The survey measured youths' nationalism by assessing their stance on the concept of a liberal state, their willingness to protect the state's assets and prioritize the nation's interests.

The foundation surveyed 421 respondents, most of whom were involved in youth organizations registered in the Sports and Youth Ministry, from October to December in 33 provinces.

"They have a high spirit of nationalism despite their disappointment with the government's performance," foundation researcher Arif Mustofa said Thursday as quoted by tempo.com.

Most of respondents rejected the concept of a liberal state, with 30.2 percent of respondents strongly disagreeing that Indonesia become a liberal state and 38 percent disagreeing. Only 8.6 percent of respondents cited that they supported a liberal Indonesia. "This has shown that they still uphold the Republic of Indonesia," Arif said.

Up to 62.5 percent of respondents pointed out that Indonesia should limit foreign investment and 17.3 percent said foreign investment were neoliberalist in nature. As many as 16.4 percent of respondents said that they were open to foreign investment provided there was fair profit- sharing. Only 3.8 percent of respondents said that foreign investment could boost the Indonesian economy.

However, most of the respondents said that they were disappointed with the government's performance as 93.6 percent of the youths surveyed said that the government had shown little effort in dealing with inter-faith conflicts.

More than half of the respondents also said that the government had failed to fulfill citizen's basic needs, while 40.3 percent said that the current situation was no different from the situation under the New Order regime. (swd)

Pollycarpus' Christmas present a 45-day sentence cut

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2011

Jakarta – Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, the convicted murderer of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, will receive remission of 45 days to coincide with the upcoming Christmas holiday.

"For Christmas this year, Pollycarpus will receive one month and 15 days sentence remission," head of the penitentiary division at West Java regional office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry Dedi Sutardi said on Thursday as quoted by tempo.com.

Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2008 for the pre- meditated murder of Munir, who founded Kontras.

He is now filing a review over of his case to the Supreme Court. "We haven't received the result of his case review," Dedi said.

Pollycarpus has received a series of sentence remissions granted every Independence Day and Christmas Day. According to data compiled by Kontras, the government has cut Pollycarpus' jail term by a total of 24.5 months as of September, through seven remission grants since he was sentenced in 2008. (iwa)

Ship sinks off Indonesia, 60 missing

Associated Press - December 21, 2011

Ambon – Officials say a passenger ferry with more than 150 people on board sank off the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia. At least eight people are dead and 60 are missing, though dozens of others were rescued.

Nus Sileti, a transportation official, said the ship packed with people who were heading home for the Christmas holidays capsized after running into stormy weather Wednesday. It was pounded by waves 3 meters high.

Sileti said seven bodies have been pulled from the water and about 80 people were rescued.

It was Indonesia's second shipping disaster in less than a week. On Saturday, a ship packed with asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey and Iran sank off Java island. More than 200 people are believed to have died.

Actions, demos, protests...

Residents plant trees on the road in protest

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Jakarta – Residents living along Jl. Rawa Lele in Kalideres, West Jakarta, staged a protest on Monday against the local administration for neglecting the damaged road for over three years.

The residents planted banana trees and created mock graves in the potholes that obstructed traffic in the busy Daan Mogot district. They said they had filed requests to the administration to restore the road every year, but nothing had been done.

"We have filed requests with the district office and the West Jakarta municipality office every year, but there was no response from them," Kalideres subdistrict deputy head Mursalin said.

"When it rains, the road will become inundated. Not only does the water obstruct traffic, the overflow gets into residents' houses," he said.

Three hospitalized in protest for Sondang

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2011

Jakarta – Three university students were admitted to hospital due to injuries received after allegedly being beaten by police dispersing a demonstration on Saturday.

The students, two of them female, were part of a demonstration held in front of the State Palace in solidarity with Sondang Hutagalung, a university student who died after setting himself on fire at the same spot on Dec. 7.

"This is more than just commemorating the seventh day since Sondang's death," the protest's spokesperson Faren Sadou told The Jakarta Post. "It's an attempt to awaken the public... We have to change, truth and justice must be upheld."

Sondang, a student of Bung Karno University, died on Dec. 10 after receiving burns to 97 percent of his body. He reportedly staged the protest urging President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono to step down over their failure to provide justice in Indonesia.

Faren said that they would not go home until the president opened his ears and listened to their demands. "We will stay here to protest every single day until the government responds to our demands."

There have been several demonstrations in Sondang's name in Jakarta during the past week. Apart from Saturday's protest, another protest has been ongoing in front of the House of Representatives for the last few days.

A demonstration for Sondang held in front of his campus on Wednesday ended in chaos as 200 students violently clashed with police.

SBY must go, Sondang's allies say

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Agus Triyono – Thousands of university students from across Jakarta are expected to hold a rally on Saturday calling for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to step down in response to the self-immolation of a fellow student last week.

The planned protest comes in the wake of a smaller rally on Wednesday – held in honor of Bung Karno University student Sondang Hutagalung, who set himself on fire in front of the Presidential Palace – that turned violent. Ten protesters were arrested and subsequently released.

Urai Zulhendri, an activist from the Indonesian University Students Action Front, said thousands of students from across the capital had agreed to take part in Saturday's rally, which is being called "Sondang Untuk Revolusi" ("Sondang for Revolution").

"What's been happening in Indonesia recently, including the death of our friend Sondang in protest at all the rot in the country, has opened our eyes to the fact that things have to be fixed immediately," Urai said on Friday.

Sondang's death has become a rallying point for student protests across the nation. In Palembang, South Sumatra, campus-based anticorruption movement Gerak called on students to shake up their easy lives.

In Jember, East Java, student activists held a march to honor Sondang's death, which they saw as a form of protest against the government's poor human rights record. In Malang, East Java, Sondang's act was interpreted as a protest against corruption.

National defense analyst Bantarto Bandoro previously said it was unlikely that the chain of protests would spark an Arab Spring-type revolution.

"The Indonesian government still fares better than the majority of Arab governments," he said. "[Sondang] wanted to raise awareness that there is something wrong with our politics, but what he did is not the start of a revolution."

Aceh

Aceh groups reject punk

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2011

Banda Aceh – Several community organizations issued a joint statement on Wednesday rejecting the presence of punks in Aceh and called on the local government to issue an ordinance that would outlaw a punk lifestyle.

Secretary of Aceh Ulama Association Tgk. Faisal Ali said local government should offer no place for punk communities to thrive. "We call on the local government to issue a qanun (bylaw) that would ban punk communities in Aceh," he said as quoted by Antara.

Other groups that supported the move included the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), the Muslim High School Students' Association (PII), the Muslim Students' Association (HMI) and the Aceh Council for Proselytization. The chairman of the Aceh Association for Imams, Tarmizi Rasyid, also suggested that the detention period for the punks who had been arrested should be extended from 10 days to three months.

"Of course, we will need more funds and more direct involvement from the government. Otherwise they will hit the streets in no time," Tarmizi said.

The police rounded up 65 youths during a concert in Banda Aceh on Wednesday last week and brought them to a detention center where their spiky Mohawk hairstyles were shaved off.

Aceh Muslims speak out in support of punks' treatment

Jakarta Globe - December 22, 2011

Arientha Primanita & Antara – Muslims students and clerics in staunchly Islamic Aceh on Wednesday came to the defense of the local authorities, saying that punks were trying to undermine Islamic law in the province, as officials claim.

Authorities in Aceh, especially the administration of the Banda Aceh municipality, have come under a barrage of criticism at home and abroad, with accusations of human rights violations being made following their move to arrest 65 punks in Aceh and send them for several days of "re-education" at a police camp.

"The existence of punks in Aceh is weakening the implementation of Islamic Shariah [law] in Aceh that is now being promoted, by damaging the moral of the youths in Aceh," said Tengku Mukhtar Syafari, the head of the Rabithath Muta'allin Pidie association of clerics.

The Aceh chapter of Indonesian Muslim Student Action Unity (Kammi) aired its full support for the authorities' actions, saying that the life they were living was not in line with the culture and customs of Aceh.

"In a number of Western countries, Muslims are not allowed to wear the veil. Is that not a human rights violation?" said Muhammad Muaz Munawar, who heads the chapter.

He said that everyone should respect the policies of other countries. "Each country must have its own wisdom, so everyone else should respect it."

Mukhtar said the accusations of human rights violations by rights activists were "unbalanced" and that activists were doing nothing. "So far, these human rights defenders have come up with unbalanced statements on the way punks are provided with guidance although they themselves do not do anything," Mukhtar said.

He said that instead of criticizing Aceh for dealing with its punks, human rights activists and groups should focus their attention on more serious violations, such as the killing of Palestinians by Israelis.

Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf al-Juffrie said he had reminded all social affairs workers and the police to act in a persuasive way when dealing with minors. He also said that appearances could be deceiving.

"Their hair may look that way because it is the style, but their heart may not necessarily be bad. But if they have violated the law, for example by consuming drugs, that is different," he added.

The deputy mayor of Banda Aceh, Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, who has been criticized for her staunch support for the move, said critics could come and see for themselves how the detainees had been treated. "Don't just listen to negative issues regarding the guidance we are providing them. Please come and see for yourself that we really only want them to become better," Illiza said.

Illiza said the 59 boys and six girls who had been given the "guidance" at a police camp outside of Banda Aceh, would soon be sent back to live with their families in the region.

No further details were given, but officials said they planned to return the young people to their parents on Friday.

Their "guidance" sessions included shaving their heads, cutting the hair of the girls short and intensive military-like discipline drills.

Aceh punk arrests prompt protest in US

Jakarta Post - December 20, 2011

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – About 20 people staged a protest in front of the Indonesian Consulate General in San Francisco, the United States, on Monday in connection with the arrest of 65 youths during a punk rock concert in Aceh.

The consulate's head of information, social and culture section, Tubagus Edwin Suchranudin, said that protesters conveyed their concerns over the arrests through undertaking a "peaceful" protest, which took place from 5 p.m. on Monday local time (8 a.m. on Tuesday Jakarta time) to 6:45 p.m. local time (9:45 a.m. on Tuesday Jakarta time).

"We met them and accepted them. They said they were concerned over the arrests and offered their solidarity to their punk friends in Aceh, Indonesia," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday in a text message.

He said that there was likely no Indonesians among the protesters.

Indonesian youths say 'Punk will never die!'

Associated Press - December 20, 2011

Fakhrurradzie Gade, Seulawah, Indonesia – Mohawks buzzed and noses free of piercings, dozens of youths march in military-style for hours beneath Indonesia's tropical sun – part of efforts by authorities to restore moral values and bring the "deviants" back into the mainstream.

But the young men and women have shown no signs of bending. When commanders turn their backs, the shouts ring out: "Punk will never die!" Fists are thrown in the air and peace signs flashed. A few have managed briefly to escape, heads held high as they are dragged back.

Sixty-five young punk rockers arrived at this police detention center last week after baton-weiling police crashed a concert in Aceh – the only province in this predominantly Muslim nation of 240 million to have imposed Islamic laws.

They will be released Friday, after having completed 10 days of "rehabilitation," from classes on good behavior and religion to military- style drills aimed at instilling discipline.

Nineteen-year-old Yudi, who goes by only one name, says it's not working. He tried unsuccessfully to shake off police when they took an electric razer to his spiky mohawk. At the sight of his hair scattered in the grass, he recalls, tears rolled down his face.

"It was torture to me. I can't wait to get out of here," he added. "They can't change me. I love punk. I don't feel guilty about my lifestyle. Why should I? There's nothing wrong with it."

His girlfriend, 20-year-old Intan Natalia, agrees. Her bleach-blond hair has been cut to a bob and dyed black and she's been forced to wear a Muslim headscarf. "They can say what they want, but I like life as a punk," she says. "It suits me."

Two young men hated it so much at the detention center, they tried to escape. They almost succeeded, pretending they had to go to the bathroom, then fleeing to the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, 30 miles (50 kilometers) away.

Police found them strolling the streets nine hours later and brought them back. It was just after midnight.

"They said they missed their parents, but it's pretty clear they were lying," said local police chief Col. Armensyah Thay. "They didn't go home. How could they? They've been living on the streets."

The crackdown marked the latest effort by authorities to promote strict moral values in Aceh, which, unlike other provinces in the sprawling archipelagic nation, enjoys semi-autonomy from the central government.

That was part of a peace deal negotiated after the 2004 tsunami off Aceh convinced separatist rebels and the army to lay down their arms, with both sides saying they didn't want to add to people's suffering. More than 230,000 people were killed in the towering wave, three quarters of them in Aceh.

Aceh Governor: Re-education beneficial for punks

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Arientha Primanita – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf said on Tuesday that police actions to re-educate punks did not violate human rights and instead showed government concern towards the punks.

Irwandi said there are 700 punks in Aceh, most of whom are living in parks and on the side of roads. He claimed they do not have jobs, do not go to school, do not pray and refuse to go home.

"Though it is their right, the government needs to think of their future," Irwandi said on Tuesday at the president palace. "While they are doing punk in their youth, if they don't work, what will they be?"

Sixty-four young people are being held by the Aceh police for being "punk," but have not been charged with a crime and have not been brought before a court. Police are holding the youths at the Aceh State Police camp for "re-education."

Male punks had their heads shaved, while female punks had their hair cut short in the fashion of a female police officer.

Irwandi said this type of re-education by police was the best for punks. After re-education, he said they might be given work according to their capabilities, such as being a security officer, or they may be given a scholarship to continue their studies.

While Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal said the reason behind the re-education was because punk does not follow Islamic teachings, Irwandi said the re-education had nothing to do with Aceh's Shariah Law.

"They were treated that way not because they violated the dress code," Irwandi said. "Islam does not ban people from having punk style. People tend to relate it to Aceh Islamic Shariah, while it actually has nothing to do with it."

The punk arrests and re-education have garnered world criticism. In Moscow, a group claiming to be anarcho-punks painted the Indonesian embassy wall writing "Punk is Not A Crime."

"What does it have to do with international affairs? It did not breach human rights. Don't let foreign values make us slaves," Irwandi said.

Should I stay or should I go? Punks flee re-education

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2011

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Police have recaptured two young punks, one of them a minor, who escaped "re-education" at a police camp in the hills 62 kilometers east of Banda Aceh.

Banda Aceh Police chief Armensyah Thay said Syaukani, 20, and Saiful Fadli, 17, escaped from police custody around noon on Saturday because they "missed their parents."

The two youths, along with 62 others including six women, have been undergoing forcible "re-education" since Tuesday of last week, when they were arrested without charge during a punk music concert in Taman Budaya, Banda Aceh.

"The two punk kids fooled our officers by saying they wanted to go to the toilet, but after we checked and searched for them they had gone," Armensyah told reporters on Sunday.

It is believed the two climbed a hill behind the camp and caught a ride back to the city. Armensyah said his officers had raided places in the capital where they thought the two might be hiding.

"Syaukani was captured at 11 p.m. close to Baiturrahman grand mosque, and Saiful was caught at 2 a.m. at a food stall in Setui," he said, adding that both were immediately brought back to the re-education camp by police.

After the breakout, police said they would tighten security and ensure continuous surveillance of the youths. "If they want to go to the toilet, they'll be escorted."

Armensyah said the Banda Aceh administration had asked police to continue raids searching for punks in the town, to ensure the punk community did not continue to grow in numbers.

The reasoning, Armensyah said, was that the punk ethos was at odds with the teachings of Islam. Armensyah said he did not know whether the punks would receive similar treatment on an ongoing basis.

"Maybe, if there's funding for us, we can continue their re-education on an extended basis until they're better. After that we'll hand them all over to the city government," he said.

Sharia police 'need' better education

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2011

Tifa Asrianti and Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – Following the round up and imposition of penalties upon a group of youths in Aceh for wearing punk rock haircuts or attire, some believe that it is clear that certain members of the sharia police in the region require additional education and training.

Wearing Islamic teachings on their sleeves and holding hair clippers in their hands, the police have shown that they are not fully aware of how to educate youths about ethics in the first place.

M. Choirul Anam from Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization on human rights, said that the sharia police had conducted at least three major violations against human rights in the case.

"First, they violated freedom of expression. Punk is only a way to express oneself, just like a person wearing a necklace. The punk kids did not disturb public order, so the police do not have to catch them," he said.

Choirul said that the second violation was that the police treated the youths in inhuman ways that were against the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Indonesia also signed in 1985.

"Last but not least, the youths did not receive proper legal treatment in this case. The police executed punishment against them without going through any legal channels. There will be more human rights violations if we don't process this case legally," he said.

The sharia police caught some 60 youths after a music concert on Dec. 10. Police brought the youths to a detention center where the male adolescents had their spiky Mohawks – deemed insulting to Islamic tradition – buzzed off. For female punks, their hair was cut into short, blunt bobs. The police also told the youngsters to take a bath in a lake and pray communal prayers.

Ahmad Suaedy, executive director of the Wahid Institute, a non-governmental organization on pluralism, said that while sharia police tried to uphold the Islamic values according to the local law qanun, their methods were not in accordance with Islamic values.

"The way the sharia police handled the case was not ethical. They should educate the kids, instead of treating them like public enemies. There are better ways to uphold the qanun. Even drug users now receive treatment for their addiction instead of imprisonment, because the national law has been relaxed for them," he said.

Joshua Andrew, the coordinator of the group that held a rally in Jakarta to protest the police on Saturday, said the arrest was outrageous as they had not committed any crime but were only expressing their love of punk music.

Anarcho-punks vandalize Indonesian embassy in Moscow

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2011

A group of self-proclaimed anarchist-punks in Moscow have released a video that shows them allegedly defacing the Indonesian embassy in Moscow in a show of support for dozens of punks being detained in Aceh.

In a YouTube video posted by user morevanili on Dec. 15, an unidentified man can be seen spray painting two sides of a building identified as the Indonesian Embassy in the Russian capital.

On one wall, the man writes in Russian, "Religion=Fascism." On another wall, the same man paints the slogan, "Punk is not a crime."

The group behind the vandalization told Russian news portal ru.indymedia.org that "we consider ourselves anarcho-punks and this news offended us in the deepest sense." The group went on to say that they would not tolerate religious values being imposed on personal freedom.

Members of the group went on to say that they hoped the punks in Aceh would feel inspired and strengthened, hearing that people in a far-off country felt solidarity with their struggle. "Punk is not a crime. Religion is fascism. Fight for your looks," one member said.

Sixty-four young people have been held by the Aceh police for the supposed crime of being "punk." They have not been charged with any crime or brought before a court.

Last week, police took them to the Aceh State Police camp for "re- education." Mohawks and dyed hair came off as police shaved the men's heads. The women's hair was cut short in the fashion of a female police officer.

Deputy mayor of Banda Aceh Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal supported the crusade against the punk community, telling the community that the punk lifestyle was a social disease that was disturbing the peace.

Jakarta Punk community rallies at police headquarters

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – The arrest of 64 punks in Banda Aceh for the alleged crime of being "punk" spurred a group of punks under the name of Solidarity for Aceh Punks United to rally in front of the National Police headquarters in Jakarta on Monday.

They carried several banners saying "Uphold Punk Sharia" and "Jakarta Solidarity for Aceh Punk." The protesters met with the National Police chief to discuss the arrests that took place on Dec. 10 in Banda Aceh.

"We want them to be freed, we want their names to be rehabilitated," one of the punks from the band Cryptical, who wished to remain anonymous, said after meeting with police.

"The police argued that the event was not staged according to the details in the permit request and this is not true. This was a free event. Punk is a culture. We really hope to meet the Banda Aceh mayor on this case."

Authorities in Banda Aceh broke up a punk rock concert, claiming that the organizer falsified information in their request for a permit from Aceh's Consultative Assembly of Ulema (MPU) stating that the concert was a charity event whose proceeds would go to orphanages.

Deputy mayor of Banda Aceh Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal called the punk community a "social disease" and said punks deviate from Islamic teachings.

"I don't want this to happen again in Aceh," the punk said, adding that the meeting with the police chief was not satisfying. "Punks are members of society."

Aceh punk rockers accused of manipulating permit

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2011

The Banda Aceh Ulema Assembly (MPU) accused dozens of youths described as "punks" that were arrested during a concert at the city's cultural park, of manipulating the concert permit.

"They had fooled the cultural park management, the MPU, and the police, by saying that they were holding a charity concert for orphans," Banda Aceh deputy mayor Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal said as quoted by tempo.com on Sunday.

As many as 65 youths were arrested during a punk rock concert and brought to a detention center. Illiza also said that he had received complaints from residents about the presence of the punk community. "This community is really corrupt and deviant from Islamic teachings," he said.

Aceh people party secretary-general Thamrin Ananda said he was against the raid because it was against the principle of freedom of expression.

"It is possible that they held a charity concert. A concert could be stopped if it had violated laws," Thamrin said. "A punk rock concert is just the same as any other concert," he added. (swd)

Punk who got away gives eyewitness account of raid

Jakarta Globe - December 18, 2011

Nurdin Hasan – "We are not criminals but we were beaten up like animals when the [police] tried to arrest us. We've never made trouble before," said a 20-year-old who managed to escape a raid last week by Aceh police officers for the supposed crime of being "punk."

Juanda, affectionately called Lowbet by his fellow punks, is a student at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh. He has been active in punk community Tanggul Rebel (Rebel's Dam) since 2008, but he took off his metal jewelry soon after the raid because he heard from friends that "Banda Aceh's public order officers and Wilayatul Hisbah [Sharia police] were still looking for punks who escaped the raid last week."

Juanda revealed he escaped by wearing a helmet, which hid his punk hairstyle. Sixty-four young people have been held by the Police since Dec. 10. They have not been charged with a crime or brought before a court.

On Tuesday afternoon, police took the detainees to the Aceh State Police camp, located in the hills 62 kilometers outside of the city, to "re- educate" them. Mohawks and dyed hair came off as police shaved the men's heads and forced them into a lake. The women's hair was cut short in the fashion of a female police officer.

Juanda is currently coordinating with the Aceh branch of local legal aid foundation Commission for the Missing Persons and the Victims of Violence (Kontras) to file a lawsuit against the Banda Aceh government and its law enforcers for the raid. Hospinovizal Sabri, director of Banda Aceh Legal Aid, said pro bono lawyers were ready to help.

"We are ready to defend them. Police have caught the wrong children. They're innocent," Hospinovizal said. "We're accused of breaching Sharia law. They should tell us which clause that we have violated," Juanda said.

The concert, titled "Aceh for the Punk," was held at the city cultural center Taman Budaya and was also purported to help revive punk culture in Aceh. There has been a punk community there since the 1980s, which regularly held music concerts or gatherings until armed conflicts between the pro-independence Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian Military intensified in the 1990s until 2004.

"It broke my heart to see how my friends were beaten up like that. I could not do anything to help because the officers were armed and they moved really fast. They pulled my friends' hair and dragged them," Juanda said. "Some criminals are treated better than them."

Juanda said that police told the media that they confiscated alcohol and marijuana. But he said that if there were people drinking and using drugs, the police should have targeted them, not the whole group.

Aceh Police chief Ins. Gen. Iskandar Hasan was called for questioning about the incident by the Aceh City Council on Friday. He said he received calls from the German and French embassies regarding the raid and detainment. He claimed the envoys asked him about police treatment of the punks, including immersing their heads in a pond.

"I told them it's a tradition. When I was still in the police academy, we were all pushed and plunged into a lake," Iskandar said to a chorus of laughter from the city councillors.

"Aceh police should have just raided big hotels here that house prostitutes. They must overlook the prostitutes selling themselves on the roadsides here," he said.

Punks, Juanda said, are harmless. They are only expressing themselves albeit many of them dress too extreme and wear unconventional hair styles. The re-education would not deter them and even would invoke their rebellion and seeds of hatred toward the law enforcers, Juanda said.

'Punk's not dead' despite Aceh arrests

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2011

Nurdin Hasan & Dessy Sagita, Banda Aceh – Amid rows of youths dressed in police uniforms, 15-year-old Arismunadar kept his head bowed and answered in brief snatches when questioned about his treatment at the police camp in Lembah Seulawah, Aceh Besar district.

The high school student from Medan, North Sumatra, is among 64 punk music lovers undergoing "re-education" in the camp, about 60 kilometers from the provincial capital, after they were arrested last Saturday night.

They were taken to the camp after spending three nights in the Banda Aceh Police jail, where they were held after being arrested at a punk music charity concert they had organized with permission from city authorities.

Arismunadar said his parents gave him permission to make the weekend trip north to Banda Aceh but he was upset and worried because he could not contact them.

"I don't know what my parents' reaction will be when they find out I have been taken here," he said. "I want to talk to them but I can't because the police have taken our mobile phones."

Arismunadar said he was also worried about missing school, for which being taught by police "how to march in line and act politely" was little consolation. Asked whether he would change his ways after the 10 days of camp detention, Arismunadar said, "I will still be a punk because I like it."

M. Fauzie, one of the camp's instructors, said the youths were being taught spiritual, moral and behavioral lessons. "We will teach them to wake up early, how to eat properly and how to behave politely," he said.

On Friday morning, a Muslim cleric council delegation visited the camp and delivered a religious lecture to the youths, most of them in their twenties. At prayer time, police forced the detainees to don traditional Muslim dress and drove them in trucks to a nearby mosque.

There was little sign of a mass conversion to religious piety after the prayers, however. "Punk's not dead!" shouted Andre, 18, after being forced back onto the truck for the trip back to the police camp.

Andre, from Binjai in neighboring North Sumatra, said he was sick of the "re-education". "I'll still be a punk when they let me go, because it's my chosen life," he said, adding that he had lived on the streets since he was young. "They can't change the path I've taken."

One of the female detainees, 20-year-old Intan Natalia, emphasized the creative spirit of the punk community. "Punks are not about criminality," said the Medan native. "Don't look at us from a negative perspective, because we work, too. We create unique tattoos, T-shirt designs and piercings."

She said she cried when her long, straight hair was cut in the style of female police officers. "But what else could I do? If I protested, nobody would listen," she said. "So I had to take it quietly while my beloved hair was chopped short."

Intan, who was previously a university student in Jakarta, said she had been a punk since 2009 and enjoyed the feeling of solidarity it engendered. She went to Banda Aceh for the charity concert and said she was shocked when police raided the event. "While the event was underway, we were suddenly arrested," she said with a frown. "I don't know why, because we hadn't broken any laws."

Aldi, 17, who makes a living printing T-shirts and stickers, said the "re- education" would not change him. "After I get out of here I will still be a punk because I like the punk lifestyle," he said. "I'm not a criminal and stealing is not part of punk ethos. If I was a thief, why would I be a punk?"

Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said the detention without charge, the head shaving, the dousing ritual and the military-style treatment of the youths at the hands of the police was a breach of human rights.

"Is there a clause in the criminal code that makes self-expression in the punk style a crime? Then show me! This is too much," he said.

Speaking in Jakarta on Friday, he said the youths were at risk of lasting trauma. He also scoffed at a statement by Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal that punk culture was a social disease that stained Islam's reputation.

"The analogy is this: Look at my straggly beard," he said, pointing at his whiskered chin. "This is my self-expression, and who's to say it's a sign of social disease?"

Embattled Aceh punks garner worldwide support

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Michelle Natalie – News of the recent detainment and "re-education" of some 60 punks in Banda Aceh has stirred up a hornet's nest of outrage among local and international punk rock communities, many of whom have responded with campaigns to signal support for their Sumatran brethren.

One Seattle-based metal and punk label, Aborted Society, initiated the "Mixtape for Aceh" project on its Web site on Dec. 14. The project calls on punk music fans to create cassette and CD-R compilations of the loud, aggressive music which the label will then ship to punk fans in Aceh.

According to the label's Web site, the mixtape – long a staple in the anti-authoritarian, anti-major label punk underground – represents a sincere gesture of friendship and was one of the mediums that was key in spreading punk rock's influence worldwide.

"We are privileged to live in a society where we are free to express ourselves as we wish, and while the US and other Western states have their fair share of police injustice, this incident is a harsh reminder to how good we really have it," the site states.

Aborted Society is planning to send out the mixtapes and CD-Rs by early January 2012.

In honor of the 64 Indonesian punks who were forced to submit to having their heads shaved at the hands of the police, a Swede named Tom Holmquist has created an online event calling on punks worldwide to post pictures of themselves in all their leather-clad and dyed-mohawk finery. The Facebook event, called "Support Indonesian Punks," had 4,500 people signed up to attend by Friday afternoon.

"Every punk in the world knows how it is to be different," Holmquist told the Jakarta Globe. "The struggle for the punks in Aceh is a struggle for all punks and we must be united. Punk is an international movement and when we unite, we can change things.

"Also, I want to show the world that they can try to change the punks in Aceh, but they can never bring the movement down. That's why I want people to dress up this week."

Aside from encouraging people to send letters of protest to their local Indonesian embassy, Holmquist said that Swedish punks would also be holding a tribute concert in Gothenburg on Saturday.

In Jakarta, a punk-friendly collective called Bendera Hitam (Black Flag) is also having a solidarity event for Aceh punks on Saturday. While the planning of the event was still underway, Joshua A. Lalamentik, spokesman of Bendera Hitam, said the group was planning to stage a rally at the Aceh representative's office in Jakarta to demand the release of the detained punks.

"Most of our members are really enthusiastic to do this rally. As far as we know, our friends in Aceh are still detained. We want to free them and we have to act fast," he said.

Joshua said that the arrest of the punks in Banda Aceh did not make any sense. "What makes the police think that they have the right to arrest our friends for dressing in a certain way? They didn't break any law. From what I know, the police are the ones who infringe on human rights," he said.

"People always perceive punks as a bunch of kids who act like thugs and are always drunk. But punk is a symbol of expression. We might dress in a certain way, but each individual has the freedom of expressing themselves."

West Papua

Update on military operations in Paniai and Australian involvement

West Papua Media - December 22, 2011

Alex Rayfield – Human rights defenders in Paniai report that searches were recently carried out in the Badauwo, Geko and Kinouv area of East Paniai. Shooting was also heard in the vicinity of Mt Wege.

Local human rights defenders remain adamant that Australian and U.S trained and funded Detachment 88 police and military counter terrorism troops are still involved in the search for John Yogi, the Paniai based commander of the West Papuan Liberation Army (or TPN as it is known in Indonesian).

On Tuesday 20 December in Nabire the Head of Police (Kapolres) in Paniai, Mr Siregar urged John and Salmon Yogi to give themselves up. A local Brimob commander also told local press and community leaders gathered at the Nabire police station that Salmon Yogi had been wounded.

According to a source present at the meeting the Brimob commander said that military operations "would continue until John and Salmon Yogi and the men under their command either surrendered, were arrested or were shot dead". The police commander also told people not to be scared; that the police would protect them and that they would be still be able to celebrate Christmas.

The Office for Justice and Peace in Paniai reports that Yogi has six men under his control and a total of two firearms. It also believed that the men's wives and children are also with them.

The town of Enarotali is also not safe. Church leaders report that there has been shooting in Enarotali. The latest gunshots occurred on Tuesday 20 December at 6pm and again on Wednesday 21 December at 1am and 5am. A local church leader told West Papua Media that "local people are scared and in a state of panic". A woman whose family lives in Enarotali told West Papua Media that her uncle went to the toilet at night and was shot and wounded by a sniper.

Despite the ongoing military operations human rights defenders, church, tribal and community leaders in Paniai are publicly calling for the Indonesian military and police to cease operations.

In relation to the alleged involvement of the Australian mining company Paniai Gold, it has now come to light that there are two gold mining companies operating in the area. Komopa (or Haji ARI – the exact name is still unclear) is believed to be an Indonesian owned company located in the vicinity of the Degeuwo River. Paniai Gold, a wholly owned Australian subsidiary of West Wits, is based on Derewo River.

According to local sources at 2pm on Tuesday 21 December the police again hired a commercial helicopter to carry out military operations. In a report provided to West Papua Media it is stated that the helicopter used on the 21 December was owned by the Haji ARI Company. In the same report it is alleged that the military and police flew over a camp (a blue tent) in the forest and proceeded to shot into the camp from the helicopter.

It is not clear to what extent the two companies share the use of the helicopters used in recent military operations against the TPN, given they allegedly share the same base in Nabire.

There are many unanswered questions about the military operations and extent of Australia's involvement.

A key question concerns whether Indonesian military and police (including Brimob) providing security services to Paniai Gold were involved in the large-scale military operations against the West Papuan Liberation Army based at Eduda, and to what extent the Australian embassy helped facilitate Paniai Gold's operations.

And despite Canberra's denials that Australian and US trained and funded D88 troops are involved in hunting down so-called separatists, there is mounting evidence that this is exactly what D88 are doing in West Papua. Papuan human rights defenders and their supporters continue to argue that Australian and US support for the Indonesian military only help "create more efficient human rights abusers". Despite this, the Australian government conducts no independent monitoring and evaluation of Australian taxpayer's money provided to the Indonesian military.

There are also concerns about the role of the local and central government. Papuans are asking questions about who is funding the military operation. What is the role of the local Bupati and local government? Why won't the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono cease operations when it is clear that ordinary villagers are dying as a result and that Yogi and his men have only two modern weapons between them?

West Papua Media, an independent media outlet working with a local network of citizen journalists, will continue to monitor the situation.

Crippling strike at Freeport's Papua mine not over: Police

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2011

Timika – Workers at Papua's giant Grasberg mine operated by US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan have not returned to work, police in the Indonesian province said on Thursday, despite previous announcements that the crippling, three-month strike had ended.

"The workers are still striking in Check Point 1, though the agreement letter has been signed on Dec.12," Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw, the deputy chief of Papua Police, told state news agency Antara on Thursday.

He said the workers were not returning to work because the company failed to guarantee that thousands of workers laid-off by by Freeport subcontractors Kuala Pelabuhan Indonesia and Pangansari Utama would be rehired.

"It should have been included in the agreement signed in Jakarta and should have been outlined in a joint agreement letter that should be signed by the government," Waterpauw said.

The agreement, signed on Dec. 12 in Jakarta by the workers union and representative from the company, gave workers a 37 percent wage increase as well as housing allowance, enhancements to shift and work location incentives, educational assistance and retirement savings plan.

Papua Police, meanwhile, say they plan to summon a number of strike organizers as part of ongoing criminal investigations into the strikes. Freeport Worker Union (SPSI) board members have reportedly been banned from leaving Timika and dozens of members have been summoned for questioning.

Waterpauw said the aspects of the strike had disrupted the public interest and breached the law. The board had also incited workers not to return to work, despite the agreement, he said.

"What they have been done can be categorized as criminal," Waterpauw said. He said that if the workers at Check Point 1 refused to move, police would use force to disperse them. (Antara/JG)

Australian-owned miner involved in Papua military operations: Report

Jakarta Globe - December 22, 2011

The Australian government has confirmed that it is investigating reports that an Australian-owned mining company was involved in ongoing Indonesian military operations in Paniai, West Papua.

In a statement received by the Jakarta Globe on Thursday, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was aware of the reports but said there was no Australian government connection to the operations, which have been condemned as brutal by international nongovernmental organizations.

A ministry spokesperson said any inquiries regarding the involvement of the company – identified as Paniai Gold, a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne based gold mining company West Wits Mining – should be directed to the company itself. "We are seeking to speak to the company about the reports," the spokesperson said.

Australia-based activist group West Papua Media, in a statement, alleged the Australian-trained joint police and military counterterrorism unit Detachment 88 (Densus 88) was involved in the allegedly bloody military operations.

The nongovernmental organization said that according to reports from Marisan, the director of the Papua branch of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham), Densus 88 had been embedded with police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) units during operations against suspected members of the West Papua Liberation Army (TPN), based at Eduda, Paniai.

Marisan was quoted by WPM as saying that a total of 30 had died in the latest violence, including 17 people shot dead during the military operations in Eduda.

"Only ten of these victims were members of the TPN," the director was quoted as saying, adding that prior to the military operations, Brimob had also shot dead eight Papuans.

WPM said that Marisan and Yones Douw, a human rights defender based in Paniai, had both alleged that helicopters used by Paniai Gold on its Derewo River Gold project "were utilized by the military and police in these latest military operations."

A local source, requesting anonymity, told West Papua Media that the helicopters were those used by the mining company. "They are white with blue and red markings" the sources said. "They are defiantly mining company helicopters."

WPM said it had not been able to contact Paniai Gold's operations manger Vincent Savage, a non-executive director of West Wits, for comment.

The NGO said the 2011 November-December military operation was not the first in the area. "Paniai was the scene of widespread military operations between 1963-1969, 1977-1978, and again in 1981-1982. During this period US supplied Bronco aircraft that were used to bomb villages while helicopters strafed Papuans with machine gun fire."

The Australian foreign ministry reiterated that Australia had long recognized of the territorial integrity of Indonesia, "including by signing and ratifying the Lombok Treaty between both countries."

"Australia does not support independence for the Papuan provinces. The best chance for a secure and prosperous future for the people of Papua and West Papua lies within an integrated Indonesian state."

Group sets Papua police office on fire, raise Morning Star flag

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2011

Farouk Arnaz – An unidentified group of people set the Angkaisera police office in Yapen Waropen district Papua on fire and raised the Morning Star flag on Tuesday morning.

"The incident happened on Tuesday at 3 a.m. local time," National police spokesman Saud Usman Nasution said on Wednesday. "At 2 a.m. there was an electricity black out there and officers on duty left the office. Then it happened."

An unidentified group of people raised the Morning Star flag on the police flagpole. No one reported the incident and police are still trying to determine whether there are any missing weapons. The two police officers on duty were Brig. Suriyanto and Brig. Melkianus Yowe.

This is not the first attack on the Angkaisera police station. In July 2009, unidentified people set two police motorcycles on fire.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, people set the house of newly elected West Papua governor, Abraham Ataruri, on fire in Manokwari. Thirteen people have been arrested in relation to the incident.

"The mob was not satisfied with the Constitutional Court ruling that Abraham won," Saud said. The mob consisted of 200 people claiming to be supporters of the other candidate Dominggus Mandacan. Fifteen motorcycles and nine cars were set on fire.

Australia involved in military operations in Paniai, West Papua

West Papua Media - December 21, 2011

Alex Rayfield – Human Rights Defenders in West Papua accuse the Australian Government and an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold, of being involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai, West Papua.

Mr Ferry Marisan alleges that the Australian-trained joint police and military counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 (also known as Densus 88 or D88), is involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai. According to Marisan, the Director of Elsham Papua, the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua, D88 have been embedded in the Second "Coconut" (Kelapa Dua) paramilitary Police Force (Brimob) sent from West Java for military operations against suspected members of the West Papua Liberation Army (or TPN), based at Eduda, Paniai.

According to Mr Yones Douw, a human rights defender based in Paniai, D88 are currently being deployed against members of the TPN in a jungle warfare operation. John Yogi – the Paniai based commander of the TPN – and his men, believed to number a few dozen, fled into the jungle following an attack on his base in Eduda by the Indonesian military and police between the 12-15 December.

Marisan says that in total 30 people have died during the latest round of violence in Paniai Seventeen people were shot dead during the military operations in Eduda. Only ten of these victims were members of the TPN, according to Marisan. Between the 9th and 14th of December a further three people died, all from exposure related sickness. Amongst the dead were two children aged two and four. Prior to the military operations Brimob also shot dead eight Papuans. Yogi's men responded by killing two Brimob soldiers, an event that triggered the recent military operations.

In addition Elsham Papua reports that the following six villages were burnt to the ground: Toko, Badawo, Dogouto, Obayoweta, Dey, and Wamanik. As a result of the violence Marisan says that up to 20,000 people have fled their homes. "They are living in government care centres, or staying with family and friends. Many have also fled to the forest" says Marisan.

SBS Radio reported that a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says that the "Australian Government does not train or fund Indonesia's security forces to counter separatism."

Irrespective of the training that both the Australian and US government's say they provide to D88, both Douw and Marisan claim that group is being used in military operations against so-called separatists. "Many of the victims in these operations" says Marisan, "are not members of the TPN, they are ordinary Papuan villagers who are supposed to be protected by the state". D88 was also allegedly involved in the killing of six Papuans at the conclusion of the Third Papuan Congress on October 19.

D88 is not the only link between Australia and the recent wave of violence.

According to both Douw and Marisan, helicopters used at the Derewo River Gold (DRG) project were utilised by the Military and Police in these latest military operations. DRG is operated by Paniai Gold, a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne based gold mining company West Wits Mining. A local source, requesting anonymity, told West Papua Media that the helicopters are those used by the mining company. "They are white with blue and red markings" the sources said. "They are defiantly mining company helicopters."

The person responsible for Paniai Gold's operations is Mr Vincent Savage, a Non-Executive Director of West Wits. According to publicly available company documents "Mr Savage has been intimately involved in all governmental and regulatory issues involving the Derewo River Gold Project as well as working closely with the Company's local Indonesian partners."

These same documents state that "security [for the DRG Project] will be provided by the local Paniai police and Brimob (Indonesian paramilitary police) under the supervision of a Company Security Officer".

West Papua Media attempted to contact Mr Savage for comment, but he was not available.

The 2011 November-December military operations are not the first military operations in the area. Paniai was the scene of widespread military operations between 1963-1969, 1977-1978, and again in 1981-1982. During this period US supplied Bronco aircraft were used to bomb villages while helicopters strafed Papuans with machine gun fire. "People don't forget these things easily" says Douw.

A free choice, but Hugh saw the guns

Herald Sun (Melbourne) - December 19, 2011

Alan Howe – Legendary reporter Hugh Lunn, then an Asia correspondent for Reuters, witnessed the cruel farce of the Act of Free Choice in 1969.

"There were 400 journalists covering East Timor – there were two (in Papua), myself and a Dutchman. There were no photographers. I took pictures and sent them out by hand."

Lunn described soldiers in civilian clothes walking among villagers choosing their "representatives". "The crowd were the most solemn, angry people I've ever seen," recalled Lunn yesterday. "But they didn't have any guns."

Three young men and a teenager emerged with signs written in Indonesian calling for one man, one vote. Lunn spoke to them, but they were whisked away by armed soldiers. Later, he was told they were criminals and were in jail. Others were bashed in full view. Some were thrown over the top of army trucks and driven away.

As Lunn moved about, cowed locals would slip notes into his hand pleading for help for their country. Others made silent hand signals as if hand- cuffed, or shooting themselves in the head.

A blood-soaked letter in Lunn's room spoke of dissenters being murdered. Other notes were passed to him in shells given by fearful locals. UN staff refused to comment on the violence and intimidation.

As Lunn boarded a lifeboat to go to the ship that would take him back to Jakarta, a Papuan youth lent on Lunn's arm. "Are we going to be our own country?" he asked. "I said: 'You've got no hope'." Lunn told him that he would soon be an Indonesian. The boy burst in to tears.

Lunn taught the small group of Papuans on the boat to sing We Shall Overcome, knowing they'd need it. Some day.

West Papua decolonisation committee established by coalition

Radio New Zealand International - December 19, 2011

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation has announced the establishment of the West Papua Decolonisation Committee.

The coalition says the Committee will petition the United Nations Decolonisation Committee for the re-inscription of West Papua in order for it to be granted the due process of decolonisation.

Membership of the Committee will consist of the coalition's leaders and dignitaries of Vanuatu including former Presidents and Prime Ministers. Membership would be open to people with relevant expertise from other countries.

The coalition's Vice Chairman, John Ondawame, says the establishment of the Committee is their response to the ongoing violence committed by Indonesian forces in Papua.

Dr Ondawame says the violence has continued despite years of pleas by Papuans for peaceful dialogue. He has called upon the people of the Pacific and the International community to support the diplomatic effort.

Don't demean us, Papuan church leaders tell SBY

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2011

Ismira Lutfia – In stark contrast to government figures who say Papuan unrest stems from a lack of prosperity among native inhabitants, senior Papuan church figures say the real problem is a history of injustice and the island's problematic integration into Indonesia.

"The problems in Papua are not to do with wealth, but respect for human dignity, justice and an unclear history of integration that is still disputed," Rev. Socratez Sofyan Yoman, the head of Papua's Baptist church, said in a press conference on Saturday in Jakarta.

The press conference followed a private meeting a day earlier between four church figures, three of them Papuan, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the national leader's private residence in Cikeas, Bogor.

The two-hour meeting, which was closed to media, also included Vice President Boediono, the national chiefs of the armed forces and police, and a number of cabinet ministers including Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs and Hatta Rajasa, the coordinating minister for the economy.

The four church leaders said they had provided a detailed picture of the numerous acts of violence and conflict that had afflicted Papuans for generations.

"We told the president that since 1961, the situation has been unsafe in Papua because of the stigma of separatism," Rev. Yemima Krey, head of the Protestant Synod in Papua, said at the press conference.

Yemima went on to say that she believed – at the risk of being seen as discriminatory – that the government should consider a policy to limit the arrival of transmigrants from other islands in the archipelago. She called it a necessary step in order to protect Papuan culture and the political and economic position of the Papuan people.

"The proportion of Papuans is falling as the number of migrants increases, so that many Papuans are questioning their existence in their own land," Yemima said.

It is shifting geopolitical winds such as this that are planting the seeds of resistance in the Papuan community, according to Benny Giay, head of the Kingmi Synod in Papua.

Benny maintained that Papuan nationalism was misinterpreted as separatism by Jakarta. Benny added that he and his three colleagues had told Yudhoyono that the president's establishment of the Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) was misguided, unfair and undemocratic because the Papuan people had not been consulted or involved. "And along with the UP4B the military were sent as well," Benny added.

He said Jakarta had failed to adopt a humanitarian approach to Papua, with the result that every passing day brought more news of Papuans killed in conflict with the state. "We are witnessing the extinction of a nation. We are being slaughtered," Benny said. "Our church exists in the midst of a never-ending cycle of violence."

According to Socratez, while Yudhoyono had been receptive to the religious figures' description of the problems in Papua, the president had stopped short of accepting their main proposal: Holding mediation talks involving a third party. "The Papuan people must be given room to experience justice," Socratez said. "Don't demean them and treat them as enemies of the state. This must be stopped."

Meeting participant and non-Papuan Gumar Gultom, the head of the Indonesian Protestant Church Union (PGI), said there were "positive signs" from Yudhoyono at the meeting.

"This is just the first meeting. The president promised a follow-up meeting to get into more details on the issues we put forward," Gumar said, adding that he expected the next meeting would be in early January.

Police name five suspects for raising Morning Star flag

Antara News - December 19, 2011

Timika, Papua – A joint investigation conducted by the Papua police and the Mimika police named five Papuans from Timika on Monday as suspects for raising the Morning Star flag during the anniversary of the Free Papua Organization earlier this month.

Deputy chief of Papua Police, Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said the five suspects will be charged for mobilizing a crowd and treason.

"This is a law-abiding nation," Paulus said. "They fully realized what they did by distributing letters asking people to attend a meeting which they claimed would only involve praying."

Three of the five suspects who raised the flag in Timika Indah field were identified by their initials as IO, DO, and SO. Paulus said police were still asking for accounts from witnesses. "We will summon five more witnesses," he said.

The Free Papua Organization celebration in Timika Indah field ended with a clash between police and local people. The Morning Star flag was raised for five minutes on a 10-meter high tree. Two young people were also running around the tree, waving smaller flags.

Police claimed they had to forcefully take the flag down and fired warning shots when negotiations failed.

Gunmen attack chopper near Indonesia Freeport mine

Associated Press - December 17, 2011

Timika, Papua – Police say gunmen attacked a helicopter carrying workers from Freeport-McMoRan's massive gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia, wounding one person.

The attack occurred on Saturday as thousands of workers returned to the Grasberg mine in Papua province following a three-month strike over low wages.

Police spokesman Col. Wachjono said unidentified gunmen opened fire minutes after the helicopter left the mining town of Tembagapura with 29 workers who had just come off their shifts.

With only slight damage to the chopper, the Russian pilots were able to continue on to Timika, where they landed safely. Another police officer said Mary Jane Mather – the Filipino wife of one of the employees – was being treated for shrapnel wounds.

Freeport strike over

New Matilda - December 16, 2011

Setyo Budi – After three violent months and a tough negotiation process, the Freeport strike is over. Not all the demands of the workers have been met, but union officials are cautiously happy with the deal, writes Setyo Budi

On Wednesday union heads clinched a deal with Freeport management to end the three-month long strike at West Papua's troubled Grasberg mine.

"At 5.30pm [Jakarta time] an agreement was reached," said an SMS sent by a union official to New Matilda. "Hopefully this decision is the best for all of us, from the workers' welfare point of view".

Nine people have been killed since the strike started on 15 September, with a number of workers shot by police during protests. The striking workers have been living on their savings because Freeport stopped paying their wages and the union, which relies on members' contributions, has also suffered.

"Many of our members have taken bank loans as there was no wage coming in. These banks demand payment soon," said Pyhtal Tri Poes, one of the union officials, in an interview with New Matilda.

In the deal that was brokered on Wednesday, the workers will get a 37 per cent wage increase that will be paid over two years: they will receive a 24 per cent increase on their wages backdated to 1 October 2011, and from 1 October 2012 they will receive a further 13 per cent increase. This is far from what the union originally demanded, which was a 200 per cent wage increase from US$2.50 to US$7.50 per hour.

In addition, the striking miners will be paid their lost salaries from the three-month strike. Disciplinary action against a number of strikers has been withdrawn and complete amnesty given. The deal also suggests that all allowances – health care, housing, education, shift premiums, service-year bonuses, and a metal bonus – will be calculated on fixed costs rather than Freeport-McMoRan's demand of variable cost schemes.

However the deal is not ideal for the union. "We are not entirely happy with the wage deal," said Juli Parorrongan, one of the union bargaining committee members. "We made the decision to settle due to humanitarian reasons and out of concern for our workers. They have no money, very little to eat, and having no pay checks have pushed them to the brink of poverty".

The final negotiation came suddenly. For over two months, the union has resisted pressure not only from management but also from the Indonesian security forces. The Indonesian government has also intervened.

Last week the government called a meeting with the union in attempt to end the strike. In an SMS sent to New Matilda at the time, union secretary Albar Sabang said, "We are in a meeting with the Indonesian government that we never expected before".

New Matilda understands that in the meeting the government representative briefed the union about the latest security situation in West Papua and said the union's actions could further destabilise the province. Last week there were a number of shootings around the Paniai district and Freeport area.

Last month Freeport McMoran CEO Richard Adkerson met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Honolulu as he was on his way to Cannes to attend the G20 Summit. In the meeting Adkerson asked Yudhoyono to "find the best solution" to the strike action. He also told the President about Freeport's plan to spend US$10-$20 million expanding its business in West Papua.

This week's deal with Freeport management could be "the best solution" that Adkerson requested.

Either way, the union has cautiously welcomed the deal. The 15 members of the bargaining team will go back to Timika this week and celebrate the outcome with its members. However, as union official Juli Parrorangan, says "it's not the end, only the beginning. The energy and unity of our struggle now enters the workplace".

TNI to focus on civic missions in Papua

Antara News - December 16, 2011

Jakarta – Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Admiral Agus Suhartono said TNI will focus on the implementation of civic mission activities by launching a "Military Enters Village" (TMMD) program in Papua and West Papua next year.

"We focus on continuing TMMD in rural villages located in border areas which are isolated, remote, and affected by disasters, and the development of large-scale TMMD targets in Papua and West Papua," Suhartono said at the 32nd plenary meeting on TMMD here on Friday.

The regular TMMD target increase in Papua and West Papua as well as in border areas is carried out by reducing the TMMD targets in Java, he said.

Based on Presidential Regulation No. 41/2010 on the General Policy on State Defense 2010-2014, TMMD is aimed at empowering defense regions by prioritizing security or disaster-prone regions, border areas, conflict- prone areas and the outer most islands.

"The national situation development lately is still marked with various security and public order disturbances such as terrorism, separatism, physical clashes or horizontal violence in several places in the country," he said.

Army Chief of Staff General Pramono Edhie Wibowo said the 86th and 87th TMMD implementation in 2011 had been carried out smoothly and promptly.

The TNI personnel during the TMMD program in 2011 managed to construct 309.4-km long roads, reconstruct/build 111 bridges, 601 public facilities, 737 social facilities, 237 places of worship, 11 elementary school buildings, and renovated 688 houses.

"And for non-physical targets, there had been lectures or counseling on sate defense, national insight, security, public order, health, medical treatment, agriculture and animal husbandry," he said. (Uu.F001/HAJM)

'Many deaths' during ongoing military siege in Papua: Allegations

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

An international nongovernmental organization campaigning to highlight human rights abuses in Indonesia, has called for international intervention "after receiving highly distressing accounts of indiscriminate and brutal military raids" in West Papua.

Maire Leadbeater of the Indonesia Human Rights Committee said reports from West Papua indicated that thousands of villagers in Paniai are undergoing a "military siege involving horrendous destruction and violence."

"Homes have been torched and villages razed, while helicopters are said to be strafing the villages. There are reports of deaths, forcible evacuations and the displacement of thousands of people," Leadbeater said.

"We cannot confirm all the reports because the area is closed to journalists and humanitarian workers. But there are compelling indications that the violence against the West Papuan people is escalating alarmingly."

In an open letter to New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray, the committee said the reports made a compelling case for international intervention to stop the violence.

"At the very least New Zealand should now insist that the area be opened up and journalists, the Red Cross and other humanitarian workers given free access, so that the information can be verified and appropriate help provided to the victims."

Leadbeater, who signed the letter, said Indonesian security personnel, including from the Army, Mobile Brigade (Brimob) paramilitary police and elite counter-terrorism troops from Detachment 88 "are responsible for the razing of villages and forced evacuations."

"This is apparently part of a military campaign against local members of the Free Papua National Liberation Army. We are advised that some 27 villages have been devastated, that homes, schools and other buildings have been burnt and that an unknown number of people have been killed by live military fire. One report lists the names of 18 victims."

The committee alleged that thousands of civilian refugees have fled the area to other villages around Enaratoli, on the opposite side of Lake Paniai.

"There is said to be a police supervised secure 'Care Center' in Enaratoli, which is overcrowded and lacking in basic requirements. Other refugees have fled into the forest or to live with other family members."

Discourse: 'Papua, a land with 1,001 vested interests'

Jakarta Post - December 16, 2011

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed in early October Lt. Gen. (ret.) Bambang Dharmono, former Aceh military commander and negotiator representing Indonesia for the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), to lead the Presidential Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B). The Jakarta Post's Nani Afrida recently talked to Bambang about his strategies to unlock bottlenecks hampering development in the two restive provinces. The following are excerpts from interview:

Question: What is actually the root of the problem in Papua?

Answer: First, the problem revolves around different perceptions about the annexation of Papua into Indonesia from the Dutch rule in 1969 based on a United Nations (UN) ruling. Before that there was a referendum in Papua to determine the province's fate, organized by the UN Based on the referendum, the UN then issued a resolution to include Papua into Indonesia in a vote that saw 80 countries agree to the decision while 31 others abstained. No countries opposed the idea. However, there was a group that rejected the referendum results, claiming it was rigged. The group, as we know it today, is the Free Papua Movement (OPM). These different perceptions have lasted until now. Younger generations of Papuans still cannot get the history straight. Perhaps, there should be more local content on historical perspectives in the school curriculum to help ease the differences in perception.

The second problem is undoubtedly corruption. Native Papuan leaders whom I've met have regularly provided me with input on graft cases afflicting the province. I received a stack of corruption files more than a meter tall from them. The province has received trillions of rupiah from the special autonomy fund which mostly has not been used for the people's welfare. I am sure that corruption has played a role in the sluggish channeling of the fund. There is also a correlation of the violent conflict with corruption, in which many corrupt Papuan leaders usually provoke the sentiment of independence when the law enforcers or audit agencies are about to check their financial accountability. So I have come to the conclusion that what happened in Papua is a combination of disharmony resulting from the different perceptions of history and corruption.

Why has it taken so long to resolve the problems?

Not all Papuans are against the government and demand independence. There are 1,001 different interests in Papua today. The Papuan community structure is not a pyramid where you have a leader on the top. There is no single leader that can unite all tribes in Papua, unlike in Aceh where you have Hassan Tiro to whose leadership all the separatist combatants bowed. The structure in Papua is like a trapezium. Those in the upper level are people who have interests and have access to the mass media to deliver their provocations. The media quotes certain people on that level as though they represent all Papuans. That is not the case. Papuans cannot be united by a certain person. Those in the middle level usually follow the upper group, but it depends on the situation, while the people in the lower level are what I call the silent majority who have no affiliations, and whose voice is never channeled by the mass media. The lower-level group comprises tribes and visitors who want to live peacefully.

You have mentioned 1,001 interests in Papua. Specifically, what are they?

There are a lot, including the independence issue, hunger for power, and the need to nurture corruption. But for sure, there are no local election results that don't end up at the Constitutional Court. It seems that the local leaders have difficulty in accepting defeat. Political and tribal interests have kept them fighting each other. You can see that there are 250 tribes in Papua today. And none are superior to the others. I don't want to say this as a conflict but more a disharmony. There are horizontal and vertical disharmonies with no lines connecting them.

You prefer to hold a dialogue with Papua instead of negotiations?

With whom should we negotiate? There are many leaders with different interests. I encourage dialogue in Papua. But I don't agree with the term dialogue between Jakarta and Papua because it seems that we want to implement what we have done in Aceh in Papua. Papua is more complex. Aceh is easier because they have Hasan Tiro as the leader. When Hasan Tiro said yes, everyone in Aceh would say the same. That's why I prefer dialogue in which all Papuans can join in, including the OPM, which also has many factions.

Do you think the setting up of your unit means that related ministries and agencies dealing with Papua have failed to do their job?

I don't like to blame other people. Right or wrong is relative. As you know, the special autonomy for Papua is a win-win solution. However, the implementation of the autonomy depends on the issue of provincial regulations and special local regulations. The central government will encourage provincial governments and legislators to immediately issue those regulations as they have been in limbo for a long time. The Papuans also want to be involved in managing the fund.

So what are your priorities?

My duty is to make sure that the special autonomy law is well implemented. The President has instructed that the problems in Papua be resolved based on three pillars; under the unity of Indonesia, special autonomy, and development acceleration. I also have a quick-win strategy in which I would focus more on developing the central part of Papua, in which most of the population is concentrated. Among the projects that we have prepared is to set up the largest pig farming center, a cement manufacturing facility and electricity infrastructure. These projects will be up and running next year. The central part of Papua, which also includes the restive area of Puncak Jaya, is where most of the tribes live and is the most underdeveloped area.

Human rights & justice

Indonesian widows to seek justice for another Dutch massacre

Agence France Presse - December 21, 2011

The Hague – Widows of Indonesian men killed by the Dutch colonial army in 1946 and 1947 on Sulawesi island are planning to seek justice before a court in the Netherlands, their lawyer said on Tuesday.

"We are exploring the possibilities of legal action," Amsterdam-based lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld said following a landmark ruling earlier this year which found the Dutch state responsible for another massacre in Indonesia in 1947.

The new case was "not about money" but "about getting recognition for the harm that has been done to them," Zegveld said.

In September a court in The Hague found the Dutch state responsible for executions committed by its colonial army in 1947 in the village of Rawagede on Indonesia's Java island.

The court ruled in favour of eight widows and a survivor of the Rawagede massacre during Indonesia's fight for independence, where men and boys were executed by the colonial Dutch army as relatives and friends looked on.

Zegveld said the new legal action could start "within two or three months in the Netherlands." "So far, we have spoken to about 10 widows who could enter the Dutch courts," she added.

Residents claim some 40,000 Indonesians were killed by the Dutch army in Sulawesi's south between December 1946 and February 1947 while conducting operations to look for opponents of the former Dutch colony. The Dutch government says there were between 3,000 to 5,000 deaths, according to figures quoted in the Dutch media.

Zegveld said events to open proceedings are being studied, citing examples such as executions in the Sulawesian villages of Pare-Pare, Bulukumba, Lombok and Supa-Galung.

The Dutch government formally apologized earlier this month for the Rawagede massacre on the country's Java island in an emotional ceremony. Dutch officials say some 150 people were killed, but a support group and the local community say the death toll was 431.

Indonesia declared its independence in 1945.

New justice and human rights minister makes shock confession

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Ezra Sihite – Indonesia's recently inaugurated Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin refused on Friday to comment of the alleged killings of villagers in Sumatra, saying that human rights was "something I'm not good at."

"I should not talk about human rights, it is something that I'm not good at it," Amir told journalists at House of Representatives (DPR) on Friday. "There are [people] who are competent to investigate the case, such as from National Commission on Human Rights and others."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding what may be two separate incidents, including the killing of up to 30 farmers during a dispute with plantation company, Silva Inhutani, in Mesuji, Lampung.

The minister admitted he had few clues about the facts of the cases. "Let's leave it to someone who has the authority to investigate," he said. "The minister of justice and human rights doesn't know everything."

Freedom of expression & press

Another journalist speaks of intimidation

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2011

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Another violent incident against a journalist has been reported in Rote-Ndao, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), with an alleged abduction of a female reporter over her news coverage.

Endang Sidin, who works with local daily Erende Pos, reported that she had been abducted by a public order police member with the initials JT, who kept her in the regency secretariat office.

When reached by The Jakarta Post from the regency capital of Baa, Endang claimed she was intimidated with murder threats over her planned report on the involvement of civil servants in project brokerage.

"On Thursday, I interviewed a tender committee member from Kuli village office about village road construction projects worth Rp 187 million that were derived from the Rural Infrastructure Development Program (PPIP) from this year's state budget. The project was won by CV Tugu Mandiri, believed to be owned by JT," she said, adding that JT won the tender at Rp 167 million.

According to Endang, the tender process diverted from the guidelines as JT was an active civil servant currently working as a public order police member. As she arrived home after the interview at around 10 p.m., she added, JT called her and threatened to kill her if she wrote the report.

JT was said to be irritated by the journalist questioning about the tender procedure. "Why should you bother asking about me joining the tender," Endang quoted JT as saying, adding he slammed the phone down immediately.

The following day, Endang went out to interview Rote Ndao regency secretary Agustinus Oragero for her story.

"As I arrived at the regent's office, JT chased after me while raising his hand and trying to hit me. I took shelter in the regency secretary's room. JT tried to burst into the room but the secretary blocked him. He stood at the door while brandishing his fist to me," she said.

Endang contacted Rote-Ndao Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widy Atmono but he did not pick up the phone. "I then called House of Representatives member Sarah Lery Mboeik and told her about the threats and abduction. Lery called the NTT Police chief and 30 minutes later I was evacuated by a traffic police car," she said.

The incident came just a few days after an arson attack, targeted at Rote- Ndao News reporter Dance Henukh, who was reported to still be taking shelter at a relative's house. His house was set on fire on Dec. 12 and his 1-month-old baby died allegedly from shock.

Threats of violence continue against Rote Ndao reporters

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Dessy Sagita & Fitri – Another journalist said she received death threats after writing about evidence of government corruption in Rote Ndao district, East Nusa Tenggara.

Endang Sidin of Erende Pos daily newspaper said on Friday that she had received threats similar to those received by Dance Henukh, a reporter for Rote Ndao News whose house was stoned and burned down in a mob attack on Sunday.

Endang, the only female journalist based in the district, said an official from the public order agency (Satpol PP) threatened her on Thursday when she visited the local district office building as part of her reporting work.

"I was threatened by Jhon Therik. I hid in one of the rooms at the district office building for 30 minutes," she on Friday told beritasatu.com, with which the Jakarta Globe is affiliated.

Endang said she tried to call the provincial police chief and some district council members for help, but eventually sought protection from a police officer who happened to walk past the room where she was hiding.

When the officer escorted her out of the building, she said, Jhon was waiting at the gate. She said she immediately reported the incident to the police. "The police said they would act on it," she said, adding that on Friday she received death threats on her cellphone.

She said that prior to the incident, she, Dance and another journalist, Ishak Doris, had received death threats for reporting on corruption allegations.

Dance's home was attacked early on Sunday morning, leading to the death of his one-month-old daughter, Gino Novitri Henukh, who reportedly died from shock. After Gino was buried, the mob returned and burned Dance's home to the ground.

Eko Maryadi, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), said Dance was now in hiding for fear of his life. "Dance and his family are shocked and terrified because of the prevailing threats and terrors," Eko said.

He also criticized Rote Ndao Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widi Atmono for saying that Gino's death was the result of an accidental fire, not a mob attack. "If the National Police are not serious in investigating the case, then AJI will send its own investigation team to Rote Ndao," the AJI chairman said.

In the neighboring province of West Nusa Tenggara, dozens of reporters staged a rally at a police station in Mataram, the provincial capital, to condemn the attacks and threats. Journalists at the rally put their press badges and cameras on the street to protest against the slow police investigation.

Dance, Endang and Ishak had written about corruption allegations in the construction of 100 houses for transmigrant workers in Kuli village. They reported that local officials could have misappropriated some of the Rp 3.1 billion ($344,000) earmarked for the project. Local law enforcers have not acted on the allegation.

Police threatened me: Kupang journalist

Jakarta Post - December 16, 2011

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Journalist Dance Henukh, whose house was destroyed by a group of people allegedly as backlash for his news report on graft cases, says that he was intimidated by police officers after the attack.

Dance and his family were attacked in their house on Sunday and then again on Tuesday. His 1-month-old baby was killed in the attacks, and his house completely destroyed.

Dance said several police members had come to his house on Wednesday night and asked him not to go to the media with information that would incriminate the police.

"The police gave Rp 500,000 [US$55] to my wife but the money was returned," he said. "I was also interrogated by intelligencer [agents]. I feel threatened and worried about my family's safety," he said.

Meanwhile, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor Frans Leburaya urged the police to investigate the case. Leburaya said that he hoped the police would carry out their duties professionally, and arrest the perpetrators and the mastermind behind the attack.

"I have not received reports officially. But if it is true that a journalist's house was burned down, the police must investigate it thoroughly," he said in Kupang on Thursday.

NTT Journalist Forum coordinator Albert Vincen said in a press statement that the attack on the journalist constituted press criminalization.

"The incident hurts the spirit of reform and democracy. Whoever the perpetrators are, they must be punished harshly," he said. Albert, who is a correspondent for Jakarta-based El Shinta radio station, warned the police not to ignore the case.

"Now is the time for the police to prove that reform has taken place in their institution," he said. Rote-Ndao Police had not named any suspects as of Thursday.

According to reports, Dance's house was attacked twice. The first attack, on Sunday, left Dance's 1-month-old baby dead, although it was not clear what the cause of death was. In the second attack, on Tuesday, Dance's house was burned to the ground. A nearby kiosk was also damaged.

Rote-Ndao Police chief First Insp. Faisal Fatsay said his officers had questioned three witnesses. "One of them was Dance's wife," he said.

He said he had not named a suspect because the police had only just found out about the case. "We came to the location three times and suggested that Dance file the case officially with the police," he said.

Councilor Sarah Lery Mboeik also called for a thorough investigation into the case. "Whoever is behind the attack must be brought to justice. Journalists are protected by law," she said. "I have contacted the police chief to encourage a swift investigation of the case," Benny K. Harman, a member of the House of Representatives, said.

Political parties & elections

'Anas is rich and spends lavishly to buy influence'

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Graft defendant and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin made further allegations against his former colleagues on Wednesday, claiming that the party chairman Anas Urbaningrum was awash in cash that allowed him to purchase luxury goods and buy votes to win the party's top job.

Nazaruddin, speaking to reporters shortly before his trial session at the Jakarta Corruption Court, claimed Anas owned several luxury items as well as a significant holding in PT Anugrah Nusantara, a Nazaruddin company that has been implicated in a graft-ridden solar-power-procurement project at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry in 2008.

Nazaruddin then produced a vehicle-ownership document for a Toyota Alphard, a luxurious multipurpose vehicle. The ownership document showed Anugrah as the first owner of the vehicle with Anas listed as second.

Anas has denied he owned the car, saying that he borrowed it from friends claiming it was normal for a party chairman to be seen as a wealthy individual.

While on the run in July, Nazaruddin had said he took large sums of money from state budget-financed development projects, most of which was spent buying votes for Anas in the party's chairmanship race last year, and also on luxury houses and cars for him.

Nazaruddin is believed to have run dozens of businesses and used his firms as proxies for bidding on government projects that were then subcontracted to larger companies.

He also alleged that Anas ran Anugrah Nusantara. "Anugrah Nusantara belongs to Anas. Here is [the vehicle-ownership license] as proof," Nazaruddin said, while showing the document,

He also showed transaction documents showing that Anas purchased a 30 percent stake in Anugrah in 2007. However, Anas has claimed he relinquished his shares in 2009.

Nazaruddin also repeated his statement that Anas spent almost US$7 million to buy votes during the party's chairmanship election last year.

"It is actually obvious as people know Anas' track record. How come he is still rich although he has had no job since he left the General Elections Commission [in 2005]?" Nazaruddin asked. "If only the KPK could see it; just check his SPT [tax return]."

After KPK questioning in September, when Anas was quizzed as a witness for suspect Timas Ginting in the manpower ministry case, Anas told reporters he denied any involvement in the case and declined to clarify whether money from Anugrah went to his party congress in Bandung last year.

Nazaruddin insisted that Anas spent $6,975,000 to buy votes the day before the party congress in 2010. He claimed the money was distributed to 325 members of local branches who later voted for Anas.

He added that Rp 50 billion (around $5 million at that time) of the money was obtained from PT Adhikarya, the contractor for the Hambalang sports complex project, and Rp 20 billion from Adi Saptinus, an individual representing that company. Nazaruddin said that he had evidence of the transactions, which proved Anas' involvement in the Hambalang project.

"After Anas became chairman, Yulianis gave Anas the receipts [of the transactions]. Anas then instructed me to check the receipts. That is why I have the copies," he said, referring to a person whom he has claimed was the financial director of Anugrah Nusantara.

At the hearing trial on Wednesday, the panel of judges decided to continue with proceedings, rejecting Nazaruddin's request to halt the trial.

"The court announces that it rejects the objections of the defendant and his legal team," said presiding judge Darmawati Ningsih.

Hundreds of violations found by Bawaslu

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2011

Jakarta – The General Elections Monitoring Body (Bawaslu) has received 1,718 reports of poll violations in 92 local elections in 2011

"Thirty-three percent of the total reports, or 565 violations, were administrative and had been handed over to the KPU [General Elections Commission] for follow-ups," Bawaslu chairman Bambang Eka Cahya Widodo said.

Bawaslu also found that 372 poll violations involved criminal acts and had been handed over to the police, Bambang added.

So far, only 13 cases of violations have been investigated and brought to court, Bawaslu said. Bambang said that 781 reports were not pursued due to lack of evidence.

He said that most violations had involved money politics, voter registration frauds, illegal campaigns, and involvement of civil servants as campaign workers.

"The majority of the violations took place during the campaign period," Bambang said. "Impartiality of civil servants has also still been common practice," he added.

Anas paid US$7 million for party chairmanship voters, Nazaruddin says

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2011

Graft defendant and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin has accused Democratic chairman Anas Urbaningrum of splashing out almost US$7 million to have votes swayed his way in the party's chairmanship election last year.

"A day before the National Working Meeting (Rakernas), Anas spent $6,975,000 dollars," Nazaruddin said in Jakarta on Wednesday, as quoted by tempo.co.

He said Rp 50 billion (around $5 million at that time) of the money was obtained from Hambalang project builder PT Adhikarya and Rp 20 billion from Adi Saptinus, a person from the company.

Nazaruddin said that he had evidence of the transactions which proves Anas' involvement in the Hambalang project. "After Anas became chairman, Yulianis gave Anas the receipts [of the transactions]. Anas then instructed me to check the receipts. That is why I have the copies," he said.

According to Nazaruddin, the money was distributed to 325 of the Party's Branch Executive Council (DPC) members that chose Anas. (awd)

Dems runs short of top candidates

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The ruling Democratic Party is expected to struggle over the next few years in "grooming" some of its members as potential candidates for the country's top job after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono leaves office in 2014, observers said.

Yudhoyono will end his second term in 2014 and will not be eligible to run again based on the Constitution. Analysts have said that the two-year period would barely be enough for the Democratic Party to raise the stature of its politicians.

The party, which was established in 2001, has significantly relied on the popularity of Yudhoyono for its survival.

"The leadership of the party is now aware that they will run into troubles, especially that they could no longer rally around Yudhoyono," Arya Fernandes, a political observer from Charta Politika Indonesia, said on Tuesday.

Democrat politicians have actually begun to float names of individuals as the party's potential candidates.

Lawmakers Ruhut Sitompul and Mohammad Jafar Hafsah, for example, have acknowledged that the party was now gauging the popularity of several figures such as Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, Yudhoyono's in-law and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie and party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

Iberamsjah, a political expert from the University of Indonesia, said that all the figures were "far below standard".

"Marzuki is notorious for his insistence on constructing a new building for the House. Anas has been frequently seen living a lavish lifestyle, not to mention his alleged involvement in the SEA Games corruption case," he said. "Pramono has yet to show an impressive performance during his military service," Iberamsjah added.

Numerous recent surveys also found the four figures to be far less popular candidates than politicians like the daughter of former president Sukarno, Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and former Army Strategic Reserves Command chief, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

"Should this trend not change significantly in the coming years, the most probable scenario for the Democratic Party is to seek a coalition with other parties," Arya said.

Two national figures have already declared their intention to run as presidential candidates in the 2014 elections, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie and National Mandate Party chairman Hatta Rajasa. Both candidates may win backing from Yudhoyono, Arya said.

Anas Urbaningrum has steadfastly refused to comment on the matter. "As I have said before, our party will not be naming a candidate for the next presidential election any time soon. It is better for us to focus on working hard to win the legislative elections," he said.

Anas also refused to comment on suggestions that his party would be pushed to seek a coalition with other parties given the low popularity of its potential candidates.

In the party's 10th anniversary celebration in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, Yudhoyono hinted that the Democratic Party would nominate a younger presidential candidate, stressing that it was important for all Indonesians to have "equal opportunities" in taking part in the country's politics.

Observers believe that Yudhoyono was referring to the party's two young figures, namely Anas and Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng. Both Anas and Andi have been implicated in the high-profile corruption case surrounding the construction of the athlete village for the last SEA Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Democrats reject calls to scrap new voting system

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The ruling Democratic Party has denounced growing calls to revive an electoral system where parties rather than voters decide on which candidates should be allocated legislative seats.

Saan Mustopha, the Democrat chairman at the House of Representatives, said on Sunday that a return to the so-called closed system was bizarre given its flaws.

"It would be a setback," he said. "That system has been tried in previous elections and the only viable option is the open system that we use now. We've only had one set of elections in which to try it out, so don't knock it just yet."

He was responding to a call on Saturday by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), one of the Democrats' coalition partners, to phase out the open voting system introduced in the 2009 polls, whereby candidates with the most votes in a given constituency get the seat.

Al Muzammil Yusuf, the PKS deputy chairman at the House, said the new system had given rise to an "individualistic streak" among candidates, high campaign costs and a more complicated vote-counting process.

"All these factors prompted electoral violations and manipulation by candidates, which made the 2009 polls much more complicated than those in 2004 and 1999," he said.

He also said the system only ensured that the most popular, and not necessarily the most competent, candidate was awarded a seat at the House of Representatives. "After an internal evaluation within the PKS, we've decided to support calls for a return to the previous system," he said.

The PKS joins the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) in urging the return of the earlier system of distributing votes.

Under the closed system, votes do not go to individuals but instead go to their party. The party then combines all the votes and hand them out based on a list of its own favored candidates, even if those at the top of the list in reality won fewer votes than others.

One of the key criticisms of this system that resulted in it being abandoned in 2009 was the argument that most party seniors tended to place their cronies at the top of the list of candidates, thereby guaranteeing them House seats at the expense of more deserving candidates.

Saan refuted the PKS's argument that only popular or wealthy candidates were guaranteed seats under the open system, pointing out that it had proven not to be the case in 2009.

"What's certain is that the new system forces each candidate to get up in front of the voters and work harder. A lot of popular candidates and rich ones didn't, and they didn't make it through," he said.

He also denied that the open system had resulted in internal rifts between candidates from the same party, arguing that the threat to party stability was greater from the intra-party politicking and bickering under the closed system.

10 years after their founding, Democrats are at a crossroads

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2011

Anita Rachman & Arientha Primanita – The Democrats' rise to power over the past 10 years was nothing short of meteoric, but with the ruling party facing the biggest crisis of its existence and heading toward a presidential election without a clear nominee, its future is suddenly in question.

At a gathering on Thursday night in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, to mark the belated 10th anniversary of the party that has ruled for the past seven years, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rallied his troops, urging them to work better, listen to the people and compete fairly.

"Dedication to the nation and state for 10 years is nothing. There is still much that we can do," he said. "We must be honest and admit that we still have a lot of shortcomings and weaknesses."

The Democratic Party was founded on Sept. 9, 2001, and found a quick path to the top. It contested the 2004 general elections and secured 7 percent of the vote, fifth best among all the parties and good enough for 57 seats in the House of Representatives. That same year the Democrats scored a major win: Their founder was elected president.

The party spent the next five years growing and expanding. In the 2009 elections, Yudhoyono was re-elected in just one round with 62 percent of the 19 million votes cast. The ruling party also managed to secure 148 seats in the House, making it the country's biggest party, ahead of the Golkar Party and the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Today, however, political analysts and observers are in almost universal agreement that the party is facing its biggest test.

Though Yudhoyono was elected on an anticorruption platform, his party is now at the center of a massive graft scandal involving former Democratic treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin. Surveys have shown the scandal has had a negative impact on the president and the party's popularity.

Ari Dwipayana, a political analyst at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, says the Democrats will likely suffer a continued decline in the next few years.

The real challenge now, he said, is for the party to put the scandal behind it and perform. "It's the common problem, that the party doesn't really [work for the] grassroots," hesaid.

Speaking at the gathering on Thursday, party chairman Anas Urbaningrum was eager to trumpet what he said were some of the party's achievements. He said that during Yudhoyono's administration, Indonesia had enjoyed a growing economy, falls in poverty and unemployment, better law enforcement and improved social welfare.

The party's deputy secretary general, Saan Mustofa, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that the "international community acknowledges our government's successes."

Anas said critics who thought Yudhoyono's government had failed were politically myopic and not objective. The PDI-P's Eva Kusuma Sundari said that in that case many Indonesians, including herself, were myopic.

"I have the same notion as the people [that there have been no significant improvements]. Only investors praise our government, because they have the intention to exploit [the nation]," the opposition lawmaker said.

She added that she would measure development based on statistics such as the UN Human Development Index, poverty index and import dependence. "Anas doesn't understand the reality of the people," she said.

Indria Samego, a political analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), agreed that the Democrats' popularity and power would likely decline in the years ahead. But he said this would be due more to the absence of Yudhoyono in the 2014 presidential race than anything else.

"Corruption scandals do not really [affect people's preferences]. Every party is involved in at least one [scandal]. People will still look at the candidates," he said. "I think Golkar will take the lead in the next election."

But the Democrats seem confident as they look ahead. Deputy chairman Max Sopacua told the Globe that party members would work harder and show their commitment to the people. He said they would heed Yudhoyono's instruction to improve their performance and listen to the people.

"Our members will work harder and leave law enforcement [in corruption cases] to the law enforcers," he said, adding that he was optimistic about the future of the party.

Only time will tell, Eva said, but added she and her party were ready for the competition. "I used to be surprised, but not amazed, by the victories of the Democrats," she said. "But corruption scandals won't affect the people's preferences. It's money politics and pragmatism that people are concerned about."

Strict registration rules for elections ensnare 13 parties

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Rizky Amelia – The number of new players on the political scene ahead of the 2014 general elections will be limited to one, as only the National Democrat Party met the official verification requirements, the government announced on Friday.

"Out of the 14 political parties that applied for verification, the only one that qualified was the NasDem Party," Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin told a press conference.

The government was supposed to announce the verification results last month. Deputy Minister Denny Indrayana said that since only NasDem qualified at that time, the ministry had given three other parties more time while the other 10 withdrew their bid.

"But until the scheduled deadline passed [the three] failed to meet the requirements set by the law," he said.

One of the three losing out is the Insulinde National Prosperity Party (PKBN), founded by Yenny Wahid, daughter of the late President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid. The Independent People's Union (SRI) Party, which earned substantial media coverage after it said it wanted to nominate former Finance Minister and current World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati as its presidential candidate, is another.

The third party waiting in vain for verification was the Republican Works Party (Pakar), founded by Ari Sigit, a grandchild of former President Suharto.

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

NasDem Party's eligibility for the next election might still be in question. The law stipulates that for a party to be eligible it must be verified at least two-and-a-half years before the elections, but the next vote is scheduled for April 2014.

Labour & migrant workers

New labor law to prohibit outsourcing

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2011

Jakarta – Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said that an amendment to the Labor Law would give more protection to employees working under outsourcing schemes.

"The new revision will put the emphasis on regulating outsourcing practices. We will allow the practice only in certain sectors," Muhaimin said as quoted by Antara.

Currently, a team of experts from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) are working on the draft amendment by looking for opinions from labor unions. Muhamain said that LIPI experts also made a presentation on the draft amendment to him last week.

Workers' rights violations still rampant: Watchdog

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2011

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – A rights watchdog revealed on Tuesday that violations against workers' rights were still prevalent in Jakarta in 2011.

The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) said in its year-end report that employment relations issues and other labor-related problems, including regulated rights, worker criminalization, discrimination and domestic workers, were among the most-common complaints filed at the institute between November 2010 and November 2011.

LBH Jakarta chairman Nurkholis Hidayat said that of the total 959 complaints of alleged human rights abuses it received in 2011, 175 were related to labor rights violations. In 2010, the watchdog received 1,027 complaints, but only 428 complaints concerned human rights violations in Greater Jakarta.

"Jakarta workers are still subjected to abnormal conditions and still face violence, pressure, terror and threats," Nurkholis said at a press conference at the watchdog's office in Central Jakarta.

The activist also said that city workers were not able to fully exercise their rights to expression and assembly through labor unions. Nurkholis said that employers and companies had followed in the footsteps of the government in refusing to protect and uphold workers rights.

Restaria F. Hutabarat, LBH Jakarta head of research department, said that most of the labor-related complaints involved violations in employment relations and regulated rights.

Restaria said employers had failed to provide proper wages, labor insurance and freedom of assembly. "These are among the basic rights that have been regulated by the government. However, we have seen a lack in law enforcement effort by the authorities," she said.

LBH Jakarta also stressed that there had been violations of rights to housing by the city administration. Edy H. Gurning, another LBH lawyer, said that the administration had, throughout 2011, failed to provide certainty for residents whose land and houses were scheduled for eviction.

"In many areas, the city did not condemn their property but at the same time refused to recognize their residential legitimacy," Edy said.

The areas, he said, included kampungs in Pluit, North Jakarta, where the city planned to construct a dam, and along the banks of the Ciliwung River, which the city aimed to rehabilitate.

LBH Jakarta forecast that hundreds of thousands of people living along Jakarta's river banks would likely be evicted as the city work worked to dredge and restore the capital's waterways as part of the Jakarta Emergency Dredging Initiative (JEDI). At least 200,000 people living on the banks of the Ciliwung River alone would be affected by the program.

Under the JEDI program, a joint project of the ministry and the Jakarta Public Works Agency, 13 rivers will be dredged, including the Cakung River in East Jakarta, the Sunter, and Kamal and Angke rivers in North Jakarta.

The administration has spent the last two years waiting for the central government to disburse US$150 million from a World Bank loan to pay for the JEDI project. The Jakarta administration said that the long-awaited project would start in March next year.

"On the surface, it appears the city has not had an eviction problem this year, but underneath it's burning and ready to burst," Edy said.

'Government fails migrant workers'

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Jakarta – Migrant Care, a non-governmental organization (NGO) promoting rights of Indonesian migrant workers abroad, said that 32 migrant workers were on death row, while hundreds of others could face the death penalty, a plight that it blamed on government inaction.

The NGO found that of the 32 migrant workers on death row, 17 were in Malaysia, nine in China, and five in Saudi Arabia. A further 417 migrant workers could also face the death penalty: 348 in Malaysia, 45 in Saudi Arabia, 22 in China, and two in Singapore.

"These people will surely lose their lives if the Indonesian government fails to show strong political will to defend their rights," Migrant Care executive director Anis Hidayah told The Jakarta Post.

In 2011, Migrant Care recorded that 14,074 Indonesian migrant workers were not paid by their employers. It also recorded that 3,070 workers suffered from physical abuse while another 1,234 were sexually abused. Some 1,203 workers died. Anis said the task force set up by the government had failed to prevent abuses.

The Migrant Worker Taskforce was set up in July this year following a directive from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to provide legal assistance to migrant workers facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

Anis said the President should have directly engaged in a diplomatic effort to bring the workers home. "The ad-hoc institution is an indication that something is wrong with government agencies tasked to protect the rights of our workers and it shows how irresponsible they are."

Anis said things could change if the government signed and ratified the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers.

The convention orders countries of origin, transit and destination, relevant regional and international organizations, the private sector and civil society to promote an environment that prevents and addresses violence and discrimination against female migrant workers.

But adoption of the convention is only the first step. "Governmental officials must first change their attitude in treating migrant workers only as cash cows that benefit the country," she said.

Fellow activist Sulistri of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union said that the government campaign to promote Indonesia as the source for "cheap labor" has also hampered the way for defending the rights of workers overseas.

"The ratification of the convention would also have domestic impacts such as higher salaries and fixed working hours for domestic workers," she said.

As part of its campaign to promote Indonesia as a source of cheap labor, the Indonesian government officially lifted its two-year moratorium on sending migrant workers to Malaysia earlier this month. With the lifting of the moratorium, the country will start sending more immigrant workers to Malaysia starting in March of next year.

Activists believe that violations against Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia will remain high even though both governments had agreed on a resolution, including regulations allowing workers to hold their passports, mandatory one-day off per week and matters relating to workers' salaries. (msa)

Cleaning staff protest outside Chevron Pacific Indonesia

Antara News - December 20, 2011

Pekanbaru – Hundreds of cleaning staff subcontracted to Chevron Pacific Indonesia rallied outside the company's premises in Pekanbaru, Riau, for a second day on Tuesday.

The protesters have accused the United States energy company of ignoring a dispute between the workers and Indonesian cleaning contractor Flaro Surya Sepakat.

A worker who refused to be identified told Antara that ESS had laid off dozens of workers and removed the benefits of existing workers without consulting those affected.

A spokesman for Chevron said though it respected the position of the workers, the company had nothing to do with the dispute.

Labor coalition calls on government to ratify ILO convention

Jakarta Globe - December 19, 2011

Agus Triyono – Several organizations calling their coalition the Action Committee for Household Workers called on the government on Sunday to quickly ratify an international accord providing household workers with stronger bargaining power at home and abroad.

The committee, including the Confederation of Indonesian Labor Unions (KSBSI), the Association of Workers' Unions and the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT), said the International Labor Organization's Convention No. 189 on decent work for household laborers can improve their fate and prosperity both domestically and overseas.

"We urge the government and the DPR [House of Representatives] to quickly ratify the convention as a follow-up of SBY [President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] in his speech to the 100th session of the International Labor Organization on June 14," KSBSI chairwoman Sulistri said.

She said the government should use the convention, adopted by the ILO in June, as the basis for its laws and regulations at the national level.

Indonesia has about 10.7 million domestic household workers and another 6 million working overseas. Sulistri said household workers both in the country and overseas were subject to the same violence and human rights violations, including exploitation, abuse and virtual slavery.

Ip Pui Yu, a regional coordinator for the International Domestic Workers' Network, called on Jakarta to learn from its neighbor, the Philippines.

"There have already been several countries which have aired their preparedness to ratify that convention, including the Philippines, South Africa and Kenya. Therefore, we hope Indonesia can follow them, especially the Philippines, because their migrant workers number almost the same as Indonesia's," Ip said.

The coalition's demand comes after lawmakers agreed on Friday to drop a key bill on labor from their list of priority legislation to be deliberated next year but opted to include a much-awaited bill on domestic workers.

Opposition to the labor bill came from five of the six coalition parties: the Golkar Party, National Awakening Party (PKB), National Mandate Party (PAN), United Development Party (PPP) and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), as well as from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Several organizations for household workers have held rallies at the House in the past few weeks to push for the formal inclusion of the bill on workers protection in the list of laws to be debated in 2012.

Activists call on Indonesia to protect rights of housemaids

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2011

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Home to millions of domestic workers and transferring many of them overseas, Indonesia remains backward in providing protection for these workers.

While it has delayed passing a bill that would protect their basic rights, the country has also yet to ratify an International Labor Organization (ILO) convention that lays out basic principles of decent treatment for domestic workers.

It lags behind six other countries, namely Costa Rica, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines and Uruguay that have already announced their decision to ratify the treaty before June next year.

Lita Anggraini, chairwoman of the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (Jala PRT), said on Sunday that domestic workers were in huge demand in millions of Indonesian households as they allowed family members to fulfill public roles in various sectors. This, however, does not stop mistreatment of the workers.

"They remain susceptible to physical and psychological violence. They endure not only improper working conditions, with harsh treatment including excessive working hours without social protection and underpayment, but also poor living conditions," Lita told journalists at the launch of the "12 by 12 Campaign", a global campaign to spread awareness on the importance of ratifying ILO Convention No. 189 on decent treatment for domestic workers.

Domestic-workers rights activists made it the central theme of the 2011 International Migrant Workers Day, which fell on Dec. 18.

Lita said that a draft bill on domestic workers had been dropped several times from the national legislative program (Prolegnas). However, under pressure from activist groups, the House of Representatives has again included the draft bill in the 2012 program.

"It is important to establish regulations for ensuring decent treatment for domestic workers and ratifying the ILO's Convention 189 to open the path toward stronger protection for these workers," said Lita.

The convention was adopted at the 100th International Labor Session (ILS) on June 16. Ip Pui Yu, the International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN) regional campaign coordinator, said the basic principle of the convention was to ensure that domestic workers were treated equally as workers.

"Domestic workers should enjoy equal treatment compared to other type of workers. It means that if a country has a statutory minimum wage, then domestic workers should also be entitled to it. If the country has regulations on working hours, domestic workers should be covered by them as well," she said.

In Indonesia, there are 10.74 million domestic workers. About 67 percent of middle and upper income households employ domestic workers. Domestic workers also account for the majority of Indonesia's approximately 6 million migrant workers.

Indonesian workers demanding bigger share of profits from foreign companies

International Herald Tribune - December 17, 2011

Sara Schonhardt – As a flare-red sun set, a group of laborers in their 20s and 30s gathered on the bare floor of a battered house wedged beneath power lines in an industrial part of Jakarta.

They were members of a confederation of multisector workers, one of the largest trade unions in Indonesia, whose slogan is "Young, brave, militant."

The men – all employees of the biggest hypermarket chain in the country, run by the French retailing giant Carrefour – said the company was violating their rights by paying them as contract workers, who are unprotected by strict Indonesian labor laws.

"Cheap wages and outsourcing, these are the main issues in Indonesia," said Abdul Rahman, a Carrefour employee and the secretary general of the union, known as Kasbi, which represents about 130,000 workers.

He and others have been negotiating with the company for improved contracts since a 1,000-person strike in late August, but talks have gone nowhere. The same cycle has played out repeatedly since Carrefour entered Indonesia in 1998, said Rahman, 33, who has worked at the company for 11 years.

Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, is also among the top 20 economies in the world, with growth this year of around 6 percent. On Thursday, the ratings agency Fitch upgraded the country to investment-grade status.

More than half of its 240 million inhabitants have entered the middle class, according to the World Bank, which defines that as those who spend $2 to $20 a day. Still, many of them toil for barely a living wage, offering some of the cheapest labor in Asia.

In recent years, though, this labor force has watched certain sectors grow on rising commodity prices and booming domestic demand, and increasingly it is pushing for a greater share of company profits.

The biggest pushback has come from workers employed by Freeport McMoRan, which is based in Arizona and controls the world's largest recoverable gold and copper reserves in Timika, Papua. On Wednesday, its workers' union agreed to a 37 percent increase in wages after a three-month strike.

Affordable labor is a main reason investors are attracted to Indonesia, in part to offset wage increases in China, said Gita Wirjawan, the country's trade minister and a former head of its investment coordinating board. But recent strikes for higher wages by mine workers and supermarket clerks, as well as pilots of the state-owned airline, Garuda, have disrupted business operations – and could potentially deter foreign investment.

According to the Manpower Ministry, Indonesia had 53 strikes in the first seven months of 2010, the latest period for which figures are available. By comparison, in 2008 the International Labor Organization recorded five apiece in the nearby countries of Thailand and the Philippines.

Muhammad Chatib Basri, an economist at the University of Indonesia and the director of the school's Institute for Economic and Social Research, said frequent and prolonged strikes reduced profit margins and competitiveness. Sluggish Indonesian industries like garment manufacturing are starting to pick up as wages rise elsewhere, he says. But if the costs of dealing with unrest and lengthy union negotiations increase, that could stem growth in a country that will depend on labor-intensive industries for productive employment for the foreseeable future.

Basri said legally mandated high severance payments were another deterrent to investment. "The labor law acts like a hiring tax, so many companies don't want to absorb permanent workers because if there is downsizing, they have to pay out a lot of money," he said.

Many companies get around that regulation by hiring contract workers, like the men of Kasbi demanding better benefits from Carrefour. But typically, big foreign concerns have a more difficult time evading the law in that way, and others, too, are facing worker unrest.

Union representatives at Freeport's huge mine in Papua said they agreed to the latest deal amid concerns about the living conditions of workers who had gone three months without pay. Many on the predominantly Christian island of Papua worried they would not be able to afford Christmas celebrations.

Workers, who were demanding a fivefold wage increase, from the lowest rate of $1.50 an hour to $7.50, had rejected Freeport's last offer of a 35 percent salary increase over two years, calling it an inadequate reflection of their contribution to company earnings.

For now, the agreement appears to be a victory for both sides, but Juli Parorongan, a spokesman for the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers' Union, which represents the striking miners, said workers would continue fighting for a fairer deal.

"This is not the end of our struggle," he said, anticipating future problems over the welfare of workers who will remain among the lowest paid of any at Freeport's global operations.

What initially set off the strike, Parorongan said, was the realization that employees in the United States received hourly wages 10 times greater than those of the low-level laborers at its Timika operations, which bring in around 30 percent of the company's global revenue. In 2010, Freeport's Grasberg mine in Papua brought in more than $5 billion, but losses have mounted this year because of the strike and damage to pipelines caused during civil unrest.

In late October, the company suspended production to concentrate on repairing those pipelines, according to a spokesman, Eric Kinneberg, who said that the company was losing two million pounds of copper and 3,000 ounces of gold in daily production.

In a statement released Wednesday, Richard Central Adkerson, the president and chief executive of Freeport, said he was pleased the parties had reached "a mutually satisfactory resolution." Adkerson, who has been in Jakarta to help negotiate an end to the strike, had previously called pay demands of $30 to $200 a day "excessive."

The deal is likely to end months of violence at the remote, sprawling mountaintop mine – one worker was killed in October and at least six wounded when they clashed with the police while trying to enter the mine site. But analysts say the strike's success could encourage a fresh wave of labor disputes.

"My concern is this will trigger a domino effect," said Basri of the University of Indonesia. "I understand there is a justification for the rise in wages," he said, referring to the discrepancy between Freeport's revenues and the amount it spends on workers' salaries. "But it may trigger pressure for a rise in wages that not all companies can afford."

Basri said there was a political element to the Freeport case that distinguished it – the company operates in a remote region plagued by a simmering separatist movement.

But factors that galvanized the work stoppage there, like better access to information and a more sophisticated and organized labor movement, extend to all sectors, analysts say.

"Workers in Indonesia are learning from the current situation," said Soeharjono, a program officer in Indonesia with the International Labor Organization. He said they were getting information from the Internet and spreading their messages through social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Meanwhile, Rahman from Kasbi continues working in a Carrefour bakery making bread for the families that Toyota, Unilever and Nestle are focusing on as sales of cars and consumer goods reach record highs in Indonesia. On his monthly earnings of $175, he cannot afford such products.

Businesses outsourcing production to workers without even formal contracts are setting the stage for deeper resentment, he said.

"New employees who are young and ready to enter the work force will take whatever pay they can get," he explained. "But every time they negotiate a new contract, their pay drops. If we try to look for different work or move to another company, we must start the fight from the beginning."

Indebted Indonesia workers endure mistreatment in HK

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2011

Although films like "Minggu Pagi di Victoria Park" (Sunday Morning in Victoria Park) by director Lola Amaria have tried to present the living conditions of domestic helpers in Hong Kong, most Indonesians are largely ignorant of the difficulties and struggles they face on a daily basis.

The Jakarta Post's Xinyan Yu captured how Indonesia's migrant workers lived their lives in the uniquely free and diverse city of Hong Kong.

As a very liberal metropolitan city, Hong Kong is usually considered one of the better places to work as a domestic helper in the region. However, although guaranteed a minimum wage of HK$3,740 (US$480) per month and possibly the right to abode in the future, Indonesian domestic helpers are still among the most exploited in Hong Kong.

Newly arrived Indonesian domestic helpers are usually forced to compromise on their religious beliefs, and some of them develop homosexual relationships due to exploitation in Hong Kong, according to British sociologist Paul O'Connor.

Trapped in "debt bondage", a large loan borrowed from the employment agencies that domestic workers pay off though labor over a lengthy period of time, many Indonesians remain silent due to "the need to earn money, pay off their debt and not get into trouble", O'Connor said in a talk recently at the Hong Kong Museum of History on behalf of the Hong Kong Anthropological Society.

Eni Lestari, one of the first Indonesian domestic workers to go to Hong Kong more than 10 years ago, said: "Many Hong Kong families don't like us to pray in the house. One of my employers once told me to stop kissing the floor, because it was so dirty. They also didn't like me wearing white, because it's a symbol of death in Chinese culture."

"Sometimes it really pisses us off, but because so many of us have been terminated and sent back without earning any money, we try to compromise by not practicing our religion," said Lestari, the chairperson of the Association for Indonesian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong. "Also, because we must pay agency fees, in reality we don't receive any wages for a long time; so we have to endure all kinds of treatment to get through the first few months."

Lestari's colleague, Sringatin, was underpaid for almost a year when she first arrived. "When I signed the contract, the agency didn't tell me about Hong Kong's minimum wage," she said, "They told me I was a newcomer, so [they gave me] only HK$2,000 [$200 a month]... You can talk to the employer about it [underpayment] and be terminated, or keep silent and finish the contract."

She also complained that the Indonesian government failed to provide adequate information for workers like her.

Both Lestari and Sringatin said they had been forced to eat pork and take off their headscarves in their employers' houses. Having lived in Hong Kong for years, they don't wear headscarves or pray five times a day any more. "There's no time, and the employers always complain, so we just gave it up. It's easier that way," Lestari said.

Amy Sim, a sociologist who has studied Southeast Asian migrant workers in Hong Kong for more than a decade, said that the HK$21,000 ($2,700) that employment agencies in Indonesia charged prospective domestic workers was a "cartel price" to which the Indonesian government turned a blind eye. "It is a private-sector agreement turned into government policy," she said.

This policy is problematic, Sim said, because it is based on the assumption that one can finish paying off the debt. However, many Indonesian helpers' debt ends up increasing over the years.

Many agencies encourage employers to dismiss helpers at will, so that the agencies can attract more customers and make a profit from helpers who have to pay to repeat the training process. "The fear of being terminated without paying off the debt forces helpers to put up with all [sorts of] mistreatment," Sim said.

Doris Lee, an employer who founded Open Door, which unites Hong Kong families to help create respect and justice for domestic workers, said that employers were also victims in the hiring process.

"Agencies misinform both workers and employers. They proactively call up employers to encourage them to change helpers whenever we want. They start to offer promotions like two for one, which is really turning the helpers into commodities," Lee said.

"Also, most of us are not aware that paying a third party violates the law, but the agencies encourage us to do so. They just fill out all the forms for us. Very rarely is the agency legally liable, because [in Hong Kong] it's the employers' obligation."

Vulnerability from debt bondage and mistreatment at work also contribute to the significant presence of homosexual relationships among Indonesian domestic helpers, which is taboo in Islamic belief.

A young helper Ryan who recently came to work at a senior house, said: "[We] have so many [homosexual relationships] here, maybe 50 percent. [I am homosexual] because maybe no men [are] in here. We want to make love, but Islam doesn't allow [it], so [we] have somebody as a girlfriend."

Setya, another helper in her 20s, sees homosexuality as another aspect of the freedom that Indonesian women enjoy far from the restrictions of their conservative society.

"If we have a girlfriend, we can borrow money from each other," said Setya, an Indonesian domestic helper who just arrived in Hong Kong four months ago, "It's also fun. We see lots of Hong Kong people [who] are so stylish. It's fantastic. I think I can be like her or him. There's much more freedom here."

Lestari, now stepping down from her current position to engage the Indonesian community on a more international level, said that homosexual relationships usually start from the intensive everyday interactions domestic helpers have in the training centers.

"One of the ways to pass all these years alone overseas is to find a female partner," Lestari said. "It's not something they had planned. For seven months, they live and sleep together without being allowed to go out. Same-sex relationships are comforting. They just want somebody to love, care for them before they go home and marry a man."

Sociologist Sim observed that intimacy comes naturally in a state of alienation, but because premarital sex is against their religion, these women try to develop relationships with women to keep their honor at home. "It is trendy and fashionable to assert sexuality. Homosexuality is seen as powerful, because it makes positive statements about themselves and opens a whole space of freedom for them," said Sim.

According to the Association of Indonesian Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong (ATKIHK), the number of Indonesian domestic helpers reached almost 136,000 by April last year. It has become the biggest population of foreign domestic workers and the largest ethnic minority in Hong Kong.

They are also the most exploited. A survey carried out among almost 3,000 Indonesian migrants by the association says that as many as 93 percent of them have been overcharged by agencies, and 53 percent of them have been underpaid.

Environment & natural disasters

Growing population is seen taking its toll on Indonesia's land and water

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2011

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Population pressure is taking its toll on Indonesia's already heavily stressed environment, with land degradation and water security the two main concerns, according to the Environment Ministry's annual review.

The ministry's 2010 State of the Environment Report, released on Tuesday, covered the topics of water, air and atmosphere, land and forest, coastal and ocean ecosystems, biodiversity, energy, waste and hazardous waste management.

It attributed the increasing number of cases of pollution and environmental degradation to a rapidly growing population, infrastructure development, increasingly consumer-oriented lifestyles, weak enforcement of environmental laws and a lack of officials to enforce them.

"This report is what I like to call a dashboard, an indicator," Akhmad Fauzi, one of the report's authors, said at its presentation.

"If you look at a car's dashboard, you can see the speed, fuel level and other information. It works the same here: The report gives you a snapshot of the state of our environment. It shows you its limits, hence it gives policy makers the data to make decisions based on current conditions."

The wider picture gleaned from the report, Akhmad said, suggests that the exploitation of the country's natural resource wealth, which contributes up to 25 percent of state revenue, has resulted in widespread environmental degradation. Compensating for this damage, he added, will require a massive investment.

The report also highlighted that a growing human population, combined with the inability of the state and private sector to create enough jobs, had led to social and economic problems that in turn were having a direct impact on land and forest degradation.

"The proportion of land in critical condition is increasing, and this means we're seeing other issues crop up such as water security," Akhmad said. "That's because you need catchment areas to store water, which in our case is forests."

The report also said there was a higher proportion of critical land in agricultural areas than in forest areas, particularly in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java, which the authors linked to massive agriculture pressure.

"If planters were not greedy in the economic sense, then there wouldn't be any problems even if they have large population pressures, as in rural areas," he said. "This is different in the big cities, where economic and population pressures are too high, which leads to all these problems."

Berry Nahdian Furqon, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), questioned the report's assertion that population pressure was to blame for putting the environment under strain. He said the exploitation of natural resources to meet growing global demand was a key factor.

"It's about the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources," he said. "We extract our own natural resources but they end up being exported, everything from coal, gas, pulp and paper to palm oil."

He added there also needed to be more stringent enforcement of environmental laws in the future. "It would be great if everyone was fully aware of environmental issues, but it'll take a long time to make that happen. So in the meantime, we need to 'force' that awareness through strong regulations and strict law enforcement," he said.

Balthasar Kambuaya, the environment minister, said his ministry was trying to balance the need for environmental stewardship with the need to sustain the country's economic growth.

"We want achieve 7 percent growth in the GDP [next year], but not at the expense of the destruction of our environment," he said. "That's why all companies need to be diligent about their Amdals [environment impact analysis reports]."

He also urged greater grassroots awareness of the need to restore damaged areas and preserve existing ecosystems throughout the country. "There are examples at local levels across the country, such as in Surabaya, where residents are to a large extent aware of environmental issues without having to be told about them," he said.

Women & gender

Stop violence against women: Commission

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2011

Jakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women revealed on Thursday that this year saw more than 105,000 cases of violence against women.

Commissioner Neng Dara Affiah said that 96 percent of the cases were related to domestic violence.

She particularly highlighted several rape cases in public minivans, which have recently happened in Jakarta, and called upon the government to pay greater attention to such cases.

She said that it was hard to empower women amid the high number of violent cases against them. "The requirement to empower women is to make them free from violence in any form," she said.

In regards to Mothers' Day, which falls on Thursday, Dara hoped that people would pay more respect to women so that they were free from physical, mental, economic and sexual violence.

Gender equality remains a challenge: World Bank report

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2011

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Despite an improvement in female participation in the public sector, more effort is needed to fully end discrimination against women, with the government leading the way in promoting gender- sensitive policies, the World Bank says.

In its 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development, the bank says that the Southeast Asia and Pacific region has seen significant economic and social progress, including in gender equality.

According to the report, the region has seen around 70 percent female participation in the labor market. In Indonesia the figure was 52 percent in 2010. The percentage of female participation in education has also increased from the 1 percent recorded in 1970 to 23 percent in 2009.

The figures, however, masked a number of problems. Indonesian working women, for instance, have lower salaries compared to their male counterparts because for every dollar men make, Indonesian women only receive 77 cents, less than the 96 cents received by Thai women.

World Bank estimates found that between 2006 and 2011, Indonesian working women often had less secure contracts of employment compared to men. The percentage of women with temporary contracts in exporting companies was around 25 percent, compared to 10 percent for men.

Andrew D. Mason, the World Bank's lead economist and coordinator of the gender program for East Asia and Pacific, said governments should initiate affirmative action for gender equality.

Mason proposed other practical solutions. "Governments need to invest in good infrastructure, such as clean water and transportation, because in rural areas, women must spend hours fetching water and traveling to their workplaces," he said.

He said that an affordable national childcare system should also be in place to ensure children received healthcare and education programs which could enable mothers to find better jobs.

"Developed countries have laws that give parental leave for both fathers and mothers, so they can take turns in pursuing career and taking care of their children," Mason said.

Gender-equality programs could also take different forms. He said that governments should also encourage boys and girls to study non-traditional subjects that fit with their interests and abilities. For example, he cited, boys could try studying cooking, while girls should be encouraged to study engineering.

The World Bank report says that the highest percentage of Indonesian women in tertiary education was in medicine or health, at around 75 percent, followed by education at around 60 percent and business or administration, at 55 percent. The subjects with the lowest female participation were engineering, at 20 percent, law at around 35 percent and agricultural technology at 40 percent.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that political leadership played a crucial role in setting up gender-sensitive policies.

"When local leaders step down so do their policies. So we need to better handle the situation by establishing gender-related policies through bylaws or local ordinances," she said.

She cited Bantul regency as an administration that managed to record the lowest maternal-mortality rate in the country, in part thanks to a bylaw which mandated pregnant mothers to have their health checked regularly by health workers at community health centers. She also mentioned Sinjai regency in South Sulawesi which applied universal health care for all residents.

"New administrations can change these laws but that takes time. Besides, if the bylaws benefit everyone, I'm sure nobody will want to change them," she said.

Tired of being victimized, some women fight back

Jakarta Globe - December 18, 2011

Ade Mardiyati – Kartika was waiting for a bus when a man shouted at her from inside a small food stall across the street, "Look at those boobs!"

Knowing she was the only woman present and seeing that a number of men inside the eatery were looking at her, she crossed the street and walked into the place.

"I was very angry and I demanded to know who shouted at me," the 28-year- old photographer said. "Of course, nobody dared to speak. They all tried to look innocent."

It was not the first time Kartika was the target of such commentary. "Once I was in a hurry and walking past a group of men, car mechanics, on the street when one of them said something that made me turn around and give them a look that told them they were impolite," she said. "To my surprise, one of the men yelled at me and started calling me animal names!"

Kartika is tough. She went home and returned ten minutes later with a big knife she often uses when trekking in the forest.

Enough is enough

Her family tried to stop her, telling her men "just do that sometimes." But she had had enough.

"What he did was offensive," she said. With her younger brother walking behind her and the knife in her hand, Kartika went back to the workshop and asked for the man.

"Everyone, with an innocent look, said they had no idea where he was," she said. "I knew he was hiding somewhere inside so I just said to them, 'Tell that coward I am still looking for him. I still remember his face.'"

Kartika was fed up, she said, because too often women are targets of sexual harassment and she is tired of feeling like a victim.

"It is not because you have big boobs, a curvy body, a beautiful face or wear tight outfits that men harass women, it is because they are too stupid to understand that what they do is offensive and unbelievably rude," said Kartika, whose outfit of choice for most days is jeans and a loose-fitting shirt.

"From the many bad experiences I have had," Kartika said, "I can say that most of these guys are not well educated. Not that well-educated people don't do such things, they might, but this is based on where these things have taken place.

"Regardless, women can't let men get away with this. We have to confront them. Show them that we are not weak like they think we are."

'I punched him'

Nataya, 23, echoed the sentiment. She once got into a physical fight with a man who sexually harassed her younger sister and then tried the same thing with her.

"We were walking to a nearby supermarket one morning, my sister was in front of me. Then a man coming from the opposite direction, walked past her and just poked her in the butt. I was shocked and then he was trying to do the same thing to me," she said.

"I shouted at him, 'What do you think you're doing?' He said it was an accident and he didn't do it intentionally," she said. "I told my sister to call the police while I punched his chest and shouted like a mad woman for ten minutes."

Panicked, the man tried to hit her back. "That was when I finally punched him in the face," she said.

Both Nataya and Kartika said they also did not understand why people standing nearby when such things happen tend to just watch and do nothing about it.

The media is replete with reports of sexual assaults these days. Public transportation such as the busway, trains and even taxis become scary places for women because men sometimes strike out inside a vehicle.

"After the culprit has gone, people start to ask what happened. Yeah, like it was going to make things any different," Nataya said. "People like that need to learn their lesson. And those of us who become targets, have to give them that." Too many victims

However not all women are brave enough – or maybe foolish enough – to force a confrontation like Nataya or Kartika. Many keep the discomfort inside themselves for fear that people will instead point fingers at them for "dressing provocatively" or say they are inviting rape by wearing a short skirt, as Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said not long ago in response to the rape of a woman on a bus.

"When it happened to me, I was too angry, shocked and scared to say or do anything," said Yasmin.

The 23-year-old marketing officer at a Jakarta hotel had just returned home to Indonesia after spending a few years studying in Australia and was still readjusting to life here. "What shocked me the most was when I became a victim of sexual harassment," she said.

"I was taking a crowded bus home from work when I realized that a man standing next to me was repeatedly rubbing his penis against me. At first I thought it was his bag or something. I looked and found that it was not," she said. All Yasmin could say was, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I think it was a bit loud because people were looking at us but they didn't do anything," she said. "I was scared and my heart was beating so fast. I just got off the bus."

Yasmin said that she was embarrassed when she realized what had happened to her. She could not tell people about it or how she reacted.

"I guess I would find it really difficult to shout, 'Stop rubbing [your penis] against me!' But seriously, deep down inside I know I should have done that and fought back against that guy."

Vivi Widyawati, an activist with an NGO network called Perempuan Mahardhika (The Alliance of Free Women) said virtually every woman has a story of being harassed by men – strangers or not.

"Men seem to have a hard time getting away from centuries of patriarchal culture here. What women can do is speak out. It will take time but that's what it takes," she said.

Education, Vivi believes, is the only way to fix the situation. "Our education curriculum has a gender bias. There is still an elementary school textbook that portrays women just as homemakers staying in the kitchen. That particular textbook has been used for generations," she said.

At the elite level, she added, the law doesn't adequately protect a woman's right to be free of harassment. "I know even women's rights activists need to sit down and define what is harassment, otherwise men can play around with the law because it's not clear," she said.

But just as other societies worldwide are changing, Vivi said, Indonesia will catch up.

"There is hope. Harassment is not natural and I believe it is really a problem of culture. When men are raised in a patriarchal environment, they will see women as subordinate," she said. That is, until they meet up with Nataya or Kartika.

Graft & corruption

Politician defends corrupt actions, wanted to build mosque

Jakarta Globe - December 22, 2011

Rizky Amelia – A former lawmaker involved in two different corruption cases said on Thursday that he did not deserve to be punished because his actions had a noble mission: building a mosque.

"Do I, as [a former] lawmaker who intended to help the construction of a mosque, deserve to be jailed?" Sofyan Usman, a former lawmaker from the United Development Party, asked during his trial at the Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday.

Sofyan allegedly received a bribe worth Rp 850 million ($93,500) in check form and Rp 150 million in cash for approving the amount requested by the Batam authority for its regional budget in 2004 and 2005. Sofyan was a member of the House Budget Committee during those years.

"I did not use the money for my personal interest or for others," he said. "Whoever was in [my] position as a committee chairman will try to find money from several sources to build a mosque."

This is not the first time Sofyan used the reason of building a mosque in his defense. In June, a judge sentenced him to serve a year and three months and fined him Rp 50 million for receiving a bribe in the scandal to choose the deputy senior governor of Bank Indonesia in 2004.

He told the court that he thought the Rp 250 million check he had received was a donation to build the mosque. "I was the head of the construction committee for the mosque and I worked hard to collect donations," Sofyan said during the trial in June. The mosque is located in the House members' complex in Cakung, East Java.

In the Batam case, Sofyan was charged with an article in the Anti- Corruption Law that carries a maximum sanction of five years imprisonment and a Rp 250 million fine. The prosecutor asked for a punishment of one year and 11 months in the Batam case.

Ex-PLN chief sentenced to five years

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2011

Ronna Nirmala – Former director of state power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Eddie Widiono, was sentenced to serve five years in prison by the Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday.

Eddie was found guilty for his role in price fixing and corruption related to the project for Customer Information System - Master Plan of Information System (CIS-RISI) at the PLN Disjaya office in Tangerang.

He ordered the PLN General Manager to directly appoint Netway, without a tender, to handle the outsourcing project of CIS-RISI between 2004 and 2006. The prosecutor had demanded a sentence of seven years.

Presiding judge Cokorda said Eddie was not acting professionally by approving the project in this manner. The court found that Eddie never used a traveler's check worth Rp 850 million ($92,650) as accused. The judge also ordered him to pay a Rp 500 million fine.

Youth and Sports Ministry secretary gets 3 years for accepting bribe

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Wafid Muharam, 51, the secretary to the Youth and Sports Minister was sentenced on Monday to three years in prison for accepting bribes in connection with the athletes' village construction project for the SEA Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.

An antigraft panel of judges found Wafid guilty of accepting Rp 3.2 billion (US$325,000) in bribes to rig bids in favor of the company PT Duta Graha Indah (DGI), which won the project worth around Rp 191 billion. He is the first government official to be handed a jail term in the scandal.

Prosecutors for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had sought a six-year jail term for Wafid.

In September, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced go-between Mindo "Rosa" Rosalina Manullang to two years and six months in prison and Rp 200 million in fines and DGI's marketing manager, Mohamad El Idris, to two years in prison and Rp 200 million in fines for bribing Wafid.

Rosa is a confidante of former Democratic Party treasurer and lawmaker Muhammad Nazaruddin, who is now standing trial for allegedly masterminding the whole bribery scheme with help from Democratic Party lawmaker Angelina Sondakh, who was also a member of the House's budget committee.

"The defendant was found guilty of violating the Corruption Law. As a state official, the defendant should have rejected the offer [of money]; yet, he argued it was a loan," presiding judge Marsudin Nainggolan said.

Marsudin said the judges found Wafid guilty of accepting three checks worth Rp 3.2 billion from El Idris, with the help of Rosa, at Wafid's office on the evening of April 21, just minutes before KPK investigators raided the premises and arrested the three.

The checks, which were kept in a white envelope inside a green folder, were later entrusted to Wafid's staff member, Poniran, he added.

The panel of judges rejected Wafid's pleas of innocence when he claimed the checks were loans for the project, the same excuse used by both Rosa and El Idris.

"There is also evidence that fees were given to another individual, Rizal Abdullah [the chairman of a local organizing committee in South Sumatra] and others, and this makes his defense irrelevant," Marsudin said.

In a trial session in September, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng testified that his ministry did not receive any third-party loans to build the athletes' village.

Andi has also come clean in the whole affair saying that the task of overseeing the tender auction lay with the local organizing committee and that the ministry only helped with wiring the funds.

Emerson Yuntho from watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) slammed the verdict, saying that it would do little to unravel the larger scandal behind it.

"First, it is too light [a sentence] for a suspect in a high-profile bribery case. And second, the judges did not try to pursue Wafid's role in the case, which could implicate others, such as minister Andi," he said.

'Mayor's botched trial too evident to be ignored'

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Jakarta – Antigraft advocates demanded on Monday that the Supreme Court accept an appeal request from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to convict Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Muhammad in a bribery case.

"The Supreme Court should accept the KPK's appeal against the Bandung Corruption Court ruling that acquitted Mochtar Mohammad," Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) activist Emerson Yuntho told a press conference.

Mochtar was accused of multiple graft incidents, including the alleged payment of Rp 900 million (US$99,000) to members of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), to have Bekasi's financial report approved. On Oct. 11, the Bandung court acquitted the mayor despite many facts pointing to the mayor's illicit conduct.

Emerson said that according to an ICW study, the judges presiding over the case sidestepped important facts during the proceedings and misapprehended discretion, which was also not deemed serious when trying the case.

"The judges failed to consider pivotal facts, such as key witness testimony, and orders from the mayor to a staffer who bribed Bekasi councilors to approve the proposed 2010 city administration budget," Emerson said.

The KPK filed the appeal request in November. The case attracted attention because the KPK was known for winning every corruption case it brought to court – until Mochtar's case, which became the first defeat for the antigraft body.

Critics, however, said the weak prosecution from the KPK might have contributed to Mochtar's acquittal. During the trial at the Bandung Corruption Court, the KPK's prosecutors demanded that Mochtar be sentenced to 12 years in prison and pay fines of Rp 300 million for his alleged graft.

Adnan Pasliadji, a former prosecutor observing the case, said that most of the prosecutors' indictments were proved during the trial's sessions. "The judges seemed to deliberately bend logical considerations to sidetrack the case's substantial problems," said Adnan, who also contributed to the ICW study.

He said if he had been the prosecutor in the case, he would have focused on the important facts during the trial, such as the mayor's attempted bribery, even though the person offered the bribe did not accept it.

Ki Agus Ahmad from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation cited other irregularities in the Bandung court's ruling. He said most of the witnesses presented during the trial sessions were not appropriate as they did not understand the case. (rpt)

KPK pushes merger of related graft laws

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Rizky Amelia, Anita Rachman & Ezra Sihite – In their first official day on the job, the new leaders of Indonesia's antigraft agency have proposed a radical merging of three key laws to assist in the fight against corruption.

Bambang Widjojanto, a deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said on Monday that they were considering the idea of integrating the laws on corruption, taxation and money laundering.

He said the proposal was raised in light of the fact that the KPK at present was not allowed to charge graft suspects under the other laws if it had not already charged them under the corruption law.

"For instance, we can press money laundering charges to support corruption charges against a suspect, but we can't press just the money laundering charges alone," Bambang said.

This is problematic, he went on, given the interconnectedness of corruption, money laundering and tax fraud. He said integrating the laws could result in heavier sentences being handed down to graft convicts.

"When they commit their crimes, it's usually a three-in-one: corruption, money laundering and tax violations. Three sins from one crime," Bambang said. "So if we could integrate these three laws into one, that would be interesting and make law enforcement more effective."

The proposal received the backing of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the country's anti-money laundering watchdog.

Muhammad Yusuf, the PPATK chairman, said it was important that the KPK be allowed to fully integrate the money laundering law into its cases, including in the ongoing prosecution of high-profile graft suspect and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin.

"I previously asked the KPK to bring money laundering charges against Nazaruddin, but they didn't do it," he said.

Nazaruddin is accused of bid-rigging in awarding the contract to build an athletes' village for last month's Southeast Asian Games. He is currently standing trial for allegedly taking Rp 4.67 billion ($514,000) in bribes from the winning contractor.

Bambang and Yusuf were speaking at a ceremony on Monday to mark the KPK's official hand-over of leadership, from the commission headed by Busyro Muqoddas to a revamped quintet under new the chairman, Abraham Samad.

Abraham vowed not to let any pending graft cases go cold and said the new KPK leadership would "step up" the fight against corruption.

He declined to single out any particular cases to be prioritized, such as the Bank Century bailout, saying that setting a target would not be helpful. "There are no targets to work toward. If there were, this would be politics," he said.

Separately, Fahri Hamzah, a member of the House of Representatives' special committee monitoring the investigation into the bailout, said he hoped to get the case back into the spotlight following the House's end-of-year recess.

"Our first order of business will be to focus on the ongoing law enforcement probes and demand that the new KPK leadership deliver," he said. He also said he hoped the new leaders would not stall in their investigation of the case.

Parallel probes by the KPK, Attorney General's Office and police into the bailout process and flow of funds have so far uncovered no indication of graft and only minor banking violations.

Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Islamic organization, also called on Abraham to zero in on the Century case during his first 100 days in office.

"Focus on Century and the other high-profile cases," said Din Syamsuddin, the Muhammadiyah chairman. "Don't wait for people to come to you. Go out and seek them." However, he also urged the public to give the new KPK leaders time to get their bearings and support them in carrying out their job.

Activists encourage Wa Ode to get vocal on claims

Jakarta Globe - December 18, 2011

Rizky Amelia – Anti-graft activists have urged legislator Wa Ode Nurhayati to start spill the beans on her colleagues and officials involved in rigging state budget allocations, now that she herself has been named a suspect.

Speaking at a discussion on Saturday, Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political analyst with the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said the probe into the allocation process for the Accelerated Fund for Regional Infrastructure Development (DPPID) should not stop at just Wa Ode.

"If it's just Wa Ode who is investigated, then it's a blow not just against her, but also against the public," he said.

He likened the National Mandate Party (PAN) legislator to a "supporting actor" in a film, and said she should cooperate with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to unveil the "lead actors and director." "The KPK must get to the key players through the supporting actor," he said.

Zainal Arifin Mochtar, director of the Gadjah Mada University Anticorruption Study Center (Pukat UGM), also echoed the call for Wa Ode to blow the whistle on the case and identify other legislators on the House of Representatives' Budget Committee involved in budget-fixing.

"I truly hope Wa Ode cooperates with the KPK, working as a sort of justice collaborator," Zainal said. "Indeed, the justice minister has promised to go easy on those who collaborate in this way."

Wa Ode, who was named a suspect by the KPK earlier this month for allegedly taking at least Rp 6 billion ($666,000) in bribes to approve funding for projects in three districts in Aceh, insisted at the discussion that she was clean and that the case against her was groundless. "I'll prove that I'm innocent," she said.

She also said the conspiracy against her centered on claims made by Haris Surahman, previously identified as a businessman but whom Wa Ode said was an aide to a Golkar Party official. She declined to name the official.

Haris reported Wa Ode to the House Budget Committee after she allegedly took Rp 6.9 billion from him in exchange for ensuring that he would be awarded lucrative contracts totaling Rp 40 billion from the DPPID. He claimed that after he failed to get any contracts, he demanded the return of the money, but she gave back only Rp 4 billion.

"My question is, why was Haris given the privilege to report me to the Budget Committee?" Wa Ode said, adding that the proper procedure would be to complain to the House Ethics Council.

"When he started talking about regional projects, that's when I knew he was nothing more than a broker. For me, the drama in this whole case has been apparent from the start. The authorities should arrest Haris to confirm whether I really took anything."

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Hard-line Betawi group claims role in creating a 'safer' Jakarta

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2011

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – The leader of one of Jakarta's most notorious organizations says that over the past several years the increasing size and influence of mass Betawi organizations has not only shifted the constellation of players in the city's underworld outfits, but has also helped law enforcers more easily maintain security and stability in the Indonesian capital.

In a recent interview, Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) chairman Lutfi Hakim claimed that his organization, along with other Betawi organizations, including the Betawi Family Forum (Forkabi) and the Laskar Jayakarta (Jakarta Warriors) group, had played a major role in buffering the destructive impacts of the "competition" involving ethnic-based groups in the capital, which have long provided security and protection services for various businesses, including entertainment, nightlife and prostitution.

"Before the reemergence of mass Betawi organizations in the early 2000s, Jakarta's underworld used to be disputed among many ethnic gangs mostly concerned with extorting business owners while at the same time frequently fighting against each other to secure additional concessions," the 39-year-old father of three told The Jakarta Post in his modest office in Cakung, East Jakarta.

"However, with more and more local organizations, including the FBR, growing stronger, these gangs have no choice but to operate their businesses 'more properly' and avoid unnecessary brawls, as their activities have now become the subject of attention of strong, well- organized native Jakartans."

According to Lutfi, there are at least six prominent ethnic-based gangs in the city, with the 10-year-old FBR, which oversees more than 350 branches throughout Greater Jakarta, being the biggest and most influential.

The other five gangs come from Ambon in Maluku, Madura Island in East Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Papua. The influence of the five groups, however, had been diminishing mainly due to internal disputes or late leadership regeneration, Lutfi added.

"Members of the Ambonese group, for example, are currently split under the leadership of Umar Kei and John Kei. One leader of the Madurese group, Haji Muhammad Rawi, has been reluctant to let his son take over the group's leadership from him," said Lutfi, who took over the FBR leadership from his uncle, the late charismatic cleric Fadloli El Muhir, in 2009.

Like Don Vito Corleone in the famous novel The Godfather, all FBR members who meet Lutfi must show their respect by kissing the latter's right hand. What makes him different from Corleone are perhaps the black BlackBerry handset in his pocket and a leather-coated touchscreen tablet in his left hand.

The Betawi Consultative Body (Bamus), which supervises the activities of all Betawi organizations, recorded that 114 affiliate organizations had registered with the body, with most of them claiming to protect the local Betawi culture and territories from non-native gangs and influences.

Among the organizations, the FBR and Forkabi are perhaps the most well- known Betawi organizations, as they are renowned for operating protection rackets, particularly targeting businesses, and often make headlines for their involvement in street brawls, including inter-ethnic fighting.

In 2008, for example, the FBR, along with the hard-line Islam Defenders Front, ambushed activists from the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion while they were rallying at the National Monument to support religious pluralism.

A year later, hundreds of Forkabi members clashed with a group of Madurese in Duri Kosambi subdistrict, Cengkareng, West Jakarta. One Forkabi local leader was killed in the incident.

The police, however, insisted the riot had been triggered by an individual and was not an ethnic clash. "As long as the government fails to improve the welfare of native [Jakarta] residents, it is difficult to see these groups staying out of money-driven disputes," Bamus chairman Nachrowi Ramli said.

Freedom of religion & worship

Muslim youths to help secure Christmas celebrations

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2011

Nana Rukmana and Apriadi Gunawan, Cirebon/Medan – The Ansor Youth Movement (GP Ansor), a youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has prepared 2.6 million of its members to help secure Christmas celebrations across the archipelago, an executive of the movement has said.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post in Cirebon, West Java, on Wednesday, GP Ansor deputy secretary-general H.M. Nuruzzaman said that the organization was ready to help secure Christmas celebrations as part of maintaining harmonious and pluralist values in the country.

"This is our way of showing our commitment to making sure that those values are well preserved within the milieu of differences in unity," Nuruzzaman said.

He said a total of 2.6 million out of the organization's 7 million members had been prepared for the deployment, 25,000 of whom would be deployed in Cirebon and the surrounding regions to guard churches during Christmas celebrations.

There are 22 churches in Cirebon municipality and 12 others in the neighboring Cirebon regency to guard. "We have coordinated with the local police for the purpose," he said.

The 2.6 million members, according to Nuruzzaman, are those who joined the organization's Banser auxiliary trained force and have undergone physical training for multipurpose activities including religious and social ones. "Any religious community, not only Christians, can also ask for our security help," he said.

The same security help, according to Nuruzzaman, was also often provided to other Muslim organizations such as Muhammadiyah, especially at times when the country's two biggest Muslim organizations (NU and Muhammadiyah) chose different dates for observing either Idul Fitri or Idul Adha celebrations.

Separately in Medan, North Sumatra, there has been a reported increase in armed robberies ahead of the Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations. The latest happened on Wednesday morning as four armed intruders robbed the house of a businessman on Jl. Veteran.

No fatalities were reported in the incident that took place at 6:30 a.m. but the robbers tied up and injured some people in the house. They took a safe-deposit box containing Rp 11 million (US$1,210) in cash, jewelry and other valuable documents worth hundreds of millions of rupiah.

The businessman, named as San Saw or alternatively A San, told police that the four robbers put on masks as they entered his house through an open door.

East Medan Police Precinct chief Comr. Patar Silalahi said that based on the way the robbery was conducted the perpetrators could be an experienced gang who had changed their operating hours from night to daytime. "We're still investigating the case to confirm this," he said

Meanwhile, Medan City Police chief Sr. Comr. Tagam Sinaga promised to arrest the robbers as soon as possible so as to restore residents' sense of security. He said a number of police personnel had been assigned to sites considered prone to crime such as housing complexes and shopping centers.

"We have also prepared personnel to guard churches to provide security to worshipers during Christmas celebrations," he said.

People demand closure of another Church in Bogor

Jakarta Globe - December 22, 2011

Ardi Mandiri, Bogor – A group of people in Parung, Bogor, asked the local government on Thursday to close down a church built in a residential area, adding another religious dispute to the area where the embattled GKI Yasmin church is also located.

"The church [Santo Joannes Baptista] has been there for six years," said Hasis Jalil, the coordinator of the group that rallied in support of the Cibinong government decision to ban the church on Thursday. "The construction of the church was against the regulation to build a house of worship, because it was built close to private residences."

The group, calling themselves the Muslim Community of Parung Bogor, placed a banner near the Catholic church Santo Joannes Baptista on Thursday, three days before Christmas, stating that the group supported the district decision to ban church activities.

Bogor district head, Rahmat Yasin, said he did not ban people from worshiping, but worship should take place in an appropriate location. "The site is not for a church, but it was a house turned into a house of worship. It is a violation," Rahmat said. "Moreover, they worship on a regular basis. It is a mistake."

Rahmat said that while the government respected religious rights, the congregation should respect the regulations. The Cibinong government had earlier issued a letter banning the church from performing any religious activities.

The pastor of the church, Gaib Simbul Pratolo, was surprised to see the banner. "We have been worshiping peacefully for six years," Gaib said. "Even the neighborhood chiefs also secure the services." The congregation has 2,000 members.

He said the church was built on an empty lot, and has requested a building permit. "Until now, we're still waiting for the building permit that has not been issued," he said.

Church calls minister a 'liar' as tensions mount ahead of Christmas

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2011

Arientha Primanita & Camelia Pasandaran – The Bogor church at the center of a major dispute that has highlighted growing discrimination against religious minorities in Indonesia, on Wednesday labeled Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi a "liar."

Speaking at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Gamawan claimed that a decision on whether the embattled GKI Yasmin congregation would be allowed to hold Christmas Day celebrations in its sealed church would be decided after a meeting on Wednesday.

"If the [West Java] provincial police say that it is safe based on the information gathered by police, they [GKI Yasmin] will celebrate [in the church]," Gamawan said. "But if the police advise to hold it in another place, they will hold it in other place."

Church spokesman Bona Sigalingging, however, told the Jakarta Globe that no such meeting had taken place or even been scheduled.

He said a meeting was planned for Thursday but had nothing to do with where the congregation would be allowed to hold Christmas celebrations. "The meeting is about church security during Christmas celebrations – It means that he [Gamawan] lied again."

He said the congregation was determined to mark Christmas in its own church.

West Java the 'least tolerant province'

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Jakarta – A survey by human rights watchdog Setara Institute has found that West Java was the least tolerant province in 2011, registering the largest number of religious violence cases.

Throughout 2011, West Java saw 57 incidents involving government-endorsed discriminatory policies, instances in which government officials condoned acts of violence against minority groups, the closure of places of worship and religiously motivated killings.

In the survey, South Sulawesi ranked second place with 45 incidents, followed by East Java and North Sumatra in the third and fourth position with 31 and 24 incidents, respectively.

Banten, which saw the Cikeusik Ahmadiyah lynching in April, and West Nusa Tenggara were both in fifth position with 12 cases each. Bali and West Kalimantan were found to be the most tolerant provinces.

"This high number of violence and discrimination indicates that the government has done little to mitigate religious acrimony. The numbers remain high compared to last year's," Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said Monday.

Hendardi attributed the violence to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's lack of leadership. "The President is even powerless in the face of opposition from Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto, who refuses to obey the Supreme Court's ruling to reopen GKI Yasmin Church and let its members practice their faith freely," he said.

The survey also found correlation between religious conflicts and the level of urban spread. "We found that the more urban an area, the more likely religious conflicts will occur," Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

The Setara Institute recorded 244 incidents in which religion was cited as the cause. The survey also found that government officials owned the biggest share of the blame in allowing religious conflict to happen. A total of 105 incidents were initiated by government officials.

Members of the National Police were responsible for 40 cases, the Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel for 22 cases, regents and mayors 18 violations, governors 10 violations and the Religious Affairs Ministry nine violations.

Setara also cited the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as non-governmental organizations that registered the highest number of discrimination cases.

Setara researcher Ismail Hasani said religious conflicts peaked between February and March, when locals in Cikeusik attacked members of the Ahmadiyah sect. "Following the incident, two churches were burned down in the same month, which heightened tension between the majority Muslim and minorities groups for the rest of the year," he said.

Ismail added that the increasing religious conflict could indicate hypocrisy on the part of the government. "We recorded that the President made at least 19 public statements encouraging religious harmony. However, change could hardly happen in the coming years because those around the President include people from several political parties who oppose religious freedom," Ismail told The Jakarta Post.

According to the Setara Institute, the Ahmadiyah suffered the worst type of discrimination in 2011. It recorded 22 policies, including 15 ordinances, issued by local governments that promoted animosity toward the sect. The policies include the Religious Affairs Ministry's decision to prohibit Ahmadiyah members from performing the haj pilgrimage to Mecca. (msa)

Bleak prospects for Ahmadis

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2011

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – A community of Ahmadis living in a village in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, are still fearing for their future both as workers and citizens of their country, six years after being evicted from their homes because of their religious belief.

The Ahamdiyah community comprises about 140 people and 33 families who have been forced to take shelter in Wisma Transito in Mataram after they were evicted from their homes six years ago.

The outreach program provided by the NTB provincial administration, involving the NTB Agency for Political Affairs and National Unity and a number of clerics, has not been effective, the Ahmadis say, while the West Lombok regency administration has backtracked from its promise to compensate assets they were forced to leave behind in their village.

An early estimation revealed that their assets, comprising 21 houses and land, were valued at Rp 1.4 billion (US$155,000).

"The outreach program, they said, would last for six months from June until December was in fact carried out for only two months. It began early on in the month of Ramadhan and ended just after Idul Fitri," Nasiruddin, one of the Ahmadis, said recently when interviewed at Wisma Transito.

He is a respected member of the Ahmadiyah community, often playing the role of advisor. Nasiruddin accused the government of not being serious about resolving their problem.

The condition of the Ahmadiyah refugees in Wisma Transito, which is located around 2 kilometers from the NTB gubernatorial office, has not improved. The community still lives in makeshift quarters made of cloth and used banners.

Two infants were in the community in November, bringing the total number of babies born in the community since they were evicted to 18.

"I gave birth at Mataram General Hospital for free, thanks to the Delivery Assurance program, but we faced difficulties in applying for the Jamkesmas and Jamkesmasda health insurance because we don't have identity cards," said Maemunah, 25.

She was carrying her baby, Noval Syaif Irfan, who was born on Nov. 15, while eight pre-school-aged children were cheerfully playing around her. Ahmadiyah is considered by mainstream Muslims as heretical. Ahmadiyah communities across the country have been persecuted by their fellow Muslims, and in some severe instances have had members seriously injured or killed.

In a number of provinces, local administrations have banned the sect citing security concerns. Ahmadiyah members in West Lombok say they continue to be persecuted.

Amaq Marsudin, 52, who suffers from kidney failure and requires regular dialysis, was rejected by the NTB General Hospital because he did not have an identity card.

"He was admitted to the hospital for two weeks but did not receive dialysis because he is not covered by Jamkesmasda as he doesn't have an identity card. Finally, we brought him back to Wisma Transito and he has resigned his fate to God," Nasiruddin said.

According to Nasiruddin, during the e-ID card campaign program in Mataram in October, the Ahmadiyah refugees tried to apply for ID cards at the Mataram Population Agency. However, they were turned down on the grounds that they were only temporary residents.

"The West Lombok regency administration also refused to issue us ID cards. Actually, we only requested residence identity permits. It doesn't matter if we don't live in West Lombok, but owning an ID card is important for access to healthcare and education programs, especially as an ID card proves citizenship status," he said.

The Ahmadiyah refugees endure living at the shelter despite that most of the families are in dire financial straits. In general, the men seek a living as construction workers, ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, barbers and hawkers.

Sarim Ahmad, 45, for instance, owns a chicken noodle cart now. He had worked for a fritter seller earlier. "I saved up my salary to make a cart to sell noodles, and the proceeds are not bad," he said.

The NTB provincial administration had initially promised that the outreach program provide startup capital for the refugees. However, for Sarin, it was all just talk and no action.

"They promised to provide startup capital, but have failed to do so as of now. Furthermore, we prefer to be independent because the assistance is a loan in nature and we have to pay installments," he said.

West Lombok spokesman Ispan Junaedi said the administration would never compensate the assets of Ahmadiyah members in Ketapang because funds set aside for that purpose in 2010 and 2011 had not been realized "because the refugees raised the amount".

Government cancels meeting to discuss GKI Yasmin case

Jakarta Post - December 17, 2011

Irawaty Wardani, Jakarta – Representatives of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin congregation were disappointed Friday as high-ranking government officials did not attend a meeting to discuss a demand to relocate their church.

The government was scheduled to have been represented by Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali in a meeting with lawmakers at 7:30 p.m.

"The government cancelled the meeting, none of them came to the House of Representatives today [Friday]," GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

Previously in the afternoon Bona said they were invited by Home Affairs Ministry's director general of state unity and politics in which the official insisted the church to be relocated.

"Of course we refused since the Supreme Court ruled in our favor as well as recommendation from the Ombudsman. If we followed the request, we would have violated the law," Bona said.

According to lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, the government cancelled the meeting because they needed to consolidate the issue first.

She expressed her concern over the government's stance that backed those who violated the law. "This is really ironic, it is an abuse of power by the government," she said.

She really regretted the government's decision to cancel the meeting while member of GKI Yasmin congregation would celebrate Christmas in a few days. "The government does not have a sense of crisis. We are supposed to discuss emergency solution so they can celebrate Christmas peacefully," she said.

The Bogor city administration under Mayor Diani Budiarto has barred GKI Yasmin members from conducting religious services inside its own building. The mayor claims that there were many objections to the congregation by nearby residents.

GKI Yasmin had taken the matter to the Supreme Court, which later issued a ruling in their favor. The court said that the church had a legal permit while Diani has been ignoring the ruling.

House to hold meeting about Bogor church

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives has bowed to calls by several lawmakers to hold a meeting to discuss the controversial case of the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor.

House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung said on Thursday that Commission II, which oversees internal affairs, Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, and Commission VIII, which oversees religion, gender and social empowerment, had agreed to hold a meeting on the subject today, the last day before the House enters a recess period.

"Tomorrow there will be a joint meeting and everyone will be invited by the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs and the minister of religious affairs," said Pramono, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Golkar Party lawmaker Nusron Wahid said the meeting should involve the various House commissions concerned with the case.

"I demand an explanation from House Commissions II, III and VIII about whether we are actually aware that it will be Christmas soon and they [GKI Yasmin congregation] need some certainty as to where they will hold their Christmas celebration," Nusron said.

GKI Yasmin has been in dispute with the Bogor government since 2008, when Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto decided to revoke the building permit issued earlier for the church. Despite a Supreme Court ruling asking the mayor to reopen the church, he has kept it closed, forcing the congregation to worship on the side of the road.

Maruarar Sirait, another PDI-P politician, said legislators should show some "sensitivity" to the plight of the congregation. "The DPR should have a sense of crisis," he said.

A PDI-P meeting in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday said the party would push for the Bogor mayor to abide by the Supreme Court ruling that demanded the ban be revoked.

Puan Maharani, the head of the organizing committee of the meeting, also called on all PDI-P cadres to take the necessary political and legal steps to defend and protect the citizens who had been wronged.

The church has continued to reject offers that it move to one of three new sites proposed by the local administration, maintaining that they are legally entitled to use their existing yet sealed building.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi on Monday said that if the church agreed to the offer, he would ask the West Java government to guarantee that the alternative plot be given for free to replace the current church.

Holy Catholic statue of the Madonna beheaded in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran – A statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in a cave sacred to many millions of Indonesian Catholics has been beheaded less than ten days before Christmas, a senior church official said on Friday.

Pastor Antonius Benny Susetyo, executive secretary of the Commission of the Indonesian Bishops Conference, told the Jakarta Globe that a person pretending to be a pilgrim infiltrated Goa Maria Sendang Pawitra (Maria's Cave of the Holy Waters) in Tawangmangu, Central Java, on Wednesday night and beheaded the Madonna.

Benny said the vandal also removed a sacred cross measuring one-and-a-half meters in width and destroyed a number of other smaller statues and a holy water container. Police have launched an investigation.

"I believe this an attempted provocation as Christmas celebrations approach," Benny said. "We call on the Catholic community in Indonesia not to be provoked and trust in the police to resolve the case."

Benny said that prior to the attack there had been no problems between the pilgrims that visited the cave and local people. He said the relationship was mutually beneficial.

Land disputes & evictions

National police go on offensive over brutality claims in 'Mesuji massacre'

Jakarta Globe - December 22, 2011

Farouk Arnaz, Ezra Sihite & Tunggadewa Mattangkilang – The National Police released a video on Wednesday that they said proved villagers were the ones guilty of brutality in several recent land disputes in Sumatra, not the police.

"We need to get the correct information out to people so they are not provoked by false information," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution told journalists.

The video showed what appeared to be villagers, armed with machetes and spears and some wearing masks, attacking a facility belonging to plantation company Barat Selatan Makmur Investindo in Lampung. They were also seen sighting fire to what looked like a company dormitory, warehouse and guard post.

Saud dismissed several claims made by a group of farmers who went to the House of Representatives last week and said that 30 people had been killed for their land.

"Only nine people died," he said, adding that seven were killed in a clash in South Sumatra's Mesuji subdistrict. He said another person died in an incident in Mesuji district in Lampung, with the ninth death occurring during the attack by villagers on BSMI.

The farmers showed lawmakers two videos last week containing images of extreme violence, including against farmers and apparently involving police officers and uniformed plantation guards.

Saud, however, said that two men seen being beheaded in the videos were not farmers but private security guards trained by the police to help maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the National Forum for Palm Oil Workers Unions, Mansuetus Darto, said 28 large palm oil companies nationwide were involved in land disputes with residents that had the potential to erupt into violence.

"Our records show that there are 28 large palm oil companies involved in conflicts with locals in Riau, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Palembang, West Kalimantan and in Jambi," he said.

Most disputes, he said, are caused by plantation companies not allowing residents, who often farm collectively and hold customary rights to the land, to grow crops on vacant plots surrounding oil palm trees.

"This is the root of the problem between locals and palm oil companies," he said

He called for a freeze on new permits for palm oil plantations, saying the focus should be on maximizing production at existing plantations.

Herman Hery, from House Commission III on legal affairs, said the commission had gathered information on the violence in Sumatra, though he did not say what their next step would be.

He said lawmakers had found indications that law enforcers allowed violence to take place, and that the National Land Agency had failed to properly manage the disputes.

That news was greeted with a shrug by Indra Firsada, head of the Bandar Lampung chapter of the Legal Aid Institute. He said he had little faith in lawmakers and the government's fact-finding team looking into the violence.

"Nothing can be learned if the team is there for just a day," he said, adding that they only met with locals once and then left before doing further investigating.

Palm oil putting the squeeze on Central Kalimantan transmigrants

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2011

Ulma Haryanto, East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan – When the Constitutional Court dropped two articles from the 2004 Plantations Law back in September for potentially discriminating against indigenous farmers in land disputes, Mulyani Handoyo thought his problems were over.

The 44-year-old was arrested a month earlier and charged under Articles 21 and 47 of the law for "disrupting" the activities of Buana Artha Sejahtera, a subsidiary of palm oil producer Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology (Smart). However, prosecutors reacted quickly and revised the charges to theft just before the trial began.

Purnomo, the head of Biru Maju village in East Kotawaringin where Mulyani is from, was convicted earlier this year in the same case and only recently released. Mulyani is the village secretary.

"No land conflict in the country takes place overnight," Abetnego Tarigan, director of Sawit Watch, a palm oil industry watchdog, told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. "They involve a process, and the criminalization of community figures to intimidate others is just the start." This also applies to story of the Biru Maju villagers, which started in 1997.

In search of a living

The seven-hour drive to Biru Maju from Palangkaraya, the provincial capital, includes a 20-kilometer stretch of bumpy dirt tracks and a series of narrow wooden bridges. The vegetation is sparse, consisting largely of shrubs, with quarries and the occasional oil palm plantation peppered throughout.

Biru Maju has a population of just more than 1,000, most of them transmigrants from other islands who moved here in 1997. The rest are indigenous Dayak tribesmen and workers from nearby oil palm plantations.

"I joined the government's transmigration program because I wanted a better life," said Sarji, 45, one of the villagers. "I came from Semarang [in Central Java], where it was hard to get your own land. Our dream was to become farmers: to cultivate our own land, grow our own food and make money selling the produce."

After arriving, however, Sarji and the 214 other families who joined the program were in for a nasty surprise. Of the six hectares of land awarded to each family under the program, less than half was arable. "Parts of the transmigration area were also claimed by the local people," Sarji said.

After complaining to the local authorities, the transmigrants decided to expand their territory beyond their designated 1,290-hectare area. Things went well after that, and they managed to grow a variety of fruit and vegetables.

"A few years later, each of us registered our plots of land with the subdistrict office so we could get an SKT [provisional deed] before applying for a title deed," Purnomo said.

But in 2004, with just the SKTs in hand and the deed applications still being processed, bulldozers appeared in the village and began razing the fields. "The previous village head started knocking on everyone's door, persuading them to sell their land because now it was owned by the company," Purnomo said.

Sarji said the persuasion contained a veiled threat. "He wasn't being harsh, but the way he put it, I might get into legal trouble if I didn't sell my land," he said. "Finally, I gave in."

A total of 15 families gave up their land for just Rp 1 million ($110) a hectare. Those like Sarji now make a living selling vegetables. "I can only make Rp 10,000 to Rp 60,000 a day," he said. "People here have five or six SKTs, but no land."

Battle for rights

When Purnomo was elected village head in 2009, he instigated a local resistance to BAS that saw villagers repeatedly block roads, hold demonstrations or fence off the areas belonging to them. These actions led to his arrest in January this year.

"We tried everything. We went to the district council, we sent letters to Komnas HAM [National Commission for Human Rights], and after I was arrested we also sent letters to the Judicial Commission and the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, but nothing happened." Purnomo said.

He was charged under Articles 21 and 47 of the 2004 Plantations Law. During his trial, he said, the court ignored evidence he presented to refute BAS's claim to the villagers' land.

A regional map issued by the local forestry office in April and shown to the Globe revealed how parts of the company's 657-hectare concession overlapped with the transmigration area. "I showed this to the judge during my trial, and also my SKT. I told them the company didn't have a license to operate," Purnomo said.

A 2007 Forestry Ministry decree on plantation licensing requires a long list of documents before a company is issued a land use deed, or HGU, to start farming.

According to Andi Muttaqien, a lawyer for the villagers, prosecutors had failed to present the company's HGU during the trials of Purnomo and Mulyani. When asked about this, prosecutor Tigor Sirait told the Globe that the omission was intentional. "We don't want to show it yet," he said.

Purnomo claimed the lead prosecutor solicited a bribe from his wife in exchange for going easy on him. After his wife paid Rp 1.5 million, prosecutors lowered their sentence demand from a year to eight months.

The Globe was denied access to the BAS site to seek comments from the company's estate manager, Ahmad Tarmizi, while his assistant also declined to provide clarification. Calls to the company's Jakarta office were rejected and no one from Smart was willing to comment.

Law of demand

Purnomo was eventually convicted, but in September, when the Constitutional Court axed the provisions under which he was charged, he was released early.

The judicial review was brought by four farmers from West Kalimantan, East Java and North Sumatra, each of whom had previously been sentenced to between six months and a year in jail for similar actions to reclaim ancestral land, and who were represented by Sawit Watch and several other human rights and environmental organizations.

"Two of them were finally acquitted by the High Court, thanks to the ruling," said Arie Rompa, executive director of the Central Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).

However, activists warn that with farmland becoming an ever more valuable commodity, land disputes are bound to increase. A report published last week by the International Land Coalition noted a rising global trend in land purchases for biofuel stock.

"Food is not the main focus of the land deals. Out of the 71 million hectares in deals that the authors could cross-reference, three-quarters of the remaining 78 percent for agricultural production was for biofuels," Ward Anseeuw, from the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (Cirad), said in a statement.

Abetnego said that was also the case in Indonesia, where he warned that rising demand for biofuel stock would exacerbate ongoing conflicts and spark future disputes.

"The tendency for conflict will continue to rise," he said. "The reality is, people's living space is getting smaller and smaller. There isn't much left for wildlife, either."

Indonesia reported an increase from 6 million to 7.3 million hectares committed to palm oil production between 2000 and 2008, according to the ILC report.

"An additional 18 million hectares have been cleared for palm oil, although not yet planted, while 20 million hectares of land have been assigned for plantation expansion by 2020, primarily in Sumatra, Borneo [Kalimantan], Sulawesi and West Papua," the report said. "Indonesia is also set to establish the world's largest oil palm plantation along the border of Borneo between Indonesia and Malaysia."

Sawit Watch said that as of 2010, it had received 663 reports of land disputes between residents and palm oil companies. This year, it is advocating in 28 different cases. The ILC report, however, cites National Land Agency (BPN) data from 2009 that says there were 3,500 land disputes in that year alone.

No solution in sight

Sawit Watch's Fatilda Hasibuan, who was assigned to assist the Biru Maju villagers, said most companies would try anything to prevent people from reclaiming their land.

"These people will face a hard time if they want to continue the fight," she said. "The companies will try breaking down their unity by spreading rumors, sometimes smuggling drugs into a village so the people get distracted, or intimidate them by deploying police officers and sometimes soldiers."

Abetnego said that in the few successful cases where a company gave up and returned the land to the people, a number of factors were at play.

First, he said, the regional authorities were committed to justice. "Second is the company's legal base itself. In some cases, they don't have a strong legal base to support their arguments," he said. The third is the people themselves.

"Their demands have to be clear, and they should have an accountable way of working," Abetnego said. Arie said that on the larger scale, "it will still be difficult to change the situation."

With the issue of land disputes brought to the fore recently by the conflict in Mesuji, Lampung, Abetnego said he hoped the government would pay more attention to the root of the problem.

"We're pushing for the establishment of a national commission, directly under the president, to oversee the resolution of land conflicts," he said.

Villagers struggling to move on amid fears

Jakarta Post - December 21, 2011

Hasyim Widhiarto, Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra – Residents of Mesuji district, in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, have difficulty moving forward without recalling the brutal killing of seven people, three of whom were beheaded, in April in a land dispute between local people and a plantation company.

The plantation camp of PT Sumber Wangi Alam (SWA), where the crimes reportedly happened, was found to be deserted on Tuesday after all of the company's workers had resigned for security reasons and severe psychological trauma.

Dozens of houses for the workers and their families were left in ruins as new workers preferred to return to their homes in nearby villages located outside the plantation due to security concerns.

"They are all traumatized by the incidents, especially after witnessing the dead bodies of their colleagues who were brutally killed by the locals," said SWA worker Supriyono, who is in charge of operations at the company.

He said after the closure in April, the company finally reopened in October having managed to recruit new workers.

Run 24 hours-a-day by 25 workers in two working shifts, SWA's palm oil factory can process up to 10 tons of oil palm fruit per hour. The plant is located only 100 meters from the crime scene.

The SWA plantation is at the heart of alleged human rights violations reported by a group of local residents supported by former Army officer Maj. Gen. (ret.) Saurip Kadi, who showed legislators alleged video footage of the beheadings last week.

Apart from the SWA incident, Saurip also reported two other incidents of land disputes that ended in brutal killings in two areas in Mesuji regency in Lampung – located more than 80 kilometers south of Ogan Komering Ilir.

In the SWA incident, Saurip claimed gross negligence by local law enforcers had led to a failure to prevent the killings.

The land dispute between SWA and local residents, which has spanned more than a decade, came to a head in April's incident when a grandson of Sungai Sodong village leader Syafei Hasan was allegedly beheaded by the company's security personnel for allegedly trying to take over the company's harvest. Another resident was also killed in the clash. Sungai Sodong is the nearest village to the plantation.

A couple of hours later, around 200 villagers retaliated to the killing by storming the plantation and killing five SWA workers. Trials of the suspects in the incidents are currently ongoing.

Sungai Sodong villagers have mostly refused to talk to outsiders about the trials or to discuss the incidents, saying they had difficulties in moving forward as the situation remained tense.

"The incidents took place months ago. There's no need to talk about it since we're trying to live normally," said Bangsawan, 36, an indigenous resident and father of four.

Located some 40 kilometers from the province's main road, Sungai Sodong is bordered by the SWA plantation and the Mesuji River. To reach the area, visitors must drive along a rugged road through the heart of the company's plantation.

According to official data, the village is now inhabited by 600 families, with 400 families of indigenous people and the remaining 200, long-term migrants from Java.

Fourteen detention days for police who shot Mesuji people

Antara News - December 20, 2011

Lampung – Police on Tuesday said they sanctioned two police officers who shot directly at a crowd of people during a clash in Mesuji, Bandar Lampung.

The sanction included 14 detention days, a transfer to office service duty at the Lampung police office, a suspension of rank promotion and a salary freeze for some time.

"We're investigating the possibility of crime sanctions for both of them," Brig. Gen. Jodie Rooseto, Lampung police chief, said on Tuesday. "It is now being analyzed whether they intentionally shot [at the crowd] or not."

The two police officers are Adj. Comr. Wetman Hutagaol from Tulangbawang police and Adj. Second Insp. Dian Permana.

Jodie admitted that police shot civilians during a conflict between locals and plantation company Barat Selatan Makmur Investindo in Mesuji district in November. One local died and many others suffered gun wounds during the clash. However, Jodie claimed police followed procedure.

"The shooting by police officers was according to procedure. They fired warning shots." He claimed that people did not move back after the warning shots were fired. Police had to fire rubber bullets and blanks at people, targeting them below the belt.

"If it was not done, people would only have caused worse destruction," Jodie said. "So, the shooting was mainly to disperse the mass that tended to be dangerous."

He claimed that people who died or who were wounded during the shooting might have been hit by deflected bullets.

Extreme protest spreads against Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Ezra Sihite – Another ten islanders from Riau province have sewn their mouths shut during an ongoing hunger strike against Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper outside the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Isnadi Esman, coordinator of the group of dozens of protesters from Padang Island, said a total of 18 people had sewn their lips together to highlight the House's failure to act against RAPP for the last two years.

"We demand [the government] halt the operation of RAPP on Padang Island and revoke the decision of the Ministry of Forestry in 2009 to issue a concession for an industrial plantation forest," Isnadi said.

He said RAPP had been granted 41,000 hectares of land on the island, which totaled 110,000 hectares. The protest began on Monday.

Mesuji officials refuse to serve villagers

Jakarta Post - December 20, 2011

Hasyim Widhiarto, Mesuji, Lampung – As their land dispute with a local plantation company remains unresolved, residents from Mesuji regency, Lampung, are struggling not only to make ends meet but also to have their basic rights upheld.

Nengah Sugandra, 41, a resident of Moromoro village, located just across from PT Silva Inhutani Lampung's plant in the Register 45 area, said the villagers had received discrimination from the local administration during the past several years after the company accused the residents of illegally occupying its land.

"Following the company's complaint, the Mesuji administration rejected all applications for ID cards, birth certificates and other legal documents, applied for by the villagers," said Nengah on Monday. "The administration even refused to provide electricity although the nearest power pole is located only 100 meters from the village," he said.

Occupied for the first time by impoverished residents from nearby regencies in the late 1990s, the 2,400-hectare village is now inhabited by around 1,300 families that make ends meet by growing cassava, rubber trees and vegetables.

Moromoro residents started to find their relationship with Silva heating up in 2006 after the oil palm and natural rubber plantations company claimed their land as part of the company's 43,000-hectare plantation area. The villagers, however, have been fighting back since then, claiming the land they live on used to be idle. Representatives from Silva could not be reached for comment.

Around 10 kilometers from Moromoro, native residents of the Megou Pak tribe experienced a string of physical confrontations with Silva workers, also due to land disputes.

Andi Yendra, 35, a Megou Pak community leader, living in Tunggal Jaya hamlet, said since the early 2000s Silva had ordered police officers to evict thousands of local farmers living on the tribe's sanctuary land, claiming that the land the residents lived on actually belonged to the company.

The latest eviction took place on Sept. 8, forcing Andi and hundreds of other residents to live under makeshift tents.

"I once felt completely desperate about our fight against the company. However, I regained my spirit after our representatives recently brought the case to the House of Representatives and successfully won media attention," he said. "A couple of days ago, we even collected money from the evictees to buy a television and satellite antenna so that we can watch the progress of our case."

Moromoro residents and Megou Pak tribesmen who live across Mesuji regency are among the victims of alleged human rights abuses by law enforcers hired by the plantation companies. A Megou Pak tribesman was killed, allegedly by armed, private security personnel in Pelita Jaya hamlet late last year.

Reports of the abuses came to light after community representatives, assisted by former military territorial assistant Maj. Gen. (ret.) Saurip Kadi, presented video footage of gruesome killings of their colleagues in front of several police officers.

The Mesuji advocacy team claims that at least 32 people have been killed since 2008 as part of the alleged brutal violence between Mesuji villagers and palm oil companies.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed last week the Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana to lead a joint fact-finding team to investigate the allegations into the killings.

One of the members of the advocacy team, Dedi Mawardi, who attended a meeting with the government's fact-finding team, said the violence centered on the existence of civilian, private security, locally known as Pam Swakarsa, which was allegedly formed by the law enforcers and the plantation companies.

"The root causes are partly due to existence of the Pam Swakarsa. The government should have the courage to dissolve it and bring the perpetrators to justice," he said. (rpt)

Ex-Indonesian general outraged at claims Mesuji massacre film edited

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Anita Rachman, Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Retired Indonesian General Saurip Kadi has said he is outraged by allegations disputing the authenticity of a video he says shows farmers being murdered in Mesuji, Lampung.

Saurip, who brought the case to public attention last week, said that he would soon bring the Mesuji farmers who witnessed the violence to speak out in public. "I know there are critics who say that the video has been edited," he said at a press conference on Monday. "In time I will explain everything."

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said on Sunday that the police were "be coming increasingly convinced that the compilation of various incidents appears to be bent on showing that the police are brutal."

A joint fact-finding team will try to confirm reports that parts of the video screened at the House of Representatives by the group of protesting farmers may have been shot during an unrelated case of violence in southern Thailand.

"Whether that is true or not will be part of what we will verify," said Deputy Justice and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana, who heads the nine-member task force.

An analysis by the Associated Press was the first to suggest that parts of the recording came from southern Thailand.

The report, which was picked up by television channels such as CBS News, noted that one segment showed a man in military fatigues holding a severed head – a man who was speaking in what appeared to be the Pattani dialect of southern Thailand.

Saurip accused the government of politicizing the case by claiming that the video had been tampered with in an effort to smear his credibility. "Don't twist things around," he said. "Right now, there is a war of information. It is expected, I am not surprised. What matters is that the truth will be revealed in the end."

Saurip questioned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's leadership, saying that as a former military man, the president should personally take charge of the investigation.

"I take pity on the soul of the late [General] Sarwo Edhie, my mentor, who happens to be SBY's father in law," he said. "This case has reached a critical level and he simply formed a fact-finding team headed by Denny Indrayana," Saurip added. "People know what this means: He is just buying time."

Separately, the House is investigating three land disputes between farmers and plantation companies, which is said to be the root cause of the violence.

Bambang Soesatyo, a member of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said the companies, Silva Inhutani and Barat Selatan Makmur Investama, had violated their licenses. Silva, he said, had been granted a 1996 expansion of its original Forestry Ministry permit that allowed it to annex 42,000 hectares, up from 33,000 hectares.

"The expansion resulted in the annexation of land that was previously managed by thousands of native farmers, and this has resulted in conflict between the locals and the companies," Bambang said.

Barat Selatan, the Golkar Party lawmaker added, was granted a license to manage 10,000 hectares of land. The company, however, was entitled to use just 3,000 hectares for palm oil production, while the rest was to be jointly managed with local farmers.

Bambang said that it was the third dispute – between plantation company Sumber Wangi Alam and farmers of Sodong village in Mesuji, South Sumatra – that had resulted in loss of life. Two farmers and five Sumber Wangi workers were killed in a clash in April this year, he said.

"It was purely a clash between the locals and civilian security guards working for the company," he said, adding that no police or military officials had been involved in the killing, as farmers had claimed.

Berry Nahdian Furqon, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said the case should serve as a wake-up call for land management reform and for the National Land Council to be evaluated. He added that there were more cases of violence in other places also rooted in land disputes between locals and logging or plantation companies.

House's fact-finding team confirms nine deaths in Mesuji

Jakarta Post - December 19, 2011

Ina Parlina and Oyos Saroso, Jakarta/Ogan Komering Ilir – A special team dispatched by the House of Representatives has confirmed that nine people were killed in connection with land disputes in the Mesuji area in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, and Lampung.

Seven were killed in South Sumatra, while another two were found dead right across the border in Lampung.

Aziz Syamsuddin, deputy head of House of Representatives Commission III on law, human rights and security, said that the five victims in South Sumatra had died in a clash between local farmers and informal security forces working for palm-oil plantation company PT Sumber Wangi Alam (SWA).

Five of the victims were company officers while another two were villagers. Two of them were beheaded. "The two beheaded persons were from security forces at the company," Aziz told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The incident occurred in April 2011 due to a land dispute. Gathering their facts from interviews with local residents and officials, Aziz said that the team could not be sure of the causes of death of the other five victims. Shooting incidents might have occurred, he said.

Mesuji is an area located on the border between the provinces of Lampung and South Sumatra. Two videos played before members of the Commission III on Wednesday shocked the public as they viewed alleged mass killings in the area.

Representatives of Mesuji residents and members of their advocacy team claimed that at least 32 people had been killed since 2008 as part of alleged brutal violence between Mesuji villagers and oil palm companies.

The Associated Press' report on Friday suggested that one clip had been spoken in Pattani Malay. Aziz said in the Lampung's part of Mesuji the lawmakers' team also found that two people died in November 2010 in a similar dispute between locals and palm-oil companies.

"The two victims were informal security forces; one from oil palm plantation firm PT Silva Inhutani and one from PT BMSI [Barat Selatan Makmur Investindo]," he said.

Aziz said that his team would soon summon the National Land Agency (BPN) head and the forest minister and both local administrations to evaluate the permits of the three companies.

Two other fact-finding teams investigating the Mesuji case, however, had yet to find evidence of any killings in the area.

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Johny Nelson Simanjuntak, who just came back from investigating the case in Lampung, said that for the time being, his team had found no indication of beheadings or killings of any kind in Lampung.

Komnas HAM sent the first team to the site to investigate the cases. "It was a matter of an eviction in a land dispute between farmers and three companies: PT Silva Inhutani, PT BMSI and PT Lambang Jaya, involving PAM Swakarsa [civilian militia]," he said.

Meanwhile, the government's official fact-finding team had just started collecting evidence for its investigation. A team member, Indriaswati Saptaningrum, who is a director of non-governmental organization Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), said the authenticity of the videos had yet to be investigated.

In Sodong village, the investigations into the alleged killings have caused anxiety among residents. "There is news from TV that the police are searching for residents," said Mangku Radin, a resident.

The news circulated among residents that the police were searching for eight residents suspected to have been behind the killings.

Lampung cops punished over Mesuji incident

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2011

Jakarta – Lampung Police have punished two officers for shooting at residents and killing one during an incident on an oil palm plantation in Mesuji, Lampung, last month. However, the case of the two officers will remain internal.

Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistyaningsih said on Sunday that the two police officers, Adj. Comr. Wetman Hutagaol and Adj. Second Insp. Dian Permanadua, would be detained for 14 days and have their promotion postponed by a year.

"They both were proven to have committed violations in the shooting [on Nov. 10]," she said as quoted by tribunnews.com. However, Sulis said that their case would be processed internally and would not be taken to court.

"This is because the two members did not intentionally hurt the residents. It was a [spontaneous] reaction on the field. So, they will not be named suspects and will be sanctioned by the ethics council," she said.

The riot began when police officers patrolling the PT Barat Selatan Makmur Investindo oil palm plantation found around 100 residents allegedly stealing oil palm fruit on the plantation.

The residents, who felt that they had a right to the fruit because they consider the land theirs, fought back when the police attempted to arrest them.

Several police officers fired warning shots when the residents reportedly threw rocks at them and threatened them with sharp weapons. Several shots were fired at the crowd, killing one resident named Jailand and injuring others.

Mesuji district is on the border of South Sumatra and Lampung provinces.

The incident was separate from a conflict in the South Sumatra side of Mesuji district, where clashes between locals and oil palm plantation company PT Sumber Wangi Alam claimed the lives of five workers and two local residents in April. (awd)

Government-sanctioned team begins Mesuji investigation

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2011

Bagus BT Saragih and Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta/Medan – The joint fact- finding team formed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to investigate the alleged mass-killings in the Mesuji area of Sumatra has begun compiling preliminary data and is set to visit various sites within the next few days.

"We have a meeting today that is aimed at discussing our working steps, which we will need to conduct over the next 30 days in order to investigate the case," appointed team leader, Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister Denny Indrayana, said on Saturday.

The team also comprises Deputy for National Security at the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry Endro Agung, National Commission on Human Rights chairman Ifdhal Kasim, Judicial Mafia Taskforce member Mas Achmad Santosa, a conflict resolution facilitator who has worked in Maluku and Aceh, Ikhsan Malik, deputy program director for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) Indri D. Saptaningrum, Lampung University legal academic Tisnanta, former Lampung Police chief Insp. Gen. Sulistyo Ishak and Forestry Minister special staffer Agus Mulyono.

President Yudhoyono had previously ordered a thorough investigation into the alleged massacre following the revelation of videos, already widely distributed over electronic media, depicting people being brutally beheaded and mutilated.

The videos first shocked the public after they were played before members of the House of Representatives' legal affairs commission on Wednesday during a meeting with Mesuji people and members of their advocacy team.

Advocacy team member Maj. Gen. (ret.) Saurip Kadi claimed the brutal incidents took place in April in the Mesuji district in Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, amid a clash between local farmers and informal security forces working for palm-oil plantation company PT Sumber Wangi Alam (SWA).

Two villagers and five company employees were reportedly killed following the incidents. Saurip also claimed that at least 32 villagers had been killed in a series of similar clashes in Mesuji since 2008.

On Saturday House legal affairs commission member Nasir Djamil of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said several of the commission's members would also be deployed to Mesuji on Sunday to investigate the alleged killings.

Amid controversies over the authenticity of the video recordings, CBS news reported on Saturday allegations that some parts of the videos were likely made in southern Thailand. Referring to a video where a man was shown being beheaded by an unidentified man dressed in black, the TV channel claimed the assailants, seen toting rifles and wearing black masks, were actually members of a Thailand's Pattani separatist group fighting the Thai government.

Earlier reports suspected that the perpetrators were Indonesian Mobile Brigade police officers. When asked by the Post, some Mesuji people insisted the monologue had been spoken in the local Mesuji language, while CBS news suggested that it had been spoken in Pattani Malay.

"In general, the saying meant 'go away from our land'," a Mesuji villager, Raja, told the Post. He refused to interpret the monologue in detail.

Saurip also refused to comment when asked why an alleged killing over a land dispute clash involved statements that contained words about an Islamic army, as suggested in one of the video clips.

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar said the irregularities found on the videos should not distract the government's attention on Mesuji.

In Medan, hundreds of students staged a rally on Saturday, demanding a thorough investigation of the Mesuji case. They said that the mass killings should be categorized as gross human rights violations.

Government shares blame in Mesuji land dispute: House

Jakarta Post - December 18, 2011

Jakarta – The House of Representatives' law commission legislators, grouped with the Mesuji investigation team, has disclosed several irregularities in the issuance of permits for PT Silva Inhutani to manage an industrial forest.

According to Ahmad Yani, one of the team members, the rubber and oil palm plantation firm obtained permits for forest management from the government, without prior recommendation from legislators.

"In 1997, the permit was revoked. But seven years later it was re-issued by the Forestry Ministry without our consent," the United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker said Sunday as quoted by tempo.com.

National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker Bahrudin Nashori pointed out another irregularity, saying that the forest area owned by the firm had in fact continuously increased every year, also without legislators' knowledge.

"What is going on here? Initially they only controlled 10,000 hectares in 1986 and that increased to more than 43,000 hectares in 2004," he said.

Bahrudin also questioned the firm's decision to put "Inhutani", which belongs to a state-owned company, in its original name and change it from Silva Budi to Silva Inhutani. "[Did they change the name] in order to obtain a bigger concession of land management," he said.

The irregularities were discovered when 12 House legislators met with officials from the Lampung Police, Lampung administration and the National Land Agency. The legislators promised that they would summon officials of the National Land Agency, as well as the Forestry Ministry to the House for questioning. (awd)

Six arrested on Lampung beheading allegations: Police

Associated Press - December 16, 2011

Niniek Karmini – Indonesia's president has ordered an investigation into the videotaped beheadings of two men – allegedly by security forces hired to secure the borders of a palm oil plantation.

Six suspects – five plantation workers and a farmer – already have been arrested for their alleged role in the deaths, National Police spokesman Col. Boy Rafli Amar said on Friday. Eight other suspects are at large.

Indonesia is one of the world's largest producers of palm oil – used to make everything from lipstick to biscuits to biofuel – and the rapid expansion of plantations across the sprawling archipelagic nation of 240 million has led to many violent disputes with local communities.

Land is often forcibly seized – also by timber, pulp and paper companies – without any offers of compensation. But the allegations by farmers from South Sumatra province would be, if confirmed, by far the most shocking.

A dozen men traveled to Jakarta earlier this week to present their case before Parliament's human rights commission. They told its members that at least 30 farmers have been killed by security forces and men hired by a palm oil company in Mesuji district since 2009 – two of them beheaded before a crowd in April.

They presented two video clips as evidence. One showed an unidentified man dressed in black taking a short knife to the neck of his victim. Other masked assailants toting assault rifles could be seen milling around in the background.

In the second clip, a headless corpse could be seen hanging from an electricity pole, several mutilated bodies lying on the ground below.

Ifdhal Kasim, who heads the National Commission on Human Rights, condemned the killings. But the details, he said, remain very murky.

There appear to have been several, separate deadly clashes in the last year between farmers and three palm oil companies in Mesuji – which straddles South Sumatra and Lampung provinces. As concession sizes grew, he added, thousands of people were driven from their homes.

Facing protests, one of the companies formed an integrated security team, consisting of civilian guards, members of an elite police unit and military troops to protect their plantation, he said.

"It's not clear who was behind the beheadings or the other killings," he said. "But if there's even a hint that security forces were involved, they should be investigated first."

Farmers also appeared to have killed at least five plantation workers and security guards in retaliation for the beheadings, he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, meanwhile, said he was shocked by the claims. He immediately sent a task force made up of officials from the Ministry of Security and the National Police to investigate, according to his spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha.

Lampung villagers: 'We live in fear on our own land'

Jakarta Globe - December 16, 2011

Dessy Sagita – In a highly charged meeting with the National Commission on Human Rights, residents of Mesuji district in Lampung sought protection and said their suffering went beyond the cold-blooded killings of local farmers.

Neneng, a resident of Tuguroda hamlet in Mesuji, said she had been living in a makeshift tent with thousands of other residents whose homes had allegedly been destroyed by the henchmen of a plantation company, Silva Inhutani, that was attempting to take their land while the police stood by.

"Your children are still going to school, but my children don't even know when their next meal is going to be," she shouted during the meeting in Jakarta with the commission, known as Komnas HAM. "We've lost our homes and our livelihood, and we are still harassed even when we're walking down the street."

Neneng said complaints to local government officials and legislators had yielded nothing. "We don't even have water, and we live in fear on our own land, land that we have been living on since the day we were born," she said. "We can't wait anymore, I'm going crazy."

Another resident, Wayan Sukadana, said his brother, Made, had been shot in April and put in prison, where he died. "I want the company's operations to be halted immediately," he said. "And please withdraw the [police] Mobile Brigade and military from Mesuji, because they are only making things worse."

The meeting followed one on Wednesday during which villagers shocked lawmakers at the House of Representatives with footage allegedly showing several killings. They claim 30 farmers have been killed between 2009 and 2011.

Police have denied this, saying some of the footage shows unrelated incidents and that no such killing have occurred in Lampung.

About 200 members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and its leader, Habib Rizieq, accompanied the Mesuji residents to Thursday's meeting.

Habib said the FPI had sent people to Mesuji to learn the truth. "People are being denied ID cards and thousands of people – Muslims, Christians and Hindus – cannot pray," he said. "It's a serious human rights violation."

Parliament & legislation

Marzuki defends 'excessive' house budget of $5.28 million

Jakarta Globe - December 22, 2011

Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – House of Representatives speaker Marzuki Alie defended the Rp 48 billion ($5.3 million) the government had allotted for leaders of the House, insisting the budget was reasonable.

"The cost is a consequence of so many [necessary House leader] activities," Marzuki said. "If you don't want to spend any money, that's easy. We'll just sleep, go to our offices and go home."

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) criticized on Wednesday the funds earmarked for lawmakers and House leaders, accusing them of excessive, inefficient spending.

"Just look at all of the House leaders' activities," Marzuki added. "Everything is related to the needs of the people. We fight for the people. Look at how many letters I have sent to various ministries after my visits to different parts of the country."

Taufik Kurniawan, the House deputy speaker on public welfare, said the House had tried to make its spending more efficient by limiting overseas trips.

"The House has saved around 60 percent of state funds because we now require [House leader] approval for trips, so there is no wasteful spending anymore," the National Mandate Party politician said.

Taufik said he tried to avoid using state funds on overseas trips by personally financing every expense, including those incurred during an inspection of this year's hajj.

Fitra had accused Taufik of personally receiving more than a quarter of the Rp 48 billion earmarked for House leaders this year. According to the budget watchdog, House deputy speaker Priyo Budi Santoso of the Golkar Party spent Rp 11.8 billion in 2011 while the deputy speaker on the economy, Anis Matta, spent Rp 8.7 billion.

Deputy speaker on mining and industry Pramono Anung spent Rp 7.7 billion for his trips while Marzuki spent Rp 7.4 billion, Fitra said.

"I always return state funds to finance my overseas trips. [House] overseas trips are accountable and transparent," Taufik said.

Fitra also criticized the Rp 251 billion that was allocated to lawmakers for travel to their respective regions during this year's recess period.

Uchok Sky Khadafi, the budget watchdog's advocacy coordinator, said the trips – meant to allow lawmakers to meet with their constituents – were ineffective.

Fitra accused some lawmakers of using the funds just to go back to their hometowns for visits or to take vacations.

The House of Representatives said the programs were worth the investment.

"I think everything has been e ffective and it is not a waste of money," said Refrizal, deputy chairman of the Household Affairs Committee.

Refrizal said the trips were necessary to monitor officials, government agencies and state-run companies.

"From the House's monitoring efforts alone, we can save hundreds of trillions [of rupiah] in state funds, maybe thousands of trillions," he said. The recess started last weekend. Lawmakers are expected to return to work as early as the third week of January.

Two bills dropped, 64 to be deliberated in 2012

Jakarta Globe - December 17, 2011

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Legislators agreed on Friday to drop a key bill on labor from their list of priority legislation to be deliberated next year, but opted to include a much-awaited bill on domestic workers.

In a vote at Friday's plenary session at the House of Representatives, legislators agreed to prioritize 64 bills for deliberation next year, out of the proposed list of 66. The two bills dropped were draft amendments to the 2003 Labor Law and to the 2003 Advocates Law.

The move to drop the labor bill was spearheaded by Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Rieke, who serves on House Commission IX, which oversees manpower and health affairs, said the draft presented to the House by the government was full of objectionable provisions and could not be considered ready for deliberation unless it was changed significantly.

Among the provisions she took issue with was an article phasing out Idul Fitri holiday bonuses, known as THR, for blue-collar workers. Another point of contention was the proposed reduction in the number of days off for certain groups of workers.

"So it is with firm conviction that we ask the House not to include the labor bill in the list of bills for deliberation," she said.

Opposition to the bill also came from five of the six coalition parties: the Golkar Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

"Bills are meant to protect the interests of the people, but the labor bill as it currently stands seems to protect the interests of companies," said Imam Anshori Saleh, from the PKB.

The advocates bill was dropped after PKS lawmaker Nasir Jamil, a deputy chairman of House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, complained that it was unclear which legislators had sponsored the legislation. If recent history is a guide, however, the target of 64 bills is optimistic. In 2010, there were 70 bills on the priority list and 17 were passed, and so far this year 22 of 91 priority bills have been passed.

Among the 64 bills that will be prioritized for legislation next year is the domestic workers' protection bill. Workers' rights activists earlier this week protested outside the House, including one woman chaining herself to the front gate, to demand that the bill be prioritized.

Police & law enforcement

Indonesia blasted for failure to uphold its own laws

Jakarta Globe - December 21, 2011

Agus Triyono – The government is guilty of flouting dozens of its own laws throughout 2011, a leading legal watchdog said on Tuesday.

In its year-end presentation, the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) said that was evident from the host of cases in which the state failed to enforce the letter of the law, including the continued closure of the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor, which was twice ordered reopened by the Supreme Court.

Nurkholis Hidayat, the LBH Jakarta director, said another was the failure by the Health Ministry and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), a state school, to comply with a Supreme Court ruling to release a list of infant milk brands found to be contaminated with a potentially deadly bacteria.

"Look at those cases," Nurkholis said. "Even though the state is legally bound to abide by the rulings, no state official has done so. If this keeps up, it could be dangerous. It could undermine the principle of rule of law in the country and lead to an even greater loss of public trust in the government."

LBH Jakarta also blamed willful oversight by the government and its various agencies for the spate of human rights violations that occurred throughout the year, including the deadly mob attack on members of the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect in Cikeusik, Banten, earlier this year.

Muhammad Isnur, an LBH Jakarta lawyer, said that was clear from the host of reported violations that remained unaddressed by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

More bad cops dismissed

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Jakarta – The National Police announced on Monday that more than 500 personnel were discharged from the force annually.

National Police deputy Chief Comr. Gen. Nanan Soekarna said that most of the personnel were fired due to violating the police code of ethics. "We've never compromised with bad cops," Nanan said as quoted by tempo.co.

He said that in 2011, the National Police internal affairs division has made a recommendation for the dismissal of more than 100 police officers.

Nanan said, however, that the internal affairs division would be very careful with cases of violence involving police officers. "We have to find evidence if personnel commit an act of violence as part of their duty or in their personal capacity," he said.

Nanan also said that in 2011, the National Police had spent 64 percent of its Rp 29.7 trillion budget for personnel salaries.

He said that the remainder of the budget was used to pay for operational costs. "This could lead to the poor services that police have given to the community," he said.

Infrastructure & development

Indonesia passes land acquisition bill

Reuters - December 16, 2011

Jakarta – Indonesia's House of Representatives on Friday approved a long- awaited land acquisition bill investors hope will give a big boost to government infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia's top economy.

The bill is an attempt to break the bottleneck in infrastructure development that has long been seen as holding back growth in Southeast Asia's top economy. It also presents major investment opportunities in a country where roads, ports and airports are overloaded.

The House, also known as the DPR, on Wednesday signaled it would pass the bill. A day later, Fitch Ratings gave Indonesia an investment grade rating, which could act as a spur to much-needed investment. Fitch had cited weak infrastructure as one reason why it had delayed the upgrade.

The controversial bill was passed despite a barrage of interruptions from members of the 560-strong parliament.

Shares in Indonesian construction, property and toll road firms have rallied this week on hopes the bill would be passed. Bankers say the delay in passing the bill has been holding up the dispersal of loans to companies for infrastructure development this year.

The main toll road operator, Jasa Marga had described the impact of the delay on its business as like a race car waiting for a track. Sucorinvest sees the bill as positive for firms such as PT Wijaya Karya, PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada and PT Adhi Karya.

Though the bill only applies to government projects, it is likely to benefit privately operated projects on government-bought land.

The government is relying on about $150 billion of private investment between 2010 and 2014 to overhaul its roads, railways and ports. Without better infrastructure, analysts say the country's growth may start to slow because of capacity constraints.

Human rights groups say the bill disregards traditional land rights and could lead to more conflict over land and forced expropriation of property.

Key points of Indonesia's new Land Law:

The House of Representatives (DPR) debated the bill, titled "land provision for the development for public interest," for a year.

Lawmakers discussed questions including regulatory certainty needed by businesses, government responsibility to fix infrastructure and the need for fair compensation for those whose land is acquired.

The bill covers infrastructure projects such as roads, dams, tunnels, railways, ports and airports, oil, gas and geothermal facilities, power plants and their distribution networks, hospitals and telecom networks.

It is limited to government projects but allows government to partner with state-owned firms and the private sector.

The bill shortens to two years the process of deciding on a project location, with an extension of one year.

Many delayed infrastructure projects in Indonesia are blamed on weak regulations, which were not strong enough to move people from land.

It is hoped the bill will solve the issue.

It gives a clear timeframe for land acquisition that includes decisions over a location, an appeals phase and compensation now to be decided by a court within 30 days.

It will also shorten the time it takes for infrastructure projects to acquire land.

Compensation can come in the form of cash, land swaps, share ownership, aided relocation and/or other forms agreed by both parties.

The bill gives local governments authority to decide on the location of a project. It equips the National Land Agency, or BPN, to oversee the acquisition process.

To become effective, the bill requires a separate presidential regulation, which government officials say should be next year.

Praises and doubts greet bill endorsement

Jakarta Post - December 16, 2011

Jakarta – The government's plan to boost capital spending for infrastructure is set to get a major boost as the House of Representatives is scheduled to endorse the long-awaited land acquisition bill today.

Under the new law, each step in all business and legal processes involving land acquisition for government-commissioned infrastructure projects will be given a clear time frame.

"A land acquisition process will take no more than 436 days after the bill is endorsed and the rights of the public are fulfilled," Joyo Winoto, the head of National Land Agency (BPN) told The Jakarta Post.

Provisions in the bill also allow a more democratic process in securing land for government projects.

Although a provincial governor has the final say on the appointment of a location for a government infrastructure project, his decision must consider inputs from regional leaders within the province and project assessments from credible scholars.

The public and land owners also have the right to refuse the governor's decision and file a complaint to the state administrative court and continue to appeal to the highest legal level right up to the Supreme Court.

Fatchur Rochman, chairman of the Indonesian Toll Road Association (ATI), said the bill would provide a higher level of certainty and make government projects more bankable.

"It has taken five-and-a-half years to acquire land for the Jakarta- Palimanan toll road. With this bill, businesspeople will have certainty in business and the country's development will be assured," Fatchur said.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) also welcomed the bill endorsement, but warned of potential pitfalls.

"We are happy with the time frame that is set in the bill, but we are afraid of injustice in the courts," Hariyadi Sukamdani, Kadin's vice chairman for monetary, fiscal, and public policy, said. Hariyadi said that bribery and injustice in the courts was still a gargantuan obstacle for business.

In a separate interview, Iwan Nurdin, the campaign deputy of the Agrarian Renewal Consortium (KPA), said the land acquisition bill only accommodated the interests of the government and not necessarily the people. The poor, he said, were always on the losing end.

"We are not going to stop fighting people who do not understand the importance of land for the people. We will ask the Constitutional Court to review the law," he told the Post.

The Yudhoyono administration plans to spend Rp 27.2 trillion (US$3.18 billion) in 2012, an increase of 19.3 percent from last year's spending, in a bid to achieve a 6.7 percent GDP growth.

Planned infrastructure projects include development of 14 airports, 150 kilometers of railway, 4,005 kilometers of road, 7.68 kilometers of bridges, dams and other projects aside from the existing infrastructure expansion plans to connect the thousands of islands throughout the archipelago.

The government has allocated Rp 54.6 trillion to fund those infrastructure projects, the proposed 2012 budget shows. Yudhyono said he expected that the projects would provide jobs and, in turn, reduce poverty in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Analysis & opinion

Papuan path to peace

Jakarta Post - December 22, 2011

Neles Tebay, Jayapura – Papua, under Indonesian rule since May 1, 1963, has been a land of conflict. It has to be transformed into a land of peace. For this transformation, a Papuan path to peace is urgently needed.

Seeking to find a proper path to peace, we need to review all polices applied in Papua by the Indonesian government over the past 48 years.

The government has adopted two approaches in its efforts to settle the Papuan conflict. First, the government applied a security approach. It has been manifested through committing state violence against the Papuans, deploying thousands of troops, forming new infantry battalions, establishing new military stations and security posts and sending in more mobile brigade officers. This approach has contributed little to peace in Papua.

The second approach is that of law enforcement. In applying this approach, for example, the raising of the West Papua Morning Star flag has been outlawed. Consequently, Papuans who raise the flag are always suspected as being members or supporters of the Papuan separatist movement. They are arrested by the police and jailed for more than 15 years.

Despite this criminalization of the political conflict, the reality on the ground reveals that the Papua situation remains unsettled.

While applying the two approaches, the government offered the status of special autonomy for Papua in 2001. Unfortunately, as Papua's autonomy law has not been implemented properly and consistently by the government, none of the fundamental problems in the region have been addressed yet.

Despite pouring billions of rupiah into Papua for 10 years, there has been no significant improvement in living standards among Papuans, let alone those Papuans living in remote and isolated villages.

Due to all these failures, a new Papuan path to peace needs to be developed. The steps on the Papuan path to peace should be comprehensive in their dimensions. They should address all the fundamental problems and basic needs of people in the region.

The peace path should cover five dimensions, namely law and human rights, political, socioeconomic and environmental, sociocultural and security dimensions.

Each dimension should be complemented by some indicators of peace, problems that have to be resolved and solutions to each problem. The steps on the path to peace should be laid out by all those stakeholders who could potentially be peacemakers or causes of conflict in Papua.

In my view, there are nine groups of stakeholders. They include indigenous Papuans, non-Papuans (migrants) living in Papua, local governments (provincial and regency governments), the police, the military (TNI), the central government, all private companies exploiting natural resources in Papua, Papuan rebels (TPN) in the jungles of Papua and Papuan leaders overseas (Papua New Guinea, Australia, Vanuatu, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States).

Each of them can give their respective and specific contribution to create lasting peace in Papua. Therefore, they should be invited to discuss and decide on the steps on the Papuan path to peace.

A proper mechanism is needed to lay out the Papuan path to peace. We need to develop a mechanism that can allow all the aforementioned stakeholders to actively participate in the discussions of the path to peace.

I would like to offer five steps to explore and elaborate on the Papuan path to peace.

The first step would be an internal discussion for each group of stakeholders. The central government should provide room for each group of stakeholders to hold internal discussions and produce their collective opinions about the path to peace in Papua.

Second, having conducted discussions within each group of stakeholders, two "regional peace conferences" need to be held in Jayapura, one for indigenous Papuans and the second for other Papuan citizens, particularly for migrants living in Papua.

The third step would be a "National conference on Peace and prosperity in Papua". Conducted in Jakarta, the conference should be attended by representatives of indigenous Papuans, migrants, the police, the TNI, local governments and private companies. Each of them can present at the conference the results of their internal discussions. Based on the presentations, participants can work out a route map of the Papuan path to peace.

The fourth step would be a "Papuans' conference on peace, prosperity, and development in Papua". This conference would be for indigenous Papuans who live in the jungles of Papua and overseas. The Indonesian government should allow them to hold the conference in a Pacific country so as to discuss, without fear of intimidation or arrest, how to transform Papua into a land of peace. It is through this very conference that they could produce their united vision on the path to peace in their ancestral land.

The last step would be an "open dialogue" between representatives of the Indonesian government and indigenous Papuans. The result of the last two conferences could be brought to the dialogue table. With the help of trusted mediators, the government and the Papuans could produce a jointly agreed framework and way forward for Papua.

In all the proposed discussions and conferences, including in the final dialogue between representatives of the government and the Papuans, participants should discuss the same three questions: What are the indicators of peace in each of the five dimensions mentioned?; What are the problems under each dimension that have to be resolved for the sake of peace?; And what are the solutions to each identified problem?

Having discussed these questions with all the stakeholders, the Papuan path to peace that would be laid out through dialogue between the representatives of the government and the Papuans would genuinely be a result of common effort.

Every stakeholder would have a sense of ownership of the result of the final dialogue. Consequently, they would also be responsible for its implementation. The Papuan path to peace would, eventually, be the common project of all the stakeholders.

[The writer is a lecturer at the Fajar Timur School of Philosophy and Theology in Abepura, Papua.]

Unequal progress

Jakarta Post Editorial - December 22, 2011

Noble mothers, wives and workers, with no troublesome demands – this is what Soeharto's New Order wanted of its female citizens. And every Dec. 22 has become the annual dismissal day of the New Order's version of the historic Hari Ibu – originally the day in 1928 when dozens of women gathered for their first national congress. Under Soeharto, the meaning of ibu was no longer the neutral term for woman, but exalted motherhood within a submissive society.

Today's women have returned Dec. 22 back to its roots, a momentum to collectively take stock of the progress of Indonesian society, regarding how it values its female half. Addressing this issue and its solutions remains important for the country's progress; despite defensive arguments for Indonesia's positive image, the death of hundreds of thousands of women related to childbirth and pregnancy, last estimated at 228 per 100,000 – one of the highest in Southeast Asia, continues to stare us in the face. Such facts are a stark reminder of the absence of basic facilities, such as good roads to enable women's access to clinics, and glaring lack of basic awareness of women's health in families and communities.

The latest World Bank report on women has clearly shown that while Indonesia's women make up 52 percent of the labor market as of last year, they only receive 77 US cents for every dollar that men make. The bank's coordinator of its East Asia and Pacific gender program, Andrew Mason, says one solution lies in the infrastructure – from access to clean water, negating the need for women to fetch water for hours, particularly in rural areas, to laws providing parental leave for both men and women. He says this would enable fathers and mothers to take turns in pursuing their careers and taking care of the children.

These two examples of indicators of women's conditions – the maternal mortality rate and wage differences – are a few of many indicators of the country's progress as a whole. How advanced is a nation when half its citizens lag behind? Parental leave for both mom and dad would be a good start. Many of us have grown up perceiving mother as the nagging parent, maybe because she spent too many long hours ensuring a spic and span household with the kids all bathed and well behaved by the time father gets home.

But getting policymakers to pay attention to issues like parental leave is only possible when they relate to such problems. Advocates for affirmative action have faced much hostility – but this was precisely the advocates' goal, to have more female policymakers that would more likely relate to seemingly personal difficulties like simultaneously raising families and earning. National figures of women's representation in executive and legislative bodies paint a heartening picture of progress, at least with currently 18 percent in the legislature.

Yet last month, the National Commission on Violence against Women reported that rape remains the most frequent violation against women, with 50 percent of almost 100,000 cases of sexual violence, as recorded in the last 13 years. Most perpetrators were relatives; another grim reminder that Indonesia cannot protect the confidence and security of each women in daily life.

The Thinker: Anatomy of murders

Jakarta Globe - December 20, 2011

Oei Eng Goan – This isn't the 1959 courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Murder." It was a real life tragedy that befell farmers in the Mesuji area in South Sumatra and Lampung provinces, where tens of people were allegedly brutally murdered in two cases of land disputes earlier this year.

News about the killings enraged the public after they were reported by the Mesuji farmers to the House of Representatives last week. According to the farmers, security guards of the local plantation companies, along with police and military officials, had often intimidated them as part of the companies' efforts to evict villagers from their land.

The farmers said that acts of violence sporadically broke out and some 30 villagers were murdered between 2009 and last month. To convince lawmakers, they produced a video that showed a decapitated body being dragged by an unruly mob. Both the military and the National Police have denied the accusations.

The public questioned the true number of victims killed in the conflicts and the rightful ownership of the land being disputed between the villagers and the plantation companies, Sumber Wangi Alam and Barat Selatan Makmur Investindo, as well as the involvement of police and military officials in the bloody violence.

Local media had earlier reported that at least eight people were killed in the Mesuji land conflicts this year. The first one took place on April 21 in Mesuji village, Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatra, where seven people were killed, five of whom were employees of the SWA palm oil plantation company, and a dozen others were injured. The second one happened on Nov. 10 in Tanjung Raya, Mesuji, Lampung, killing a villager and injuring six others.

Regardless of the number of victims, one thing is sure: as was acknowledged by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), a gross violation of human rights did take place in Mesuji. The commission pointed to the fact that thousands of villagers in Mesuji areas are now living in tents after their houses were demolished by security officials on the pretext that the villagers had illegally occupied land owned by the plantation companies.

Anang Prihantoro, a member of the Lampung council, told tvOne on Saturday evening that what was shown in the video about the demolition was true – he had witnessed how the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel helped company security guards dismantle the houses, forcing more than 5,000 people to become refugees in their own land.

"It is evident that the police were on the company's side and they opened fire straight to the angry crowds without giving a warning shot first," said Komnas HAM member Johnny Nelson Simanjuntak, who conducted an on-the- spot investigation in Mesuji.

The public expects that the fact-finding team, specially set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to study the anatomy of the bloody incidents, will come up with concrete solutions and answers to questions like: How can people who have lived for generations in Mesuji areas be driven from their homes? How can they be accused of poaching the harvest yields in their own farmlands? How could SWA, which reportedly owned or had a concession of 30,000 hectares of land during its initial operation, now claim to have the right to cultivate 45,000 hectares of land, and from whom did it get the extra land? Was there "lunch money" paid by the companies to local police officers, like Freeport did in Papua?

District and provincial officials should also be held responsible for failing to prevent the tragedy from happening given that the conflicts had been going for years.

Unless the hearts of the country's leadership were made of stone, they should certainly be moved by the heartbreaking lament expressed at the Komnas HAM building by a woman who was victim of the forced eviction in Mesuji: "Your children are still going to school, but my children don't even know when their next meal is goingto be."

The government must take immediate action to help and protect its marginalized citizens in Mesuji and in other regions across the nation where similar incidents are likely to occur.

[Oei Eng Goan, a former literature lecturer at National University (UNAS) in Jakarta, is a freelance journalist.]