-2010 driven by agricultural expansion, logging and infrastructure development.

While China was the best performer because of aggressive protection laws and replanting schemes, it was driving deforestation in other countries, Granziera said.

"China's demand for wood is fueling increasing imports, much of which comes from the USA and Canada, but illegal imports from Brazil, Cambodia and other developing countries have been reportedly increasing," she said.

Health & education

HIV/AIDS: Patients still denied access to insurance: Study

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal – A survey shows that HIV positive people and AIDS victims are still being denied access to social security schemes needed to help mitigate the impact of the epidemic.

Organized by the HIV/AIDS Research Center at the University of Atmajaya, the survey conducted this year in four cities – Jakarta, Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Semarang in Central Java and Yogyakarta – reveals that most social insurance providers both public and private have no social security arrangements for people with HIV/AIDS.

Octavery Kamil, National Coordinator of the Institute of Research and Community Service at the university, said that no social security providers were providing healthcare specially designed either for people with HIV/AIDS or family members affected with the disease.

"We have examined health coverage program mechanisms provided by state- owned social security providers, including Askes, Taspen, ASABRI and Jamsostek, as well as private insurance companies. Unfortunately, all of those insurance providers have a clause in their insurance policy saying that the insured is not allowed to receive the benefits if the insured contracts the disease," Octavery told a media briefing held by the International Labor Organization (ILO) last week.

Jamkesmas community health insurance scheme is the only healthcare coverage that explicitly offers HIV/AIDS treatment coverage. "In reality, however, not all HIV/AIDS-related medical treatment can be covered by the Jamkesmas," Octavery said.

Providing proper healthcare is critical to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS because medical treatments needed by people with the illness are much more than antiretroviral therapy only, the study shows.

Having steady increases of annual budgetary allocations for tackling HIV/AIDS epidemics, the government is providing HIV/AIDS victims antiretroviral therapy, including treatments for HIV/AIDS-related opportunistic infections, free of charge. Yet many patients cannot afford other necessary treatments such as viral load and CD4 tests nor can they get medical consultations from doctors, as the expensive treatments are not covered by the government.

The report says that health insurance sponsored by the provincial administration – be it Jamkesda or Jamkesos – do not explicitly offer HIV/AIDS coverage due to the shortage of resources. "Even in a region that can deliver HIV/AIDS treatment, most HIV/AIDS patients should contribute part of the cost of either medical treatment or drugs," Octavery said.

Husein Basalamah, who lives with HIV/AIDS, has experienced the difficulties in acquiring healthcare. Though he could have his treatment covered by Jamkesmas, complicated and terracing procedures applied by the healthcare scheme were daunting.

"We cannot keep our HIV status a secret because we have to attach necessary documents, including ID card and relief letter (SKTM) each time we need to have our treatment covered by Jamkesmas. Such complicated procedures, at the end, force us to reveal our HIV status," he said.

Most HIV/AIDS-infected people in Indonesia work in the informal sector, forcing them to seek coverage from private companies. However, many companies offer no coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS in their security schemes.

"I've encountered difficult situations several times in which I have to lie about my HIV/AIDS status on the insurance application," said Husein, who is also an activist in the Indonesian Network of HIV-Infected People (JOTHI). Even if the insurance application is approved, he could still be denied coverage by the insurance company in the HIV/AIDS referral hospitals since they required a clear statement of the status of their illness, he added.

Such bitterness, he said, showed that HIV and AIDS-related stigmas and discrimination persisted. "Please, don't discriminate against us. We need you to see us as human. We really want social justice and equality in this country," he said.

Stronger protections for people with HIV/AIDS is higher need, as the figures are continuing to increase. ILO data shows that the number of HIV/AIDS-infected people in Indonesia will increase to 501,400 in 2014, up from 227,700 in 2008.

The HIV incidence rate among people 15-49 years old will increase to 0.37 percent in 2014, up from 0.22 percent in 2008. "We need more HIV/AIDS- friendly social security schemes," said Risya A. Kori, National Program Officer for HIV and AIDS at the ILO Jakarta Office. Nancy Fee, Country Coordinator of UN AIDS Indonesia, said it was a challenge now to make sure that HIV/AIDS-infected people and their families are protected.

"It's an issue now how they can have access to health insurance, so they can continue to live, to be healthy, and to keep working to support their families," she said.

As safe-sex campaigns fail, HIV spreads beyond high-risk groups

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Nine years ago housewife Mirza "Vivi" Revilia gave birth to a girl. She was a young mother who had no idea what HIV was or how it would affect her life.

She suspected that something was wrong when Putri, her newborn, suffered from severe diarrhea, mouth ulcers and the flu. How could such illnesses occur in an infant aged only 40 days? The first thing that popped into her head was that her husband, an intravenous drug user, might have caused the problem.

Vivi said it was the most difficult part of her life when she and her baby were diagnosed with HIV. "I was not a drug user. I didn't even know a thing about the disease at that time," Vivi told The Jakarta Post.

The 33-year-old is currently an activist with the Yayasan Partisipasi Kemanusiaan (Partisan), an NGO led by Jim Aditya for housewives infected with HIV by their husbands.

Many women with HIV from low-risk groups have been infected by husbands who were not aware of or did not reveal their status until they married. "Just as happened to me, many women are unaware that their partners are HIV- positive until they married," Vivi said.

The number of new HIV cases in Indonesia continues to climb. According to the Health Ministry, there were 21,591 HIV cases in Indonesia in 2010, up from 14,427 cases in the previous year, while AIDS cases reached 4,917 in 2010, up from 3,863 in 2009.

Unlike previous years, women who are married or are in long-term relationships are at greater risk from heterosexual transmission of HIV compared to commercial sex workers or injecting drug users.

Studies show that about 90 percent of women living with HIV in Asia are infected by their husbands or long-term partners.

According to the Health Ministry's subdirectorate for AIDS and sexually- transmitted disease control, the number of people who contracted HIV through sex with intravenous drug users comprised 34 percent of new cases in 2010, down from 53 percent in 2005. However, the number of people contracting the disease from heterosexual sex was 55 percent in 2010, up from 37 percent in 2005. The phenomenon shows that anyone can be affected by the disease.

"Most 'high-risk men' including injecting drug users and cheating husbands may not only suffer from the disease but also infect their own wives. HIV- infected spouses in turn will pass the virus to their unborn children. It's an appalling ping-pong phenomenon," Tony Wendra, the Health Ministry's HIV control director, said.

As most HIV infections are transmitted through sexual intercourse, condom use must still be part of HIV prevention programs. With condom use, risks of unsafe sex can be reduced by 70 percent, according to a report.

Thailand is one country that achieved a sustained reduction in HIV infections by promoting consistent condom use by commercial sex workers.

In Indonesia, condom use campaigns aimed at halting the spread of HIV have not reached their targets. The rate of condom use by men in high-risk groups was only 16 percent, and 32 percent for women, as of 2010 – short of the 70 percent rate needed to stop transmission.

Traditional and religious leaders, however, have been reluctant to promote a 100 percent condom use campaign. "People in high-risk groups generally are somewhat reluctant to use condoms as it is still seen as a taboo. Without condoms, heterosexual transmission will continue to soar," Tony said.

The closing of red-light districts such as Kramat Tunggak in North Jakarta have made fighting HIV transmission more difficult as commercial sex workers now meet with clients in various locations.

Nafsiah Mboi, the National AIDS Prevention Commission (KPA) secretary- general, said a more integrated program including HIV prevention, care, support, treatment and anti-stigmatization measures, was need to halt HIV.

"Preventing social stigma against HIV victims will be important as well since it may prohibit people from seeking treatments needed to halt the spread of the disease," said Nafsiah.

Jakarta's 42,000 living with HIV 'Just the tip of the iceberg'

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2011

With its high population density and mobile residents, Jakarta is a city at high risk of rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, according to the city's AIDS Prevention Commission.

The organization's head, Rohana Manggala, said that the number of residents known to be living with HIV had reached 42,000. The actual number of people carrying the virus was expected to be much higher, as very few people are tested before developing symptoms of AIDS.

"As we all know, it's the tip of the iceberg, the actual number is much larger. We would like to see the iceberg melt 40 percent to 50 percent as soon as possible," she said on Thursday.

Rohana said there was a large number of people in high-risk categories in Jakarta. "There are more than one million men in Jakarta buying sex, and drug users are easy to find in Jakarta," Rohana said.

She added that there are more than 11,000 intravenous drug users in Jakarta, and more than half of them are estimated to be infected with HIV.

Youths not interested in writing, reading

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2011

Jakarta – Bandung Language Center chief Abdul Khalik announced on Wednesday that the writing culture among Indonesian youths was in a worse state than reading culture.

"Young Indonesians' interest in reading is low and their interest in writing even lower. It is very alarming," Abdul said in Bandung, West Java.

He added that a lack of interest in reading had affected teenagers' interest in writing. "Both influence each other. How can someone write if they are not interested in reading?" Abdul said.

He added that many lecturers had complained about the quality of college students' writing. "The quality of writing done by college students is very low nowadays. This shows that students also have poor reading habits," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Women & gender

Activists commemorate Anti-violence Against Women Day in Surabaya

Detik Surabaya - November 27, 2011

Fitri Mey Budianto, Surabaya – Around 100 or so people from various non- government organisations (NGOs) commemorated Anti-violence Against Women Day, which falls on November 25, at the Bungkul Park in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya.

The sympathetic action, which is held routinely every year was joined by the Samitra Abhay Pro-Democracy Women's Commission (KPPD), the East Java Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI Jatim), the East Java the HMI Women's Corps (women's arm of the Muslim Students Association), the Sidoarjo Water Users Farmers Association (P3A Sidoarjo), the Savy Amira Women Crisis Center, the Consortium for the Supervision of the Surabaya Budget (KPAS), the East Java Integrated Services Centre (PPT Jatim), the Surabaya Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras Surabaya), JASS Indonesia, WSM, the Center for Marginalized Communities Studies (CMARS), Sapulidi, Bhinneka (Diversity) and the East Java Women Empowerment and Family Planning Board (BPPKB).

Singing marching songs condemning violence against women, the protesters held a long-march around Bungkul Park. They also unfurled a banner with the message "Violence against women is a crime" as well as distributing flowers and leaflets.

It was not just women that took part in the action, but transsexuals also enlivened the event. They also read out poems and handed out flowers and leaflets to passers by.

"I strongly support this event, with this event I hope that men will not see women and transsexuals as weak. Women should be equal to men", said one transsexual, Savy, when speaking to Detik Surabaya on Sunday November 27.

Event coordinator Erna said that the action was aimed at opening public perception to the idea that women must be protected not treated as slaves.

"I regret that there are still many women who are oppressed. Moreover cases of violence against women have been increasing by more than 200 percent every year", she said. Yet, said Erna, the local government has issued Bylaw Number 9/2009 on the protection of women and children.

"I also don't understand why women are always considered weak and always oppressed. Yes, hopefully with events such as this women's eyes will be opened [to see] that they are not weak. Women are the same as men", she asserted.

In addition to the sympathetic action, they also held workshops, activates and training for women and a seminar on reproduction. This was done to open up the women's thinking to the importance of their position as women who will reproduce the next generation. (fat/fat)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Protest in Medan calls for law reform, strengthening of gender perspectives

Detik News - November 25, 2011

Khairul Ikhwan, Jakarta – Around one hundred women from a number of non- government organisations (NGOs) held a demonstration at the Jl Gatot Subroto traffic circle in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan this afternoon. The action is part of a 16 day campaign on violence against women and children.

In addition to bringing posters condemning the widespread violence experienced by women, the protesters also gave speeches. One of the demonstrators, Ramida Sinaga, said that even though the United Nations issued the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in 1993, the Indonesian government had still not enacted a specific law to protect women from violence.

"[The number of] Women who experience violence continues to grow from year to year. There is still no specific law that can protect women against violence, either physically or psychologically", said Ramida.

According to the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) there were 91,311 cases of [sexual] violence against women between 2008 and 2010. Of these cases, only 0.5 percent have been dealt with while the remainder have been left unresolved.

"This not to mention violence as a consequence of gender injustice, customary law and in the political world", said Ramida.

In a statement the protesters urged the government, particularly the Bureau for Women's Empowerment, to strengthen gender perspectives among law enforcement officials.

In addition to this, the government must revise laws and regulations that put women in a subservient position, specifically those that lead to domestic violence, such as articles included in the Marriage Law and Law Number 7/1984 on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. (rul/anw)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Women in Lhokseumawe demand protection, fulfillment of women's rights

Serambi News - November 25, 2011

Lhokseumawe – Scores of women from various different organisations held an action to commemorate Anti-Violence Against Women Day in the Acehnese city of Lhokseumawe on Friday November 25.

During the street protest, which was centred on the Simpang Jam traffic circle, the women gave speeches and issued an ultimatum to the government demanding protection to the fulfillment of women's rights.

"In order that all parties are able to implement regulations related to the protection and fulfillment of women's rights", said action spokesperson Safwani.

Safwani also read out a statement from the women of Lhokseumawe, which called for the socialisation of the women's rights in order to reduce the level of sexual violence, rapes, and limitations on access to education and healthcare.

During the action, which continued for around half-an-hour and was watched over by police, the women handed out flowers to passing road users.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Women still face high rates of sexual violence: Komnas

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2011

Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) says 20 women suffer sexual violence each day, noting that rape is the most frequent violation against women in Indonesia, with 50 percent of the total 93,960 cases.

Other violence includes sexual trafficking, sexual harassment, torture and exploitation. That number is part of the 400,939 cases of violence against women, including forced marriage, that the commission recorded over the last 13 years.

Commission deputy chair Masruchah told reporters on Thursday that 70,115 sexual violations against women were committed by relatives, including fathers, brothers or grandfathers; 22,284 by public figures such as teachers, state officials, or religious leaders; and 1,561 by state apparatus, such as the police.

"Those are only the cases that are reported to us. I am sure that the number is even bigger when it includes cases that are yet to be reported," she said. She added that victims of sexual violence were less likely to report their cases due to social and cultural perspectives judging them as the "cause" of the violence.

West Aceh Regent Ramli Mansur and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo's responses in this vein might represent wider judgment blaming victims for stimulating sexual violence against them. Ramli Mansur made national headlines in 2009 when he suggested that it was alright to rape a woman who wore tight pants.

Two years later, Governor Fauzi Bowo was heavily criticized for blaming victims of rape when he responded to the spike of rapes in the city, suggesting that women not wear miniskirts when riding public transportation vehicles to avoid "any unwanted consequences" because it could "arouse male drivers and passengers".

R.S., a 27-year-old woman, was raped by four men inside an M24 minivan plying the Srengseng-Kebon Jeruk route in West Jakarta on Sept. 1. Another gang-rape occurred in a public minivan in Jakarta in early September when a Bina Nusantara University student, Livia Pavita Soelistio, was assaulted and eventually killed.

Masruchah of Komnas Perempuan added that law enforcers' "insensitivity" in investigating sexual violence was another factor that kept victims or their relatives from pursuing their cases.

"Investigators will usually ask victims to tell them how the crime occurred or require physical proof. How can you ask someone who was just raped to tell the story or to prove it? Those sorts of requirements humiliate the victims more while they are already humiliated enough by being raped," she said.

Parents of girls allegedly molested by their 72-year-old Koran recital teacher at Ibtidaiyah Al Marfuah Islamic school in Kebon Bawang, North Jakarta, in April this year, for example, chose to drop their complaints because they were "annoyed" with the investigation, as the officers had been asking the girls personal and irrelevant questions such as the physical shape of the perpetrator or to demonstrate how the assaults happened.

Komnas Perempuan thus proposed additional female police officers be recruited to handle sexual assault cases involving female victims with the hope that they would be more "sensitive" and "know better how to deal with the victims".

Saur Tumiur Situmorang, a commissioner at Komnas Perempuan, said that the reluctance of victims to reveal their cases had hindered legal advocates from helping them.

"Additionally, our existing law has yet to guarantee the rights of the victims. Take for example the 130 cases of sexual violations committed by state workers or officials in Papua, of which none went to trial," she said. She added that some institutions had intentionally protected their members who committed sexual violations.

To commemorate Anti-violence Against Women Day, which falls on Nov. 25 every year, the commission is collaborating with 49 organizations from 21 provinces to organize a 16-day campaign to educate and help the public recognize and handle violence against women.

Komnas Perempuan commissioner for public participation Andy Yetruyani said that education about violations against women was important for all people. (msa)

Police halt BPN harassment probe

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2011

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police say they will drop the investigation of sexual harassment allegations made by three National Land Agency (BPN) employees. "There was not enough evidence to pursue the case," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Jakarta Police criminal investigation division chief Sr. Comr. Gatot Edi Pramono said that an official SP3 letter had been issued halting the investigation. "We issued the letter yesterday," Gatot said.

Three women at the BPN filed a report with the Jakarta Police, accusing their superior, G, of sexually harassing them over the past year. One of the victims' lawyers, Shanti Dewi, said that she had not received the SP3 letter from the police.

Shanti said that the women's legal team had only received a letter stating that the investigation would likely be dropped due to a lack of evidence. The letter was dater Nov. 18, four days before the police held a "case expose" to obtain more evidence.

Women 'least prepared' during disasters

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Women continue to make up the majority of victims of natural disasters but not enough is being done to empower women to better protect themselves when a crisis strikes.

Women, especially those who live in disaster-prone areas, may suffer disproportionately due to a profound ignorance of women's needs in disaster preparedness and mitigation, activists say. A broad review of disasters that have recently struck Indonesia shows that the calamities often impacted much more directly on women compared to men.

Edi Hayat, Women Empowerment Officer of Oxfam's Building Resilience Program, said that men and women tended to react differently during crises, including natural disasters.

"Many women are killed during disasters as they try to save not only themselves but also their children. Women and children suffer most during disasters due to long-standing unequal family responsibility-sharing between men and women. This is why the number of women killed during natural disasters is usually much higher than men," Edi told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a discussion on building disaster resilience held by Oxfam.

Unfortunately, preparedness and mitigation efforts developed by both central and local governments have systematically ignored women's needs in initiatives to heighten resilience during disasters.

Edi said mainstreaming a gender perspective into disaster-risk reduction policies was critical in strengthening women's capacity to deal with crisis situations.

"Frankly speaking, even at the national level, we haven't seen a concerted effort to integrate gender perspective in disaster-risk reduction policies, whereas it is very important to reduce women's vulnerability during crises," he said.

In 2007, Indonesia ranked fourth worldwide for the number of disasters while it ranked sixth in the number of disaster victims. Two tsunamis, including the catastrophic wave surge that hit Aceh in December 2004, for example, killed 166,510 people and left 532,898 homeless.

Mainstreaming gender perspectives into disaster-risk reduction policies is one of the critical issues being discussed in a two-day workshop of "National women's leadership in disaster-risk reduction" which is taking place on Nov. 22-23 in Bogor, West Java.

The workshop is part of Oxfam's project of building resilience in eastern Indonesia which started in June 2009. The project funded by the Australian government through the Australia-Indonesia Partnership aims to strengthen the capacities of government, civil society and communities in 16 districts nationwide in reducing disaster risks.

Under this project, people in disaster-prone areas such as North Sumatra, Central Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Papua and West Papua, develop capacity-empowerment in disaster-risk reduction, making them much more resilient in coping with the impact of such hazards.

During the workshop, Oxfam's local partners share experiences and lessons learned in mainstreaming gender perspectives into disaster-risk reduction policies in their districts.

Lukman Hakim, Adaptation Risk Reduction/Climate Change Officer for Oxfam's Building Resilience Program, said changes in women's disaster vulnerability would only emerge if they acquired greater capacity to deal with crisis situations.

Citing examples, he said that local communities living in disaster-prone areas used to think that natural disasters were part of a natural cycle.

"They even used to see it as a warning coming directly from God whereas now they can do many things to reduce their exposure to the impact of disasters, or even prevent them," said Lukman.

During the program, community action-plans have been delivered in 16 districts, including the establishment of disaster-preparedness standard- operating-procedures for 67 school and village disaster-preparedness teams in 115 villages which consist of 2,371 men and 892 women or 30 percent of total team members.

To reduce vulnerability, for example, village women who joined with the village disaster-preparedness teams learned practical steps in emergency responses, such as how to deliver first-aid assistance.

"Instead of just waiting for help, women living in several disaster-prone areas can now deliver simple measures to deal with broken bones, or bleeding. This may reduce their vulnerability during disasters," said Lukman. In Central Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, village women are involved in a variety of economic-empowerment activities, such as planting coffee and breeding livestock, provided by the project. Such empowerment aims to reduce economic vulnerability during disasters in which women often suffer the most.

"Economic vulnerability is actually the biggest challenge faced by women in disaster-prone areas. In a long dry spell, they can do nothing since they are too poor. By being economically empowered, they have more capacity to deal with disasters when they strike," he said.

Graft & corruption

Adang: Nunun 'is in my heart'

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Ezra Sihite – Adang Daradjatun, the husband of graft suspect Nunun Nurbaeti, on Monday finally admitted where his wife is: "I've told you, she's in my heart."

Nunun is wanted because of her involvement in a bribery case. Despite photos released by the media allegedly showing Nunun traveling in Singapore and Thailand, National Police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) remain uncertain of her whereabouts.

Adang repeated firmly that his wife is ill. But her illness keeps changing. When the KPK began their investigation, Nunun's husband reported that she was suffering from a mysterious illness that causes memory loss.

In June, Golkar politician Fahmi Idris, claiming he received information from a trustworthy source, said Nunun routinely goes to a hospital for treatment on her sprained ankle.

Last week, after Nunun's traveling photos were released, Adang said Nunun was suffering from a blood vessel constriction in her brain. He said that she had to undergo several brain scans and could not possibly be traveling.

On Monday Adang announced that his wife was suffering from another disease. "She is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. I guarantee that she is ill," he said.

Nunun was accused of delivering money to lawmakers to help Miranda Goeltom become the deputy governor of the Bank of Indonesia. Nunun fled to Singapore just before the KPK issued a travel ban. While several lawmakers have been locked up behind bars in the case, Nunun, the key suspect, has not even been arrested.

Adang said that news about Nunun from last week burdened him, his children and grandchildren. "It is not a problem if she is arrested by international police and taken to Indonesia," he said. "She's a suspect, fugitive, but I have to underline that she's ill. Please respect it."

Mahfud proposes 'special zoo' for corruptors

Antara News - November 28, 2011

While corruptors might not be afraid of legal punishment, chief of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD said that they should be humiliated by being held in a 'special zoo.'

In a serious proposal, Mahfud said that corruptors should be held in cages with information about their crimes and photos of victims displayed in front of the cages, just like placards next to animal cages at zoos.

"It is better than asking students to see animals every semester or holiday," Mahfud said in a discussion on Sunday. "They [corruptors] are all animals anyway, people who are corrupt have an animal heart."

Mahfud stressed the seriousness of his proposal. "This might not sound serious, but it is interesting to consider and regulate with a law," he said. "The [existing corruption] law is good, but enforcement is not good."

A recent survey by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center showed that Indonesians' perception of how widespread corruption is in the country has worsened under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The Gallup survey found that 91 percent of Indonesians believe corruption is widespread throughout the government. It also found that 86 percent of respondents believe corruption is extensive in the business sector.

Mahfud said that a special zoo for corruptors would cause them embarrassment and help alleviate corruption. "It might be funny, but the effort to punish corruptors seems useless and light sanctions have increased the number of corruptors because they don't feel ashamed," Mahfud said. "Corruptors even get special treatment."

More gratuities reported this year, says KPK

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2011

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says it has witnessed a drastic increase in the number of state officials reporting gratuities they have received in 2011.

"The number of state officials reporting gratuities to the KPK has increased this year," KPK deputy chairman Haryono Umar said Monday in Jakarta as quoted by tribunnews.com.

In 2010, he said, only 200 state officials reported having received gratuities, while in 2011 up to 1,400 had filed reports.

Despite the obvious increase, Haryono said he regretted that the officials reported were only from state-owned firms. He added that officials' awareness in reporting gratuities had a lot to do with gratuity control programs carried out by an internal monitoring unit set up by the KPK at every state institution.

"Through these internal monitoring units we carry out intensive public awareness campaigns urging state officials to report their gratuities to the KPK," he said. He added that the presence of the units also made it easier for officials to file reports as they only needed to submit reports of, and the gratuity itself, to monitoring units, saving them the hassle of going to the KPK office.

Bambang, Yunus 'least worst' options

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2011

Jakarta – A document, purportedly the result of the government's assessment of the eight candidates for the nation's antigraft leadership, seems to favour the House of Representatives selecting Bambang Widjojanto and Yunus Husein.

The House is scheduled to resume the selection process for the next Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders today, Nov. 28, after meeting with members of the government-sanctioned selection committee, which screened the candidates, over administrative glitches that halted the process.

Critics said the House was deliberately stalling the process as it refused to use the committee's ranking system in selecting the candidates, a policy apparently aimed at reducing political considerations during the House- selection stage. The committee, according to the document, ranked Bambang and Yunus as frontrunners since they had the cleanest track record, at least compared to the other contenders.

The document, obtained by The Jakarta Post on Saturday, noted that the only mark against Bambang was that he challenged a Supreme Court ruling on a land dispute involving Trisakti University. Bambang explained that he stood by his argument that Trisakti's assets belonged to the state and could not be seized as ordered by the court.

Yunus came in second as he has served as a member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Judicial Mafia Taskforce. It was feared that his being a former taskforce member might reduce his independence as a KPK leader, but Yunus, according to the document, dismissed that possibility.

Candidate Abdullah Hehamahua is known to have been imprisoned from 1972 to 1973. The document does not specify the crimes for which he was jailed, but Abdullah in his defense argued that he was imprisoned without trial.

The rest of the candidates had more than one shortcoming. Aryanto Suryadi, for instance, once dismissed the policy obliging state officials to reveal their wealth during an interview with members of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW). "Wealth disclosure forms will only make someone a hypocrite, it is impossible for people to fill the form accurately, what's the point?" Aryanto, who has a police background, said.

During the same interview, Aryanto also stated that giving gratuities was a common practice, "I never blackmail or ask people [for gratuities], but if somebody gives them to me then I will accept."

This has concerned many observers, including Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmakers, who suggested that the candidate's controversial statements be followed up.

Another candidate, Zulkarnaen, who served as a prosecutor, is said to have issued several SP3 letters (to terminate investigations) including in the case of Lapindo. He denied the allegations. He was also the owner of four houses in four regions where he had been assigned. He confirmed this, but made clear that they were all "modest houses".

Abraham Samad, another candidate, allegedly participated in the declaration of the National Mandate Party's (PAN) in Makasar, South Sulawesi. He admitted his involvement, but said that he was not a member of the party, a supporter of Yudhoyono's coalition government.

A member of the selection committee Imam Prasojo said on Saturday that the committee's three-month work to select the candidates was based on four important criteria. "We insist on the criteria of leadership, integrity, capability and independence," Imam, a sociologist with the University of Indonesia, said.

He said that it was almost impossible to find a candidate who possessed all four qualities but some had consistently outclassed other candidates. According to the committee, Bambang Widjojanto topped the chart with a total of 450 points, followed by Yunus Husein with 423 points, Abdullah Hehamahua 410 points and Handoyo Sudrajat 401 points.

On Monday, the House will quiz two candidates then two more daily until Friday when they will vote for the best candidates. (rpt)

Jakarta Government, religious ministry have low integrity: KPK Survey

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Rizky Amelia – The Jakarta administration and the Religious Affairs Ministry were among the worst scorers in the Corruption Eradication Commission's national integrity survey this year, officials announced on Monday.

The government of the country's capital only scored 5.54, which puts it at the 42nd place out of the 60 local government institutions in the regional category, according to KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin.

The index gives a score between 0 to 10, with 10 indicating maximum integrity.

On the other hand, the administration of Dumai, Riau, ranked highest with an integrity score of 7.77. The government of Bukit Tinggi was ranked a close second with an integrity score of 7.67.

Among central government institutions, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) ranked the highest, with an integrity score of 7.60. "While the Ministry of Religious Affairs is the central government institution with the lowest integrity score of 5.37," Jasin said.

The Finance Ministry ranked the highest among vertical institutions, with a score of 7.56, while the driving license unit service scored the lowest in this category with 5.33. But overall, KPK said things were improving.

"Last year, the [overall] national integrity index was 5.47. This year, it increased to 6,31," Jasin said.

The KPK conducts the integrity survey each year to measure the level of corruption in public institutions. It was conducted among 15,540 respondents who interact with 89 different institutions in different categories.

We've made our pick, parties say prior to KPK Test

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Ezra Sihite, Agus Triyono & Markus Sihaloho – Even before the fit-and- proper tests for antigraft candidates get under way today, some parties at the House of Representatives have already determined which candidates they will vote out.

Ahmad Yani, a United Development Party (PPP) legislator, said over the weekend that some of the parties in House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs and is responsible for selecting four new deputy chairmen for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), had made it clear that they would not support the candidates from inside the antigraft body.

"Other parties have rejected them, I don't know why," he said. "Maybe it's because Abdullah [Hehamahua] has shown zero tolerance toward corruption. But not the PPP, we really want to see him selected."

Abdullah is a senior adviser with the KPK and one of the eight candidates in the running. Yani said other candidates the PPP would also be backing included human rights activist Bambang Widjojanto, former anti-money laundering chief Yunus Husein, lawyer Abraham Samad and National Police Commission member Adnan Pandupraja.

Trimedya Panjaitan, from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said his party would support Bambang Yunus, Abraham, police officer Aryanto Sutadi and prosecutor Zulkarnaen.

The eighth candidate is Handoyo Sudrajat, the deputy internal supervisor at the KPK.

Adnan Topan Husodo, deputy chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said legislators should forget about the idea that there must be at least one policeman and one prosecutor among the deputies.

"Candidates from the prosecutors' office and police should be selected based on competence and integrity, not a quota," he said. Appointing police officers or prosecutors, he added, could lead to obvious conflicts of interest.

Both institutions, he said, were consistently listed among the country's most corrupt, according to surveys from different antigraft groups.

Imam Prasodjo, a member of the selection committee that was set up to perform the initial screening of the candidates, said they had attempted to select the best candidates, regardless of where they came from.

But Trimedya said having police officers and prosecutors inside the KPK was essential. "KPK leaders need to understand the technical aspects of an investigation all the way through to the prosecution," he said.

He also blamed the late start of the fit-and-proper tests, which were postponed from last week because of technicalities, on political bickering. "I sense that there are attempts [to prolong the selection process] because lobbying inside the different political factions is far from over," he said.

The start of the tests were held up last Monday and Tuesday over squabbling about the use of outdated forms and questions about the absence of the chairman of the ad-hoc selection committee that oversaw the initial screening process.

After they stopped worrying over the administrative details, legislators from Commission III declined to start interviewing the candidates on Thursday, delaying it until today.

"Why weren't [the interviews] done on Thursday evening? The majority of legislators on Commission III refused and asked that they be done on Monday," Trimedya said. "I said it was best to do them quickly but was outvoted."

The delays have raised concerns about whether the House can successfully name the four new KPK deputy chairmen before the current batch end their term on Dec. 17.

Youths collect coins to help fight corruption

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2011

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Scores of anticorruption youth protesters in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, grouped under the Bantul Corruption Eradication People's Movement (Gebrak), held a rally on Wednesday to collect coins to help the local prosecutor's office pursue graft cases.

They argued that one of the reasons for the sluggish handling of graft cases by the prosecutor's office was a lack of funds.

"This is our way of showing our concern about the widespread graft cases," Gebrak spokesman Agus Bachtiar said on the sidelines of the coin-raising event at the regency's legislative council on Wednesday.

Previously, the Bantul prosecutor's office openly said it lacked funds in handling corruption cases, especially the alleged graft behind the purchase of the regency-owned Radio Bantul station, which reportedly caused state losses of Rp 1.7 billion (US$188,700).

The case came to light following an investigation in 2010 on the procurement of the radio station by the regency administration in which a former Bantul regent was reportedly one of the previous owners of the station. Many people questioned the credibility of its price.

"Surprisingly, the prosecutor's office said it did not have the funds to pay for the appraisal team," said Agus, adding that the case was only one of 13 graft cases that have not as yet been processed.

An independent appraisal team is needed to determine whether the purchase price of the radio station was viable. The prosecutor's office has consulted with appraisal company PT Secofindo about the fee.

Head of the prosecutor's office, Retno Irijati, said at present her office did not have the Rp 185 million needed for the appraisal to reveal the alleged graft case. "We are still seeking directives from the provincial prosecutor's office and Attorney General's Office, but have not as yet received any," he said.

Agus Bachtiar, however, insisted that the cost needed to disclose the case should have been allocated from the state budget. "We believe this is a ruse to complicate the situation, as the regency has been dominated by the Idham Samawi collusion," said Agus, referring to a former Bantul regent and whose wife is the current regent.

By the end of the rally they had managed to collect Rp 308,800 in coins, which were then handed over to Retno Irijati. She, however, declined to accept the money, and the coins were eventually laid at the entrance to the prosecutor's office.

"We will wait to see the developments over the next two weeks. If needed, we will continue to collect coins to pay for the disclosure of graft cases," said Agus.

Nunun seen shopping in Singapore

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Controversial legislator Adang Daradjatun has angrily rejected claims his wife is healthy after a photo was released that allegedly shows one of Indonesia's most wanted fugitives enjoying a shopping trip in Singapore.

"She is still under medical supervision," the legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party said of his fugitive wife, Nunun Nurbaeti. "She keeps being scanned because there's a brain [blood vessel] constriction problem."

Adang, a former deputy chief of the National Police, has consistently refused to help authorities repatriate Nunun, who is accused of having distributed traveler's checks to lawmakers in return for voting Miranda Goeltom into a deputy governor position at the central bank.

Tempointeraktif.com on Wednesday published a dark photo during what is alleged to have been a shopping trip in Singapore. Tempo claimed to have received the photo from a source working in an Indonesian state institution.

Adang challenged people to prove that the information revealed by the photo is true. "Please prove it, who took the picture should give it to the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission)," Adang said. "I've already said that I will comply with the legal process conducted by the KPK. So those who have material, or the photo, should give it to the KPK."

Adang insisted his wife is still ill. When asked about his latest communication with his wife, Adang answered that Nunun is under a doctor's supervision with the option of being hospitalized or treated as an outpatient.

"Since the beginning she could be an outpatient, but she has kept on being scanned because of her brain constriction." Adang said due to his wife's condition, she is not allowed to walk in shopping centers.

We're not stalling KPK tests: House

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives has maintained that the Corruption Eradication Commission will have four new commissioners on Dec. 17 despite widespread concerns that lawmakers are stalling the selection process.

Four commissioners are set to end their term next month and the antigraft body, also known as the KPK, has expressed concerns that a leadership vacuum could form if the House fails to conduct the fit-and-proper test for the eight candidates running for their chairmen positions.

But the House has so far refused to continue the tests, which started more than a month ago, questioning trivial matters like the use of an outdated form for wealth declarations of the eight candidates eyeing for posts and the absence of former Justice Minister Patrialis Akbar who technically is still listed as head of an ad-hoc selection committee.

House deputy speaker Pramono Anung said on Wednesday that House Commission III, which conducted the fit-and-proper tests, was not trying to create a leadership vacuum in the respected body. The commission that oversees legal affairs, he said, has the right to question the "administrative anomalies" found.

"This is nothing out of the ordinary and they must [ask questions] whenever they found new findings, records, political attitudes and so on," the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P politician said. "These things affect the selection process. We just want a KPK that catches crooks, not just a KPK that says many things."

Former minister Patrialis, who was last month replaced by Amir Syamsuddin, said that the matters highlighted were trivial and should not stall the selection process.

On Wednesday, the House hearing was postponed after lawmakers refused to sit down with Amir, saying they wanted to talk with the old minister about the outdated form.

Patrialis said that only the format differed from the old and new forms, though he acknowledged the selection committee had provided the wrong forms for the candidates. He said he issued an apology to the lawmakers.

House deputy speaker Pramono said all nine factions at the House were monitoring the selection process and would ensure the tests concluded before Dec. 17 as required.

"It is not just the KPK's reputation that is at stake, but also relationships between the House, the government and the KPK. We just want the new KPK to be stronger and more credible," he said.

Analysts say the relationships between the KPK and the House are strained after the KPK arrested more than 40 former and current lawmakers for a number of corruption cases. The House, analysts say, has responded by trying to diminish the KPK's power.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Indonesian terror threat now more local, expert says

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The threat of terrorism in Indonesia remains high, with police and government bodies deemed to have transgressed against Islamic teaching now the main targets, a leading expert warned on Tuesday.

Sidney Jones, a senior adviser with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said it would be "difficult to reduce the level of radicalism and terrorism in Indonesia."

"The numbers [of victims of terrorism] have indeed fallen, but the number of [terrorist] groups continues to rise," she said on the sidelines of a public discussion of the links between terrorism, politics and Islam in Aceh.

Jones said the indications that terror cells were flourishing did not point to a failing by the police or government, but rather served to highlight how strong the radical ideology behind those groups was.

"Fortunately their capacity is still low. For instance, in recent acts of terrorism, the only fatalities have been the suicide bombers," she said. "Nevertheless, over time they will become more effective."

She added that their targets were also changing. Whereas in the past Western citizens and interests were the typical target for terrorists, this had now switched to police stations and government offices in areas where the authorities were deemed not to be supportive of conservative Islamic doctrine, she said.

"Their number one enemy is the police and 'thaghut' [infidel] government officials," Jones said.

"Any public official who doesn't back Shariah law is seen as an infidel, while their motivation for attacking the police is out of revenge for their colleagues who have been killed or arrested by police."

Jones also warned that although police were constantly making progress in unearthing new terrorist cells and arresting their members, at a national level the terror network remained strong and should be a cause for concern for the government.

"There's now a sort of changing of tactics, where terrorists realize that the bigger their organization, the easier it is for the authorities to detect," Jones said.

"So they're going with small cells. And there's no need for any coordination between these cells because they're all working for the same aims and vision."

She added that the recruitment drive was also in full swing, with the cells deliberately going after conservative Muslims and those affiliated with Salafi jihadist groups.

"People who used to take part in rallies against the Ahmadiyah minority sect have now gone on to become members of these cells," she said.

Jones said she hoped the government had a sound strategy in place to tackle the trend of creeping radicalization, to complement the effective law enforcement efforts being made so far.

"What's needed now are continued preventive measures to address the issue of terrorist ideology," the ICG adviser said.

Fate of 'borrowed' terrorist convicts unknown: Watchdog

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2011

Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) says the National Police Detachment 88 (Densus 88) antiterrorist unit has "borrowed" several terrorist convicts from prison but has not provided any information on their current whereabouts.

"The borrowed terrorist convicts have not been returned to their prison and we also don't know their fate," IPW chairman Neta S Pane said Tuesday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Among the terrorist convicts removed from prison by Densus 88 are Nur Affifudin, Abdul Muis, Lilik Purnomo, Zuhroni, Ainul Bahri, Utomo Pamungkas, Azis Mustofa, Taufiq Masduki and Ali Imron.

Ali Imron, for example, was removed from prison by the antiterrorism unit in July this year, but his whereabouts remains unknown, Neta said. He urged the police to publicly announce the status of the "borrowed" convicts.

Freedom of religion & worship

Indonesian hardliners rally against Bogor church's 'arrogance'

Jakarta Globe - November 30, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – Islamic hardliners rallied in front of the Bogor City administration on Wednesday in support of the mayor's internationally condemned decision to revoke a building permit for the GKI Yasmin church.

"Members of the press, please cover the rally by Bogor Muslims in support of the Mayor's decision to revoke GKI Yasmin's permit and stop GKI Yasmin's arrogance," Islamic People's Forum (FUI) secretary general Muhammad Al Khaththath said in a text message to the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

Al Khaththath said the rally would begin with a communal prayer at Bogor's City Hall at 11.30 a.m. before the group marched to the Bogor City Council legislature. Around 100 people were involved in the march, a local journalist said.

Al Khaththath said Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto's decision to revoke the church's permit was his "discretion as a mayor in accordance with the law."

The city has been enforcing a blockade of the GKI Yasmin church despite rulings from the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman that worshippers be allowed to use the church house.

In mid-October, the Ombudsman commission sent a letter to the president and Supreme Court reporting Diani's continued defiance of legal orders to unseal the embattled church. The same letter was also sent to the House of Representatives.

A video circulating on Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia's Web site, meanwhile, showed the group's leaders telling the public that the church did not have a building permit, and that christianization would soon follow if they let the church be built in the area.

On Tuesday, House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie said House- mediated negotiation should substitute for the existing, legally binding decision of the Supreme Court. The comments were immediately slammed as undermining the rule of law.

Hundreds turn out for Bogor rally to denounce besieged Yasmin church

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Vento Saudale, Bogor – Hundreds of hard-line Muslims rallied outside the Bogor City Hall on Sunday to decry the "arrogance" of a beleaguered church in the city that remains shuttered by authorities despite a Supreme Court order to open it.

The protesters, from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami), said they wanted to show that all Muslims were united in opposition to the presence of the GKI Yasmin Church in the city.

"We're here to refute the arrogance of the church, which continues to insist on setting up in the Taman Yasmin [housing complex]," said Achmad Imam, the Forkami head in Bogor.

The Bogor administration issued a building permit for the church in 2006, but it revoked it two years later, alleging the church had falsified the signatures required to obtain it.

The Supreme Court ruled in December 2010 that the closure was unlawful and ordered its reopening, but the city administration continues to ignore the ruling. Mayor Diani Budiarto has used several excuses to keep the church closed, most recently saying there should not be a Christian church on a street with an Islamic name.

Church members have been forced to hold services on the sidewalk.

Imam said the mayor had the full support of the local Muslim community in facing down the "lies and tricks of the church members and their supporters, who are trying to pit Muslims against one another through this issue."

The local branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) also got into the act on Sunday, with branch chairman Muhyiddin Junaidi saying it would be "wise and sensible" for the church to yield to "the feelings of the local believers, specifically Muslims."

At the sealed-off church, meanwhile, the congregation was prevented from holding services for another week when a group of motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers blocked off the sidewalk.

The ojek drivers claimed that because the Yasmin congregation had been praying on the sidewalk, they were left with nowhere to park and were thus losing business.

Islamic law & morality

Radio, TV stations told not to air 'porn' songs in West Java

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2011

Arya Dipa, Bandung – The West Java provincial branch of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPID) has called on all radio and television stations in the province to refrain from broadcasting songs or video clips depicting lyrics which may be deemed pornographic.

West Java KPID commissioner Nursyawal conveyed the call following demands from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the provincial legislative council (DPRD) and the community in general.

"As of September this year we have received 263 complaints through various media including text messages, mails, email, telephone calls and other social networking media regarding the contents of TV and radio broadcasts," said Nursyawal who oversees broadcast-content issues for the commission.

Songs considered pornographic include "Mobil Bergoyang" (Rocking Car), "Cinta Satu Malam" (One Night Love), "Hamil Duluan" (Pregnant Out of Wedlock), "Aku Ingin Dilubangi" (I Want to be Perforated) and "Mari Bercinta 2" (Let's Make Love 2).

"Mobil Bergoyang", for example, which starts off with the sound of a girl moaning, contains lyrics describing how bad girls don't need expensive hotels to make love but only a car.

The song "Hamil Duluan" describes how an unmarried couple's sexual activity results in the girl getting pregnant.

"We also analyzed the semiotic meanings of the lyrics," Nursyawal said.

Nursyawal said that the commission was not acting as a censor banning the creation of songs or video clips.

"What we can do is ban them from being broadcast. Even in developed countries such as the US, which has been dubbed the most liberal country, songs and videos containing sexual material are not allowed to be broadcast in public," he said.

He added that the KPID had the authority to ban the broadcasting of material considered to contain elements of violence, sadism or pornography. "If our call is violated, we have the right to take sanctions," he said.

This year alone, according to Nursyawal, the West Java KPID had issued 17 letters of call, 60 letters of warning and 14 letters asking for clarification to broadcast media in response to various complaints from the community.

Parents for the most part warmly welcomed the KPID move. Iman Herdiana, 29, a father of two, for example, said he was really disturbed when he heard his two-and-a-half-year old daughter singing the "Cinta Satu Malam" song. "It's too vulgar to listen to," he said.

Iman said his daughter learned the song from television and therefore told his wife to switch the channel whenever the video was broadcast.

Separately, music director Ricky Prasetya of Cosmo dangdut radio station in Bandung – which has 376,000 listeners according to the AC Nielsen survey, said that the songs broadcast by his station were requested by its listeners.

He said he was once summoned by the West Java KPID with regard to the broadcasting of "Mobil Bergoyang" by his station. He also said he fully understood why he was summoned because the song did contain sexual elements.

"Yet, we hope the KPID also understands why we broadcast the song. Our listeners want to hear the song and we don't want to lose our listeners," Ricky told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

To help deal with the situation, he added, he chose to air songs with pornographic elements at night. "But, if we are still banned from doing so, we will pay attention to it," he said.

Intimate pre-wedding photos banned in Jambi

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2011

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – The Jambi Malay Custom Institute has called on soon- to-be married couples not to engage in intimate picture-taking arguing that it is against Islamic law.

The call was made following the recent issuance of an edict on the same issue by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Chairman of the institute's research and development division, Djunaidi T. Noer, said that taking intimate pre-wedding photos did not belong to the Jambi tradition and was not right according to sharia.

"We therefore call on engaged couples not to take such intimate scenes by, for example, hugging each other or laying down on a bed together. It is haram [not allowed by Islamic teaching]," Djunaidi said over the weekend.

He added that there would be no problem with pre-wedding pictures if the betrothed refrained from intimate gestures.

"It is the touching between an unmarried man and woman that is banned as they are not muhrim," he said, referring to unmarriageable kinship according to Islamic teaching.

The call, according to Djunaidi, was urgent because pre-wedding photos were usually displayed during the wedding ceremony for the guests to see while everyone knew that the pictures had been taken before the couple got married.

Djunaidi suggested that if the couple wanted to display their photos, they could do so by getting married first, having their pictures taken and then displaying them at their wedding reception held later.

"For example, they can get married this month and have the reception in December. This would not be a problem because they are already husband and wife," he said.

He also said that the call had actually been made at the beginning of this year but was not well-known due to resistance from particular parties such as photographers, photo studios and printing companies over fears it would affect their earnings.

Separately Jambi Vice Governor Fachrori Umar said that he had frequently received complaints from the community regarding intimate pre-wedding photos considered indecent.

"Such practices really do not belong to our tradition. So, don't try to make it a tradition here, especially because the custom institute has also banned it," he said.

He expressed agreement with the reasoning behind the ban on intimate pre- wedding picture taking, saying that in many of the pictures displayed during wedding ceremonies the couple did appear to be already married.

"But everyone knows the pictures were taken before they got married," Fachrori said, echoing the same call to engaged couples and their respective parents in the province. "There is no need to copy customs and traditions that are not ours. We have our own Jambi Malay customs and traditions," he said.

East Java to shut down all red-light districts by 2014

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2011

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – Last year's plan by Surabaya's municipal administration to close down Dolly, one of the most notorious red-light districts in Southeast Asia, has yet to make any progress due to the concerns of those affected.

Prostitutes, pimps and other people involved in commercial-sex related businesses argued that closure was not a solution. They also expressed fears a shutdown would lead to uncontrolled prostitution with all its negative consequences.

As the fate of Dolly remained in limbo, however, East Java Governor Soekarwo last week announced that his administration planned to close down all the 47 red-light districts spread across the province's 33 regencies and municipalities by next year, or before the end of his term in 2014 at the latest. He also said an unlimited budget would be allocated to realize the plan.

"The sooner they are all closed down the better. Morality programs need to be prioritized," he said, revealing his plan over the weekend.

Soekarwo said his administration did not tolerate immoral acts, thus relocation would not be an option in dealing with prostitution. All prostitutes would be sent home after being given appropriate life-skills training. "The provincial administration will give them Rp 3 million [US$330] each to start a new life in their respective home villages," he said.

In this, he added, the administration would cooperate with the East Java branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which had for the last few years been running a program called the Association of Preachers for Red- Light Districts (Ideal), a local movement involving ulema and other elements of the community.

Chairman of the association, Abdussomad Buchori, said on Tuesday, that Ideal was tasked with encouraging prostitutes and other inhabitants of the red-light districts to get out of the commercial-sex business. "We give them religious instruction while the administration provides them with skills and funding for a new life," Abdussomad said.

He added that the program had been successful in its pilot project at the Dupak Bangunsari red-light district in Surabaya, which was even bigger than Dolly in terms of the number of prostitutes operating in the complex. Dupak previously accommodated some 2,700 prostitutes but now only had 127 left, most of whom were older women.

The success was also attributed to the participation of other local groups including the Surabaya community organization, Forkemas, which had been applying the same approach to prostitutes in Dolly.

Siti Fatimah, 45, the former owner of the biggest brothel in Dupak Bangunsari, even went on pilgrimage to Mecca after quitting her old profession. She sent all her former prostitutes home for a new life and now runs a food store.

Provincial councillor Kuswiyanto welcomed the administration's plan but warned that the strategy used must be clearly thought through. "We need to talk to all the stakeholders, especially those in the commercial-sex business," he said.

Poverty & unemployment

Rotting rice and makeshift houses of trash a sad reality for Mataram's poor

Jakarta Globe - November 28, 2011

Fitri, Mataram – West Nusa Tenggara has been aggressively promoting its tourism industry with one mega-construction project after another, including an international airport.

But one does not need to travel far from Mataram, the provincial capital, to see there is still a long way to go.

Ampenan, an aging port city that runs together with Mataram, is home to some of Indonesia's poorest neighborhoods. There, makeshift homes are constructed from used bamboo poles and covered in ragged cardboard and holed plastic sheets.

Residents of the Dayen Peken slum wage a daily battle against the nighttime cold and must deal with the putrid stench of the garbage that almost completely surrounds the area. "The most important thing is to stay alive," 55-year-old Rahmah said. "We live in a city, but we are suffering."

It has been 30 years since Ramah moved to Mataram from Bima, her hometown located on neighboring Sumbawa island. When her husband died, she was forced to move into the slums.

With a rent of just Rp 100,000 ($11) per month, she is entitled to a two- by two and a half-meter dwelling. She shares the space with her three children and a grandson.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), more than 894,000 of the 4.4 million people in the province live below the poverty line. That is an improvement, at least, from last year, when more than one million people in West Nusa Tenggara were mired in poverty.

Roughly half of the province's poor live in urban areas like Mataram. At Dayen Peken, there are a number of families who live in extreme poverty.

Each time the rainy season comes, they grow nervous that their weathered bamboo structures will not be able to support the weight of rainwater or withstand strong winds.

Fifty-year-old Idris and his wife Salamah, 48, know all too well about that fear, having moved from one makeshift hut to another for the last 35 years.

Seven people occupy their five-square-meter space: the couple, their two widowed daughters and their three grandchildren. They sleep on plywood sheets covered in plastic mats. Their home was tilted to one side and seemed on the brink of collapse.

A place to call home

Governor Zainul Majdi said his administration was working to refurbish makeshift houses that were structurally unsafe. About 23.6 percent of urban residents in the province are poor, while among the rural population that number is 16.9 percent.

Zainul said that since last year, his province had put into effect a program to build proper homes for people living in conditions of extreme poverty.

Last year, 400 homes were built in Mataram and Bima. This year, Zainul said, the government is building 4,000 houses in 10 urban areas, and it plans a similar output for next year. "Of course we will be very selective," he said. "We have a limited budget."

Zainal said he hoped the program could be supported by Ministry of Public Housing or the Ministry for Development of Disadvantaged Regions.

Poor man's meal

Like many in her neighborhood, Rahmah has to rely on a monthly ration of low-quality rice, or raskin, which literality translates to "rice for the poor." But during the past five months, she said, the quality of the raskin had worsened.

"The rice is yellowish in color, and it smells funny, too," she said. "But we had to take it. Normal rice can retail for Rp 8,000 to Rp 8,500 per kilo, so we have to eat [raskin]. What else can we do?"

Rahmah said that each family was only allowed to buy 2.5 kilograms of raskin at a price of Rp 5,000 per kilo, although the government earlier said 10 kilograms of raskin would be provided to each poor family in the province.

Each month, state procurement agency Bulog distributes 8,300 tons of raskin to West Nusa Tenggara residents living below the poverty line.

But Zarkasi, chief of the Orak Desa slum, said it wasn't enough to feed the poor there. Of the 400 families listed as raskin recipients, Zarkasi said, 260 of them are marked as living in extreme poverty.

Zarkasi said that each month the community received only six sacks of raskin, or 980 kilograms, to be divided among its poor. "We have reported the condition to the urban ward office, but so far there has been no response," he said.

According to Zarkasi, the quality of the raskin has been getting worse for months. "Sometime the color is black and reddish, other times it is yellow," he said. "Bugs are often found in the sacks, and sometimes there is dirt.

Despite the intensity of her poverty, however, Rahmah is better off than Salamah, who works as a part-time domestic helper. Her family has had to rely on donations in order to eat.

When visited by the Jakarta Globe, Salamah and her grandchildren were busy preparing aking rice. "I often go to my neighbors to see if they have leftover cooked rice," she said. "I dry it in the sun and cook it again."

Aking is what pets and livestock often eat. It looks brownish and tastes like rice that has gone a little stale.

There are dozens of families in the neighborhood that rely on aking to supplement their diets of raskin. On their plates there are no vegetables, let alone meat. Instead, they couple the cast-off rice with salt and grated coconut to help ease the peculiar taste and smell.

"We don't have any other choices but to eat like this," Salamah said. "I wish the mayor would come here and see how we live. We want to get out of this poverty."

Bik Muli, another resident, said she hoped the government would increase the raskin ration. "I wish we could get 10 kilograms," she said. "But I understand there is little raskin to feed so many poor people."

Land disputes & evictions

Tommy Suharto faces suit over 15-year-old land deal

Jakarta Globe - November 26, 2011

Made Arya Kencana, Denpasar – Residents in Jimbaran, Bali, are suing a son of former President Suharto for Rp 212 billion ($23.3 million) over a land deal in Pecatu village.

In the opening session on Friday at the Denpasar District Court, the plaintiffs' lawyer, Made Arjaya, said it had been more than 15 years since the deal and residents were still waiting for promised compensation.

In October 1995, the Bali government signed a deal with developer Bali Pecatu Graha, owned by Hutomo Mandala Putra, who is better known as Tommy Suharto, to swap parcels of land.

The company received 123 hectares of land located in the famous beach district of Jimbaran from the Bali administration. In exchange, Pecatu Graha provided the government with 186 hectares of farmland in other parts of the island.

According to the deal, the plaintiffs said, Pecatu Graha was required to rebuild the homes of displaced farmers and provide them with 200 square meters of farmland each.

"The residents, who are mostly farmers, have not fully been granted their rights, while Bali Pecatu Graha has built numerous facilities in the area, including resorts, condominiums, hotels, discotheques, golf courses and water parks," Arjaya told the court in his opening statement.

The plaintiffs are also suing Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, as a representative of the Bali administration, for failing to monitor the progress of the compensation efforts.

The company, Arjaya said, had offered some compensation for the displaced villagers, "but the amount given was not in line with the agreed terms."

He said Pecatu Graha still owed residents Rp 151 billion in compensation for their land, Rp 54 billion for lost crops and Rp 6.2 billion for the loss of their homes. The people of Pecatu village are also seeking Rp 20 billion in punitive damages.

The court, presided over by Judge Istiningsih Rahayu, is scheduled to hear opening arguments from Pecatu Graha and the Bali administration when the trial resumes next week.

Lawyers for the company and the Bali administration declined to comment after Friday's hearing, saying that they were still studying the plaintiffs' demands and arguments.

Indonesian palm oil dispute at 'crisis point'

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2011

Ulma Haryanto – Villagers in East Kalimantan's West Kutai district are demanding an inquiry to resolve an ongoing land dispute with a palm oil company, an environmental group said on Thursday.

Sheila Kartika, a spokeswoman for the environmental group Telapak, said the residents of Muara Tae village no longer trust the authorities to resolve the dispute over the 683 hectares of ancestral forest land that palm oil firm Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa has started bulldozing.

"A representative is coming to Jakarta to seek out an independent team for help," Sheila said.

Telapak's British counterpart, the Environmental Investigation Agency, said on Wednesday that the palm oil firm had moved into the forests around Muara Tae to clear land for palm oil production. It said the firm was backed by the police and other security personnel, who witnesses alleged were out-of-uniform military officers.

The EIA said sources reported that the firm's bulldozers had been clearing approximately five hectares a day for the past week. "With the situation at crisis point, the EIA and its Indonesian partner Telapak fear the conflict could spill over into violence," the group said in a statement posted on its Web site.

The group said a major cause of the conflict was the failure to recognize traditional ownership of the forest land, which the indigenous Dayak Benuaq people have used for generations.

Sheila said the palm oil firm had actually purchased land from residents of a neighboring village, Kampung Ponaq. Because the village borders had not been clearly defined, she said, the villages were still trying to determine their respective land ownership when "suddenly the bulldozers came and cleared everything away."

Residents in Muara Tae presented their case to the East Kalimantan legislature during a public hearing, Sheila said. "Previously, the subdistrict office offered to help mediate in the dispute, but the people refused because the office never involved them in the first place when it was drafting the area's zoning map," she said.

Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa seems to hold a valid commercial plantation license, Telapak said. However, the company does not yet possess a commercial usage right permit from the National Land Agency (BPN).

In a similar land conflict in the Mesuji district of Lampung, a villager was killed and several others were injured after security officers at a palm oil company there opened fire on them. When the shooting occurred the villagers were harvesting crops from their ancestral land, which was in dispute with the company.

Hadi Daryanto, the Forestry Ministry secretary general, said the central government was powerless to provide villages a direct solution to such disputes because local authorities were in charge of land management.

"What we can do is help coordinate with the BKPTN [National Spatial Planning Coordination Agency], the Home Affairs Ministry and the Industry Ministry," he said.

Social security & welfare

Social aid funds 'ripe for theft'

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2011

Jakarta – In the absence of transparent political funding in the country, alleged misuses of state funds for the interests of those in the navel of power have become banalities of daily life.

So common are such practices that almost everyone can see how political parties and incumbents in government offices have intertwined the state's funds with their political interests.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) classified the allocation of Rp 300 trillion (US$33 billion) of social assistance funds (Bansos) as irregular between 2007 and 2010. The funds were allocated through several poverty eradication programs for regions.

BPK member Rizal Djalil told reporters on Monday that the agency recorded several provinces that had proposed much higher Bansos allocations than normal in the run up to their regional elections.

"There is this 'X' province that proposed Bansos worth Rp 150 billion in 2009, near the time of the regional election, while it had usually proposed only between Rp 5 billion and Rp 6 billion in previous years. The governor won the election that year," he said, adding that similar cases were also found in other provinces all across the country, but he declined to disclose the names of the provinces or the alleged incumbents.

A Home Ministry decree stipulates that social assistance is distributed to finance social activities such as social empowerment programs, social protection and security programs, poverty eradication programs, or disaster recovery programs. It also stipulates that local administrations are responsible for distributing the assistance funds and selecting the recipients.

Rizal, who is affiliated with the National Mandate Party (PAN), said that to eliminate the potential for misallocations of social assistance funds, the government should allocate more money to support political parties.

The misuse of social assistance has been evident, with several local administration officials convicted of embezzling money from such funds. There are many other such cases awaiting attention of the nation's law enforcement institutions.

Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, for example, was reported to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in September for allegedly embezzling social aid funds from the 2011 provincial budget to support her campaign. The governor was accused of embezzling a total of Rp 29.5 billion from state funds.

Such corruption cases, however, are rarely linked to political parties. Lack of legal framework that obligates political parties to report their sources of funding has closed the access to their cash flow.

In the high-profile Southeast Asian (SEA) Games graft case involving former Democratic Party politician Muhammad Nazaruddin, political parties and politicians allegedly pocketed some of the funds. None of the allegations have been proven in court. (msa)

National social security programs mired in uncertainties

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2011

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Skepticism and uncertainties are haunting the planned implementation of five mandatory social security programs in 2014 and 2015.

Questions have arisen over whether the government and employers will be able to improve the condition of those requiring assistance.

Social security practitioners and insurance law experts have been confused by the newly-endorsed law on social security providers (BPJS), which they said would be a time bomb for the next government.

The law mandated the implementation of the national healthcare program by state-owned PT Askes by January 2014, and occupational accident, old-age risk, pension and death programs by state-owned PT Jamsostek by July 2015.

They criticized the fact that the law was enacted in haste, as lawmakers attempted to appease thousands of workers and students without thinking further on whether the next government would be able to implement the law. The students were rallying to demand social security for all.

"To avoid the present fiscal burden, the government proposes the implementation of these programs in 2014 and 2015, through political lobbying during the law's endorsement. Then the House of Representatives will accept the proposal to have the government co-endorse the bill and will simultaneously win the public's confidence and empathy," said Ali Gufron Mukti, a professor at the medical school of the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

Bambang Purwoko, a social security expert at the University of Indonesia, argued that PT Askes, which would be transformed into a public company, would have too many tasks to undertake, including preparing databases, infrastructures and bilateral ties over the next two years, as not all regencies outside Java had hospitals with standard medical care, specialists and equipment.

"Besides, Askes has to classify participants based on their economic status to set their different contributions as a consequence of the programs' segmentation. It will be difficult to do this for 237 million people," Bambang said, adding the progams' segmentation would be applicable in a city state like Singapore, with a population of 7 million.

Hotbonar Sinaga, former chairman of the Indonesian Insurance Companies' Association (AJSI), and Romli Suriatmadja, insurance expert at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, questioned the House's political commitment to social protection for all because the House had been reluctant to investigate the government's violation of the 2004 national social security system law, and even had justified the violation until 2015.

According to them, the House should have impeached the President for violating the law and for his disobedience of the Constitution, as was decided by the Central Jakarta District Court, but the violations had been neglected, apparently for political reasons.

Bomer Pasaribu, former manpower minister and executive director of the Center for Labor Development and Studies (CLDS), expressed pessimism that the government would be able to implement the 2004 social security system and the 2011 social security providers law, mainly because of poor labor conditions.

"Despite the various groups of participants, the five mandatory national programs will not reach universal coverage, because the majority of people are employed in the informal sector and paid as high as the minimum wage level. They are not able to pay 7 percent of their monthly payroll while employers will object to paying 8 percent of their workers' monthly payroll in their contributions to the five programs," he said, citing that the social security system was actually a mix between social assistance and social insurance.

The participation of civil servants who have been paid by the state cannot be integrated into national programs, while police and soldiers should not pay contributions (taxes) to programs for their public and military service, he added.

According to him, the key solution to the problem was that the government had to reform the minimum wage system by intensifying its training programs to improve workers' skills and productivity as well as to generate more jobs to lower the high employment rate (8 percent).

Djoko Sungkono, a member of the National Social Security Board (DJSN), regretted the new law, which he said showed the House's incompetence in the insurance business and an ignorance of social security problems in the country.

"The two laws' contents would be different if they understood the insurance business and the weak law enforcement of the 1992 social security programs for workers," he said.

Jamsostek's coverage has remained low because law enforcement has been in the hands of the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, which can no longer lend its hand for labor supervision to regional heads under regional autonomy.

"To reach universal coverage, the two laws carrying no sanctions to violators should be revised to have the government delegate its law enforcement authority to the two providers, Askes and Jamsostek," he said.

Unlike commercial insurance, he added, law enforcement is a crucial point in the compulsory social security programs' attempts to pursue universal coverage of all people.

The House admitted loopholes and flaws in the social security providers law that could be brought to the Constitutional Court for judicial review, but this could not be taken by the government as an excuse not to implement long-awaited national social security protection.

"The government as an executive body must be able to interpret the two social security laws and implement them in derivative regulations in the field," Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said. He added the government should continuously generate good jobs so that more and more workers would enjoy decent pay, enabling them to contribute to all programs.

Ferdiansyah, deputy chairman of the ex-special committee responsible for developing the social security provider law, said the government should coordinate with the DJSN and the two providers to identify the law's loopholes and flaws, since it was endorsed without any consultation with the public.

"The two laws are only public policies which the House has to take account for but their implementation is in the hands of the government and the two providers," he said, adding the government had to implement the national social security programs not only to improve people's social welfare but also to raise a huge amount of funds that could be used as bonds to reduce Indonesia's dependence on foreign debts in financing the national development programs.

Foreign affairs & trade

Indonesian press response to US Marines deal

Lowy Interpreter - November 23, 2011

David McRae – The planned deployment of 2500 US Marines to Darwin has only periodically been front-page news in Indonesia, with coverage in some of Indonesia's main papers confined, with some exceptions, to the international pages and generally citing the interpretation of a link to China's growing influence.

There have been some critical comments this week, however, particularly from Indonesian MPs, proposing that the deployment reflects US interests in resource-rich Papua province and could damage stability in the region. The following is a selection of translated excerpts from the Indonesian- language media:

The US presence in the Asia Pacific region with its deployment of 2500 Marines in Australia, first and foremost seeks to demonstrate to China that they retain sufficient strength to face China and prevent military conflict along trade routes in the South China Sea. Additionally, the US does not want to miss the opportunity to be present and play a role in a region as dynamic as Southeast Asia.

Above, Kompas editorial, 19 November. This reflects the dominant focus of press coverage in the first days after the announcement. The placement of the Marines was not front-page news, meriting only a half-page article inside national broadsheet Kompas the day after the announcement. Weekly news magazine Tempo ran just a quarter-page item on the announcement, noting the deployment "is judged to be a strategic move to block China, which is extending its military and economic influence to the Asia- Pacific".

"What are its aims and reasons? Because the security threat in this region is small. It has been the flow of illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and violations of the maritime border by traditional fisherman that have frequently got Australia's attention."

Much as the reason given has been increased Australia-US military cooperation, [head of parliamentary commission I] Mahfudz [Siddiq] said, this explanation raised questions. "Speculation could well emerge that this is America's response to the situation in eastern Indonesia, specifically Papua and the interests in securing Freeport. President Obama's presence at the ASEAN High-Level Conference and East Asia Summit need not cause Indonesia to neglect this matter.

Above, Detiknews, 21 November. Several Indonesian MPs, including the head of the parliamentary defence, intelligence and foreign affairs commission, quoted above, proposed a link between the Marine announcement and US economic interests in natural resources in Papua province, in particular the Freeport mine, which has seen recent strike action by its workforce and shootings around the mine site.

There is no connection to the security situation in Papua, and it is not to control Freeport.

Above, Investor Daily, 21 November. Indonesian Military Commander Admiral Agus Suhartono rejects the speculation surrounding Freeport, saying the deployment was to help ASEAN countries respond quickly to natural disasters. In a front-page story on 20 November, Kompas also carried comments from President Yudhoyono that he had received assurances from President Obama and Prime Minister Gillard that the deployment was not intended to disturb neighbouring countries, and was in the context of matters such as training and natural disaster response.

It would be extremely naive for us to simply believe Australia's and America's explanation of the placement of US Marines in Darwin. Put simply, in world history, vigilance against natural disasters has never reached the level of other countries moving and strengthening their deployment of battle forces.

Above, Seputar Indonesia, 22 November. Former Air Force Chief of Staff Chappy Hakim in response to statements that the Marines were intended to improve the response to natural disasters.

Of course the ASEAN region, having been relatively stable to date, is somewhat perturbed by the presence of the American military there.

Above, Investor Daily, 22 November 2011. Indonesian parliamentary speaker Marzuki Alie echoesForeign Minister Natalegawa's comments the previous week that the deployment could create 'tensions and mistrust'.

It should be known that when a Republican Party candidate held the reins of power the US had a very aggressive policy regarding armed conflict. The conservative party in Australia is also happier identifying Australia with the West than with Asia...This all indicates that today's promises will not necessarily be kept in the future.

[David McRae is a Lowy Institute research fellow. He has studied conflict, politics, democratisation and human rights issues in Indonesia for over a decade. The translations that appear below are his own.]

Economy & investment

Exporters see demand drop despite declining rupiah

Jakarta Globe - November 27, 2011

Dion Bisara & Faisal Maliki Baskoro – Slowing overseas demand for Indonesian goods is the latest issue for the country's exporters, even as the rupiah depreciates to a level that favors their businesses.

Fadhil Hasan, secretary general at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), said orders have declined as demand wanes from the European Union, India and China. Crude palm oil shipments stood at 1.6 million tons in September, down from 1.8 million tons in August, he said.

In the period to September from August, exports to India fell by 14 percent to 546,000 tons, exports to the European Union dropped by 19 percent to 481,000 tons, and exports to China slipped by 4 percent to 293,000 tons.

Even though a weaker rupiah benefits exporters by making their products more competitive, Fadhil said most of them would prefer a stable rupiah so that they can better plan their businesses.

Last week the rupiah hit its weakest level in 17 months, as foreign investors flocked to dollar assets on concerns over the euro zone's debt crisis. The Thai baht has also taken a hit, trading at a 15-month low against the dollar last week, while the Indian rupee traded at a record low.

The rupiah traded at 9,050 to the dollar on Friday, and on Thursday it was as low as 9,143, the weakest since June 2010. It had been as strong as 8,502 in August, when exporters clamored for a weaker currency.

"We'd be happy if the central bank could maintain the rupiah in the 8,800 to 9,000 level," Fadhil said.

Bank Indonesia will stay in the market to reduce volatility, central bank deputy governor Muliaman Hadad said on Wednesday.

Husni Daud, a rubber exporter from South Sumatra, said the rupiah's recent weakness gives rubber producers room to breathe despite lower rubber production and a possible price drop. "We are entering a heavy rain season, which will reduce our production," Husni said.

Rubber prices are down to just above $3 per kilogram, Husni said, compared to $6.4 per kilogram in February. The price drop stems from worries about the economic slowdown in European countries, which account for 11 percent of total global demand for natural rubber, according to data from the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association.

Husni hopes that regional and domestic demand can support sales next year. Demand from the 11 members of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, which account for 57 percent of global consumption, is estimated to rise 2.9 percent next year to 6.3 million tons, said secretary general Kamarul Baharain Basir, as quoted by Bloomberg.

"Given these uncertainties, I hope that the authorities can maintain the exchange rate at around 9,000. That would mostly benefit the farmers," Husni said.

The dollar could be volatile for the next month, or until political leaders find a solution to the euro zone crisis, said Fauzi Ichsan, managing director and chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia.

He expects that Asian currencies will rise again in six to nine months' time as investment returns to the region.

"We expect that by the end of next year the rupiah will amount to 8,400 to 8,500 per US dollar because there is a prospect of Indonesia getting its investment grade in the middle of next year," said Fauzi.

Corruption, bureaucracy hamper Indonesia's economy

Reuters - November 23, 2011

Neil Chatterjee – At a time when many countries are slipping off investors' radar screens, Indonesia is a beacon with stable finances and the fastest growth rate in Asia outside China and India.

Yet its failure to improve a stifling bureaucracy, to end wasteful subsidies and to systematically curb graft could derail a growth story that has made resource-rich Indonesia into Southeast Asian's sweet spot.

Doubts are growing that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who's been in office seven years and has three left, can deliver on promised reforms that would improve creaky infrastructure and creating higher-value jobs for the young in the world's fourth most populous country.

While Indonesia has had solid growth rates during Yudhoyono's tenure, much of that is rooted in demand from overseas for the country's coal and other commodities.

If there's a major global slump that depresses demand, Indonesia could fail to get needed investment because it remains a difficult place to do business and one where personalities matter, not process.

There has been no real reform of the inefficient civil service – where bribery remains rife – and no sustained progress in building institutions that enhance the business climate such as credible courts.

"The political elite in the parliament and the government are busy with politicking, ignoring an urgent and important economic agenda that needs to be dealt with," said Syamsudin Haris, senior political analyst at the government-funded Science Research Institute.

After getting improved grades in recent years as a place for business, Indonesia's position has slipped. In the World Bank's 2012 rankings for ease of doing business, Indonesia was 129 out of 183 countries, down from 126 a year earlier.

Re-elected by a landslide in 2009, Yudhoyono has so far squandered a mandate to drive reforms and, according to polls, has lost popularity. His long-awaited cabinet reshuffle last month reflected a desire to shore up political support more than to initiate real change before a presidential election in 2014 which he cannot contest.

"We haven't seen any headline reforms done, which has led to some market disappointment and also to disappointment among voters," said Prakriti Sofat, an economist at Barclays Capital in Singapore. "If Yudhoyono and company don't put things in order, and there's not a good candidate coming through in 2014, then the risk will go up."

Having solid GDP growth by itself does not mean trends are good. Just look at India: Although growth is still relatively strong, its image as an emerging market star is losing its shine as corruption scandals, high inflation and a flagging reform agenda have dented investor confidence. Business leaders openly fret that the government may be squandering India's chance at the big time.

Azim Premji, billionaire chairman of outsourcing giant Wipro, summed up a sense of policy paralysis in India when he recently attacked a "complete absence of decision-making among leaders in government." The result has been investors fleeing from Mumbai stocks, making it one of the world's worst performing major markets in 2011.

While Indonesia has been drawing investors, "long-term, if there are better opportunities elsewhere, money will go somewhere else," Sofat said.

Yudhoyono's government has been often commended for good macroeconomic policies. It has maintained fiscal discipline, steadily cutting the debt-to-GDP ratio and boosting foreign reserves, while lifting its budget for infrastructure by 28 percent this year.

But the government's administrative mechanism is often clogged. Lifting budgets is not translating into spending in the real economy. Overall, government spending grew just 2.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, a slower pace than in the second quarter.

"The government has never shown any reliable track record of efficient budget spending and I don't think that will change in the foreseeable future," said Lanang Trihardian, investment analyst at Jakarta-based Syailendra Capital, which manages around $460 million. "The impact of that is I don't believe Indonesia can grow above the 8 percent level as seen in China and India."

Officials often rush to spend some of a budget overhang in the fourth quarter. A much-needed project to improve woeful drainage in Jakarta recently started on the main thoroughfare – just as the torrential rainy season began, causing gridlock terrible even by the capital's traffic standards.

"You know what the bureaucracy is like for government projects – long and complicated," the head of Jakarta's public works office, Ery Basworo, told a press conference called to address complaints. "For us to even get the project started in September was an achievement."

At one time, many Indonesians felt Yudhoyono was making good gains to combat the old, damaging problem of graft, but it remains entrenched.

To some citizens, corruption has worsened, in part because of decentralization since the era of strongman Suharto. In the remote provinces of the scattered archipelago, greater regional autonomy has sometimes resulted in corrupt local authorities to siphon off resource wealth meant for development.

Yudhoyono has declared eradicating corruption a top priority and said no official is above the law. But his recent cabinet shuffle did not signal a tougher or more effective approach. Two ministers whom the Indonesian media alleged to be tainted retained their seats.

Meanwhile, political squabbles led to a demotion of the trade minister and the narrow survival of the finance minister, both well-respected internationally.

The reshuffle "was an opportunity for Yudhoyono to have a stronger team and he missed it," said Erman Rahman, director of economic programs in Indonesia at The Asia Foundation, a San-Francisco-headquartered nongovernmental organization.

Another longtime impediment to business, the bloated and inefficient bureaucracy, remains a source of big frustration. "It will take more than very strong leadership to change this," Rahman said.

So far, there are no signs of planned reforms for the police department or justice system, which are often the source of complaints.

Polls show that many Indonesians, used to Suharto's 32-year rule, want another military man to run the country from 2014. Yudhoyono, the first directly elected president, is a retired army general but is seen by many as unable to make bold decisions to promote institutional change.

Analysts say Vice-President Boediono, a former central bank governor, is trying to improve efficiency and governance by steps such as putting into ministries computer systems that track spending flows.

In the important area of infrastructure, investors have been waiting for a long-mooted land reform bill that would speed up the acquisition of land for state-backed projects, such as $150 billion of public-private partnerships the government wants to see.

But as the end of another year approaches, it has still not been passed by a cantankerous parliament, and Yudhoyono has been silent on the issue.

Another issue that needs addressing is subsidies. With inflation significantly easing this year, the government has missed an opportunity to phase out fuel subsidies for private cars, backtracking on a planned April move and delaying it indefinitely.

The government fears hiking gasoline costing just half the price of the market rate could dampen the domestic economy or spur the kind of riots that contributed to Suharto's fall in 1998. Yet not ending subsidies only stores up inflationary problems for the longer-term.

The "ruinous middle-class subsidies", as one economist has dubbed them, could instead go to building roads and ports, argue economists and rating agencies who see weak infrastructure and high inflation as key risks.

"Progress on structural reforms appears to have slowed in the past year. In particular, there has been limited progress in reforming the composition of spending," said Andrew Colquhoun, head of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at Fitch.

Money in the bank? Not for 62% of Indonesians

Jakarta Globe - November 25, 2011

Dion Bisara – Despite government efforts, most households still lack savings accounts, according to a new central bank survey.

"We found that 62 percent of homes are without any kind of savings accounts," Muliaman Hadad, a Bank Indonesia deputy governor, said on Friday during a banking seminar in Jakarta.

Geography was the biggest challenge, Muliaman said. "Many people live in remote areas, so they don't have access to a bank. The distances are just too great," he said, adding that people also failed to get savings accounts because they lacked information about banking.

Muliaman said the survey findings seemed to affirm an earlier study by the World Bank, which found that about 50 million Indonesians had no access to the formal financial sector.

In fact, he said, for every 1,000 residents there were 514 term deposits in Indonesia, compared to 1,616 term deposits in Malaysia. "Our savings rate is still very low compared to other countries," he said. "There must be a scheme to help more people engage in banking."

In an effort to attract first-time bankers, the central bank last year encouraged local lenders to offer no-frills bank accounts. The resulting accounts offered some perks – such as no minimum balance and no charges – but they failed to attract many new customers, possibly because the local banks, which had little to gain from the service, put little effort into promoting it.

In September 2010, the government also suggested a scheme to issue financial identity numbers. It hoped that the tool would allow banks to track the financial performance and credit histories of people currently denied banking services because they could not show records of their financial histories.

The government planned to issue the numbers at the start of this year, but as the year draws to a close, the program is still not running.

Analysis & opinion

The Thinker: The Nunun mystery

Jakarta Globe - November 29, 2011

Oei Eng Goan – Veteran actor Pong Harjatmo unveiled a banner reading "Arrest Nunun or Else Busyro Resigns" during a protest at the office of the Corruption Eradication Commission on Friday, venting the frustration over the inability of the KPK and its chairman, Busyro Muqoddas, to arrest graft suspect Nunun Nurbaeti since she fled overseas in March 2010.

Nunun is a suspect in a major bribery scandal over the 2004 selection of Miranda Goeltom as a senior deputy governor at Bank Indonesia. After a lengthy investigation into the scandal, the antigraft commission, known as the KPK, accused Nunun of distributing traveler's checks to dozens of lawmakers sitting on the House's finance commission to ensure Miranda's appointment.

Of the 30 former and active lawmakers on the commission, 28 were convicted of receiving checks of between Rp 350 million and Rp 1.4 billion ($40,000 and $152,000) each. The two others died before they could be tried.

The KPK issued a travel ban on Nunun, but it was too late as she had already flown to Singapore for what her husband, Adang Daradjatun, a former deputy chief of the National Police and currently a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker, claimed was medical treatment. According to Adang and her private doctor, she suffered from dementia.

As always happens with irregularities involving high-profile suspects, simple cases of bribery can become obscure and investigations into the scandals are carried out in slow motion, prompting the public to believe that law enforcers are less than serious about upholding justice when the culprits are powerful people.

The Nunun case presents many mysteries. How could a loving husband allow his wife, suffering from such a serious illness, travel abroad unaccompanied? Why does he not know his wife's whereabouts? If he does, why hasn't the KPK questioned him? Isn't protecting a fugitive, even one's wife, a criminal offense under Indonesian law? If she is too ill to walk around, as her husband has claimed she is, what about the photographs showing her shopping at malls in Singapore and Thailand?

National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo and KPK officials said that the authenticity of the photographs, released by Tempointeraktif.com, had yet to be verified, but Roy Suryo, an expert in digital and multimedia technology and a Democratic Party lawmaker, told Vivanews.com that the woman in the picture was Nunun but that it was taken some time ago.

It is true that the government has made a number of efforts to bring Nunun back to the country. The KPK had asked the assistance of Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and sent a mission to Thailand earlier this year, but to no avail, as Nunun reportedly had left the countries and according to former Industry Minister Fahmi Idris was in Cambodia. Fahmi even told journalists that Adang and the couple's children regularly visited Nunun while she was still in Singapore. His statement was not well received by the KPK and Adang said it was untrue.

The France-based Interpol has also issued a "red notice" – the closest thing to an international arrest warrant – following a request by the KPK and the National Police. The Justice and Human Rights Ministry revoked Nunun's passport last May. Despite all this, the fugitive's whereabouts remain a mystery.

That a sick woman, wanted by Interpol, could travel to several countries undetected is surely a sign that she is backed by a powerful person or persons with robust financial means. Busyro himself admitted that there were large powers protecting Nunun. "With these powers being beyond our reach, we have been unable to bring her back," he told the media last week.

The public, however, saw Busyro's words as little more than an excuse for the antigraft body's lack of courage to solve the case as it may implicate top government officials. Many people believe that the KPK leadership is torn about breaking open a major criminal case that could involve their friends or former superiors.

Many others believe that the government needs to demonstrate its political will to solve the Nunun case and demonstrate to people that no one is above the law in this country. Otherwise, we will hear people declare cynically: "What? Nunun's case. Well, it's NATO."

This has nothing to do with the defense pact of Western nations, but rather: "No Action, Talk Only."

[Oei Eng Goan, a former literature lecturer at National University (UNAS) in Jakarta, is a freelance journalist.]

Indonesia's mining pains

The Diplomat - November 24, 2011

Melody Kemp – The low hill in front of us was bathed in golden light as the sun set gloriously over Sumba, Eastern Indonesia. Markus Todo, a village elder, pointed to the summit, saying "that mountain we consider to be the navel of our culture; our ancestors each took a rock and went up the mountain to make peace in that clump of trees. It's where we have our most important ceremonies." We were standing on an exposed clay bed where, a year before, drilling gear brought in by Australia's Hillgrove Resources and their local partner PT Fathi, wasdestroyed by fire.

As the Freeport mine in Indonesia's West Papua is struck by violent protests, there are growing concerns about the consequences of mining in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. There are increasing doubts about the benefit the Indonesian people can expect from mining operations, as well as questions about what rights local people should have in deciding the use to which their land is put. A proposed mining project on the small, ecologically and socially fragile island of Sumba, dry and prone to climate extremes, throws these issues into sharp relief, alongside the complicated questions of a peoples' right to resist or refuse economic development on the basis of protecting tradition.

Sumba is the kind of island typically labelled "undiscovered" by travel writers. Unlike the more raucous Bali, Sumba clings to itspatriarchal tradition of wild horse events known as pasola. The island's inhabitants bury their dead in huge elaborately carved stone coffins that are then surrounded by the houses of the living. Steeped in tradition and poverty, Sumba suffers from an unreliable electricity supply and endemic malaria. Already degraded pastures and farmlands came under even more pressure last year under a deal with a Swedish company to make land available for biofuels. In the early 1990s, lucrative gold seams were found in and around the island's national parks.

Whereas West Papuans have been resisting the massive, albeit extremely lucrative, Freeport mine since 1995, when the first major riots broke out, Sumba's people began objecting to exploration undertaken by Australian mining behemoth BHP in the early 1990's. After the protests showed no signs of abating, BHP on-sold the exploration licence to Hillgrove Resources, and their Indonesian partners PT Fathi, who have begun exploration activities in Sumba.

At 1,000 square kilometers, the mining companies' six-year exploration lease covers approximately 30 percent of Sumba's land mass and traverses three provincial boundaries, giving the governor of Sumba the final say in any conflict between provincial governments and the community. While two provinces support the mine, West Sumba's leader is reportedly not at all pleased. There are significant fears of the social and ecological damage the mine could wreak upon the fragile island.

A legal quagmire

Josep Nongnish, head of the Forestry Police in the Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park in West Sumba, smiles as he recounts the restrictions he faces in simply doing his job. "My car has been sabotaged three times," he says. "The police confiscated our guns, so we can't defend ourselves." A quiet but determined man, Nongnish is describing what happened after he and his team arrested three company geologists and 26 labourers digging at least one kilometer inside park boundaries. The miners deny any wrongdoing.

"We sent three warning letters to the company telling them to cease and desist from activities in the Park, but they ignored our warnings," Nongnish explains, "we organised a patrol. The police refused to help, as they support the company, so we got support from the military."

"Things got hot very quickly," he recalls, "the police, the Camat (district head) and staff from the Department of Mines surrounded the office told us to release the men, and to pay the company for the time and productivity we had wasted. We had to let them go."

Hot and nasty would be a good characterisation of the situation in Sumba. In April, there weredemonstrations and riots against the mining projects. Unperturbed, both companies affirmed that they would go ahead with drilling.

In an interview, Ahmad Chandra of PT Fathi assured the Jakarta Post that the company's actions had the support of the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. Nongnish disputes this, producing a letter signed by Minister of Forestry Zukifli Hasan, supporting the Forestry Police and offering to send a high level delegation to visit Sumba later this year to investigate allegations of intimidation. If exploration in national parks continues – there is another gold-bearing seam in Wainggametti national park covered by important remnants of steppe forest – he may be forced to step in.

Bill Kemmery of Hillgrove says his company is "exploring, not mining". "Our license conditions provide us with the legal right to explore under specific terms and conditions – with which we are compliant. We haven't been required to acquire any land." He maintains, however, that should the company move into development of any sites, "then some form of compensation would...be negotiated with the legal title holders."

Such promises don't impress Umbo Manurara, an elder of one of the nine main sukus or tribal groups, "The land they are using is tanah adat (customary owned land). We can't sell tanah adat. The mining people have no right to use tanah adat. Christian, Hindu, Muslim, no matter. We are united against the mine."

Dutch colonial rule gave Indonesia a remarkable and perhaps somewhat misplaced affinity for the rule of law. Wedges of complex and at times contradictory law apply to mining and environmental management, allowing mining companies to exploit legislative gaps. When Hillgrove took over the lease, there was no requirement to do environmental impact studies for exploration. This is about to change. The previous Minister for the Environment Sonny Keraf threatened to cancel PT Fathi's licence when informed that exploration in Sumba involved removal of over eight tons of ore from one site.

PT Fathi is something of an enigma. Few can offer any authoritative indication of who the company's principals are. Hendrik Siregar of the Mining Advocacy Group in Jakarta notes that the company managed to get an IUP (Ijin Usaha Pertambangan or Mining Business Permit) before the law establishing such permits was passed in December 2009. "How could PT Fathi get an IUP when the Act has not yet been validated?" he asks, pointing also to documents indicating the company hasn't yet been awarded the "Clean and Clear" status needed to commence mining. Nonetheless, Hillgrove's press releases and company statements optimistically insist they will begin mining in 2010/2011, before a full Environmental Impact Statement (AMDAL) has been completed and approved. A mining engineer, speaking under condition of anonymity, indicated that this could only mean the mining operations would not meet environmental standards. "An AMDAL takes at least a year to prepare," he said. "So they would be cutting corners if they did it in the time available."

Locals are concerned that PT Fathi's connections ensure that environmental monitoring may not be done. "We are a long way from Jakarta and those who could enforce the law. Once nature is gone, it is gone worries forever," worries Umbu Sumu, a sandalwood farmer.

"The people here believe that all the rivers arise in Wainggameti," explains Bosko Hoka, a Kupang based journalist, as we drove past verdant paddy fields fed by crystal clear streams; for the people of Sumba "water is more precious than gold."

Julius Umbo Motu, a dignified man in a faded sarong living in a village below the exploration site is concerned that exploration is occurring in fragile ecosystems including savannah grassland. "The mine is inside important watershed areas. This is a dry island, we depend on that water. Now the police are keeping us from our traditional lands – land and streams that are ours."

The mine's consequences are not only ecological. Sumba feminist Margareta Gabi has concerns about some of the social problems mining may produce. "Sumba women have very high self respect, but already there are rumours of prostitution around the sites in central Sumba," she says. "The women work as pembantus(household helpers) for the miners who promise to marry them. They leave the women in disgrace."

"Families are being split by this mine," worries Ronny Malelak, head of the Waikabubak Catholic diocese. "I'm afraid of great civil violence. The company is offering money to those who support the mine and we have evidence of intimidation of those who don't agree."

One has to admire the spirit, tenacity and savvy of poor, under-resourced communities in their fight against wealthy and well-connected companies not averse to dirty tactics. The People's Front against Mining in Sumba (better known as Barisan Rakyat Anti Tambang di Sumba or BRANTAS) thinks they have a strong legal case to prevent the mining. "Mining isn't on the spatial plan for Sumba," Antony Wulang explains.

He also thinks community sentiment against the mine will be telling. "We collected well over anti mining 400 signatures in a fewstralian mining companies are coming under increasingly intense criticism in the Asia- Pacific. BHP's acrimonious experiences in Papua New Guinea and Gag Island and the current dispute between Australian company Oceana Gold and the indigenous peoples in the Philippines are symptomatic of rising regional anger at the perceived injustice of mining companies' activities.

Nor can Asian communities expect any support from Australia. The plodding Australian Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson, recently gave little hope to Australian farmers protesting coal seam gas mining, reiterating that indigenous people and farmers had no right of veto.

"We want green gold, not gold gold," opines Todo as the sun finally disappeared. If mining in Sumba continues to go ahead despite community opposition, there's unfortunately little hope for this.

[Melody Kemp is a Southeast Asia-based writer.]

Those who want to speak about Papua should first know the facts

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2011

Puguh Sadadi, London – The call by Eni F. H. Faleomavaega and Donald M. Payne in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 18 on Indonesia to "Step up and end systematic abuses in 'West Papua'" is another example of one those apparently eloquent opinion pieces, full of emotion but short on facts, produced by supporters of secession of the Indonesian part of the island of Papua.

Let's try to deal with Faleomavaega's and Payne's arguments, where emotion and misinformation, either due to ignorance or as a deliberate move, have replaced the facts.

There is no country, and there has never been a country, called West Papua; neither has there been a country with a similar name.

Historically, there was the Dutch – or western – part of the island of New Guinea, as it was called, of the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI), in the same way as there is now an Indonesian part of the island of Papua. The eastern half is now the independent state of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Inhabitants of both halves of the island are now being called Papuans, who are indeed related to the Melanesian peoples of the South Pacific. But, over the centuries and increasingly in recent times, other peoples from nearby East and Southeast Asia and Europeans have settled in both parts of the island of Papua.

Without any substantiation, Faleomavaega and Payne allege that on Oct. 19, "Indonesian security forces opened fire" on so-called "West Papuans", killing "at least three", who had gathered at the third Papuan People's Congress. The facts regarding these tragic deaths are still under investigation. Such an isolated incident cannot be regarded as systematic abuse without substantial evidence.

In contrast, systematic attacks by the Free Papua Movement, which have killed many Papuan police officers, were never raised by Faleomavaega and Payne.

Indonesia's media and public relations in regard to its domestic problems might not be as thorough as the US media management in detailing the cases of military abuse in Afghanistan and Iraq, but Indonesia is indeed moving forward to strengthen its democracy and protect its own people.

Other people were apparently detained after the Papuan People's Congress, including Forkorus Yaboisembut, the self-styled, newly elected "President" of the so-called "Republic Federal State of West Papua".

People who are intent to start an insurgency and a secessionist movement can expect a firm response under the jurisdiction of any state; Filep Karma was imprisoned in 2004 for raising a flag that symbolizes insurgency and secession.

For instance, in the respective federal republics of Germany and Austria, displaying flags and symbols of the former "Third Reich" is illegal and is a punishable crime! In this particular case, the level of punishment may need further judicial review to create balanced justice and security.

Faleomavaega and Payne continue with the usual misrepresentation of the historical facts to suit the narrative of the supporters of the secessionist movement, the minority in the Indonesian part of the island of Papua, and their equally small but vociferous foreign supporters.

So-called "West Papua" was not "handed over to Indonesia" by what some are trying to ridicule as the 1969 "Act of No Choice".

On the contrary, this was the end of a long, slow and painful – for all those concerned – process of decolonization in the former NEI, following the proclamation of Indonesian independence on Aug. 17, 1945, because of Dutch intransigence and obstructionism in recognizing that the Republik Indonesia was the legitimate sovereign successor of the territory, including the western part of the island of Papua, under the principle of uti posseditis juris, which was endorsed by the UN as the guiding legal principle for decolonization.

The Dutch authorities had to be brought kicking and screaming by the UN, the US and Australia between 1945 and 1949, and again during 1959-1962, before accepting the legally and historically inevitable.

And it is equally unhistorical by Faleomavaega and Payne to suggest that prior to the Dutch colonial conquest there were no historical and cultural ties between the peoples of Papua and those of Sumatra, Java and Bali; archaeological, historical and anthropological evidence, in fact, point to long-standing and lively contacts.

It was the Europeans, such as the Portuguese and the Dutch, who gave the name of New Guinea to the island of Papua because the skin color of its inhabitants reminded them of the peoples they had met on the Guinea littoral of West Africa.

Indeed, the peoples of a Pacific (Melanesian and Polynesian) ethnic and cultural background live in the "Great East" of Indonesia, as they have historically done so in the past; in the same way as people with cultural and ethnic links to Southeast Asia and beyond have historically lived in the western part of the Indonesian archipelago.

It is Western colonialism and imperialism that ultimately divided peoples of similar ethnic and cultural backgrounds, such as, for instance, the Malay of Sumatra and the Malaccan Peninsula, or the peoples of northern Kalimantan, all of which now make up the Malaysian federation, from the rest of Kalimantan, as much as the peoples of the island of Papua became divided.

The desire to undo the course of history unilaterally and through physical force will only create mayhem and havoc.

It is therefore disingenuous and duplicitous of Faleomavaega and Payne to allege that whatever grievances as exist in Papua are caused by "racism", invoking as they do the words of Nelson Mandela to support their argument, when he fought tooth and nail against the division of South Africa along racial lines and for the establishment of the Republic of South Africa as a "Rainbow Nation"!

The Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia equally cherishes diversity and officially guarantees equal rights, culturally and otherwise, for its people of different cultural traditions.

Whatever grievances may exist in the present, or may have taken place in the past, about the "1969 Act", or allegations of human rights abuses, environmental degradation and economic underdevelopment, they must be solved peacefully and constitutionally within that context.

[The writer is an Indonesian diplomat based in London, UK. The views expressed are his own.]