Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman says provocateurs are believed to be behind a string of violent rallies across the country.

He expects people to be very careful and smart in order to avoid unnecessary violence. "These provocateurs intend to undermine government stability. We must act to prevent this," Marciano told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Marciano, however, refused to reveal further information regarding the alleged provocateurs, saying that it might only worsen the situation. "Instead of unveiling further information about these provocateurs, I prefer to share my experience with the public on how to hold a protest," he said.

He said he was a supporter of democracy, in which people were given freedom to speak their minds. "Thus, I do want to see people staging rallies, expressing their worries and protesting the government, but not in harm's way," said Marciano.

A mass rally recently turned to violence in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, in which around 10,000 people set the Bima regent's office on fire in protest of the regent's decision to revoke a local miner's license.

Protest against mosque relocation turns wild

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2012

Medan – A protest against the relocation of Raudhatul Islam Mosque by a housing businessman in Medan, North Sumatra, turned wild on Friday.

Chaos broke out when a collective group from various Muslim organizations marched on Emerald Garden Hotel after Friday prayers to ask for accountability from PT Jatimasindo for relocating the mosque. The Jatimasindo businessman was believed to be the owner of the hotel.

Disappointed with not being able to meet with the Jatimasindo owner, the protesters burned used tires in front of the hotel's lobby.

The melee restricted hotel guests from entering the hotel compound. Police officers, assisted by security guards, tried to put out the fire, but were prevented by protesters in a confrontation that resulted in a shoving match.

Muslim People's Forum chairman Indra Suheri said that the protesters were disappointed by Jatimasindo management's refusal to meet protesters.

"The mosque was built on charitable land so that the building cannot be compensated in line with Law No. 41/2004," Indra said, adding that the demolition of the mosque was to make way for the construction of a housing complex and a shopping mall.

North Sumatra Office of Religious Affairs head Abdul Rahim refused to be interviewed by reporters over the protest. "It will be better next time, Bapak [Abdul Rahim] is away now," said Khoiruddin, a member of Abdul Rahim's staff.

Indonesian road warriors deflate profits of tire crooks

Agence France Presse - January 26, 2012

Jakarta – For a syndicate of rogue but innovative tire repairmen in Jakarta the key to improving business is simple: bring potential clients to a piercing halt.

Each day before dawn the repairmen sabotage streets by dumping hundreds of nails and other sharp objects before setting up roadside workshops. They then wait for their victims to totter in on punctured tires.

"I'm so fed-up. I can't keep spending my earnings on new tires. If I ever get my hands on one of the culprits I will strip him and drive nails through every pore of his body," fumed 30-year-old Talib, a motorcyle taxi driver who suffered a flat tire the week before and had returned to the scene looking for culprits.

"Make them swallow the nails. Let them taste our pain and learn some manners," offered his friend, parking attendant Sulaiman Daud, 50.

Typically, the culprits fill matchboxes and plastic bags with nails and metal scraps and deliberately drop them on busy streets during the early hours, Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto said.

It has been going on for years, he added. "When unfortunate victims go to the repairmen they are often told they need new tires, and are then charged double the normal price," Rikwanto added.

For the tire repairmen who work in pairs – one dumping the nails and the other repairing – earnings of about Rp 200,000 ($22) to Rp 400,000 rupiah a day are normal. It is good business in a country where nearly half the 240-million population lives on less than $2 a day.

Darmito, 57, started operating a roadside repair shop two months ago to meet increased demand for repairs. But he said he knew nothing of the syndicate. "I'm doing an honest business. I don't know who dumped the nails along this road," he said.

Last month police arrested eight suspects, who could face five years in jail on charges of damaging property, Rikwanto said.

"We are hunting down more. We have received so many complaints from motorists but they are hard to catch. Once they sense we are getting tough they will vanish for a while and then re-appear," he added.

But alongside police, in a country known for crooked law enforcers and widespread corruption, is a team of dedicated volunteers determined to deflate the repairmen's profits.

For the past two years the volunteers from Komunitas Sapu Bersih Ranjau Paku, or "Nails Wipeout Community", have been tirelessly plucking the nails and sharp objects off the jam-packed streets, expecting nothing in return.

Every day they stride into Jakarta's fierce traffic, armed with razor-sharp eyes and powerful magnets.

"A lot of nails here! Be careful not to run your tires over them," one of the volunteers shouted to motorists in the bustling Cideng neighbourhood in West Jakarta while he passed a magnet-and-string contraption over the asphalt.

Since they began their collection campaign they have collected some 450 kilograms of nails. And each day they see their efforts paying off, with daily collections falling from five kilograms a day to only two.

"We are doing this not for money or publicity. We only want motorists to have a smooth, problem-free ride," said 38-year-old granite wholesaler Siswanto, who founded the group.

"We don't want people to be late for work because of a punctured tire. We want children to be in school on time. We don't want poor people to waste their hard-earned money on new tires," he added.

Siswanto, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, begins his collection at 4:30 a.m., leaving for work at 7. Again at 6:30 p.m. he's on the streets for a few hours, for a routine that has become his daily life.

Besides the danger of being hit by a car, the volunteers also face other hazards. "There were people who threw rocks and worn-out tyres at us and even warned us 'you pick up the nails and I will kill you,' volunteer Agus Yudi Murjito, 41, said.

"But I'm doing this to help people, so I believe we will get God's protection," he added. "I'll be here, rain or shine."

West Papua

Makar accused reject charges, and Indonesian jurisdiction over Papua

West Papua Media Info - January 31, 2012

Nick Chesterfield with local sources in Jayapura – The treason trial against the leaders of the Third Papuan People's Congress in Jayapura was adjourned on Monday until February 8, after a short hearing that Indonesian authorities moved at the last moment preventing many supporters from attending.

The five defendants, President of the Federated Republic of West Papua (FRWP) Forkorus Yaboisembut, Prime Minister Edison Waromi, together with Congress organisers Selpius Bobii, Dominikus Sorabut and Agus Sananay were charged with makar or treason under Article 106 of KUHP (the Indonesian Criminal Code) for their declaration of an independent West Papua at the close of the Third Papuan People's Congress on October 19 last year.

The historic Congress was violently broken up by Indonesian security forces using live fire and excessive violence, with at least seven people killed, hundreds beaten and tortured, despite official permission for the event to be held. Indonesian security officers involved were given minor disciplinary sanction, with most perpetrators of violence enjoying complete impunity despite footage of the Indonesian security force violence being broadcast internationally.

Initial reports from witnesses inside the trial early in the day claimed that the team of judges argued with the defence legal team about the need to know the political position of the defendant's, despite the fact that in a treason trial this would be self-evident. Yaboisembut and Waromi then fundamentally rejected the charges against them, arguing that their actions were not treason".

According to Forkorus as reported by the Jakarta Post, "What we have been doing is seeking our own independence. Thus, we have cheated no one,". Forkorus argued that Indonesian occupation of his homeland was the real issue, and that "this problem is not the problem of separatism and rebellion or treason". Both Forkorus and Waromi said that the issue of Papua should be tried in international courts as the Indonesian state did not have jurisdiction over Papua.

In a short statement sent to West Papua Media, the defendant's legal team said that the judge asked Forkorus and the accused understood the indictment. "He answered that, yes, he understood what the prosecutors read but did not understand the charges of treason against them." "Forkorus then asked for time to read a statement to the assembly to process the rejection of the law, (the request of) which was then approved by a judge. Our attorneys will do the rebuttal (exception) to the indictment dated 8th February 2012," according to the legal team led by Hamadi.

Bintang Papua reported that another one of the lawyers for the accused, Gustaf Kawer,said that up to 32 lawyers from across Papua and Indonesia had offered pro-bono defence of the treason accused. He said: 'I am convinced that the large number of lawyers who are attracted by the case is a good sign of interest in the need to find a solution to the problem of Papua.'

The Panel of Judges hearing the trial are Chairman of the Jayapura District Court of Class IA, Jayapura, Papua, Jack John Octovianus, SH. MH,; assisted by I Ketut Nyoman S, SH. MH. Syor Mambrasar, SH. MH. Orpah Marthina, SH. and Willem Marco Erari, SH.

Outside the court hearing, almost 400 hundred heavily armed riot police and a similar number of Army and Kopassus personnel were guarding the courthouse venue from dawn (0600) with close to a dozen armoured assault vehicles, mounted with heavy machine guns, according to participants.

Participants in the protest claimed to West Papua Media via SMS that security forces were acting in a heavy-handed manner, describing their actions as "wild and aggressive". "This display of armour makes thousands of ordinary people in Jayapura traumatized and afraid to come to action," said Jack Wainggai, the spokesman for the Prime Minister of the FRWP, Edison Waromi, on trial for treason today. Organisers had aimed for several thousand people to attend, but amid heavy Indonesian security that discouraged solidarity protests by West Papuan supporters of the defendants, only 500-600 braved the heavy armour and "state intimidation" outside the court.

Despite promises by Indonesian authorities that the trials would be open, the presiding judges secretly started proceedings at 8.30 am before supporter could arrive. In a press statement before the trial, Bintang Papua reported that Olga Hamadi of Kontras Papua said, "The five men will face charges under Article 106 of the Criminal Code for subversion. Based on past experience, there are concerns regarding security during the trial which will be open to the public, meaning that anyone wishing to attend the trial will be able to do so." Hamadi urged all present to restrain themselves and ensure that conditions surrounding the trial are conducive.

Speculation has mounted amongst local observers that the trial may be moved from Jayapura to metropolitan Indonesia to reduce any potential political flashpoint it will cause amongst pro-independence forces in Papua, with the prosecutor's office formally warning of such a move should unrest occur. Conversely though, any shift would create more opportunities for international observers to be present at the trial, a basic condition called for by the defence and international human rights monitors.

After the adjournment, the few hundred that did attend were able to disperse peacefully without an Indonesian security force crackdown, but tension still remains high in Jayapura as armed troops are still deployed on the streets the following day.

Elsewhere in Papua, solidarity actions were held with the treason trials against the Congress leaders. In Manokwari, orations were held calling for international peacekeepers to be deployed to protect West Papuan people from Indonesian state violence. Calls were also made in Manokwari for neutral international mediators for dialogue between Jakarta and the Federated Republic of West Papua.

Illiteracy points to deeper woes in Papua

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Banjir Ambarita & Mary Anugrah Rasita, Jayapura – Education experts and officials have decried the poor state of schools in Papua in the wake of a revelation that half of all students at a state elementary school in Jayapura, the provincial capital, were illiterate.

Nella Manaku, headmaster of Holtekamp Elementary School, said on Monday that 50 percent of the students there could neither read nor write.

"Most of the students in grades one through three can't read or write, they can barely just spell [the alphabet]," he said. "In grades four and five, there are also students who can't read or write."

The Jakarta Globe also observed fifth- and sixth-grade students still being taught how to write.

Nella blamed the high illiteracy rate on a lack of teachers at the state- run school. He said there were just five instructors for the more than 100 students. "Three of them are permanent and the others are contract teachers, but they rarely show up for work," he said.

He added that he had repeatedly applied to the Jayapura Education Agency for more teachers, but to no avail. "For several years now we've been asking for help, but there's never been a response from the authorities," he said.

Kayus Bahabol, a provincial legislator, said he would push Jayapura officials to do something about conditions at the school. "It's an emergency situation. This is a state school, not a private school, so the government needs to seriously address the problems here," he said.

He added that the high illiteracy rate was not the only issue the school was dealing with. "Educational facilities here are badly lacking. There's also livestock wandering all over the place and leaving their droppings everywhere," he said.

Kenius Kogoya, another provincial legislator, said the Holtekamp case was just the tip of the iceberg.

"If things can get this bad at a school in Jayapura, a major city, imagine what it's like at schools in rural areas," he said. "The government always likes to claim that regional autonomy has been a blessing for development in Papua, but this is highly questionable."

Arief Rachman, an education expert who chairs the National Commission for Unesco, agreed that the low level of development in the province was the main culprit for the high illiteracy rate. "When even the adults in Papua are largely illiterate, how can you expect their children to read and write?" he asked.

Darmaningtyas, an education expert from the Taman Siswa school network, said the problem of teacher shortages was a long-standing one in Papua.

"A single school in Jayapura can have as few as two or three teachers, so how can a good education system possibly be built based on this?" he asked. "This is Papua we're talking about. Very few people are willing to go teach there, because of the distance and the poor infrastructure, so this results in a poor education system there."

He urged the government to prioritize infrastructure development to improve the distribution of books and other school supplies across Papua, "because right now we lack the channels to get the appropriate reading materials to the students there."

Papua's illiteracy rate among those aged 15 years and under was 32 percent, the highest in the nation, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2010. That figure has increased steadily since 2007, when it was 25 percent, going up to 28 percent in 2008 and 30 in 2009.

Indonesian court indicts Papuan activists for treason

Agence France Presse - January 30, 2012

Jayapura – An Indonesian court on Monday indicted five Papuan activists for treason for raising an outlawed Papuan flag and declaring the region independent.

The men, who led a peaceful pro-independence celebration attended by 5,000 indigenous Papuans on Oct. 19, face life in prison if found guilty.

"The defendants jointly tried to commit treason with the intention of allowing the country or part of the country to fall into the hands of the enemy," Judge Jack L. Oktovianus at the Jayapura district court said. "They acted together to declare Papua an independent region, which constitutes an act of treason."

Local TV footage had showed the men declaring the region's independence in the Papuan capital Jayapura and paramilitary police then shooting into the crowd and beating participants with batons and bare fists.

At least three people were killed and more than 90 injured in the chaos. Eight police officers were let off with written warnings for disciplinary infractions.

New-York-based Human Rights Watch on Sunday called for the cancellation of the trial. "It's appalling that a modern democratic nation like Indonesia continues to lock up people for organizing a demonstration and expressing controversial views," the group's Asia deputy director Elaine Pearson said in a statement.

Indonesia in 1969 took control of Papua, a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island, after a vote among a select group of Papuans widely seen as a sham.

Papuans, mostly indigenous Melanesians, have long accused Indonesia's military of violating human rights in the province and complain that the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flow to the capital.

Jakarta keeps a tight grip on the region through its military, which regularly clashes with locals, and foreign-based journalists are barred from reporting in the region.

More than 170 people are currently imprisoned in Indonesia for peacefully promoting separatism in Indonesia, most of them from Papua or the eastern Maluku islands, according to Human Rights Watch.

Indonesia must drop charges against Papuans: HRW

Agence France Presse - January 29, 2012

Human Rights Watch on Sunday called on Indonesia to drop treason charges against five peaceful protesters, a day ahead of their expected trial in the remote province of Papua.

The New York-based rights watchdog said Indonesian security forces in October had used "excessive force" including batons and firearms to break up a pro-independence assembly in the provincial capital Jayapura, killing at least three people and injuring more than 90.

Eight police officers were let off with written warnings for disciplinary infractions but five Papuan leaders were charged with treason – and are expected to stand trial on Monday, it added.

"The Indonesian government should show its commitment to peaceful expression by dropping the charges against these five Papuan activists," the group's Asia deputy director Elaine Pearson said in a statement.

"It's appalling that a modern democratic nation like Indonesia continues to lock up people for organizing a demonstration and expressing controversial views," she added. Pursuing the trial would "only deepen the resentment that many Papuans feel against the government", Pearson said.

HRW also urged Indonesia to release at least 15 other Papuans, including independence leader Filep Karma, and about 60 other people mostly Maluku activists, over "peaceful acts of free expression."

Right groups accuse Indonesia of gross human rights abuses in Papua, a Melanesian-majority region rich in natural resources where poorly armed rebels have been fighting for independence for decades.

Jakarta denies the allegations but refuses to allow foreign media or aid workers into the remote eastern province to conduct independent inquiries.

Rallies to support Papuan leaders facing treason trials on Monday

West Papua Media Info - January 28, 2012

Nick Chesterfield with sources – West Papua's civil resistance movement is believed to be organising major demonstrations to support West Papuan leaders facing treason charges in Indonesia's courts on Monday, January 30.

Indonesian prosecutors will begin proceedings in Jayapura in the treason trials for the leaders of the Third Papuan People's Congress (KP3), which decalred independence from Jakarta on October 19 last year, after which Indonessian security forces stormed the venue.

The President of the Federated Republic of West Papua Forkorus Yaboisembut, Prime Minister Edison Waromi, together with Congress organisers Selpius Bobii, Dominikus Sorabut, Agus Sananay and Gat Wenda all face a battery of charges stemming from their involvement in the Third Papuan Peoples Congress, held for only the third time since 1961.

Five of the six are charged with treason under Article 106 of KUHP (the Indonesian Criminal Code), and have also been charged under Article 53 for incitement to acts of treason, and Article 55 which states that even attempting to committ an act (in this case treason), even if unproven is the same as committing the act. Gat Wenda is charged with carrying a concealed weapon. The use of these charges date back to the Dutch colonial times and were used extensively by the Suharto New Order regime to suppress nonviolent dissent.

Their trial will take place at Pengadilan Negeri Klas 1A (State Court 1A), according to a letter dated 17 January (reference 17/PEN.PID/2012/PN). The trial is due to start at 10:00am. The Hon. Jack Johanes Octovianus SH. MH. will be the presiding judge.

Indonesian police and soldiers stormed the Congress venue on October 19 after the independence declaration at the close of the Congress, killing at least 7 people, injuring hundreds and arresting as many as 800 participants. All but the six current detainees were eventually released, but ongoing crackdowns against Papuan nonviolent activists by security forces across Papua intensified in the weeks after the Congress, with several cases of arbitrary arrest and killings.

Papuan human rights activists have alleged, as Video footage of the attack clearly shows, Australian trained Detachment 88 anti-terror troops involved in the attack on unarmed congress participants. Six people were killed and over 300 were arrested.

All detainees were severely beaten by Indonesian police extensively in the weeks following the crackdown, with Yaboisembut sustaining multiple fractures including broken ribs and sternum, and was so badly tortured that he could not stand.

The Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) together with the Communion of Churches in Papua (PGGP) reported in said that at least 51 people had been tortured by members of the military and police during and after the Congress. Congress participants testified that they had been "beaten and kicked repeatedly by security forces both at the congress site and while being transported to police headquarters. Some participants said they were beaten at the police station."

In mid December, when the Indonesian police finally charged the detainees with treason, their legal team rejected this unequivocally. As reported by Bintang Papua, well prior to the Congress the committee sent a letter of notification to the police requesting permission for the congress to be held, and had also sent a letter to the Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, requesting him to be the keynote speaker at the congress. Suyanto agreed and instructed the director-general of the ministry to open the congress, though he never attended.

"How can this be said to be treason when there have been letters received from the police and the minister?," said the lawyers who stressed that all their clients had done was to express their opinions, rights guaranteed under Indonesian Law the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

An SMS sent to West Papua Media from the KP3 committee has called for the people of Papua to guard the results of the Third Papuan Congress and to hold the Indonesian state to upholding the due process of law.

There is a high likelihood that the six will not receive a fair trial, according to human rights monitors and the lawyers for the six.

The Papuan detainees have requested international observers, including an Australian Government representative be present at the trial and their lawyers have advised that it is possible. The six are all peaceful protesters who were exercising their right to free speech, according to legal observers.

Demonstrations of prayers, live music and vigils are planned to be held outside the courthouse during the trials, according to West Papua Media stringers on the ground in Jayapura – The KP3 COmmittee have called for people to "maintain an escort for the trial that is peaceful and dignified" and to remain united in the face of security force provocations.

West Papua Media stringers also report that Indonesian security forces have mobilised sigificantly to prevent any "disruption" of the treason trials, expected to be a flashpoint for further crackdown by security forces on peaceful dissent. Significant deployment of military hardware is expected on Monday which may provoke an already tense atmosphere.

Papuan political prisoner refused medical treatment: Report

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

The Asian Human Rights Commission released an urgent appeal on Friday calling on Indonesian authorities to allow a political prisoner suffering from a tumor to receive medical treatment.

AHRC reported that political prisoner Kimanus Wenda, held at the Nabire prison in Papua, needs surgery on a tumor in his stomach.

The report alleged the Papua legal and human rights department has refused to pay for Kimanus's treatment, acting against a state law that requires the provision of medical fees and treatment.

"Wenda has had a tumor in his stomach and is constantly vomiting. He informed the health staff at Nabire prison but was not given any adequate response," the report said. Authorities have countered that Kimanus does not require the surgery.

Kimanus has suffered from the tumor since 2010. He was found guilty of rebellion in 2004 following a burglary at the Jayawijaya Wamena military district staff headquarters armory. Kimanus was sentenced to 20 years in prison. AHRC filed another urgent appeal on Thursday regarding the arrest of three activists and nine locals in Kurulu, Papua.

"Armed officers came to Umpagalo at around 11 p.m., they beat three local activists, Melianus Wantik, Edo Doga and Markus Walilo, as well as nine villagers... then stabbed them with bayonets for two hours, forced them to crawl and doused them with water for one hour."

The report alleges that the officers acted without any command letter of authorization on unsubstaintiated allegations of a Free Papua Movement (OPM) meeting in the village.

Clash erupts in regent election in Papua, one killed

Jakarta Post - January 25, 2012

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A regional election clash has once again erupted during campaigning for a local regent election in Papua, causing the death of a supporter of one of the election candidates in Tolikara regency.

The victim, identified as Yusuf Yikwa, 38, died on Saturday after being hit by an arrow in his chest.

The clash occurred after supporters of candidate pair John Tabo – Hedi Suyanto came upon supporters of another pair of candidates, Usman Wanimbo and Amos Yikwa.

The two groups of rival supporters began to taunt each other in the regency's downtown area. Wanimbo – Yikwa's supporters shouted, "The Golkar [Party] will lose! The Democratic Party will win!"

"The shouts were answered by supporters of the Tabo-Suyatno pairing, with, 'Golkar will win and the Democratic Party will lose.' This was immediately followed by a brawl that broke out between them, including throwing stones and rocks at each other and firing arrows," Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono said in Jayapura on Tuesday.

Wachyono said that besides causing the death of one of the supporters, the clash also injured two others – Yermias Kogoya, 18, and Pioga Wanimbo, 16. The mass fight also caused damage to the Karubaga district office and the official residence of Tolikara's acting regent.

"Calm has now returned to the area. The two groups of supporters have been approached and encouraged not to repeat such actions because outbreaks like this could severely affect the regional election process in Tolikara. Nevertheless, security officers are continuing to investigate the cause of death of Yusuf Yikwa," Wachyono said.

The regional election for the 2012-2017 period in Tolikara is scheduled to take place on Feb. 17, 2012. Two pairs of candidates are running in the election: The incumbent regent Tabo and his running mate Suyatno, and the pairing of Wanimbo – Yikwa.

Nineteen people were killed and dozens injured when supporters of rival candidates in a local regent election clashed in Ilaga district in Puncak regency, Papua, in July last year.

The groups attacked each other outside the local legislative council building, using a variety of weapons, including rocks and bows and arrows, according to police reports.

The election in Puncak, which at the time of the clash was still registering the candidates, was immediately postponed for an unspecified period.

Aceh

Delayed Aceh poll meets with protest

Jakarta Post - January 31, 2012

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The rescheduling of the Aceh gubernational poll drew protests on Monday from those including incumbent governor Irwandi Yusuf, who is seeking his second term.

With uncertainty surrounding the poll, the Independent Election's Commission (KIP) Aceh announced officially during a plenary meeting on Monday that it would run on April 9, which was a delay of almost two months from initially scheduled Feb. 16.

"After thorough consideration and discussion with regencies' KIP heads across Aceh, we've decided that April 9, 2012 is the appropriate time to hold the poll," Yarwin Adidarma, an election commissioner, said.

The confirmed date was in accordance with the Constitutional Court's (MK) recommendation but still appeared to be unpopular.

A group of people claiming to be the Community Coalition for a Peaceful Poll, feared political tension as the consequences of the delay and warned the KIP to be responsible for possible conflicts and violence.

"We are not responsible for violence that might happen in the future as a result of the delayed poll," said Waladan Yoga, coordinator of the protesting group.

Before the announcement of the new date, the KIP had, on the recommendation of the MK, reopened registration for candidates in an apparent move to accommodate the Aceh Party.

However, the move has been perceived as a sign of the KIP's powerlessness amid the Aceh Party's threat of a boycott if the poll proceeded as scheduled.

Yoga said the postponement was an act of inefficiency and disadvantaged candidates who had registered their nomination before the registration reopening.

Irwandi, whose thrust to power was helped by the Aceh Party's win at the last election but who has now split with the party due to internal bickering, opposed the postponement.

"This absolutely disadvantages me. If delayed for one or two weeks, we might have accepted. It's longer than that and we can't accept it," said Irwandi, who is now joining the race as independent candidate. The postponement, according to Irwandi, will prompt him to dig deeper into his resources to finance the extended campaign.

The commission also announced that two of seven pairs for the gubernatorial poll were disqualified for administrative defects, while 12 of 138 pairs for regencies/municipalities' elections, which will be held simultaneously with the gubernatorial poll, failed to meet requirements.

Hendra Fadli-Yuli Zuardi and Fachrulsyah Mega-Zulfinar were judged as falling short of meeting the minimum votes required for independent candidates to join the gubernatorial poll. "The two pairs of candidates failed to submit proof of support as required," Nurjani Abdullah, another commissioner, said.

Independent candidates running for the poll without parties as their political vehicles must submit signatures amounting to at least 3 percent of the Aceh population, while support from at least 15 percent of seats at the legislative council is needed for candidates nominated by political parties. The KIP revealed the list of eligible voters for the poll at 3,227,586.

Aceh poll by April, court confirms

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

Agus Triyono & Nurdin Hasan – The decision earlier this month by polling officials in Aceh to postpone February's local elections to as late as April was approved by the Constitutional Court on Friday, but the move failed to end the months-long bickering in the issue.

"In light of the prevailing conditions and laws, we rule that the elections should be held no later than April 9, 2012," Mahfud M.D., the court's chief justice, said when reading out the ruling.

Last week, the court ordered the reopening of the registration window for candidates who missed out on the previous period. But the ruling also stipulated that the polls be held as scheduled on Feb. 16.

In response, the Aceh Independent Elections Commission (KIP) announced it had no choice but to push the polls back to April 9 to allow enough time to verify the new candidates, and called on the court to back its decision.

Ilham Saputra, the KIP deputy chairman, who attended Friday's hearing in Jakarta, said his organization was "very pleased" with the ruling. "We obviously welcome the postponement because there was no way that we were going to be able to hold the elections by February 16," he said.

He added that even though the court had agreed with the KIP on the new date, the polling agency would still need to check with district and municipal polling officials in Aceh to check whether they would be prepared to hold the elections in time.

The polls, which will see voters choose a governor, 13 district heads and four mayors, had initially been scheduled for last November but were when the Aceh Party threatened a boycott in response to a Constitutional Court ruling allowing independent candidates to run.

At the time, the KIP went on to register candidates regardless of the boycott by the party, which dominates the provincial legislature and derives its support from former members of the now-disbanded militant Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The party registered its candidates last week, days after the Constitutional Court ordered the reopening of the registration window, finally ending its months-long standoff with the electoral authority.

Fachrul Razi, a spokesman for the party, welcomed the latest ruling and said it would "ensure room for all to participate in the democratic process."

But the ruling came under attack by the camp of Governor Irwandi Yusuf, who is seeking re-election as an independent and registered his bid last year.

Thamren Ananda, a spokesman for his campaign team said that by not locking in a specific date, the court was putting pressure on the polling agency to determine a date that would suit all sides.

"The ruling comes across as highly strange and politicized because it fails to give a concrete schedule for the elections," he said. "We're now waiting to see whether the final date that the KIP decides on will disadvantage the candidates who registered earlier at the benefit of the others."

He added his camp would have agreed if the court had ordered the polls postponed by no more than two weeks, "we were willing to compromise for the sake of political stability in Aceh, but if our goodwill is responded to with rulings that continue to disadvantage us, then we will have to take the matter to court," Thamren said.

Gubernatorial candidates tested in reading Koran

Jakarta Post - January 25, 2012

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Candidate pairs for the Aceh gubernatorial election underwent Koran recital tests in Banda Aceh on Tuesday as part of an official examination of their Islamic views.

Skills in reciting the Koran, the Muslim holy book, are compulsory not only for governor and vice governor candidates but also for regent/mayor and deputy regent/mayor candidates in Aceh since the province implemented sharia law in 2003.

"It is the third time we have carried out the Koran test for candidates since we opened registration for candidates for Aceh elections," election commissioner Akmal Abzal said on Tuesday.

The candidates undergoing the test on Tuesday were Zaini Abdulah and his running mate Muzakir Manaf, nominated by the Aceh Party, Fakhrulsyah Mega – Zulfinal and Hendra Fadli – Yuli Zuardi Rais, the last two pairs having nominated themselves as independent pairs.

The three pairs only recently registered their nominations after the Independent Election Commission (KIP) Aceh re-opened the registration period instructed by the Constitutional Court (MK) on Jan. 17. KIP had already received registration forms from four other pairs for the poll, which has been rescheduled to be held on April 9.

KIP has also received another 22 pairs for regency/municipality elections, raising the total to 138. The regional polls in a number of regencies and municipalities will be held simultaneously with the gubernatorial poll.

The heated political environment has prompted several postponements of the polls, the latest of which pushed the elections from Feb. 16 to April 9 after the MK ruled that the KIP must allow more time for other candidates to join the race. The Aceh Party, who won the last election, threatened to boycott the poll if it had not been rescheduled.

"We have seven pairs of gubernatorial candidates and 138 pairs for regent and mayor candidates," Akmal Abzal said.

KIP Aceh is coordinating with the Ulema Assembly, Religious Affairs Agency and the Koran Development Foundation in holding the Koran tests.

According to Akmal, a candidate should score at least 50 in the test to qualify for the race. During the test, which is open to public, the candidates are required to read three of 114 designated chapters in the Koran.

The test is considered to be able to scrutinize candidates' Islamic vision. "If someone is truly Muslim, it should not be difficult to read Koran," Naimah, a resident at Keutapang, Aceh Besar, said.

She said skills in reading the Koran were a must for anyone wishing to lead Aceh. Being able to read the Koran, she said, ensured the leaders could see social and political issues from an Islamic point of view.

Zaini Abdulah, the gubernatorial candidate from the Aceh Party, hailed the test saying it could show candidates' Islamic vision and mission to their constituents. "For Aceh Party, this is one of the important points in the campaign. We want the people to support us for our victory in the elections," Zaini said.

He said he believed the people already knew who they would choose as their future leaders. The people were believed to choose candidates who had good morals, which according to Zaini could be proven by their ability in reading and comprehending the Koran.

"We believe the religious Acehnese will choose us. However, we will not be overly confident about it, because win and lose are at the hands of God," he said.

The Aceh Party's previous electoral victory thrust Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf into his current office. Irwandi is seeking re-election as an independent candidate after he parted with the Aceh Party.

The party had been resisting Irwandi's nomination by calling for the issuance of new regulations, which were expected to block independent candidates. It argued that the prevalent regulations that accommodated independent candidates were not relevant given the fact that the regulations were issued when Aceh did not have local parties.

Human rights & justice

Government urged to ratify disappearance convention

Jakarta Post - January 26, 2012

Jakarta – A coalition of NGOs has demanded the government ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

"We hope the ratification will be made this year," said Mugiyanto from the Families of Missing Persons Association (IKOHI) on Wednesday.

Based on the National Action Plan on Human Rights (RANHAM) 2011-2014, the government plans to ratify it in 2013. The coalition, however, says the ratification should be made this year. By 2013, the government and the lawmakers will be using their time and energy for the 2014 general elections.

So far 20 states have ratified the convention, while Indonesia is among 88 states that have signed the convention in a show of support.

Yati Andriani of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that ratifying the convention would signal recognition by the state to families of victims. (drs)

HRW report truer than government claims: Kontras

Jakarta Post - January 25, 2012

Jakarta – Noted human rights group Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has praised the 2012 World Report issued by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), saying it depicts the true human rights situation in Indonesia.

"The international communities should not take the government's one-sided claims about democracy and the human rights condition in the country as the only source. HRW's report reveals a series of human rights abuses in 2011 which the government has been down playing," Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

"The world must not be hypnotized by what President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono claims, particularly when it comes to human rights protection," he added.

HRW's World Report 2012, which was released on Monday, concluded that use of excessive force by Indonesian authorities and attacks on religious minorities had been a lot worse in 2011.

HRW also criticized the government's failure to end militaristic approaches in addressing conflicts in Papua while investigation into the perpetrators of attacks against religious and ethnic minorities had failed to be thoroughly carried out.

"Incidents of sectarian violence are no longer isolated cases in Indonesia, but are taking place at an alarming rate," HRW deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said.

"The Indonesian government needs to reverse course and start prosecuting violence against religious minorities and replace the discriminatory regulations that only encourage such attacks."

Military, police violence up in Indonesia: NGO

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Agus Triyono – Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Indonesian authorities of using excessive force against peaceful protesters in Papua and standing by while mobs attacked religious minorities in Java and Sumatra last year.

In its World Report 2012, issued on Monday, the New York-based rights group said that in 2011 there was a marked rise in police and military violence and attacks on religious minorities in Indonesia.

"The common thread is the failure of the Indonesian government to protect the rights of all its citizens," said Elaine Pearson, HRW's deputy Asia director.

The report called on the government to release "all detainees held for peacefully expressing views opposing the government," mainly Papuan and Malukan activists.

It also urged the government to thoroughly investigate and prosecute violence against religious and ethnic minorities. It said that in October a police operation to disband a three-day Papuan Congress in Jayapura left three people killed, more than 90 injured and more than 300 arrested.

No police officers were disciplined but five Papuan leaders were charged with treason. The report also pointed out that a least 75 other people, mostly Papuan and from the Maluku islands, are being imprisoned for peaceful political activities and acts of free expression.

"The Indonesian government's jailing of people for peacefully expressing their political views is an ugly stain on the country's human rights record," Pearson said. "Indonesia's reputation as a rights-respecting democracy will be tarnished until all of these prisoners are released."

The report also said that incidents of violence against religious minorities became more deadly and frequent during 2011.

It said that hard-line mobs had attacked various religious minorities and the few attackers for whom a real effort to apply justice had been made received only light sentences.

The government also did not revoke several decrees discriminating against minority religions and fostering public intolerance, according to the report that assessed progress on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries.

Minority congregations have reported that local officials arbitrarily refused to issue them permits required under a 2006 decree on building houses of worship. Those who attempted to worship without a permit faced harassment and violence.

"Incidents of sectarian violence are no longer isolated cases in Indonesia but are taking place at an alarming rate," Pearson said.

"The Indonesian government needs to reverse course and start prosecuting violence against religious minorities and replace the discriminatory regulations that only encourage such attacks."

Meanwhile, the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) accused President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of trying to shun his responsibility to deal with the human rights violations that have taken place under his watch.

Haris Azhar, a Kontras coordinator, said that while addressing a meeting of leaders of the police and armed forces on Friday, the president said the violence that had taken place in the country could not be categorized as serious human rights violations.

"From this statement, it is clear that this is an effort by SBY to evade responsibility for human rights problems in the country," Haris said in a statement issued on the weekend.

Haris cited the examples of continuing violence against members of the Ahmadiyah sect and the ongoing violence in Papua. In both cases, he said, it was clear the police or armed forces had failed to prevent violence and protect citizens. "We are suspicious that this statement by SBY is a political defense for the various incidents," he said.

In his speech, Yudhoyono defended the police and military, saying some activist organizations were "quick to accuse [the government] of gross human rights violations," which he said were not occurring in Indonesia.

Interview: 'This nation should learn from the past'

Jakarta Post - January 24, 2012

A special team with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) recently indicated that government officials were allegedly involved in gross human rights violations in the aftermath of the abortive coup by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965. Such indications were made following a three-year investigation into the bloody incidents, which included interviews with the relatives of the victims. The Jakarta Post interviewed the chairman of the rights body, Ifdhal Kasim, to get more insight into the issue.

Question: Members of the investigation team had said that it found systematic gross human rights violations in the 1965 purge that involved state officials. Can we say that the investigation has reached a conclusion?

Answer: The team's finding isn't something new because what happened during the 1965 coup is an undeniable fact. All people know that terrible mass killings occurred throughout Indonesia, except Maluku and Papua, back then.

Countless scholars have conducted research into the bloody incidents. Books about the gross violations, backed up by military officers, have been published.

Komnas HAM has been trying to gather information and systematize what happened back then through a legal approach to investigate whether or not the 1965 purge involved crimes against humanity.

All of our findings have pointed to such crimes so far. This mass killing was one of the greatest massacres during the 20th century, along with what happened in Vietnam and Cambodia. Moreover, the 1965 purge was also the greatest mass murder that occurred in Indonesia after independence. However, we haven't reached a final conclusion because we still have three months to provide further details in order to bring the case to court.

What does Komnas HAM aim to do with the investigation?

We want to invite all people, as a nation, to look at the nearly 40-year old incident from today's perspective so that all of us can take a distance with what had happened.

We are trying to tell people that a struggle for power caused such a terrible purge, and similar things must not happen again in the future. All of us are responsible for it.

What can Komnas HAM do to ensure its findings bring responsible parties to court?

We cannot solely use a legalistic approach when we talk about any parties deemed responsible. It is a complex issue because different parties were involved in it.

Many of our findings have led to Gen. Soeharto, who was the head of the Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order [Kopkamtib], as the person most responsible for issuing commands to kill all those who were suspected communists. However, it is still very difficult to prove this.

It is also difficult to identify the perpetrators because many of them were lay people. We have found that those who were directly involved in the killings were members of civil society, and were given orders by state officials.

For these people, it was legal to kill people believed to be communists, or those who were suspected communists, because they were told that communists would kill them unless they killed them first.

During the investigation, we found that these people didn't feel guilty for committing murder because they did it for heroic reasons. None of them saw this as a crime and, thus, refused to take responsibility.

Many people demand a trial as vengeance. They want the perpetrators to be punished. We disagree with such a perspective. Accountability for what happened doesn't necessarily mean a trial.

We aim to make all people understand what had happened and admit that the state had committed a terrible mistake with its involvement in the 1965 purge.

A state recognition of the incident will clarify misunderstandings about the history of the event, put a stop to false teachings about the coup, and prevent anyone from manipulating it for political reasons in the future. For me, this is far more important than a trial.

What will happen if the investigative team cannot provide the details required?

The investigation will stop there. We won't submit our findings to the Attorney General's Office for further action. As I said before, many of those who were directly involved in the killings were members of the society, and it will be difficult for the court to bring the perpetrators, who have mostly passed away, to trial.

Again, the investigation doesn't aim to bring these people into trial but to educate all of us and to help us understand what had happened in order to clarify the history. No matter, the findings we have discovered will be valuable investigative documentation.

Freedom of expression & speech

Arrested Indonesian atheist faces new possible charges

Jakarta Globe - January 31, 2012

Ulma Haryanto – The West Sumatran man facing five years in prison for blasphemy for questioning the existence of God may face additional charges, according to police.

Thirty-one-year-old Alexander Aan may also be charged with falsifying documents because he checked off Muslim when he applied for his civil servant position.

"He said he was an atheist, but when he applied for a job as civil servant he said he was Muslim," Dharmasraya Police Chief Sr. Comr. Chairul Aziz said on Tuesday.

Local online outlet Padang Ekspres also said that during Alexander's interrogation, police officers forced him to pick one of the six state- approved religions, even though he insisted he was an atheist.

"I will consider picking one of the religions in Indonesia," Alexander told Padang Ekspres. "Most likely I will choose Islam."

Members of the Ateis Minang Facebook page have doubled since news broke of Alexander's arrest, but the page is now half filled with other users attacking atheism. The post police used to charge Alexander was deleted by the page administrator.

International atheist organizations have openly stated their support for Alexander.

"The real crime here is the physical assault on Aan, not his expression of his personal beliefs," International Humanist and Ethical Union representative Matt Cherry said in a statement, adding that the union had asked the United Nations to raise the case with Indonesian authorities.

"Alexander simply expressed his view that there is no God," said Tanya Smith, president of Atheist Alliance International. "In contrast, his attackers assaulted a real person and must be brought to justice."

Alexander Aan to renounce atheism, embrace Islam: Indonesia police

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Indonesian man Alexander Aan who made international headlines after he was arrested for questioning the existence of god in a post on Facebook was considering renouncing atheism, police in West Sumatra said on Monday.

"He said he wanted to repent. He asked to have the 'shahada' recited, but we don't know when [it's going to happen]," Dharmasraya Police Chief Sr. Comr. Chairul Aziz told the Jakarta Globe.

The shahada is the statement of faith required to convert to Islam. Chairul said the information that Alexander wanted to reject atheism came from his parents.

Alexander, a 31-year old civil servant, is facing five years in jail for writing "God does not exist" on a Facebook page he moderated called "Ateis Minang" ("Minang Atheists").

Chairul said the police had finished interviewing witnesses and securing evidence and were noW interviewing expert witnesses. "We are going to ask IT expert since [his statement] was put on Facebook as well as expert on Islam, such as the Indonesian Council of Ulema [MUI]," Chairul said.

MUI is the organization that first laid a complaint with police against Alexander for using verses from the Koran to reject the existence of god.

Chairul said, however, that even if Alexander repented, he would still be charged. "The blasphemy has already occurred. As with burglary cases, the legal process goes on even though the burglar has apologized and returned what he stole," he said.

Media & press freedom

Groups doubt credibility of RWB's press-freedom report

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2012

Jakarta – The country's leading journalist organizations have expressed doubt over the credibility of a report by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RWB), which puts Indonesia at a ranking of 146 out of 178 countries on this year's Press Freedom Index.

In this year's report, Indonesia drops from 117th position, which it occupied last year, to 146. The outfit attributed the sharp drop to the country's ineffective and repressive judicial system, claiming it was influenced by politicians and pressure groups. The report also stated that "physical attacks on media personnel are rare but often violent when they do occur".

The Press Council said it was odd that RWB ranked Indonesia below Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia, all countries in Southeast Asia known for the draconian measures used to silence the media.

In 2010, the organization ranked Indonesia above some of the other countries in Southeast Asia. Indonesia ranked at 100th position in 2010, above Malaysia in 141st place and Singapore at position 136. The newly independent Timor Leste was in 93rd position.

"Indonesia has the freest press in the region. I think they [Reporters Without Borders] have their own perspective on press freedom and they measure it using different indicators," said Press Council member, Bekti Nugroho, on Friday.

In its report, the RWB said some journalists had fallen victim to violence relating to their work. It recorded that Ridwan Salamun, a Sun TV cameraman, was beaten to death by villagers in Maluku in 2010. Three other journalists were killed the same year. And in March 2011, Banjir Ambarita, a reporter, was stabbed by two unidentified men on a motorcycle in Jayapura, Papua.

Bekti said the RWB may have put more emphasis on violence inflicted upon journalists. He said that in a country undergoing a democratic transition like Indonesia, what mattered most was whether the press managed to function as social control.

"We have the freedom to criticize the government, which teaches the public to be more rational and critical," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that in terms of press freedom, Indonesia was certainly better than Singapore, which came in at 135th on the index. "It would be fairer if they [Reporters without Borders] treated other aspects of press freedom equally," he said.

Another Press Council member, Agus Sudibyo, doubted the validity of the outfit's survey methodology. "The result could be different if they used a different parameter. They should look into how free the press is in this country," he said.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) also challenged the validity of the survey. AJI chairman Eko Mariyadi said that the level violence against journalists should not be the only indicator of press freedom.

"If we talk about freedom in reporting, Indonesia surely has a good reputation. One can criticize the president or the military as one likes," he said. (rpt)

Another rough year ahead for Indonesian press

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

Anita Rachman – If violence and intimidation was the order of the day for Indonesia's journalists in 2011, this year is shaping up to be no better, press freedom advocates and pundits contend.

On Wednesday, France-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders released its 2011 Press Freedom Index, in which Indonesia dropped 29 places from a year earlier to 146th. The reason to the drop, the organization said, was largely cases of journalists in Papua being killed, kidnapped and assaulted.

The safety issue could be exacerbated this year by political tensions as jockeying for the 2014 general elections intensifies and a slew of regional elections take place.

Eko Maryadi, chairman of the Alliance of Indonesian Journalists (AJI), said election coverage was always a sensitive issue, particularly for political parties.

He said many journalists had been subject to intimidation after publishing stories that did not suit the interests of local politicians, with some of those cases ending in assault.

"I'm worried that the trend could get worse this year because we're approaching the [2014 presidential and legislative] elections," he said.

Bambang Eka Cahya Widodo, chairman of the Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu), acknowledged that journalists were sometimes targeted because of their election coverage. He cited the case of a journalist in Merauke, Papua, who was stabbed while reporting on an electoral dispute there last year.

"We're certainly aware of these cases, but our job is restricted to resolving electoral violations, not general crimes such as assault and murder," Bambang said. "It's all in the hands of the police. We'd love to help, but we don't have the capacity."

Among the journalists assaulted last year was Banjir Ambarita, a Jakarta Globe contributor based in Jayapura, Papua. Banjir survived being stabbed by unknown assailants last March, shortly after reporting on sexual abuse of a female detainee by officers at the Jayapura Police detention center.

He said that although the police were carrying out a thorough investigation to find his attackers, the incident had left him "deeply traumatized" and wary of reporting stories involving government institutions.

Besides safety, Eko said, the other major threats to watch out for this year were self-censorship and a host of legislation deemed hostile to press freedom and rights.

"Violence is a threat that comes from outside the newsroom, but there are also threats from inside, namely interference from media owners," he said. "Another threat is the laws that threaten press freedom."

Hendrayana, chairman of the Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers), said those laws included the 2011 Intelligence Bill and the 2002 Broadcasting Law. Media activists are now challenging some of the more contentious articles of those laws at the Constitutional Court.

Another controversial law is the 2008 Electronic Transactions and Information Law (ITE), which treats journalists as regular users of public information and thus leaves them open to the threat of up to six years in prison for defamation.

Other legislation that makes jail time for journalists a real possibility include the 2009 Freedom of Information (KIP) Law and certain articles in the 2008 Anti-Pornography Law and the Criminal Code.

Hendrayana said LBH Pers and other groups were now fighting for the contentious articles to be reviewed in order to ensure that journalists could continue doing their jobs in safety.

"Given the sheer number of laws, we're actually pessimistic that there will be any improvement," Hendrayana said. "However, we're going to keep urging the government and law enforcers to work on these issues."

Indonesia falls 29 places in world index of press freedom

Jakarta Globe - January 26, 2012

Anita Rachman – Press freedom has declined again in Indonesia over the past year, according to Reporters Without Borders, which released its 10th annual press freedom index on Wednesday.

Pointing largely to the killing, kidnapping, and assault cases in West Papua last year, the non-profit organization has ranked Indonesia 146th for 2011, a drop of 29 places from 117th in 2010. In 2009, Indonesia ranked 100th.

In addition to its rank, Indonesia's overall score has also gotten progressively worse, from 28.50 in 2009 to 35.83 in 2010 and 68.00 last year.

The organization said an army crackdown in West Papua, where at least two journalists were killed, five kidnapped and 18 assaulted in 2011, was the main reason for the country's fall to the 146th spot in the index.

"A corrupt judiciary that is too easily influenced by politicians and pressure groups and government attempts to control the media and Internet have prevented the development of a freer press," Reporters Without Borders said in its press release.

The chairman of the Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers), Hendrayana, said the Reporters Without Borders index was in line with LBH Pers's own findings.

He said two journalists in Manokwari, West Papua, last year received death threats in text messages from a district attorney who demanded that they stop reporting on him.

Hendrayana said LBH Pers recorded 96 cases involving the intimidation of journalists in 2011, including both physical and non-physical assaults. The military and police are alleged to have been behind most of the physical assaults. Hendrayana said several cases, including killings, had been left unresolved.

He cited the case of Ridwan Salamun, a cameraman for Sun TV who was hacked to death while covering an intervillage clash in Tual district, Maluku, in August 2010. He also cited Alfrets Mirulewan, editor of the Maluku newspaper Pelangi Weekly, who was found dead on a beach on Kisar Island that year.

Eko Maryadi, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), emphasized the poor record of law enforcement when it came to journalists. From 1996 to 2010, 10 journalists were murdered, he said, but only one case had been resolved.

He said the AJI had predicted the country's drop in the latest Reporters Without Borders index and had written about it in its year-end notes.

It is disappointing, Hendrayana said, because in terms of story coverage, press freedom in Indonesia is doing fine. However, after journalists publish their reports, he said, nobody can guarantee their safety.

"Journalists are continuously facing threats in Indonesia," he said. "The government and law enforcement institutions seem to turn a blind eye to this issue. We should urge law enforcers to resolve these cases of killing and assault targeting journalists."

Reporters Without Borders also noted the rise of violence and censorship in Asia. It stated in its release that violence and impunity persist in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Philippines, and it noted more repression in Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China.

Journalists protest alleged abuse by official in East Java

Antara News - January 25, 2012

Dozens of journalists rallied outside the Trenggalek Police headquarters in East Java on Tuesday to protest the assault of a colleague by a civil servant on Friday.

Hamzah Abdillah, the coordinator of the protest, said the journalists were demanding the police take action against the transportation agency official accused of punching Yusuf Ashari, a reporter with the Harian Duta daily newspaper.

The incident reportedly occurred after Yusuf had asked the official, Indra Irawan, whether he was wanted for drug-related offenses, prompting the official to lash out.

Police have said they are investigating the case, while Joko Wasono, the district inspector, said Indra would be suspended pending the outcome of the probe.

Freedom of information

Law on public information not yet implemented properly

Jakarta Post - January 27, 2012

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Many provinces across Indonesia have not properly implemented the Public Information Law, which was enacted in 2010, Public Information Commission (KIP) chairman Abdul Rahman Ma'mun said on Thursday.

"Only a handful of provincial administrations provide information on their financial reports on their websites, even though such information must be made public, and made available not only after being requested," Ma'mun said, citing an example in his remarks at a seminar on the implementation of public information availability at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta.

Ma'mun's statement constituted one of the results of evaluation and monitoring by KIP in all provinces throughout the country in 2011.

The seminar was held by UGM's sociopolitical school in cooperation with the Tifa Foundation to discuss the school's research on the dynamism of public information in regional administration management.

The study was carried out last year in four provinces – Aceh, Greater Jakarta, East Java and West Papua – and three regencies/cities – Banda Aceh, Surabaya and Manokwari.

Ma'mun further said that under the law on public information, local officials were obliged to announce information on financial affairs, but in reality they considered it confidential.

"Many officials consider the project budget list and budgeting plan confidential even though they openly deliberated it at the House of Representatives," he said.

Due to the absence of transparency on the financial reports, there have been many cases of information disputes and last year alone KIP received a total of 419 complaints. "The largest portion of the complaints dealt with financial reports," he added.

Responding to Ma'mun's remarks, the director of public communication at the Communications and Information Ministry, Tulus Subardjono, said many officials remained wary about the law on public information.

"Many public institutions are becoming increasingly afraid and they end up being too closed. Any new fund leakage forces them to be too closed," Tulus said.

Hasrul Hanif, one of the research team members, said the results of the study were not much different from the evaluation and monitoring by KIP last year. "Substantially, there was not much public information that could be easily accessed by the public," Hasrul said.

During the research, it was found that many public officials did not know about the law on public information. "Even in Jakarta, as the capital of the country and the information center, many officials do not know about the law," he said.

The research showed that the highest number of public information announcements was made by the East Java province and Surabaya city administration.

The research recommended that the regional administrations abide by the law and implement it by publicly announcing as much information as possible.

One of the research suggestions concerned the deliberation of regulations at the regional level – province, regency and city – accompanied by systematic dissemination on the importance of implementing the law on public information. It also suggested that a crash course to improve human resources related to public information availability be held in the relevant regions.

Political parties & elections

Tommy Suharto finds path to run in 2014 elections

Jakarta Globe - January 31, 2012

Rizky Amelia & Carlos K.Y. Paath – A party that failed to meet the requirements to participate in the 2014 election has found an ingenious way to get on the ballot paper: merging with one that did, in the process creating a first for Indonesian politics.

The National Republic Party (Nasrep), founded by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra Suharto, the youngest son of former president Suharto, has merged with the Ummah Conscience Party, one of 74 parties eligible for the 2009 elections and therefore also for the 2014 polls.

"Nasrep has merged with the Ummah Conscience Party," Nasrep chairman Dedi Lesmana said, speaking on the sidelines of a Nasrep Party national leaders' meeting in Jakarta on Monday. "And in line with the decision, the Ummah Conscience Party is changing its name to the Nasrep Party."

He said the merger and official name change were legally registered on Jan. 4 and have since been approved by the Justice and Human Rights Minister. Nasrep had withdrawn its application for verification as a potential participant in the 2014 elections in August last year.

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

Last year, responding to a demand for a material review of the law, the Constitutional Court ruled that all parties that had qualified for the 2009 general elections did not have to undergo another verification process and were automatically eligible to run in 2014.

Dedi said the party was now waiting to register with the General Elections Commission (KPU) to take part in the parliamentary and presidential elections. "What is important is that we are now a legal entity. We will certainly register with the KPU in order to take part in the 2014 general elections," Dedi said.

Aidir Amin Daud, the director general of legal administration at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said that there was nothing legally wrong with parties merging and changing names. "Under the law, there is nothing wrong with the process of changing names. All parties hold the right to change their name through a legal process," Aidir said.

The National Democrat Party (NasDem) was the only one of the 14 new political parties able to meet the requirements to take part in the 2014 elections.

[With additional reporting from Suara Pembaruan.]

Anas receives 'lifeboat' from regional branches

Jakarta Post - January 31, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih dan Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum still enjoys support from the party's regional branches despite his alleged involvement in Muhammad Nazaruddin's Rp 191.7 billion graft scandal.

The regional support for Anas was obvious during his recent road show to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara; Indramayu, West Java; and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

"This has made the party's chief patron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, unable to formulate a swift decision concerning Anas' position as party chairman," said Ajeng Ratna Suminar, a member of the party's patron board, on Monday.

"Our chief patron must have thought whether to replace Anas. The support for Anas, including that among grassroots members, is still powerful. If that was not the case, Anas might have been replaced days ago," said Ajeng, who is also a lawmaker.

During Nazaruddin's trial, witnesses have referred to the alleged involvement of Anas in the company, which is the subject of the scandal.

Witnesses, for example, told trial hearings that Anas had illicitly benefited from the construction of an athletes' village for the 2011 SEA Games, worth Rp 161 billion (US$18.03 million).

Party executives have voiced concerns over the party's deteriorating image caused by the constant media reports on Anas, even though the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has yet to name Anas a suspect.

Party elites have proposed that Anas be dismissed or at least temporarily suspended, but Yudhoyono had reportedly downplayed the issue. Yudhoyono is known as a "safe player" who often takes his time to reach decisions that he believes will create minimal political turbulence.

Suspending Anas before the KPK made him a suspect could exacerbate the party's already damaged image of solidity, given the dominance of Anas' supporters at the local level, Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political observer from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said.

"After becoming party chair in 2010, Anas moved quickly to consolidate party members at local levels. I can say that about 85 percent of Democratic Party chapters at provincial, regency and municipal levels are now controlled by Anas' men," Burhanuddin said.

"The option to initiate an extra-ordinary congress to oust Anas would also be virtually impossible. Such an initiative must be supported by at least two-thirds of party officials down to local levels, who mostly consist of Anas' supporters," he added.

Democratic Party confirm Anas under investigation

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The fate of the beleaguered chairman of the Democratic Party, Anas Urbaningrum, rests with the little-known supervisory committee now investigating allegations against him as calls for his resignation intensify.

Democratic Party deputy secretary general Saan Mustopa said that the party's advisory council had formed an ad hoc committee chaired by senior Democrat T.B. Silalahi.

Silalahi, an adviser to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and a former minister, is tasked with collecting information on the allegations leveled at Anas. "If there is a definite finding against any [Democratic] leader we will act on it, including if it involves the chairman," Saan said.

Anas has been accused by graft suspect and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin of taking Rp 50 billion ($5.6 million) in kickbacks from a Rp 1.7 trillion project to build a sports stadium in Bogor and another Rp 80 billion from a Rp 2.2 trillion project to build power plants in East Kalimantan and Riau.

During Nazaruddin's trial last Wednesday, a witness testified that money connected to the projects had been funneled to support Anas's election as chairman of the Democrats during a party congress in 2010.

A second witness testified on Friday that she had personally seen a check from the contractor that won the stadium project arrive at the office where both Anas and Nazaruddin worked, although she could not recall the amount.

The case has already caused rifts in the ruling party, with some taking a cautious approach and others advocating the replacement of Anas.

Members of the party's advisory council said they would continue to support the chairman unless he is charged with a criminal offense. But some party politicians have said they want urgent action to save the party.

Yunarto Wijaya, from the Charta Politika political research institute, said the internal rift indicated that the outcome of the 2010 congress was not well received by all party leaders. "The fighting going now is the outcome of the congress," Yunarto said.

At the congress, Anas defeated two other candidates, Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng and House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie. Yunarto said there were still people from the losing camps holding grudges against Anas, particularly after information surfaced of vote-buying allegedly financed by Nazaruddin.

Saan said the party had a dispute resolution mechanism not found in other parties. He cited the split inside the Golkar Party, with key members Wiranto, Prabowo Subianto and Surya Paloh establishing their own political parties after losing their bids to chair Golkar.

"In the Democratic Party, [dispute resolution] is better and more mature. If, for the last few days, there have been developments, I think these are still within limits. We are just putting forward our ideas," he said.

But Muhammad Qodari, the director of polling institute Indo Barometer, said the rift was evident and could destroy the Democrats unless party founder Yudhoyono intervened. "There are grudges [from the 2010 congress] and these form a time bomb that could explode any time," he said.

'Special courts needed to handle electoral disputes'

Jakarta Post - January 27, 2012

Jakarta – With numerous electoral disputes that arise from local elections across the country, the time is ripe for the government to set up special courts at the district level to speed up the settlements of electoral disputes.

Currently, all electoral disputes from places near and far are handled by the Constitutional Court in Jakarta.

"One way to deal with the electoral dispute is to establish a special court that handles only electoral disputes," Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) executive director Hadar Gumay told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He was commenting on the numerous electoral disputes that have occurred in local elections throughout 2011. Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD disclosed on Wednesday that his office had received 392 cases of electoral disputes from a total of 440 local elections that were held last year.

Among the 392 cases, the Constitutional Court issued rulings for only 45 of them. "There are indications of fraud in almost all of those cases. But, many of them didn't meet the criteria to be processed further," Mahfud said at a national seminar on the evaluation into regional elections here on Wednesday.

The Constitutional Court disqualified four candidates from local elections last year. As an example, a mayoral candidate in Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra, was disqualified because the candidate was still serving probation.

Some regions were forced to hold an election rerun because of poor organization, such as in the case of the election of North Sumatra's regency of Mandailing Natal, where the organizers wrote down an incorrect vote tally.

While in South Bengkulu regency, Bengkulu, the court ordered an election rerun so as to include some eligible candidates who were unfairly prevented by the local general election commission (KPUD) from running in the first election.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Court justice Maria Farida Indrati said some incumbent candidates often used programs such as the school operational cost subsidy, rice for the poor and religion-related social aid to increase their popularity, especially in the run up to the election.

In addition, Mahfud said the problems were found in all aspects of the elections, from technical aspects like registration and candidacy to budgeting as well as the professionalism and independency of its organizers.

Moreover, some of the problems have lead to mass violence among the grassroots of society, such as in Aceh and Papua. "The regional election has shifted from a celebration of democracy to a political phenomena plagued by problems," he added.

Also during Wednesday's seminar, National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Sutarman explained how the police had been handling regional election crime.

"The police still rely on Criminal Code Procedures to investigate electoral crime, so its process is pretty much the same as with other crime," he said. "But we also have seen additional mechanisms based on reports of electoral violations from the General Election Supervisory Board."

He added that it was mainly the interpretation of the rules and regulations that caused problems in electoral dispute settlement.

Democratic Party in dire straits

Jakarta Post - January 26, 2012

Senior politicians from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party (PD) admitted on Wednesday that the party was in serious trouble as a result of corruption allegations levelled at some of its politicians, including those on trial for graft.

Some of the politicians said that the Tuesday meeting of the party's 20- member patron board at Yudhoyono's private residence in Cikeas, West Java, was convened to gauge the severity of the situation and find ways to salvage the party, which had been predicted to lose its popularity in the 2014 general elections.

House of Representatives' Speaker Marzuki Alie, also deputy chairman of the party's patron board, described the problem as a "devastating tsunami", while Hayono Isman, another member of the patron board, and the party's deputy chairman Max Sopacua characterized the problem as a major difficulty.

But Marzuki and Ramadhan Pohan, the Democratic Party's deputy secretary- general, denied that the meeting was aimed at finding a way to eject PD chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who had been accused of being involved in the graft case in the construction project of the athletes' village in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Other party members, such as Mirwan Amir and Angelina Sondakh, both members of the budget committee at the House of Representatives, chairman of the House's sports and education committee Mahyuddin and Youth and Sports Minister Andi A. Mallarangeng have also been implicated in a number of graft cases.

PD treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin is now on trial for his role in the village graft case.

Hayono said the meeting discussed "major earthquakes" that rocked the party and concluded that salvaging the party would be a priority. The meeting also decided that Anas was given the trust to save the party.

"The party's position and our hearts are with chairman Anas Urbaningrum. Let's wait on whether he [Anas] will resign to salvage the party or not," he said.

He confirmed all 20 members of the patron board, including Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin, Transportation Minister E.E. Mangindaan and Andi were in attendance at the meeting, presided over by Yudhoyono.

Marzuki declined to disclose details from the meeting but he said he was concerned with the "tsunami" that had swept over the party. He also dismissed speculation that he had started a campaign to oust Anas from his chairmanship. Marzuki said that he had put previous disagreements aside and decided to support Anas' leadership to the party.

Max Sopacua, chairman of Andi's campaign team in the 2010 national congress, said that Tuesday's meeting was to formulate a solution to save the party in the lead-up to the 2014 general elections.

"We have no other alternatives but to salvage the party," he said, adding the party's waning popularity had little to do with Yudhoyono's performance.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto brushed aside speculation that he had been tapped to replace Anas in the event that the party chairman stepped down from his post. "I never heard about the rumors," he said on Wednesday. When asked if he would be ready to lead a political party, Djoko said: "For what?"

Another member of the party's patron board, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syarief Hasan denied speculation that Djoko had been groomed to replace Anas. He also denied suggestions that an extraordinary national congress was looming to decide the fate of Anas.

Syarief, however, confirmed that party executives had begun talks on the corruption cases implicating a number of party members including Anas. "These cases have affected our party's image and credibility, as well as our efforts to recruit new members, while Yudhoyono has performed very well in office," he said.

House factions compete as deadline to revise election law nears

Jakarta Post - January 26, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The process of revising the 2008 Legislative Elections Law has come to a halt as factions in the House of Representatives continue to jockey to bolster their political fortunes in 2014, a senior lawmaker says.

Gandjar Pranowo, chairman of the House working committee deliberating revisions to the law, said the process had to be finished by April to avoid disrupting preparations for the next elections.

"All factions must leave their interests behind and make political compromises to settle the three major issues. Once the revision is endorsed into law, the General Elections Commission [KPU] and the Election Supervisory Body [Bawaslu] can prepare everything for the elections," Gandjar said on Wednesday.

The major issues Gandjar referred to are changes to the electoral system, the election dispute settlement process and the parliamentary threshold.

On revising the election dispute process, lawmakers from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) are proposing that ad-hoc courts be established at the district level to accelerate dispute resolution, which has currently been handled by the Constitutional Court in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, other factions, including the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party, are insisting on upholding the sole authority of the Constitutional Court to resolve disputes, as stipulated by the Constitution.

"The Constitutional Court in Jakarta is too far away from remote areas and is too costly when legislative and regional candidates and political parties have to file lawsuits against election results," Gandjar said, referring to stipulations in the law that election disputes must be settled inexpensively, expeditiously and fairly.

The PDI-P has also staked out a different position on selecting candidates, proposing a return to a previous practice that allowed party executive boards to determine which of the candidates on its slate of candidates would be awarded legislative seats.

A majority of lawmakers, mainly from smaller parties, want to keep the current "open system" which awards legislative seats to the candidates who win the most votes.

Taufik, a PDI-P lawmaker, said district-level ad-hoc courts would be needed if the open system was maintained to adjudicate disputes between candidates running for the same legislative seat.

Factions have also been at odds over the parliamentary threshold with major parties proposing a 4-to-5 percent threshold, while smaller parties have said an increase would only benefit large parties.

Democratic party tries to avoid fracturing in 'beleaguering case'

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

Arientha Primanita & Ezra Sihite – The Democratic Party is trying to head off any in-fighting as the bribery scandal involving the construction of an athletes' village threatens to drag down party chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

The case has already brought down the party's former treasurer, Muhammad Nazaruddin, who is on trial at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court.

During Nazaruddin's trial on Wednesday, a witness testified that money connected to the construction project had been funneled to support Anas's election as chairman of the Democrats during a party congress in 2010.

The witness, Yulianis, the finance director of one of Nazaruddin's companies, Permai Group, said bribe money had also gone to Democratic Party politicians Angelina Sondakh and Mirwan Amir. "[Democratic Party] executives must remain solid. We want the party to stop receiving bad press," Syarief Hasan, a member of the party's advisory council, said on Thursday.

Democrat Sutan Bhatoegana acknowledged that there had been calls from some party members to clean house and oust Anas as chairman. "Those are personal opinions, but the decision lies with the advisory council," he said.

Democratic lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a co-founder of the party, was eager to replace Anas. "SBY, as advisory council chairman, came up with the names of candidates deemed worthy to replace Anas. We will learn [who will replace Anas] in time," he said.

Ruhut said Yudhoyono had made the correct decision by inviting top party officials to his home in Cikeas, West Java, on Tuesday to discuss the issue. "Don't let this case affect other member," he said. "This case is now beleaguering the whole party. [Yudhoyono] was right to take immediate action to save the party."

Advisory council secretary Andi Mallarangeng said there had been no discussion to replace the chairman. "The advisory council is concerned by the news and how it affects the party internally, along with strategic steps to take as a consequence and how to move forward because other parties are already hitting full throttle," he said.

Party deputy secretary general Ramadhan Pohan said the party's leadership board had not discussed Anas's fate during its regular meeting.

[Additional reporting by Banjir Ambarita.]

SBY looks to end political infighting

Jakarta Post - January 25, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Democratic Party hopes to open a new chapter in its story of internal rifts, with the party's chief patron President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono summoning party leaders on Tuesday to find a way to rebuild the party's tarnished image.

Yudhoyono is deeply concerned with intensifying internal rifts triggered by numerous high-profile graft cases, including that of former party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin.

The party's elite members arrived at the President's private residence in Cikeas, West Java, to discuss the fate of party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who has allegedly been involved in several graft cases.

It is common for Yudhoyono, who is also known as a "safe player", to talk with as many stakeholders as possible when it comes to "politically sensitive" matters, to reach a decision that he believes will create minimal political turbulence.

"The media has continued reporting the graft cases, particularly the ones implicating our chairman. That is disturbing our party's image. We need to talk about it. In the end, the party's chief patron will make a decision," said party patron and Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syariefuddin Hasan before the Cikeas meeting.

The popularity of the Democratic Party, which used the slogan "Clean and Intelligent" in the 2009 elections, has continued to drop following the cases, according to surveys.

Another party patron, Achmad Mubarok, also known as an Anas supporter, was quick to respond to Syariefuddin's comment. "Some party elites have whispered to Yudhoyono about Anas, attempting to convince the party's chief patron to ask Anas to resign. The rivalry from the last party chairmanship election is still there," Mubarok said.

Syariefuddin was a campaigner for Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, who has also been implicated in graft cases that allegedly took place during the party's 2010 election.

Party patron and House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie, another losing candidate in the election, denied he had proposed that Anas resign from his post.

Anas' position has been in jeopardy since the Nazaruddin case emerged in 2011. Dismissing Anas, however, would require an extraordinary congress that would likely be "politically too noisy", which would not be to Yudhoyono's liking.

Asking Anas to resign or temporally suspending him would both be a better option, said some party executives, even though Anas and his supporters have kept up his defense.

At least three names are said to have been proposed to Yudhoyono as prospective new chairmen (or interim chairmen) should Anas resign or be suspended. They are party patron and lawmaker Hayono Isman, Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker Melani Leimena and East Java Governor Soekarwo.

Melani was said to be close to Yudhoyono's family and thus would be "easier to control". The other two, meanwhile, were believed to be neutral and have no specific support to certain blocs within the party and thus could "cool" the heating rifts.

Anas himself has repeatedly played down the issue, saying that he respected legal processes and claiming that his party was still solid.

Anas has been accused of benefiting from many state budget-funded projects, including the construction of an athletes' village for the 2011 SEA Games, worth Rp 161 billion (US$17.87 million) and a sports complex in Hambalang, West Java, worth more than Rp 1.5 trillion.

Beside Anas, alleged illicit practices of party executives and lawmakers Angelina Sondakh, Mirwan Amir and Sutan Bhatoegana have also been revealed by defendants and witnesses in Nazaruddin's cases.

It was not the first time Democratic Party elites were involved in rifts since the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) busted a high-profile bribery incident connected to the construction of an athletes' village for the 2011 SEA Games.

Anas' supporters within the party's executives defended notorious businessman Nazaruddin, who had significantly helped finance Anas' bid in the party's chairmanship race in 2010.

But support for Nazaruddin failed to salvage him from dismissal. Nazaruddin fled to several countries before Interpol caught him in Colombia in August 2011.

'Princess' Puan eases into top post of PDI-P

Jakarta Post - January 25, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – For Puan Maharani, the 38-year-old daughter of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, earning the top job in the country's third-largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), may not be much of a sweat at all.

With her professional credentials as a gas station manager, Puan was officially installed on Tuesday as the PDI-P faction's chairwoman for the House of Representatives – in an apparent move, according to analysts, to gain a political ticket and leverage for the 2014 presidency.

"This promotion is a mandate from the party in accomplishing its political mission at the House, and to ensure the faction is carrying out all of the party's programs," said Puan, adding that a heavy task lay before her, given her lack of political experience.

Puan has been considered the future successor of the Sukarno political dynasty. From her first marriage, Megawati has two sons, while Puan is her daughter from her third marriage with Taufiq Kiemas, current chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Puan's appointment for the top post was mandated at the party's recent national meeting in Bandung, West Java.

Despite her lack of experience, Puan's predecessor Tjahjo Kumolo believes she has all the necessary capital to one day lead the PDI-P, which is currently headed by Megawati.

Tjahjo pointed to Puan's role as deputy chairwoman in the party and her three-years' experience as a lawmaker at the House and the MPR. "The seniority is quite relative; it depends not only on her political career, but also on her political competence and quality. She has done much during her time as a lawmaker at the House," said Tjahjo.

On many occasions, both Megawati and Taufiq Kiemas have entrusted their only daughter Puan, who earned a bachelor in Communication Studies from the University of Indonesia in 1997, to speak at and lead party meetings.

Puan, a mother of two, began her "official" political apprenticeship in the early 2000s as personal assistant to Megawati during her presidency. Appointed later as a party executive, Puan actively campaigned for her mother during the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections. She secured a seat in the House in 2009 and was appointed deputy head of the PDI-P House faction.

Puan appeared before the public for the first time during the PDI-P congress in Bali in 2009, and was appointed as the party's political and external relations department head between 2010 and 2015.

Besides representing her mother to lead the party's internal meetings, she has on several occasions presided over the party's celebrations of Indonesian Independence Day and Pancasila's Sanctity Day in the party's headquarters in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta.

With her strategic positions, both at the House and within the party, Puan represents the party in all strategic negotiations, including the latest discussions with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the possibility of the PDI-P joining his Democratic Party-led coalition.

In his lobby to Yudhoyono following the latter's re-election in 2009, Taufiq had even proposed that Puan and Pramono be included in Yudhoyono's Cabinet. However, Megawati turned down the proposal, in hopes that Puan would focus more on consolidating the party, which had become marred with infighting between Taufiq's and Megawati's supporters.

Megawati actually favored her son Pratama, from her first marriage to the late Air Force pilot, to lead the party. Sources within the party said Pratama refused the offer over concerns of wider infighting that might split the family apart.

However, despite her apparent smooth ascent toward the party's top post, Puan denied she had been prepared by her parents to contend in the upcoming presidential race, saying only that her mother has the sole authority to determine who would be nominated for presidential and vice presidential hopefuls. She also declined to confirm whether she had the competence to be nominated.

Party figures have widely dubbed Puan as the "golden princess". They believe she is prepared to lead the party, as well as to become the party's future presidential candidate, as Megawati is unlikely to force her way to run for a third time due to her age.

It has been rumored that Puan, who has thus far performed poorly in popularity surveys, may be paired with either Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie or Indonesian Greater Movement Party (Gerindra) chairman Prabowo Subianto in contending the presidential election.

Her candidacy as either a presidential or vice presidential hopeful will depend partly on the party's performance in the 2014 legislative election.

Puan Maharani

Place/date of birth: Jakarta, Sept. 6, 1973

Previous position: PDI-P political and external relations department head (2010 - 2015).

Education: Bachelor in Communication Studies from University of Indonesia (graduated in 1997).

Religion: Islam (moderate)

Marital status: Married with two children

Notes: Puan is the daughter of former president and PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri (the daughter of first president Sukarno), and has been considered the future successor of the Sukarno political dynasty. From her first marriage, Megawati has two sons. Puan is her daughter from her third marriage with Taufiq Kiemas, now chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Puan began her "official" political apprenticeship in the early 2000s as personal assistant to Megawati during her presidency. Appointed later as a party executive, Puan actively campaigned for her mother during the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections.

She secured a seat in the House of Representatives in 2009 and was recently appointed head of the PDI-P House faction. With her strategic positions both at the House and within the party, Puan represents the party in all strategic negotiations, including the latest discussions with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the possibility of the PDI-P joining his Democratic Party-led coalition.

Indonesia politicians consider legislative threshold

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Agus Triyono, Arientha Primanita & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives has until March to amend the law on elections, but one key issue remains contentious: the minimum percentage of votes a party must secure to gain a place in the parliament.

Various proposals sought a legislative threshold of between 2.5 percent (the current figure) and 5 percent, with small parties – worrying they would fail to qualify – wanting the lowest percentage and big parties aiming to set the bar higher.

"There is no clear ground to determine what the parliamentary threshold should be, and each party has its own consideration," said Indria Samego, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). "To reach an ideal figure, we must take a comparison from developed countries, where it is set at around 5 percent. For me, that's a reasonable figure."

The 5 percent threshold is high enough to limit the number of parties and simplify the relationship between the legislature and the government, while on the other hand is also small enough to avoid accusations that the state is restricting parties, he said.

"We have nine political parties [in the House] and an increased threshold may reduce them to four. If that happens, it will lead to a much more effective governance system," he said.

The 2009 elections put the threshold at 2.5 percent, but if the bar had been double that, only six parties would have made it to the House: the Democratic Party, which gained 20.9 percent of votes, the Golkar Party (14.4 percent), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P, 14 percent), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS, 7.9 percent), the National Mandate Party (PAN, 6 percent) and the United Development Party (PPP, 5.3 percent).

Golkar has been pursuing a 5 percent threshold and proposes that in each five-yearly election, it be increased until it reaches 10 percent. "That's our aspiration," said Leo Nababan, the party's deputy secretary general.

With a 10 percent threshold, there would soon be only two parties in the parliament, the ruling party and the opposition, he said, adding that fewer parties meant stronger democracy and better governance.

"What happens now is that many small parties who get one or two chairs... sell their chairs for money. The people get nothing but the party leaders benefit from such a practice," he alleged.

Regional Representatives Council (DPD) chairman Irman Gusman said in Indonesia's system, which is led by a president, a higher threshold was suitable because of the need for fewer parties in order to achieve effective and stable governance. "If necessary, the threshold should be raised to 8 percent," Irman said.

Syarief Hasan from the Democratic Party said 4 percent would suit his party, which is negotiating with coalition members to reach agreement on a figure. "All parties must work their hardest to reach 4 percent of the national vote, and the aim of reducing the number of parties will come true. Even newly established parties have a chance to reach the figure," Syarief said.

Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) founder Prabowo Subianto said his party was not concerned about the issue and had no fear of "playing the game initiated by big parties."

"We are ready to face whatever figure. We will deal with that," Prabowo said. His party won 4.5 percent of the vote in the 2009 legislative elections.

PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali has said the threshold shouldn't be changed from 2.5 percent. His view is supported by nongovernmental group the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), which said the higher the threshold, the more votes failed to elect a member.

"We should refrain from modifying the current figure, which is already high by Indonesian standards," Cetro chairman Hadar Gumay said.

But it seems that more analysts prefer a higher threshold. "A higher threshold may force parties to reform and improve themselves so that they become strong parties with strong grass roots, not just to last the age of a corn plant," political analyst Siti Zuhro said.

A smaller number of parties would allow the government to work more effectively, she said. While admitting that a higher threshold would cause votes obtained by small parties to go to waste, Siti called that a natural selection process.

"That way, people will learn that it's not easy to establish a party. Remember the Indonesian Democratic Party [PDI]? It was small, but it transformed into the PDI-P and is now a major party," she said.

[Additional reporting from Suara Pembaruan.]

Women's rights

Stop blaming women for rape and protect them instead: Minister

Jakarta Globe - January 25, 2012

Ezra Sihite & Carla Isati Octama – Women's Empowerment Minister Linda Agum Gumelar lashed out at the notion that a string of rapes committed against women on or waiting for public transportation was because they were dressed provocatively.

"I met with two rape victims and they weren't dressed suggestively," she said on Tuesday. "So don't blame these women as if they were the ones who had flirted and attracted the men." She said her office was concerned about the cases and called on the police to resolve them thoroughly.

"I hope the police can catch the perpetrators as soon as possible and punish them to the fullest extent of the law," Linda said. "Don't let the case prompt a massive outcry only to die down later on. That's why I'm checking on these cases to see how they're progressing, whether they've gone to court."

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has demanded that the authorities act decisively, and called for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene personally given the gravity of the matter.

Masruchah, deputy chairwoman of the commission, said Yudhoyono should coordinate with the police and Transportation Ministry to ensure better security for women on board public transportation. "They should also ensure that the victims of these crimes get protection and treatment from the state," she said.

She agreed with Linda that there needed to be a change in mind-set among the public to put the blame for rape on the victim. She said this mind-set extended to the police's recommendation that women traveling alone arm themselves with pepper spray or stun guns, which she contended made it the responsibility of women to end the scourge of rape.

"Once again women are being patronized. They're the victims; they get the blame and now they have to protect themselves," Masruchah said. "If the government keeps this up, soon women will have to stay at home."

She added the string of cases also highlighted the fact that there were fewer places in public were women could still feel safe.

In the latest attack, a teenager reported that she was knocked unconscious and raped while waiting for an angkot public minivan on Friday. The 18-year-old nursing student, identified as J.M., told police the attack occurred at about 9 p.m. in South Jakarta.

She said that she had been on her way to visit a friend in Ciputat. She left Ciledug aboard an angkot on the C-01 route, and got off near the railway tracks in Kebayoran Lama in order to switch to another angkot to Ciputat.

While she was waiting, she noticed a group of five men nearby watching her. She said the men began to make lewd comments and verbally harass her. When she moved away, she later told the police, the men followed her

According to the police, J.M. became frightened and ran away from the men, who gave chase. "The victim ran to the railway tracks, but she was hit by one of the men and knocked unconscious," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Monday.

"According to her, she woke up the next morning with the zipper on her pants undone," Rikwanto said. He said medical tests confirmed that she had been raped.

Jakarta women told to carry pepper spray, tasers to avoid rape

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Following a string of sexual assaults committed on lone women traveling aboard or waiting for angkot public minivans in the capital, Jakarta Police are advising that women carry protective equipment such as pepper spray and electroshock weapons.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Monday that pepper spray and electroshock weapons were effective tools to prevent street crime.

Women's Empowerment Minister Linda Agum Gumelar, speaking on Tuesday, agreed with the comments. However, Linda said the biggest overriding concern was that society needed to be more caring and help to protect each other.

Men needed to respect women and not perceive them as objects, she said. She also rejected suggestions that a number of victims had been raped because they had dressed provocatively.

"I met with two rape victims and they weren't dressed seductively," she said, "so don't blame these women as if they are the ones who flirted and attracted the men. Flirting is relative."

In the latest shocking attack, a teenager reported that she was knocked unconscious and raped while waiting for an angkot on Friday. The 18-year- old college student, identified as J.M., told police the attack occurred at about 9 p.m. in South Jakarta.

She said that she had been on her way to visit a friend in Ciputat. She left Ciledug aboard an angkot on the C-01 route, and alighted near the railway tracks in Kebayoran Lama in order to switch to a D-01 route angkot headed to Ciputat.

While she was waiting, she noticed a group of five men nearby watching her. She said the men began to make lewd comments and verbally harass her. When she moved away, she told the police, the men followed.

According to the police, J.M. became frightened and ran away from the men, who gave chase. "The victim ran to the rail track, but she was hit by one of the men and knocked unconscious," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Monday.

"According to her, she woke up the next morning with the zipper on her pants undone," Rikwanto said. He added that J.M. had discovered a substance on her stomach that she believed to be semen. "Then she reported the crime and went for medical tests. From the medical test results, we can conclude there has been a rape," he said.

Rikwanto said the police were investigating the scene of the assault for evidence. He said that J.M. was still in shock and had thus far been unable to provide physical descriptions of the men.

"The investigation is still ongoing. Police have interviewed six witnesses, including the victim's friend who accompanied her when she reported the crime," he said. "The victim's psychological condition is still fragile. She's in shock. So, we're not done yet. We have not yet been able to work with the victim to create a sketch of the perpetrators' faces."

Rikwanto added that officers had combed the area of the assault for clues. He also urged women, especially those traveling alone and at night, to be aware of their surroundings and carry items for self-defense.

"There are some of us, including women, who protect themselves with a stun gun or pepper spray. Stun guns require registration, but pepper spray is permitted," Rikwanto said.

Labour & migrant workers

Hiring firms obliged to protect contract workers

Jakarta Post - January 31, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – With the Constitutional Court (MK) having recently banned all outsourcing practices, companies that make money by supplying workers to others now have an obligation to ensure the rights of the workers as guaranteed in their labor contracts.

The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry's industrial relations and social security affairs director general, Myra M. Hanartani, said on Monday that the court's ruling would provide legal certainty to all workers employed under an outsourcing system.

Normally, a company hires workers on a two-year contract. Based on the court's ruling, companies can only extend the contract for one more two- year term at the longest. By the end of the contract extension, the workers will receive an allowance or be offered permanent employment.

"The new ruling is effective for those contracts that don't stipulate the rights of workers, while companies that have inserted workers' rights into their contracts must revise them," she said.

Until now, companies receiving jobs or supplying workers to other companies under the outsourcing system have unilaterally terminated workers' contracts without offering any compensation, and then recruited them again for the same jobs with the same remuneration.

The ruling on temporary employment (PKWT) contracts states that companies under the outsourcing system must decide whether to terminate a contract with their workers and, if so, offer severance pay, or sign a new contract under permanent employment (PKWTT) regulations and respect each worker's rights in accordance with their respective periods of employment.

"Workers whose temporary employment contracts are terminated have the right to receive severance pay in accordance with the law, while those signing the non-temporary [continuous and supporting] contract must be treated like permanent workers. The latter have the right to receive increases in monthly salaries, allowances and social security benefits," said Myra.

She said she feared that many outsourcing companies would cease operations or dismiss workers who had been employed for four years to avoid paying them higher wages.

The Constitutional Court recently annulled Chapters 64-66 on outsourcing from the 2003 Labor Law, which it said contravened the Constitution, which mandates the protection of workers' rights as well as the improvement of their social welfare and human dignity. It also affirmed Chapter 59 pertaining to PKWT contracts, which that can be terminated within three years.

The court concluded the three chapters on outsourcing were not binding and could no longer be implemented because industrial relations between outsourcing companies and their workers were based on labor contracts rather than workers' rights, as stipulated in the Labor Law.

The court made the decision at the request of a trade unionist in Surabaya, East Java, who complained about job insecurity since many companies under the outsourcing system terminated labor contracts without offering any compensation to workers but then a month later, would rehire the workers on new contracts but only pay them the minimum wage.

Myra said that with support from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, she has delivered a circular to all provincial and regional manpower offices to disseminate the court's ruling and its implications for companies nationwide.

"Both regional officials and employers have to understand the spirit of the Constitutional Court's decision for the protection of contract-based workers," she said.

She added that the government would speed up the proposed revision of the Labor Law or issue a new regulation or ministerial decree on the implementation of the court's judgement in the field to avoid any confusion among employers and contract-based workers.

The law mandates a ministerial decree on industrial relations, labor contracts and workers' rights in implementing the outsourcing system in detail, but so far the decree has not been issued.

Fed up, fired up, Indonesia workers pledge radical protests

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Faisal Maliki Baskoro – The mix of workers emboldened by recent labor victories and a fear of higher costs from the state's plan to limit subsidized fuel consumption could spark more radical demonstrations in the future, union leaders say.

Timbul Siregar, chairman of the Indonesian Workers Association (OPSI), said on Sunday that workers were beginning to realize that radical organized protests were the key to accomplishing their objectives.

"Protesting in front of the mayor's office or the State Palace is a thing of the past," he said. "Workers have learned that the way to be heard is to shut down the country's economic vein."

Timbul was referring to the labor protest in Bekasi on Friday that saw thousands of workers from about 300 companies block the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road for several hours, paralyzing economic activity in the area.

Following marathon meetings on Friday night and Saturday morning, they secured a new minimum wage deal: Rp 1.491 million ($167) for Group I, Rp 1.715 million for Group II and Rp 1.849 million for Group III workers.

The new wage rates were each lowered by just less than Rp 1,000 from the rates in the original gubernatorial decree, which had been contested by the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).

The Bekasi victory comes in the wake of similar triumphs. Freeport Indonesia's 8,000 workers last year went on a months-long strike that crippled the lucrative mine's operations and received a 37 percent pay raise.

Budi Wardoyo, a spokesman for labor movement the People's Liberation Party, said the government's plan to limit subsidized fuel consumption would have an adverse affect on workers' welfare and hence provide more reason to fight for better welfare.

"They will demand better wages and benefits to compensate for rising costs caused by the government's subsidy plan," said Budi, also a former secretary general at the Indonesian Labor Movement Association (PPBI).

He added that future labor demonstrations would not be the typical pockets of protests in front of government offices.

"Workers' protests could strike simultaneously in different regions," Budi said. "We may even close down the Indonesia Stock Exchange to prove a point," Timbul said.

Timbul said that although there were countless labor unions representing the 115 million-strong Indonesian workforce, those unions were becoming more organized and united.

"Our point is that workers are very marginalized," he said. "If there is economic turbulence, workers will get fired first. We are fed up with being treated like objects."

According to data from the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, most provincial minimum wage levels are still set below the decent cost of living standard (KHL) established by provincial wage councils.

In Banten, where companies such as Krakatau Steel and Chandra Asri Petrochemical are located, the 2012 minimum wage is Rp 1.042 million, below the KHL of Rp 1.08 million.

"Labor costs are only 10 to 15 percent of the price component," Timbul said. "Workers deserve a raise, especially now that Indonesia is at investment grade."

Employers, he said, could offset rising labor costs by ramping up production. But to do that, he added, the government would need to support industries by ensuring a stable supply of energy and removing "illegal fees."

"Logistic costs are high," he said. "Red tape also adds to production costs. And at the bottom of the price chain is the workers. Employers reduce workers' salaries and sometimes even lay off people just to compensate for high economic costs."

Toll road rally succeeds in victory for labor movement

Jakarta Globe - January 29, 2012

It was a rare victory for the labor movement. At an emergency meeting late on Friday, the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) bowed to pressure from protests waged by workers demanding the West Java governor honor its decree to raise the minimum monthly wage.

Hours before the meeting between Apindo members and West Java administrative officials, thousands of workers from at least 300 companies operating in Bekasi, West Java, blocked the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road to protest a court ruling in favor of their employers.

That ruling overturned the original gubernatorial ruling that raised the minimum monthly wage in Bekasi district from Rp 1. 29 million to Rp 1.49 million ($144 to $167). The Court ordered the provincial governor to issue a new decree based on the earlier agreement between the employers' association and workers.

The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry spokesman Suhartono told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday that it would closely watch the administrative process. He said the agreement reached late on Friday would oblige the Court to annul its own ruling, and make the governor produce yet another decree in favor of workers' demands.

"It'll still takes time to administratively process the agreement. I believe everything will only start on Monday," Suhartono said.

In the meeting, Suhartono said it was agreed that if an employer claimed that they could not meet the minimum monthly wage, they would be able to appeal to the governor for exemption by submitting a document following a thorough audit which stated the company's financial state.

"Doors for negotiation are still open because in some cases where companies could not afford the increased monthly minimum wage, a bipartite talk can be proposed between the workers and the employers and be mediated by the administration," he said.

The rallies, staged by workers demanding increased wages, confirmed how communications were lacking between employers and workers, said Sulistri, the vice president of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI).

She also said that local administrations must be more proactive and responsive toward both parties, because in most cases they would act as mediators. "And, of course, it will inspire workers in other places to fight for their rights. Workers will see that taking their protest to street with huge numbers is an effective way to be heard," she said.

The toll road blockade created severe congestion stretching some 20 kilometers, and forced a number of stores in the area to close.

In November, violent riots broke out in Batam, Riau over minimum wage negotiations. At least 15 people were injured as workers and police personnel clashed outside the mayor's office. And late last year, a month- long strike by thousands of Freeport workers and contractors significantly slashed production at the giant gold mine in Papua by 50 percent. The strike ended with a 37 percent pay increase for the lowest earners.

Bekasi chaos shows workers won't take it anymore

Jakarta Globe - January 28, 2012

Anita Rachman – Friday's mass labor action in Bekasi which crippled traffic, shut down stores and led to billions of rupiah in losses, showed how Indonesian workers are increasingly finding their voice and using it, officials and analysts said.

Protesters were expressing their dissatisfaction about a ruling on Thursday that revoked a West Java gubernatorial decree that raised the minimum wage from Rp 1.29 million to Rp 1.49 million ($144 to $167).

Thousands of workers blocked the Cikarang toll road, creating traffic jams stretching 20 kilometers and forcing a number of stores in the area to close. Manpower and Transmigration Ministry spokesman Suhartono said the ministry now recognized how far workers were willing to go on issues such as pay.

"[This is why] we are pushing our local offices to hold more tripartite dialogues to prevent occurrences such as this," he said, noting that similar disruptive protests over the minimum wage had taken place in other parts of the country.

In one of the worst incidents, violent riots broke out in Batam, Riau, in late November, also over minimum wage negotiations. At least 15 people were injured as workers and police officers hurled rocks at each other outside the mayor's office. Massive property damage was reported.

Nurkholis Hidayat, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), said workers were braver now, willing to risk their jobs make their views known.

"They are tired of how the legal system never sides with them," he said. It might also be, he continued, that workers were encouraged by other protests.

Last year, a months-long strike by more than 8,000 Freeport workers and 1,600 contractors slashed production at a lucrative mine in Papua by 50 percent. The strike ended with a 37 percent pay increase for the lowest earners. "A domino effect might be on its way," Nurkholis said.

Another factor was the weakness of the government as supposed mediator, said Ahmad Erani Yustika, an economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance. In the Bekasi case, he said, the local government should have mediated and strived to reach an agreement to prevent the parties from having to go to court.

So far, it's not clear how the standoff between the Bekasi workers and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) will play out. Obon Tabroni, a coordinator for the workers, said they were ready to lose their jobs if they had to. Apindo has exhibited a similar bearing, insisting it will stick to its contentious approach.

Thus the standoff will likely continue, resulting in billions more in losses from traffic jams, lost productivity, delay in the movement of people and goods and even damage to property until one side gives in.

Bekasi is home to several manufacturing facilities that produce products both for export and domestic consumption.

Erani said it was difficult to tell which side was more obstinate. "I can't predict who will bear more [financial] losses if things remain the same as today. But I don't think the workers can hold on to this kind of situation for long," he said.

However, he added that it shouldn't be about which side should give in. "Both sides should. It's more important to find a win-win solution, and it must happen," Erani said.

Suhartono said the government would also push for both sides to go back to the negotiating table for more talks. "Everyone should win," he said.

Toll road blocked in wage dispute

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

Bayu Marhaenjati & Carla Isati Octama – In a heated dispute over minimum wages, thousands of Bekasi workers blocked the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road after noon prayers on Friday to protest a court ruling in favor of their employers.

The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has successfully challenged a West Java gubernatorial decree that raised the minimum monthly wage in Bekasi district from Rp 1.29 million to Rp 1.49 million ($144 to $167) at the Bandung State Administrative Court.

The provincial governor was ordered on Thursday to issue a new decree based on an earlier agreement between the employers association and workers.

In response, the workers blocked the busy road that connects Jakarta and Bandung with their motorcycles on Friday, while others rode to all seven industrial zones in the area to raise support for their cause. The protests forced businesses in the area to close down for the day. But at dusk, the laborers disbanded peacefully.

The coordinator of the Bekasi Workers in Action (B3) union, Obon Tabroni, told the Jakarta Globe that the workers would not end their protests until their wage demands are met.

"We are ready, because we are tired of being poor. We only ask for a small increase," Obon said. "We are afraid if we walk alone, but we are together now. There are thousands of us."

Apindo had argued that the decree ignored the provincial Wage Council's non-binding recommendation to raise the minimum wage by 5 percent, not 15.97 percent as the decree said.

Ferry Asrul, who heads the Labor Union Forum for the MM2100 Industrial Zone, said that the workers would rest on the weekend but resume their actions on Monday if no wage agreement was reached.

"On Saturday and Sunday, we plan not to protest. We will rest first. However, if there is no new agreement by Monday, we will return in even greater numbers," Ferry said.

He added that the protests were no longer directed against Apindo but against companies in the area. He urged each company to enter into written agreements with their workers, promising to abide by the stipulations of the gubernatorial decree that was rejected by the court. The disruptions will continue until all companies in Bekasi have done so, Ferry said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar on Friday to actively communicate with the workers "so that an agreement is reached," presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said. Julian said that blocking off the toll road had "disadvantaged a lot of people."

A spokesman for the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, Suhartono, urged Apindo to not to solely base its stance on the Bandung court verdict.

Suhartono said it would be better if Bekasi employers would pay their workers the amount stipulated in the gubernatorial decree if they could afford it. He added that factories unable to do so should start negotiating with their workers.

Muhaimin called on the labor unions "to provide the governor and the entrepreneurs the opportunity to reach a negotiated settlement."

Apindo deputy chairman Anton J. Supit said that he understood what the workers were fighting for but demanded that they not disturb the public order. There is always room for negotiation, he insisted.

[Additional reporting by Arientha Primanita & Anita Rachman.]

Bekasi workers block Cikarang toll road

Jakarta Post - January 27, 2012

Sita W. Dewi, Bekasi, West Java – Tens of thousands of Bekasi workers staged a rally on Friday, blocking the Jakarta – Cikarang toll road access to Bekasi from KM 21 to KM 26.

The workers protested the ruling issued by the Bandung State Administrative Court (PTUN) granting the Bekasi chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association's (Apindo) lawsuit aimed at revoking the 2012 minimum wage set by the local administration on Thursday.

"We are blocking access to the industrial areas to cut the supply and distribution to and from manufacturers to paralyze economic activities here," Yanto, a protester, told The Jakarta Post on Friday. He added that he did not know how long the protest would last.

Cikarang Barat Police chief Comr. Zulham Effendy said that 2,500 police officers from Bekasi and the City Police, including the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers, had been deployed to secure the demonstration.

"We tried to restrain them from entering the toll road, but we were outnumbered by the workers. They've got out of control because of their anger [toward Apindo]," Zulham said.

Hundreds of vehicles and trucks were stuck at the MM2100 tollgate in Bekasi regency.

A truck driver Sunar said that he could not deliver raw materials to a triplex manufacturer in the MM2100 industrial area. "I couldn't get to the factory but I can't get onto the toll road to go back to Jakarta. Now I'm stuck," he said.

Zulham suggested that road users heading either to Jakarta or Bandung, West Java, take alternative routes, such as via Puncak.

Labor row rages on as court decides to hear Apindo

Jakarta Post - January 25, 2012

Jakarta – The tension between manufacturing companies and labor unions in West Java and Banten is likely to escalate following a court decision on a proposed legal review on minimum wage increases in the two provinces.

The Bandung State Administrative Court agreed on Tuesday to process the legal complaint filed by the Bekasi Chapter of Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), and is expected to return a verdict next week.

Apindo filed the lawsuit following the West Java administration's review of workers' salaries, which included a 15.97 percent increase of the standard minimum wage in the Bekasi Regency, bringing the figure to Rp 1,491,866 a month (US$166.68).

The rate of wage increase for the regency, which is the industrial base for many factories owned by both domestic and foreign investors, is considered burdensome by Apindo. The association claims that many foreign investors are planning to pull out due to rising labor costs.

An estimated 100,000 workers might lose their jobs, with a potential investment loss of $2 billion, should the West Java government insist on the new wage standard, Apindo says.

Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi said that both National Wage Council (DPN) and Apindo had proposed to the Bandung court that Bekasi's minimum wage be revised to Rp 1,415,063.

"That is a 10 percent increase from the wage in 2011 and it is still in line with the decent living standards [KHL]. We will not ignore the workers' livelihoods because they are our partners," Sofjan said.

Dozens of union representatives from Bekasi attended the court hearing in Bandung and expressed their disappointment over Apindo's legal move. "Apindo had given its word to the workers that it would withdraw the lawsuit," Nurdin, a worker, said after the hearing. "Now it betrayed us again."

Nurdin was referring to a settlement on Jan. 15, in which Apindo agreed to end its legal challenge against the wage increase policy. "The workers will discuss the next steps in response to the court's decision," Nurdin said.

Thousands of Bekasi workers staged a massive rally against Apindo last Friday, closing seven toll gates in the industrial area and causing traffic jams on the inner-city toll road.

The same day, some 10,000 people demonstrated in front of Apindo's Tangerang office in Banten in support of their fellow workers in Bekasi. The rally was also held as a pre-emptive measure, should Apindo seek a legal review of wage increases in the regency.

The Banten administration raised the standard minimum wage for workers in Tangerang by 10.79 percent to Rp 1,529,000 for this year. Although the wage increase was only 10 percent, wage increases in Tangerang, Banten, and in Bekasi, West Java, have put local factories in danger as some companies have considered relocatation.

Indonesian Footwear Producers Association (Aprisindo) chief patron Harijanto said recently that five Korean and Taiwanese footwear factories operating in Tangerang since 2009 would likely hold their business, or reduce workers at a company from 10,000 to between 2,000 and 3,000.

"They would review the situation by the end of the year. If business potential continues to fall, then they should relocate, with possible relocation to Central Java or to Sukabumi and Subang in West Java," he said.

In addition, Aprisindo chairman Eddy Widjanarko said that 10 investors from South Korea and Taiwan planning to build footwear factories in Tangerang, Banten would withdraw their plans to build factories here.

"If we multiply the salary increase by 10,000 workers, then a factory should allocate an additional Rp 1.5 billion per month, or Rp 18 billion a year. Meanwhile, we have yet to count overtime wages," he said.

The consequence of the withdrawal, Eddy predicted would cause a loss of $1 billion in investment, after calculation that one factory was estimated to worth $100 million. "Since a factory was predicted to absorb 10,000 workers, then absorption of 100,000 workers in ten factories would also not be achievable," Eddy said.

Indonesian Textile Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Tuesday that the relocation of investment would be a direct consequence of the local government's disregard of relevant rules and regulations. "I think they should pay all the consequences. The government revises the wage without further discussion with association," he said.

The Manpower Minister Regulation No. 01/1999 on minimum wage mentions in Article 11 that prior to the setting of a new minimum wage, associations, labor unions and the government should meet and discuss possible revisions.

Gadjah Mada University economist Revrisond Baswir said that relocation was a better option than "torturing" Indonesian workers. "Wage allocation for a company in Indonesia is below 20 percent. In England, it may reach 60 percent. Compared to neighboring countries China and Vietnam, our wage is much lower," he said.

New labor outsourcing decree is coming soon: Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Anita Rachman – A ministerial decree to support a court ruling limiting the use of outsourcing is on its way, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said on Monday.

Muhaimin said his ministry was preparing a decree that would guarantee outsourced workers the same rights and benefits as permanent employees.

The ministry, he said, would ensure the decree stipulated that companies could outsource only peripheral work and not core jobs and that they have to provide their outsourced workers with the same benefits as permanent employees.

"No company would dare to go against the ruling. It must be implemented under the supporting regulations," Muhaimin said. "We are going to issue a ministerial decree to support the ruling, soon."

On Jan. 17, the Constitutional Court declared outsourcing unlawful under the country's Constitution because it would create uncertainty over the livelihood of workers. The court ruled that Indonesian workers had "the right to a decent job and a decent life," which should be the basis of the Labor Law.

The minister, however, did not elaborate on the exact timing of the expected decree but said it would include "tight monitoring on outsourced workers and the kind of work that can be outsourced."

Outsourcing refers to the hiring of workers on a contractual basis, often through a provider company. The workers are usually hired on short-term contracts and paid a daily wage without fringe benefits. Under the revision, outsourced workers would have the same benefits and salary as permanent workers.

"I have talked to Pak Sofjan Wanandi from Apindo and he welcomed the verdict," Muhaimin said, referring to the chairman of the Indonesia Employers Association (Apindo).

Apindo previously had warned that the Constitutional Court ruling could force local manufacturers to lay off some of their employees or relocate to other countries to offset a possible rise in labor costs here. Sofjan had said local manufacturers were in competition with cheaper imported products and higher labor cost would only put more burden on them.

But on Monday, he said Apindo welcomed the court ruling. He said the group would participate in discussions on the regulation with the ministry. "The tripartite meeting will be held soon," Sofjan said. "Because we might have different interpretations of the verdict; employers interpreting in a particular way, and the workers might be assuming it in a different way."

Timbul Siregar, chairman of the Indonesian Workers Association (OPSI), told the Jakarta Globe his group was also ready for the discussion.

Environment & natural disasters

Dayak tribe's survival hinges on conservation efforts

Jakarta Globe - January 25, 2012

Carla Isati Octama – The fate of East Kalimantan's Dayak tribes is inextricably linked to the success or failure of Indonesia's efforts to reduce deforestation, an international environmental organization said on Wednesday.

The Dayak Benuaq of Muara Tae, West Kutai Kabupaten, are at the front lines of the issue – faced with palm oil companies eager to expand plantations into the island's customary forests, the Environmental Investigation Agency said.

Members of the tribe have taken to manning an outpost in the woods in the hopes of dissuading developers. Under current planning laws, the threatened forest is listed as being outside the national forest area, leaving it open to development.

In January 2010, plantation permits for Muara Tae were issued to two palm oil companies, Malaysian-owned Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa and Borneo Surya Mining Jaya, a subsidiary of Sumatran conglomerate Surya Dumai.

According to EIA, the survival of the Dayak Benuaq depends on the continued existence of the forest they live in.

"There are more than 800 families in Muara Tae relying on the forests for their food, water, medicine, culture and identity. Put simply, they have to keep this forest in order to survive." said Faith Doherty, EIA's forest team leader.

"The rhetoric from the president of Indonesia on curbing emissions by reducing deforestation is strong. But on the front line, where indigenous communities are putting their lives at risk to protect forests, action is sorely missing," she said.

According to EIA, Muara Tae has lost more than half of its land and forests over the last 20 years to mining companies. The conversion of forestlands to mining purposes is blamed for the drying up of villagers' clean water sources.

"We are calling for help from people everywhere in protecting our forests and ancestral land," said Pak Singko, a leader of the Dayak Benuaq.

"We are being squeezed from all sides by mining and plantation companies. This is the last remaining forests that we have and the only land we have to survive. If my forests are gone, our lives will end."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently pledged to reduce carbon emissions across the country 26 percent by 2020, while still delivering strong economic growth.

Sumatran elephant listed as 'critically endangered'

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Washington, D.C. – Indonesia's Sumatran elephant has been downgraded from "endangered" to "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature after losing nearly 70 percent of its habitat and half its population in one generation, World Wildlife Fund announced on Tuesday.

The decline is largely due to elephant habitat being deforested or converted for agricultural plantations.

In a news release, WWF called for an immediate moratorium on habitat conversion to secure a future for Sumatran elephants.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Sumatran elephant subspecies as critically endangered on its Red List of Threatened Species.

IUCN, in its news release described the list as the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. There are only about 2,400 to 2,800 of the animals remaining in the wild, a reduction of about 50 percent from the 1985 population estimate.

Scientists say that if current trends continue, Sumatran elephants could be extinct in the wild in less than 30 years.

According to the IUCN Red List, "Although as a species Sumatran elephants are protected under Indonesia law, 85 percent of their habitats which are located outside of protected areas, are outside of the protection system and likely to be converted to agricultural and other purposes."

Sumatra is thought to hold some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka. Yet within the Asian elephant's range, Sumatra has experienced perhaps the most rapid deforestation rate, the release said. Sumatra has lost over two-thirds of its natural lowland forest in the past 25 years – the most suitable habitat for elephants – resulting in local extinctions of the elephant from many areas.

"The Sumatran elephant joins the Sumatran orangutan, the Javan and Sumatran rhinos and the Sumatran tiger on a growing list of species found in Indonesia that are critically endangered," said Dr. Barney Long, Asian species expert at WWF. "Without urgent and effective action to save them, we could lose some of these animals from the wild forever."

WWF is calling on the Indonesian government to prohibit all forest conversion in elephant habitats until a conservation strategy is determined for protecting the animals.

"It's very important that the Government of Indonesia, conservation organizations and agro-forestry companies recognize the critical status of elephant and other wildlife in Sumatra and take effective steps to conserve them," said Ajay Desai, Asian elephant adviser for WWF. "Indonesia must act now before it's too late to protect Sumatra's last remaining natural forests, especially elephant habitats."

The statement said that elephant numbers have declined by more than 80 percent in less than 25 years in Sumatra's Riau Province, where pulp and paper companies, like Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), and palm oil plantations are causing some of the world's most rapid rates of deforestation. Habitat fragmentation has confined some herds to small forest patches, and these populations are not likely to survive in the long term.

WWF calls upon all stakeholders, including the Government of Indonesia, palm oil companies, members of the pulp and paper industry and conservation organizations, to work together to conserve Sumatran elephant habitat. Urgent measures are needed to protect Sumatra's remaining natural forests so that future generations of Indonesians can inherit a natural heritage that includes wild elephants, tigers, orangutans and rhinos.

Health & education

Indonesia struggling to meet MDG target

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Indonesia is liable to fail to meet its Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) target in reducing mother and infant mortality rates by 2015, given the lack of access to skilled midwives and obstetricians and poor health facilities, a senior health official says.

Slamet Riyadi Yuwono, director general of Nutrition, Child and Maternal Health at the Health Ministry, said on Thursday that progress had been less evident in reducing maternal and infant deaths.

"We've seen a degree of progress in reducing maternal and child deaths but it has not been in line with the efforts that we have made," he said on the sidelines of the launch of the Expanding Maternal and Neonatal Survival (EMAS) program, a five-year scheme funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The US$55 million program aims to reduce the number of Indonesia's maternal and neonatal deaths by 25 percent over the next five years.

Currently, Slamet said, about 74 percent of the total number of childbirths were aided by skilled birth midwives, and that 65 percent of births took place in health facilities. However, maternal deaths remain high as obstetric services are often of poor quality.

"About 85 percent of villages have skilled midwives, but the maternal deaths in villages have not yet declined significantly. It's a big problem and we are looking into it," he said.

Indonesia is aiming to reduce its maternal mortality rate to 102 per 100,000 live births by 2015, from the current 228 per 100,000 live births. "We are unlikely to achieve this target as we have not yet made any significant progress," said Slamet.

The EMAS program will be established at 150 hospitals and 300 community health centers in 30 regencies across six provinces: Banten, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, South Sulawesi, and West Java, areas with the largest concentration of maternal and child deaths.

USAID director Glenn Anders said EMAS would help ensure that health workers, both in hospitals and community health centers, had sufficient skills and knowledge to deal with emergency procedures.

In Indonesia, more than 10,000 women and 80,000 newborns die either during or shortly after childbirth every year. "Almost 70 percent of women give birth to their children with skilled midwives in attendance but it has not been sufficient to reduce maternal and infant mortality to a level that Indonesia could achieve today," he said.

Nila Djuwita F. Moeloek, the President's special envoy for the MDGs, said it would be difficult for the country to achieve its target in reducing maternal and infant mortality rates, while it needed to also give attention to other areas of development, such as nutrition, infrastructure, and education for women and girls.

"Factors other than the quality of health care services may also affect the country's success in reducing maternal mortality," she explained.

Hemorrhaging and infection, two leading causes of maternal deaths, could occur if a woman suffered malnutrition during pregnancy, she said. "Thus, healthy conditions, both before and during pregnancy, remain just as important in preventing the risk of internal bleeding and infections," said Nila.

Infrastructure was another crucial factor as improvements could enable people to access better-quality health services. Many local authorities, however, unfortunately paid little attention to the importance of infrastructure development, Nila added.

"I think this is the reason why the rate of maternal deaths has not yet declined significantly," she added.

Anne Hyre, USAID's chief of party for EMAS, said that the program aimed at strengthening the quality of services at hospitals and community health centers.

"We will be working with midwives, doctors and others to make sure that they are implementing evidence-based practices for emergency maternal and newborn health care."

Food myths fuel child malnutrition in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Dessy Sagita – Since giving birth to her son three weeks ago, Airin Nofran has received a torrent of advice about her diet and that of her baby.

"Some of the advice was reasonable, but some of it was honestly very strange," she told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. Airin said her relatives and neighbors have encouraged her to eat the leaves from katuk, or star gooseberry fruit, because they are widely believed to help new mothers produce more breast milk.

People have also told her not to eat fish or seafood, which they warn will give her milk a bad smell and thereby discourage her baby from feeding.

But Subagyo Partodiharjo, a medical doctor who leads the health caucus at the House of Representatives, believes their advice is misguided and could ultimately have negative health consequences. "There are so many myths that have kept Indonesia far behind when it comes to nutrition," Subagyo said.

The World Health Organization has ranked Indonesia as the country with the globe's fifth-worst nutrition problem.

Indeed, an estimated 900,000 children aged younger than 5 are undernourished or malnourished nationwide. And although the Ministry of Health claims to allocate Rp 700 billion ($77.7 million) annually to tackle the issue, child deaths due to malnutrition remain a common problem.

"Most of the time, the problem is not because we don't have enough food, but because we don't eat properly, and that's in part due to those misleading myths," Subagyo said.

Among the most common myths, he said, are the beliefs that the protein from eggs will give children abscesses, and that fish should be avoided because it will hurt their mental development.

He added that although eating katuk leaves will not harm the mother, other nutrition myths that deny growing children important proteins and minerals are dangerous because they affect brain development.

Other false nutrition beliefs can affect newborn babies, he said. For example, many Indonesians think newborns should eat food to complement breast milk, including banana puree mixed with rice porridge.

"You shouldn't give anything to your newborn but breast milk until they're six months old," he said. "And banana puree mixed with rice has excessive carbohydrates that will make your baby overweight."

Another falsehood that needs to be tackled, he said, was the misconception that colostrum, the yellowish breast milk that mothers produce in the first few days after delivery, is spoiled milk that should be discarded.

"That's a very unfortunate belief because colostrum is good for your baby's intelligence, immune system and growth," he said.

He added that children who are deprived of proper nutrition suffer from stunted growth and end up eating excessively as adults, leaving them at a higher risk of stroke, heart attack and diabetes, which combined account for 63 percent of deaths among adults in Indonesia.

"We should be more like the Japanese," he said. "They eat a lot of fish when they're young and they eat more vegetables as they get older. For us in Indonesia, it's the complete opposite," he added. "We stuff our children with only vegetables, and when they get older they eat excess protein."

Minarto, the Ministry of Health's director of education, said it is crucial to debunk these common myths about nutrition because a child's most important development period occurs in the first 1,000 days of life, beginning at birth until their third year of life.

"In those first 1,000 days, physical growth happens so fast and it doesn't happen again at any other period of life," he said. He said any nutrition problem at this stage would likely affect children for the rest of their lives, causing health issues such as permanent mental development problems due to a lack of proteins or other nutrients.

The malnutrition problem in Indonesia, he added, is often not caused by an inability to afford proper food. In fact, he said, studies show that many children born in poor families suffer from over-nutrition and even obesity.

"So it's not always about the money," he said. "In many cases, the problem is because of the wrong kind of diet."

Poor nutrition during pregnancy is also responsible for stunted growth in children. An estimated 36 percent of Indonesian children are stunted, according to Ministry of Health research from 2010.

Graft & corruption

Bandung judge convicted of corruption, jailed for six years

Jakarta Globe - January 31, 2012

Yuli Krisna, Bandung – Judge Imas Dianasari found herself on the wrong side of the law, and the courtroom, on Monday as the Bandung Anti- Corruption Court in West Java sentenced her to six years in prison for accepting Rp 200 million ($22,000) in bribes.

Imas, who has been suspended from her position as an ad-hoc judge at the Bandung Municipal Court's industrial relations tribunal since her arrest last July, was also ordered to pay Rp 200 million in fines.

At the time of her arrest, she was hearing a dispute between Japanese-owned electrical wire manufacturer Onamba Indonesia and a union representing striking workers.

The court ruled in favor of the company and allowed it to discontinue the employment of those who joined the strike, shortly before Onamba's human resources manager Odi Juanda gave her the illicit funds. On Monday, the same court sentenced Odi to four years in prison.

The sentence was met with disappointment by workers' union representatives who attended the trial. They argued Imas should have been given 13 years, as the prosecution had demanded. "Disband the Bandung industrial court!" one worker shouted after the sentence was read.

The secretary of the Bandung branch of the National Workers Union (SPN), Dede Koswara, said Imas had marred the legal system and exposed how the judiciary favored rich businessmen.

"To tell you the truth, for those of us who have been monitoring the case from the beginning, we are disappointed," Dede said. "The judges [at the Anti-Corruption Court] failed to weigh the impact of [Imas's] actions."

The court argued that Imas deserved the lenient sentence for admitting her crime and being remorseful. Both sides have seven days to file an appeal with the West Java High Court.

Monday's verdict is the latest controversial ruling issued by the judiciary in West Java. Last year, the Bandung Anti-Corruption Court acquitted Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Muhammad for his role in an embezzlement scandal despite other defendants being jailed in the same case.

Last week, the Bandung State Administrative Court annulled a decision to raise the minimum wage in Bekasi district, prompting a massive outcry and pro tests.

Corruption costs Indonesia $238 million in 2011

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Ezra Sihite – Indonesia lost as much as Rp 2.13 trillion ($238.6 million) to corruption in 2011, although authorities should have been able to easily detect the methods used for graft, a watchdog revealed on Sunday.

Danang Widoyoko, the coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said a study by his organization showed that embezzlement accounted for most of the money lost and that government investment was the sector most prone to graft.

Embezzlement cost the state Rp 1.23 trillion last year, almost three times more than the second most prevalent method, bogus projects and travel costs, which cost the state Rp 446.5 billion. Misappropriations came third at Rp 181.1 billion, followed by markups at Rp 171.5 billion.

Danang said those were age-old methods that should have been easily preventable. "Our corruption practices are actually still quite primitive and therefore easy for auditors to track," he said.

Part of the problem, he said, was the presidential instruction issued last year on eradicating corruption, which he called weak for overstressing prevention at the expense of taking action.

"Programs on corruption prevention account for almost 90 percent of [antigraft funding], particularly in law enforcement institutions," Danang said.

"There's nothing wrong with preventing graft, but the presidential instruction should have given more weight to action that can be taken by the police and the Attorney General's Office to investigate corruption cases."

He said police and the AGO made the problem worse by using much of their graft prevention funds for internal reform instead of going after other graft cases. "They focus their prevention efforts on shoring themselves up from the inside, so that it looks like they've achieved their antigraft programs," he said.

If prevention must be stressed, he continued, it should be in the political arena. However, Danang said it was regrettable that neither the government nor the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had drawn up a blueprint for tackling graft at that level.

He said ICW's projection for the coming years was that politically related graft cases would increase in prominence as the 2014 legislative and presidential polls approached.

He warned that the next two years could see politicians and parties meddle in the mining, forestry and plantations sectors as they sought to raise funding for their campaigns.

"The high cost of running will see all the parties in a race to get money throughout 2013, so 2012 will be the year to watch out for [possible graft] in state funding for the energy and mineral resources sectors," Danang said.

He said this pattern played out in the period leading up to previous elections and would continue to occur as long as the KPK failed to draw up strict standards for transparency in political party funding.

He added that in addition to raiding the state budget, politicians would also constitute the biggest obstacle to the KPK in carrying out its job.

Separately, Bambang Soesatyo, a member of the House of Representatives, called on the KPK not to be pressured into cherry-picking which politicians it investigated. "If a single KPK commissioner is boxed in by political interests, the commission will lose its independence and its effectiveness," the Golkar Party lawmaker said.

Bambang was responding to speculation that KPK chairman Abraham Samad was pressured into not probing Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who has been implicated in corruption by graft suspect and former Democrat treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin.

KPK criticized over alleged budget committee bribery case investigation

Jakarta Post - January 29, 2012

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – An expert says she does not understand why the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) have decided to detain lawmaker Wa Ode Nurhayati in relation to the ongoing investigation of the House budget committee bribery case.

"I think that the KPK investigators have given up on the fact that Wa Ode had earlier declared that she possessed significant evidence that could reveal the committee leaders' roles in many bigger bribery cases," expert on money laundering Yenti Garnasih of Trisakti University told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

She said the KPK should instead protect Wa Ode by further examining her evidence.

"KPK seem unwilling to discover who is the brains behind this case," she said. However Ucok Sky Khadafie from FITRA, an NGO that monitors state budget transparency, said he still hoped that the KPK would be able to unveil the perpetrators behind the case, no matter how slim the chances were.

"I strongly hope that KPK can draw out more important information and evidence from Wa Ode in detention so that it can be followed up by further investigation of more influential actors," he said.

KPK investigators decided to detain Wa Ode Nurhayati from the Nation Awakening Party (PAN) due to reports that there was some suspicious activity in her bank accounts.

Previously, Wa Ode had been accused of receiving bribes from a businessman who had interests in regional budget evaluation. Being accused of having received bribes, Wa Ode then pointed the finger at the committee leaders who, according to Wa Ode, were the true string pullers behind many bribery cases that took place within the committee.

Indonesia's culture of corruption exposed on film

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

Lisa Siregar – Every Indonesian knows that corruption is common for smoothing every bureaucratic process. You got a speeding ticket? Pay the officer. You want to renew your passport? Pay the immigration staff. You want to score a meeting with a very important person? Send the secretary a gift.

What Indonesians may not realize is that corruption is slowly becoming a culture. "Today, people can no longer decide if a corrupt act is really corruption," said Abduh Aziz, the secretary general of the Jakarta Arts Council and a film producer.

To highlight this cultural shift and nationwide problem, a group of filmmakers banded together to produce a collection of four short films running a total of 75 minutes.

With the help of Transparency International, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Management Systems International and the US Agency for International Development, four directors give their take on graft. They hope their collective endeavor will educate Indonesians on the harm that corruption inflicts on a society.

Entitled "Kita versus Korupsi" ("Us Against Corruption"), the film explains how corruption has rooted itself in everyday Indonesian life. The cast features popular actors and actresses, including Dominique Diyose, Tora Sudiro and Ringgo Agus Rahman. Noted scriptwriter Prima Rusdi was also involved as the project's creative director. "We hope the film will be able to speak about honesty and integrity," Abduh said.

The idea behind the project came from Busyro Muqoddas. The former chief of the KPK knows better than most that corruption is a very complex issue here.

Corrupt dealings are a daily occurrence at nearly every level of government, and every case has a different motive. An even more worrying problem is that a study by the KPK has shown that more and more young officials are becoming corrupt.

Busyro decided to launch a campaign to handle these problems after realizing that law enforcement alone was not enough to win the war against corruption. "A corrupt person is a morally disabled person, so what we really need to do is reform the culture," he said.

Busyro hopes the film will touch people's consciences. He hopes that after seeing the film, people will be inspired to start a social movement to fight corruption at the grassroots level.

Film director Lasja F. Susatyo said that endless news reports about corruption had demoralized her. "We hear about corruption very often, but there's nothing we can do about it," she said. "We just get angry on Facebook and Twitter."

Lasja and her friends share the KPK's concerns that the younger generation is increasingly seeing corruption as normal and acceptable. Lasja, who also teaches at Paramadina University, once heard a student tell a friend that they should just accept corruption as a part of life.

"Maybe because the media always have these stories in the news, people are desensitized," she said. "You don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore."

Lasja directed a 16-minute short called "Aku Padamu" ("I Am Into You"), which stars actors Nicholas Saputra and Revalina S. Temat. It follows the story of a couple who run away to be with each other. The problem is, they can't get married because they don't have the necessary letters and documents. The groom wants to bribe the officials, but the bride refuses. After all, the very reason they ran away is because her father is involved in a corruption case.

Each film examines a case of corruption in an everyday environment, such as in the family or at school.

Chairun Nissa's 13-minute film is about a teacher and students and how they learn about good values. Ine Febriyanti and Emil Heradi finish out the directorial roster. Ine gives her take about a career woman who tries to avoid paying a bribe, while Emil's film portrays someone who feels guilty for being corrupt.

Because it's a serious, deep-rooted issue, Abduh wanted to make sure the team took the right approach for the films. "We didn't want to tell a story about huge corruption cases, because we already hear about these every day," he said.

One goal is to educate Indonesian children, who often learn about corruption through family and school. Abduh pointed out how students were encouraged to buy schoolbooks through their teachers. The teacher then earns a commission and gives the students better scores in return.

And many parents undoubtedly tell their teens to pay bribes to get identification cards or driver's licenses. "We see how corruption is being internalized by our children," he said.

Abduh said the coalition received a lot of help in making the films, including from the actors, who did not receive payment for their contributions. The film crews also charged lower than normal rates and equipment was rented at discounted prices. Shooting took place over 14 days in November. "Turns out, there are many people who want to speak about corruption," Lasja said.

Every short film in the collection was inspired by true events. For Lasja, the film should highlight the underbelly of society. Everybody readily blames law enforcement in corruption cases, but nobody criticizes the values system, she said.

"Those who suffer the injustice of corruption may themselves be corrupt," she said. "We have become so impatient that we don't invest our time in doing the right thing. Everyone wants privilege and to be treated like a VIP, but they don't want to go through the process."

The film premiered in Jakarta on Thursday and will be screened in an additional 17 cities. After each screening, Abduh plans to hold a discussion. Because the creators want to have personalized screenings for the film, it won't necessarily be available in local cinemas.

Lasja said they hoped to work with local cinemas to provide free screenings, otherwise they would also try to collaborate with cultural centers or secure rooms and projectors where possible.

"We won't sell tickets, so the film will be screened for free," she said. "Kita versus Korupsi" will also be available on YouTube and DVD after all the initial screenings are complete.

Government travel documents often bogus: BPK

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2012

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Government workers have apparently found another way to make personal gains by manipulating documents for official travel.

The State Audit Agency (BPK) recently revealed that state officials often produced bogus travel documents at the end of the year to manipulate their budget utilization reports.

"We see a trend in the budgets for official travel, particularly in November and December, as there are often suspicious reports documenting state officials going on field trips to various places. Travel documents for a lot of places are signed because they worry about the utilization of the travel budget," BPK member Taufiequrachman Ruki said in a statement on the BPK website.

"This means that their institutions have failed to conduct proper planning in their programs," he added.

Finance Ministry budgeting director general Herry Purnomo said the government had no excuse not to acknowledge the BPK's findings regarding the misuse of travel budgets at state departments and ministerial offices.

"We have to admit that it [travel budget fraud] exists even though the government has taken the necessary steps to prevent this kind of practice," Herry told reporters here on Friday.

Herry said that one of the preventive measures the government had taken was using a quota system for state officials' travel duties.

"Today's system stipulates that disbursements for travel tickets are made based on facility allocation. For example, if a regulation stipulates that fourth-echelon officials are entitled to business class tickets, then their institution must pay for business class tickets whatever the cost," he said.

However, even with the current system, Herry acknowledged that state officials would manipulate travel facilities and documents to gain personal benefit due to the corrupt nature of their older colleagues.

"What happens today is an excess of a past mind-set. In the past, travel disbursement was based on a lump – sum system. This meant, for example, that if an official received Rp 1 million for travel, then he had to use that money to travel, regardless of what kind of transportation he took. Many officials manipulated this system to gain personal benefit, and nothing has changed with the current one," he said.

Herry said that one of the most common manipulative practices conducted by state officials to gain benefit from travel allowances was by forging boarding passes. By doing this, according to Herry, state officials often claim to take a more costly flight for their travel needs while in fact they take a cheaper flight.

"They work together with travel agents that can provide fake boarding passes for Rp 100,000 each," he said. "State officials also often make claims for bogus travel allocation. For example, they claim to have been traveling for five days while in fact they only spent three days traveling," he added.

Herry said that all of the extra costs suffered due to the manipulation in travel documents was considered state losses. However, he could not give a definitive figure on the amount of losses caused.

As evidence dries up, KPK told to ask new questions

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2012

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – As the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) searches for the benefactors of the 2004 central bank's vote-buying case, a coalition of antigraft activists has urged investigators to also find out who benefitted from former senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Miranda Goeltom's policies while she was in office.

Legal experts, observers and antigraft activists, including former Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) chief Yunus Husein, disclosed on Friday the results of their public examination of the bribery case of former lawmaker Dudhie Makmun Murod and called on the KPK to scrutinize the flow of money revealed during Dudhie's trial in 2010.

They alleged that Miranda, who is thought to have been elected as a result of the bribery, was not the only beneficiary and that the KPK should delve into Miranda's policies and decisions during her tenure as central bank senior deputy governor between 2004 and 2009.

"There were indications that Miranda's victory benefited those in the banking industry," Yunus told a press conference. He asserted that Miranda's position was very strategic, as being Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor for banking monitoring would allow her to "possess valuable information for the banks".

The bribery scandal has also allegedly implicated Bank Artha Graha, which is owned by businessman Tomy Winata.

The case centers on the distribution of 480 traveler's checks worth Rp 24 billion (US$2.69 million) to at least 33 lawmakers at the House's finance commission. The checks were distributed by suspect and alleged go-between Nunun Nurbaeti after the lawmakers held a fit and proper test for Miranda and two other candidates for the post in 2004.

Yunus, who is also a former BI legal director, said many were willing to sponsor the election of central bank leaders because they had their own interest in BI policies.

He said that BI leaders decided policies on open market operations, foreign exchange and the BI rate. "Imagine if they knew such information first," he added.

Yunarto Wijaya, a political analyst from think tank Charta Politika, said the bribery was an extraordinary case. "Obviously, if we study the political plot of the case, this is about hijacking authorities and buying policies," he said.

Jamil Mubarok from the Indonesia Transparency Society (MTI) slammed KPK prosecutors for not doing their best in building the case. He also criticized the Jakarta Corruption Court judges for not pushing for more information from witnesses, especially those that testified during Dudhie's trial.

"The KPK must present them again at Miranda's trial and find the link between the checks and the benefactor," he said. "It is simply a case of follow the money."

The court has revealed that Artha Graha purchased the checks from Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) in 2004 by borrowing the name of PT First Mujur Plantation and Industry.

First Mujur finance director Budi Santoso has testified that he did not understand how the Rp 24 billion checks got into the pockets of lawmakers as they were supposed to be used by president director Hidayat Lukman to pay Ferry Yan for the purchase of a small-scale oil palm plantation in North Sumatra.

According to Budi, Hidayat told him that the purchase was canceled just after he delivered the checks to Ferry. Ferry paid back Rp 13 billion in cash for the checks, but he had not paid off the remaining debt by the time he died in 2007. No one knows how the checks wound up in the hands of the convicted lawmakers other than Hidayat and Ferry, said Yunus.

So far, Hidayat has managed to escape KPK questioning. KPK prosecutors have also yet to take him to court. "As the one who knows about the plantation purchase, he must be brought before the court," Yunus said.

He later questioned why Hidayat had paid for the plantation company using traveler's checks. "The palm plantation was not owned by a single company; it is a complex owned by several farmers," he said. "How come [Hidayat] paid each local farmer with traveler's checks each worth Rp 50 million?"

'I know too much,' covered-up Yulianis reveals

Jakarta Globe - January 26, 2012

Rizky Amelia & Novianti Setuningsih – The person who allegedly managed the shady businesses and bribery schemes of graft suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin is a woman of surprisingly small stature, with only her eyes visible behind her Islamic dress.

For a brief moment at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday, even the defendant Nazaruddin was taken aback. The court had to be adjourned momentarily to identify the witness: Yulianis, the finance director of Nazaruddin's Permai Group.

Yulianis said that she would only reveal her face privately to Nazaruddin and the judges, so they left the courtroom. Upon their return, the presiding judge, Dharmawati Ningsih, asked Nazaruddin if he recognized her.

"Yes, she is [Yulianis]. It's just that I didn't recognize her," Nazaruddin said. He smiled at the panel of judges, saying he had never known Yulianis to dress so religiously before.

Yulianis may have been cloaked in religious garb, but there was nothing holy about her job description in Nazaruddin's company.

She admitted to channeling Rp 30 billion ($3.4 million) and $5 million at her boss's instructions to participants of a Democratic Party congress in 2010 which saw the rise of current chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

She also claimed to have provided billions in funds used to bribe lawmakers and other Democratic leaders to ensure Nazaruddin's company was awarded lucrative government projects.

During her time as Nazaruddin's director, she repeatedly tried to resign, she said. It was not out of guilt for what she was doing, however; it was because of the inhumane way Nazaruddin treated his employees.

"Nazaruddin once got so angry he hit my friend Minarsih," Yulianis said. She left the Permai Group in November 2009, only to return two months later. "I returned after Nazaruddin threatened me," she said.

For Nazaruddin, Yulianis was seemingly indispensable, displaying knowledge of the details of many of his shady dealings. When Nazaruddin fled the country to Singapore last year, he asked her to follow suit even though she had already been slapped with a travel ban.

"Nazaruddin instructed me to make a fake passport and identification card," she told the court. "He wanted to hide me in Singapore because I know everything. I know too much."

Nazaruddin was targeted by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) shortly after the antigraft body arrested another of Nazaruddin's employees, Mindo Rosalina Manulang, on April 21 of last year.

Rosalina and businessman Muhammad El Idris were caught red-handed after providing bribe money to Sports Ministry secretary Wafid Muharam. The three are now in jail.

"'Rosa was out playing, Yul. Go and fix her room,'" Yulianis quoted Nazaruddin as saying to her shortly after they heard that Rosalina had been arrested by the KPK. Nazaruddin, she said, instructed her and other employees to destroy all incriminating evidence that could lead to him.

"We all worked frantically until 3 o'clock in the morning," she said, adding that she had emptied Rosalina's safe box. "When KPK agents came raiding our office, we pretended to be doing the taxes," she said.

The KPK did manage to confiscate some checks and financial records that led back to her boss.

SBY defends his antigraft record before activists

Jakarta Post - January 26, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono claimed that his government has achieved successes in its antigraft campaign, in spite of a series of public opinion surveys that show that most people believe corruption remains a chronic problem.

"Don't make judgements based on the number of corruption cases, because some of the cases took place before I entered office but the legal processes were taken during my term," Yudhoyono said in a meeting with scores of anticorruption activists at the State Palace on Wednesday.

The President said that the surging number of high-profile graft cases exposed by the news media during his term served as an indication that his administration was doing a good job in enforcing the law.

"I can say that no one can escape the law during my term. That is the outcome of my administration's more aggressive anticorruption efforts," Yudhoyono said.

After making these remarks, Yudhoyono proceeded with a meeting with dozens of anticorruption activists from across the country behind closed doors.

The activists were invited to join the meeting after Yudhoyono initiated a similar meeting in Semarang, Central Java, last month. "I hope this kind of meeting can be held regularly," Yudhoyono said.

Among the activists attending Wednesday's meeting were activists from the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), Transparency International Indonesia (TII) and the National Secretariat of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Seknas FITRA).

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad, Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) chief Muhammad Yusuf, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, and Attorney General Basrief Arief also attended the meeting.

ICW worker Tama Satrya Langkun, who was injured in an assault by a group of armed men on July 8, 2010, was among the activists. The assault is believed to be related to his stance on pushing for an investigation into the suspicious bank accounts of several senior police officers.

Yudhoyono, while visiting Tama in a hospital in Jakarta, appealed to law enforcers to find and punish the perpetrators. No arrest has been made.

ICW coordinator Danang Wido-yoko said Tama planned to use the occasion to remind the President about his promise. Tama, however, decided not to. "I did not have the chance to talk, because we gave more time to regional activists to air their grievances," he told The Jakarta Post.

In the meeting, the activists asked Yudhoyono to focus on evaluating the police force and the prosecutor's offices, institutions deemed among the most corrupt in the country.

Activists also called on the President to clear the way for the KPK to investigate corruption at the two institutions. "We also asked the President to revoke the 2004 presidential decree on vital object security which has been abused by police officials, particularly at local levels, to give legal grounds for gratuities from mining and plantation companies," he said.

Another issue brought up in the meeting was the requirement to obtain the President's approval for police and prosecutors to investigate regional leaders, such as governors, regents and mayors, in corruption cases. The KPK, under the 2002 KPK Law, does not have this kind of requirement to probe any state officials.

Yudhoyono, however, played down the issue. "I never made it difficult. My desk is always clean. I have approved requests to investigate corruption by 168 regional leaders during my term. Seventy-eight of them committed the corruption before my term in office," he said.

Numerous surveys have shown that public perception of the government's anticorruption efforts has continued to decline. A national survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) in December 2011, showed that the public's faith in the government's antigraft drive had reached a record low, with only 44 percent of respondents in approval of the government, down from 52 percent in December 2010 and 59 percent the year before.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Military organizes antiterrorism drill

Jakarta Post - January 31, 2012

Bandung – In anticipation of a growing number of social conflicts, the Indonesian Military (TNI) is organizing an antiterrorism drill to help soldiers build synergy among different military units.

In his opening speech, military chief Adm. Agus Suhartono predicted in the near future national security would become more complicated.

"The drill is expected to build teamwork among members of the different forces," the military chief's operational assistant Hambali Hanafiah said, reading out the written speech of the military chief in a ceremony at the Sulaiman Airbase in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.

The military chief cited some armed conflicts in Papua and Aceh that had disrupted public security and order. Given the security condition, he said, the Indonesian military had to anticipate threats to national unity.

The antiterrorism drill involved of the military special forces such as the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus)'s antiterrorism unit, the Navy's Jalamangkaran detachment and the Air Force's Bravo-90 detachment, Antara reported.

The antiterrorism drill started Monday at the Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta and will be continued at Husein Sastranegara airbase in Bandung on the second and third day.

Government needs strategy to counter extremist clerics: ICG

Jakarta Post - January 26, 2012

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – The International Crisis Group (ICG) said that the government needed a strategy to counter clerics who do not use violence but nevertheless preach that it is permissible to shed the blood of so-called infidels or tyrants, which is parlance for Indonesian officials and the police.

"The problem is that there is no agreement within the country's political elite on the nature of the threat," the ICG said in a report published on its website on Thursday.

The Brussels-based organization examined the radicalization of a group from Cirebon, West Java, which was behind the 2011 suicide bombings of a mosque and a church.

Ideological and tactical lines within the radical community were blurring, making it harder to distinguish "terrorists" from hard-line activists and religious vigilantes, the report pointed out.

"The Cirebon men moved from using sticks and stones in the name of upholding morality and curbing 'deviance' to using bombs and guns, and this may become the common pattern," ICG senior adviser Sidney Jones said in a statement.

The report cited that the Cirebon men, who were poorly educated and underemployed, represented a generational shift from jihadists who were trained abroad or from those who fought a decade ago in two major communal conflicts in Ambon and Poso.

Instead, the men were radicalized through attending public lectures by radical clerics, and most had taken part in attacks on stores selling liquor and had been involved in anti-Ahmadiyah activities.

The men had been members of Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), an extremist organization founded by well-known cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in 2008, but then left to form an even more militant group.

The two suicide bombers, Mohamed Syarif, who blew himself up at a Cirebon mosque on April 15, 2011, and Ahmed Yosefa Hayat, who died in an attack on a church in Surakarta, Central Java, on Sept. 25, taught themselves how to make bombs from the Internet and worked alone.

ICG noted that the merging of vigilantes and jihadists had been facilitated by the proliferation of Islamist civil society organizations and the popularity of public religious lectures as forums for spreading radical views.

If the radicalization of groups such as the one in Cirebon men was to be halted, the government needed to build a national consensus on what constitutes extremism, directly confront hate speech and promote zero tolerance of religiously-inspired crimes, the ICG noted. (nvn)

Indonesia's Islamic vigilantes 'turning to terrorism'

Agence France Presse - January 26, 2012

Angela Dewan – Tolerance of Islamic vigilantism is helping to breed a new generation of terrorists in Indonesia, the International Crisis Group warned in a report on Thursday.

The report criticized the government and police for lax law enforcement against hardliners, who often claim responsibility for violent anti-vice and sectarian attacks but regularly evade punishment.

"Indonesia: From Vigilantism to Terrorism in Cirebon" described how a group of poor uneducated men in the western Javanese town went from using sticks and stones in morality raids to using bombs and guns.

"What we saw in Cirebon was a group of about 10 people who started out on a path to terrorism by participating in anti-vice campaigns," ICG analyst Sidney Jones said. "By using violence in these campaigns, they clearly violated the law but weren't punished."

The group went from carrying out anti-vice attacks on TV stations and convenience stores selling alcohol to orchestrating suicide attacks on a police mosque and a church on Java island.

The attacks last year killed only the bombers themselves, but injured scores of others with nails, nuts and bolts spraying from homemade explosives.

"The government's saving grace is that the groups that have embarked on this path are poorly trained with very low capacity, but it won't always stay that way. One of these groups will get lucky and have a greater impact," Jones said.

The radicalization of the Cirebon group was fueled by weekly sermons where spiritual leaders encouraged the bloodshed of Islam's enemies, which have come to include the Indonesian government and police, the report said.

The threat of vigilantes turning to terrorism follows an effective decade- long crackdown on the country's most notorious networks, such as the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, it added.

Indonesia's police anti-terror unit, Detachment 88, has in recent years killed some of its most-wanted militants, including Noordin Top, believed to have played a role in every major terrorist attack in the country's recent history.

The unit also killed Dulmatin, who had a hand in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Hard-line & vigilante groups

FPI shut out by suspected liquor sellers

Antara News - January 27, 2012

Hundreds of religious hard-liners from the Islamic Defenders Front attempted to raid a store in Garut, West Java, on Thursday with some help from the police because they believed it was selling alcohol.

The mob from the front known as the FPI arrived in a convoy of motorcycles outside the Ekbaow grocery store only to find it shuttered by the owners. When they attempted to force it open, the police stopped them.

However, the police then banged on the door and called for the owners to let the mob in so that they could "check the goods." The owners refused to open up.

The frustrated mob then turned its focus on a series of kiosks at the Garut bus terminal that it claimed were also selling liquor. When they arrived, however, the kiosks were also closed. The mob ended its day riding in a convoy around the city.

Freedom of religion & worship

Yasmin church suspicious of police's motives

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Vento Saudale, Yuli Krisna & Ulma Haryanto – The embattled GKI Yasmin church in Bogor questioned on Monday whether there was police discrimination in the naming of one of its members a suspect in an alleged assault.

The church member, Jayadi Damanik, was named a suspect in an incident in October last year when Bambang Budiyanto, the chief of the Bogor administration's Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), was allegedly knocked unconscious during a confrontation with worshippers.

Bona Sigalingging, spokesman for the GKI Yasmin church, told the Jakarta Globe on Monday that the church had reported Bambang to police for obstructing religious services twice.

The first incident was in April 2010 when Satpol PP sealed off the church for the first time, and the second in October last year when officers blocked the congregation from praying on the sidewalk in front of their illegally sealed church.

"Out of all of our reports, the West Java Police only followed up on one case," Bona said, referring to the charges that were laid against Jayadi.

West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Putut Eko Bayuseno denied that his officers were discriminating against the church and its congregation. "We are processing both reports and not singling out anyone," he said.

West Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul added that it was purely "by chance" that Bambang's report was the one with the most sufficient evidence. "There was enough evidence to name Jayadi a suspect," the spokesman said.

Jayadi has been charged with unpleasant conduct and assault, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. Martinus said that since Jayadi had been cooperative with authorities he would not be detained.

He added that in the case against Bambang, police had questioned 14 witnesses. "When we have enough evidence, we will also name Bambang a suspect," Martinus said.

A copy of a letter from the Bogor Police in May 2010 stated it had found "sufficient preliminary evidence that a crime has occurred," referring to the report against Bambang.

The letter, which was signed by Adj. Comr. Indra Gunawan, the general crimes unit chief, was in response to the first report of Satpol PP sealing the church's complex. The explanation did not satisfy Bona, who said it was another case of the victim being treated like the aggressor.

"This is what happened to Ahmadiyah," Bona said, referring to a minority Islamic sect that has suffered ongoing intimidation by hard-line Muslims and government officials.

One of the Ahmadis who was attacked in February last year received a longer sentence than his attackers, who got off with five and a half months in jail. The Ahmadi was convicted of supposedly provoking a deadly attack on his own members by insisting on holding his ground and facing the attackers instead of fleeing.

Lily Wahid, one of few politicians in support of GKI Yasmin's plight, regretted West Java police's move. "Satpol PP was being aggressive, there was a lot of pushing and the guy fell. The police are just trying to find GKI Yasmin at fault," Lily said.

Christian charged with assault in Bogor church fight

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

An embattled Indonesian church at the center of a long-running dispute with Indonesian authorities that has attracted headlines around the world, confirmed on Monday that one of its members has been named a suspect by police for alleged assault.

Bona Sigalingging, spokesman for the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor near Jakarta, told the Jakarta Globe that West Java Police had named Jayadi Damanik a suspect.

The charges relate to an incident in October last year when Bambang Budiyanto, the chief of the Bogor administration's Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), was allegedly knocked unconscious during a confrontation with worshippers.

Bona said that the church had reported Bambang to police for using violence to obstruct a religious ceremony and Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto for obstructing a religious service. "Out of all of our reports to the police, West Java Police only followed up on one case," Bona said, referring to the charges laid against Jayadi.

Contact on Monday morning, Jayadi confirmed he was on his way to West Java Police headquarters in the provincial capital Bandung. Bona said again a victim was being treated like a criminal.

"This is what happened to Ahmadiyah," Bona said, referring to a minor Islamic sect that has suffered ongoing intimidation by government officials and hard-line organizations.

On Sunday, the embattled congregation took its Sunday service 60 kilometers north of its usual spot in Bogor to the front of the State Palace in Jakarta in a bid to get the president to directly resolve a long-standing dispute. "We want the attention of the central government, particularly the president. We have endured years of discrimination," Bona said on Sunday.

The GKI Yasmin church has been illegally sealed off by the Bogor city administration on the pretext that congregation leaders doctored a petition needed to obtain a building permit. The church has been offered a new location and compensation, but so far it has refused to move.

Since 2008, the congregation has been forced to hold Sunday services on the sidewalk outside the church or in the homes of parishioners, in the face of continued protests and intimidation by Islamic hard-line groups.

Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto has come under criticism for ignoring a 2010 Supreme Court order to lift a ban he placed on the church in 2008. He has insisted there were indications that the congregation falsified local residents' signatures of support for the construction of the church.

Bona said the dispute is no longer a local matter, given the mayor's defiance of the rule of law. "In fact, [Diani] has let radical intolerant groups intimidate the congregation repeatedly, with increasing intensity," Bona said.

Rain that drenched much of Jakarta on Sunday failed to deter the congregation from staging its service in front of the palace. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Indah Kurnia attended the service and called for intervention from the central government.

"All it takes is a little courage from the president and his ministers to take action against the mayor," Indah said, adding that the president should see the case as a test determining the future of religious freedom in the country.

"I am surprised. [It is] as if we are not living in Indonesia. The case better suits other countries that do not recognize religious freedom and diversity," she said.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said earlier that he would personally make sure the ongoing dispute in Bogor was resolved peacefully. Gamawan held a meeting last week with several Muslim leaders to discuss the long- standing conflict and said he would devise a number of options for the embattled congregation.

But Bona said the church did not need a political resolution that compromised the court's ruling. "This is a legal matter and there has been a decision by the Supreme Court, which the mayor refuses to comply with," he said.

In a statement released on Thursday, Amnesty International urged the government to "take adequate measures to guarantee the safety of [the GKI Yasmin congregation] so that they can practice their religion free from attacks and intimidation."

The global rights activists also urged "prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all reports of intimidation, harassment and attacks."

Address discrimination, GKI Yasmin tells SBY

Jakarta Post - January 29, 2012

Jakarta – Hundreds of congregation members of the GKI Taman Yasmin church, which is situated in Bogor, Greater Jakarta, staged a protest on Sunday in front of the State Palace.

They demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono address the continued discrimination and intimidation against the church's congregation.

"We came here so that the highest leader would help settle this problem, for the sake of the supremacy of law and preservation of diversity in Indonesia," GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging said Sunday as quote by kompas.com.

He said members of the GKI Yasmin congregation still faced intimidation, with two attempts in the last one month by Bogor public order officers and hard-line group members to disperse the congregation during a Sunday service.

"We received circular information on behalf of the Bogor Mayor that told us not to conduct services in our church or its surroundings. This is a form of intimidation," Bona said.

The Bogor administration, which has cited problems with the church's permit, has barred the congregation from conducting religious services inside the church for more than two years, defying a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed the congregation's right to holding services at the church.

The peaceful protest was held amid pouring rain. Dozens of police officers were seen standing guard. (iwa/mtq)

Indonesian Christians protest over intimidation

Agence France Presse - January 29, 2012

Indonesian Christians held a prayer vigil in Jakarta on Sunday urging President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to re-open their church and stop intimidation by Muslim hardliners.

About 200 people, mostly members of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church, prayed and sang hymns outside the state palace.

"We hope the president will protect us from harassment by radical groups and re-open the church which is legally ours so we can conduct worship," the group's spokeswoman Dwiati Novita Rini told AFP.

The Christians have been forced to hold services on the pavement outside their church in Bogor city, south of Jakarta, after its permit was revoked in 2008, Rini said.

"But the Supreme Court overturned the decision in December 2010 and ordered for the church to be re-opened. The Bogor city administration however refused to comply," she added.

The congregation has since moved their weekly service to a house near a church but faced intimidation and verbal abuse from Muslim hardliners, Rini said. "A few dozen would harass us every weekend. But last Sunday, hundreds intimidated us with sticks and rocks and shouted at us to leave," she added.

Although the constitution explicitly guarantees freedom of religion and the country of some 240 million people, laws make it difficult for faiths other than Islam to establish houses of worship.

Rights groups say religious intolerance is on the rise in Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim majority, citing the persecution of the minority Muslim Ahmadiyah sect and the torching of churches.

Amnesty International last Wednesday called on the government to guarantee the safety of the congregation and conduct "prompt, independent and impartial" investigations into reports of intimidation.

It also urged the government to ensure the Bogor city authorities immediately comply with the court's ruling to re-open the church.

'Controversial religious affairs minister must go'

Jakarta Post - January 28, 2012

Jakarta – Rights activists and religious leaders have urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to dismiss Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali for his frequent statements that could fuel persecution against minority groups in the country.

"Suryadharma doesn't deserve the post because he has encouraged discrimination against Shiite by saying that the sect is heretical. As a minister, he speaks on behalf of the government, and his statement could be taken to indicate that the government legitimizes violations against Shiite [followers]," said Setara Institute chairman Hendardi on Friday.

Suryadharma, who also chairs the Muslim-oriented United Development Party (PPP), said after a meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission VIII overseeing religion, that the Shiite branch of Islam was heretical because it deviated from the main Islamic teachings.

Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Mahmoud Farazandeh said that he expected to hold a meeting with Suryadharma to clarify his statement. "I haven't heard anything from him directly so I don't know what he meant. I must see him first and listen to his explanation before commenting on his statement," he said.

Shiite is the official state religion of Iran, subscribed to by almost 95 percent of the population, while Indonesia is the world's most populous Sunni Muslim majority country.

Noted Muslim intellectual Azyumardi Azra said that Suryadharma's statement only added to the already numerous burdens shouldered by the Yudhoyono administration.

"The minister has encouraged radicalism. The statement can be used as an excuse by Sunnis, whose form of Islam was introduced by the Wahabbis from Saudi Arabia, to use violence against Shiites," he said.

The Setara Institute and other rights groups had called upon Yudhoyono to replace Suryadharma in the period leading up to the recent Cabinet reshuffle last year, because of his ill-informed comments on minority groups.

Previously, Suryadharma had made similar accusations about the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect, which he also deemed heretical, and called on Ahmadis to return to the true teachings of Islam.

Setara researcher Ismail Hasani said the public could be forgiven for thinking that Suryadharma was targeting minority groups in the country. He predicted that the Baha'i branch of Islam could be next.

"After an attack on Ahmadis in Cikeusik, Banten, in February last year, we warned that similar actions may be carried out against followers of Shiite and Baha'i because these religious groups are not considered part of mainstream Islam in Indonesia," he said.

Ismail said that Yudhoyono's government should issue a statement to refute Suryadharma's statement. "The government must immediately make a statement to counter the minister's comments; otherwise, the public will believe that Suryadharma spoke out on behalf of the state," Ismail said

In late-December last year, Sunni followers burned down a Shiite compound in Karang Gayam, Madura; an attack believed to have been orchestrated to drive the Shiite community out of the village.

Earlier in 2010, Syahroni, a leader of a Baha'i community in Lampung Timur, Lampung, was jailed on criminal charges of teaching and proselytizing Muslim children in the neighborhood. (msa)

Yasmin dispute not my problem, Religion Minister says

Jakarta Globe - January 26, 2012

Ezra Sihite & Farouk Arnaz – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said on Wednesday that the GKI Yasmin church dispute did not come under his jurisdiction, insisting that since it involved a building permit, it was the responsibility of the Home Affairs Ministry.

"The Yasmin problem is a legal matter and legal conflicts should be settled by law," the minister said.

He added that he did not want the conflict to be linked to religion and the ministry would offer no further comment. "This case will be settled by the mayor, and if he is not able, then by the governor and finally by the Home Affairs Ministry," Suryadharma said.

He said his ministry had approached the Yasmin congregation and offered a new location for its church but had that offer turned down. He suggested it reconsider.

The GKI Yasmin church has been illegally sealed off by the Bogor city administration on the pretext that the congregation doctored a petition needed to obtain a building permit.

Since 2008, the congregation has been forced to hold Sunday services on the sidewalk outside the church or in the homes of parishioners. On Wednesday, the GKI Yasmin congregation, joined by the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) Forum, came to the National Police headquarters to seek protection so their Sunday worship could proceed smoothly.

"From early on during our Sunday worship, there were some 1,000 policemen on guard, in full uniform with a water cannon. But they did nothing," forum coordinator Mangapul Silalahi said.

The police, he said, stood by when members of the hard-line Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forkami) and Islamic Reform Movement (Garis) groups brandished wood and bamboo sticks and came close to injuring lawmakers who were among the members of the congregation.

"Our visit today is to meet with the National Police chief and the chief of detectives to ask them why this is happening. This instance of allowing things to happen did not only occur yesterday," Mangapul said. "It has taken place repeatedly."

He also said they came to seek protection in their worship, as guaranteed by the constitution.

Jayadi Damanik, legal counsel for GKI Yasmin, said it had visited the Bogor Police deputy chief to demand firm action to safeguard its worship activities but nothing had changed. "If we cannot [worship] in church, on the sidewalk or inside a home, just kill us so that we can be buried," Jayadi said.

Groups, officials intimidate churchgoers

Jakarta Post - January 24, 2012

Bogor – At least 70 supporters of two hard-liner groups and officers from the municipality's public order agency forced the congregation of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) at the Taman Yasmin housing complex to halt the Sunday service being held at the house of a church follower.

Public order top officer Bambang Budiyanto barged in the house and engaged in a heated argument with House lawmaker Lily Wahid, who has consistently advocated for the rights of the Yasmin congregation to be able to worship in their own church.

The police that had been on guard around the house, about 1 kilometer from the disputed church building, did not stop the commotion until the church service ended at 9:30 a.m. The police later dispersed the radical groups, identified as Forkami and Garis, and evacuated the churchgoers.

"We have to use the house of a church member for the service... We have no where else to go to worship," church spokesperson Bona Sigalingging said Sunday.

Mayor Diani Budiarto sealed the church building, claiming that the church's followers had lied on their application for the construction permit. Although the Supreme Court had annulled the mayor's decision, the Bogor administration had yet to execute the verdict and enforce the law in the face of intimidation from the hard-liners.

Islamic law & morality

Goodbye Dolly: bid to close Java's brothel strip

Sydney Morning Herald - January 28, 2012

Tom Allard – With its brightly lit glass cubicles displaying scantily clad women to passing pedestrians, there's no place in Indonesia, or the Islamic world, quite like Surabaya's Dolly district.

The hub of the port city's expansive sex industry, Dolly is a narrow lane, about 200 metres long, packed with brothels and bars, the touts jostling among the satay vendors and meatball soup hawkers to entice passers by to "jiggy jiggy".

It's not exactly Bangkok's Patpong or Amsterdam's red light district, but it's not far off either. Named after a Dutch madam who set up a brothel in the area during the colonial era, Dolly has thrived for decades with the tacit approval of local authorities.

But all that may be about to change. "Such a situation is not good," Indra Istianto, head of the East Java government's social affairs department says. "It's not good for children and, besides, the reputation of Surabaya is tainted. There are many things to see in Surabaya and East Java other than these girls."

The Governor of East Java, Soekarwo, has vowed to shut down Dolly and Surabaya's six other red light districts by 2014, promising an "unlimited" budget and an innovative mix of financial incentives with retraining and religious instruction.

"If they quit prostitution, we will give them 3 million rupiah ($333) to start a new life," Mr Indra, who is in charge of the program, says. "If they take the money, they will have to go back to their home town and use it to start a new business. It's enough to start a warung [small food stall] or kiosk." For pimps, the payout is 5 million rupiah.

The government is offering sex workers money management classes and cooking and sewing lessons, among other training programs and there are also monthly Koran reading classes. But while Mr Indra expresses his optimism that his "humane" approach will work, many have their doubts.

"Of course, this is not enough money," says Liliek Setyowati, a gracious woman known widely as "Vera" who has worked for 25 years educating Surabaya's sex workers about reproductive health and alternative employment options.

"They earn between 7 million and 10 million rupiah a month. There are complex reasons why people become prostitutes... Many are running away from violence, others are victims of trafficking," she says.

At the moment, Ms Vera is caring for Mujiana, a 17-year-old who became a sex worker when she was 15 after her father was imprisoned and her mother ran away, leaving her to look after her three younger siblings.

Her life spiralled out of control and she fell pregnant. Her prospects looked dire until she was given a scholarship to study public relations through Ms Vera's Abdi Asih Foundation.

"There are so many cases like this and this will not change," Ms Vera says. "I am concerned because the training needs to last at least six months [to be worthwhile] and the government program only offers a few sessions."

But East Java's authorities are claiming some success already. A pilot program in the Dupak Bangunsari red light district reduced the number of prostitutes from 274 to 173 last year.

The owner of the biggest brothel in the area, Siti Fatimah, reportedly quit her profession, went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and now runs a food store. But only 45 prostitutes have taken up the 3 million rupiah payment to date and no pimps have been tempted by the 5 million rupiah offer.

Mr Indra says the program will be expanded this year and at least 20 prostitutes have indicated they will accept the money and return to their villages in the past two weeks alone.

As for the pimps, he attributes their lack of interest to a sense of honour. "They already have enough money to start a business, so I think they are sort of embarrassed to take the offer," he says.

While it may appear a meagre financial incentive, the East Java administration's approach is progressive, given the persistent sweeps by Islamist groups through the area and their calls for brothels to be destroyed and sex industry workers locked up.

Mr Indra said the punishment will be "harsh" for any prostitute or pimp who takes the money but returns to Dolly. "The girl will be immediately sent back home and the brothel will be closed," he says. "Another rule is that no brothel is allowed to add new girls. If a pimp quits, the brothel will be shut forever and cannot be onsold."

One sex worker, who asked to be identified only as "Dewi", has mixed feelings about the scheme.

Dewi became a prostitute after her husband left her and their two small children. "I chose it from the start," she says. "I needed quick money."

In nine months, she has earned enough to set up a kiosk in her village selling items such as instant noodles, shampoo and soap. Her parents – who think she works in a cafe – run it.

She says her clients are generally well behaved and she would ideally like to work for another two years in the sex industry. "If they close it down, I guess I will just go back home," she says.

Land disputes & mining

Aburizal Bakrie alleges defamation over Bima link claim

Jakarta Globe - January 31, 2012

Farouk Arnaz & Ezra Sihite – The fallout from a violent protests against gold prospecting activities in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, has spread to the country's corridors of power, pitting top officials from the two biggest political parties against each other.

On Tuesday, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie filed a police report against Ramadhan Pohan, the deputy secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party, for defamation after the latter claimed that the prospecting company at the heart of the dispute was linked to Aburizal.

Lalu Mara Satria Wangsa, a spokesman for Aburizal and the Golkar deputy secretary general, said the claim was a political attack against the Golkar chairman, who is considered highly likely to stand for president in the 2014 elections.

"These allegations cannot be separated from politics because Ramadhan is the Democrat deputy secretary general," Lalu said. "As a former journalist, Ramadhan should have known better than to say that."

The spat arises from remarks made by Ramadhan to the Jawa Pos News Network on Jan. 6, in which he linked Aburizal to Sumber Mineral Nusantara, the mining firm whose exploration activities in Bima sparked massive protests by locals and led to the torching of the district chief's office.

"SMN serves as an ATM for Aburizal and his cronies, via the Bima district head," he said. "Not for the Golkar Party, though, because not everyone in Golkar likes Aburizal."

Lalu said Aburizal had denied any links to the company. He also said that in the wake of the claims, he had received several text messages from anti-mining activists threatening a sit-in of Wisma Bakrie, the tycoon's high-rise headquarters in Jakarta.

"There were also leaflets circulated at a [recent] demonstration outside the State Palace alleging Aburizal's links to the Bima case. This is not right and is detrimental [to Aburizal]," Lalu said.

"We've subpoenaed Ramadhan and gave him until this morning [to retract his statement] but there have been no signs of an apology. I was asked by the joint coalition secretariat to settle this matter [without taking it to the police], but it can't be done."

Rudy Alfonso, one of Aburizal's team of 12 lawyers, said Ramadhan had challenged them to report him to the police, saying he was not afraid of being jailed. Rudy also presented a copy of SMN's shareholder list, which showed the company under full ownership of the Tahija family.

Ramadhan said he had offered a conditional apology to Aburizal – but not for the allegations. "He's older than I am, so I apologize if I offended his feelings," he said. "But as a politician, I am beholden to the people, and it was the people's voice that I was representing, so I won't apologize for that."

He also rebuffed the threat of defamation charges, suggesting that Aburizal was punching far below his own weight class in filing a report against him.

"He's a prominent figurehead, a presidential candidate, so he should be taking on other presidential candidates, not me," Ramadhan said. "Again, if he's offended by my remarks, I apologize for that, but I'm not going to take back what I said."

Rights groups, Bima residents say Densus 88 must leave

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Fitri, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Residents of Bima district in West Nusa Tenggara have demanded that police withdraw the counterterrorism squad sent to the area in the wake of massive protests that led to the district head's office being burned down.

The residents, whose demand echoes that made by human rights groups, said the presence of the Densus 88 squad in the district was "disturbing and unsettling."

"The people call on the National Police chief to withdraw Densus 88 and all other reinforcements sent to the area," Mulyadin, a spokesman for the protesters, said on Sunday.

He added that residents feared the presence of the counterterrorism unit, which has frequently been criticized for its propensity for shooting suspects rather than taking them alive, could spark another deadly clash between residents and security forces.

Three civilians were killed and dozens arrested during a clash with police on Dec. 24 at Bima's Sape Port, when a protest by residents over gold prospecting activities in the district turned violent.

The long-running tensions in the district centered around a mining exploration permit issued in 2010 to gold prospector Sumber Mineral Nusantara.

Prior to the clash last month, district head Ferry Zulkarnain had already ordered a suspension of prospecting activities. On Thursday, however, things spiraled out of control once again when residents occupying Ferry's office to force him to revoke the permit outright lost their patience and set the building on fire.

No one was injured in the incident. The rioters went on to ransack the local elections office and forced officials at the local detention center to release 53 people arrested in last month's clash.

On Saturday, Ferry finally conceded to the mob and announced that he would rescind SMN's permit.

Mulyadin said the residents were demanding that police drop all charges against the 53 people whom the residents had broken out of jail. He said they also wanted assurances that no one would be arrested for burning down the district head's office, which is estimated to have caused more than Rp 40 billion ($4.5 million) in damage.

Should the police attempt to breach the blockades set up by the residents outside their strongholds in the subdistricts of Sape, Lambu, Langgudu, Wera and Ambalawi, Mulyadin warned there would be another clash.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) has also called for the police to withdraw Densus 88 from Bima, arguing that the elite squad's presence would only aggravate tensions there.

"We want the squad withdrawn in order to prevent clashes or arrests that violate human rights," Suryadi Radjab, a PBHI official, said in a statement released on Sunday.

Separately, the provincial police have urged residents to turn in the 53 detainees. Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein, a spokesman for the West Nusa Tenggara Police, said returning them was the "gentlemanly" thing to do because otherwise the people in question would retain the legal status of criminal suspect for the rest of their lives.

[Additional reporting from Antara.]

Police try and clean up mess after Bima protests, escapes

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

Farouk Arnaz – Police are calling on activists in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, who fled detention when a mob set fire to a government building and stormed another facility to return to custody.

They also want the so-called provocateurs who led the rampage to turn themselves in. "Of course there will be legal sanctions," National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said in Jakarta on Friday.

"But we ask them to give themselves up. And that goes for the detainees who fled or who were carried off by the protesters. We have their names, after all. "We'll see what happens over the next few days. We'll try persuasion first."

Thousands of residents demanding that officials revoke a decree granting gold mining rights to an Australian-backed company burned down the Bima district office on Thursday. Several motorcycles and cars were damaged in the incident as well.

The mob also went to a nearby police detention facility and forced authorities there to release 35 people who had been arrested during a similar protest at Sape Port on Dec. 24.

Despite a strong police presence in Bima on Thursday, with about 850 officers deployed, no arrests were made during the violent rampage. According to Boy, the police were overwhelmed by the protesters, who numbered in the thousands.

Protesters started gathering at about 9:30 a.m., and there was no sign that they intended to destroy property, he said. However, they became increasingly frustrated around midday when it became clear the district head would not meet them.

Officers may have reluctant to respond with any kind of force on Thursday after they shot and killed three people during the protest at Sape Port, sparking a wave of condemnation and several investigations. Those killings were found to be probable human rights violations by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Demonstrations continued on a smaller scale on Friday. Dozens of protesters from the Anti-Mining Community Alliance visited the governor's office in the provincial capital, Mataram. They demanded the governor take a stronger line to support the residents of five subdistricts in Bima who are opposed to mining on their land.

"We have come here to ask Governor Zainul Majdi to meet us and make a firm statement to the recalcitrant Bima district head, Ferry Zulkarnain, who refuses to revoke the permit he issued," said a spokesman for the group, Arif. "We want peace, and this is a peaceful protest."

Meanwhile, the central government has put in writing a request to the Bima district head to take steps to permanently halt the operations of the Australian company at the center of the conflict.

Thamrin Sihite, director general of minerals and coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said the ministry had issued an official recommendation that gold exploration by Sumber Mineral Nusantara and Australian-listed Arc Exploration's joint venture be stopped permanently.

"The recommendation, a copy of which was also sent to the governor of West Nusa Tenggara, was sent on January 26, 2012," he said.

Even before protesters began staking out his office and the ministry issued the letter, the governor had called on the district head to revoke the mining license.

It is not clear if the central government's recommendation, even if it were adopted by Ferry, the Bima district head, would be enough to satisfy the protesters, who have been calling for a complete revocation of the joint venture's license.

[Additional reporting from Made Arya Kencana, Fitri R. & Antara.]

Bima regent revokes permit for troubled firm

Jakarta Post - January 27, 2012

Rangga D. Fadillah, Jakarta – Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said Thursday that the Bima regent had revoked the mining permit of PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara (SMN) after a group of people burned the regent's office in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

A deadly clash between Bima residents and the police on Dec. 24 claimed two lives. The residents were protesting against the mining operation of SMN over concerns about disruption to their farms and plantations. SMN, a joint venture with Australia's publicly listed ARC Exploration Ltd., is still in its exploration phase. The permit for SMN covers a total area of 24,980 hectares.

"I regret that the revocation was implemented only after the people became angry and burned the regent's office. It shouldn't be like that. The issuance of a mining permit [locally known as an IUP] requires approval from local people in the first place," he said during a press conference, held to announce what he had done during his first 100 days as a minister.

Jero argued that regents should consult with local people through the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) before issuing a permit. If the people agreed, he went on, the regional administration had to ensure that they would not lose their sources of livelihood.

"The most important thing is that people have to be assured of the benefits of mining activities in their region," he emphasized.

According to the 2009 Minerals and Coal Law, regional administrations have the full right to issue and revoke mining permits. The central government cannot force the administrations to revoke permits.

Jero promised that the central government would strengthen its supervision over the issuance of mining permits by regional administrations, to prevent similar cases to the one in Bima from happening elsewhere in the future. "We hope that regional administrations are more careful in offering permits to mining companies," he said.

Mining permits remain problematic, however. The directorate general of minerals and coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has estimated that around 60 percent of the 9,662 permits issued across the country have no "clean and clear" status.

The ministry's director general for minerals and coal, Thamrin Sihite, revealed that in the future, the government would use the 2010 governmental regulation on the supervision of the management of mineral- and coal-mining businesses to ensure that regional governments followed standard operating procedures in issuing permits.

"If they [regional governments] don't follow the procedures, we'll warn the heads of the regions," he said.

As previously reported, the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) said the old system – where the right to issue mining permits was held by the central government – was better than the existing one. Many problems, such as overlapping permits, appeared after the implementation of the new law, which came into force in 2009, the association argued.

A police tribunal in Mataram, NTB, handed down last week a disciplinary punishment to two police officers for "aiming guns at a crowd" during a protest against the mining company. No officers were found guilty of firing shots.

Bima district office torched by anti-mining mob

Jakarta Globe - January 26, 2012

Fitri Pikong & Antara, Mataram – A district office in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, was burned to the ground along with several motorcycles and cars by a mob of thousands of residents demanding that officials revoke a decree granting exploration rights to mining companies.

The angry crowd also went to a nearby detention house and forced authorities there to release 35 people arrested during a mining protest at Sape port on Dec. 24, 2010.

The mob, drawn from across the province and angry at finding the district office empty, set it and the smaller Elections Commission building ablaze at around 2 p.m.

According to Antara, the demonstration was initially meant to be a peaceful show of anger at District Head Ferry Zulkarnain refusal to revoke a 2010 decree that led to the granting of exploration rights to miner Sumber Mineral Nusantara.

Earlier this week, residents had banded together to demand that officials revoke the decree within five days, but it was unclear exactly when that demand was issued.

Last month, a protest against mining operations in the area turned deadly when police officers fired on demonstrators at Sape port in Bima. Three protesters were killed in that incident and dozens were arrested.

Demonstrators on Thursday, angry at finding Satpol PP and other security forces guarding the empty district office, swarmed into the building, throwing furniture and other items out of the windows before leaving and setting the structure ablaze, police said.

Members of the mob also put the neighboring Election Commission office to the torch.

"From the information that we received, they burned down the Bima district office and the Bima Election Commission office, which is also in that area, along with the goods inside the buildings," said West Nusa Tenggara Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein.

Besides the two buildings, police said motorcycles and other vehicles in the area were also set ablaze. "Recent news reports says the smoke is still swirling around the scene. It is not yet known if there's any victims or not," Sukarman said.

After setting the government buildings on fire, the mob marched to the Rutan Raba Bima detention house, and forced guards there to release 35 people arrested during the Sape port protest.

Bima District Head Ferry was reportedly far from the office at the time of the riot, and was in a safe place, according to authorities.

Parliament & legislation

House projects distance lawmakers from the people

Jakarta Post - January 30, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – With several renovation projects in progress, the House of Representatives (DPR) has built a comfortable nest for the legislators. However, such comfort doesn't necessarily improve lawmakers' poor performance.

Critics have long feared that the various luxuries that House members have enjoyed would only distance the legislators from the public.

The Indonesian Parliament Watchdog (Formappi) lambasted the House, which it said had no culture of shame in wasting the state budget collected from taxpayers.

"[Through many proposed facilities projects] the House members are upgrading their status even though they show poor performance," Formappi secretary-general Sebastian Salang said.

As part of the luxuries they think they are entitled to, he added, the House members have also upgraded the plane tickets they purchase from economy class to business and executive class when they have to travel.

Members of the House seem unconcerned with criticisms of discretionary spending, as they have pushed on with controversial infrastructure projects and facility upgrades this fiscal year.

The Rp 20.3 billion (US$2.26 million) renovation of a House meeting room is only one of six projects approved in 2011. Some projects are still under way to provide upgraded facilities for the lawmakers.

Besides the meting room, the House Secretariat General is carrying out a Rp 3 billion renovation of the parking lot, a Rp 2 billion refurbishment of the toilets, a Rp 1.59 billion procurement of fragrance devices, a Rp 1.3 billion production of calendars, a Rp 4.8 billion procurement of large LED TVs and a Rp 3.7 billion fingerprint scanning machine.

Remunerations for the 560 lawmakers, including monthly payments and allowances, will also be raised this year.

Secretary-General Nining Indra Saleh said over the weekend that her side would go ahead with the projects because they have already received approval from the lawmakers and the government.

The Secretariat General's facilities procurement bureau head Soemirat said the renovation of the House's budget committee room was so costly because it would be equipped with anti-bugging equipment.

"The anti-bugging device that cost Rp 7.8 billion has been included in the renovation budget, but the device has not been installed pending the official hand-over of the room to the budget committee," he told The Jakarta Post.

Deputy secretary-general Slamet Suntarso regretted that House leaders have washed their hands of the controversial projects and laid the blame on the Secretariat General.

He said the projects were set and included in the House's 2011 budget and they had already been discussed in detail with the House's household affairs (BURT) and budget committees before their execution.

"All the projects at the House and the Secretariat General carried out in 2011, were proposed in April 2010 and inserted in the draft budget submitted by the President to the House in August 2010," he said, adding that all details in the projects were deliberated by the House's BURT and budget committee with the Secretariat General and the Finance Ministry.

The budget committee, BURT and House leaders have declined to account for the renovation projects, saying it has been never deliberated in details with the Secretariat General. In handling the case, the House's Honorary Council has asked the consulting company and the construction company to replace all renovation materials ordered from Germany with local products so that the renovation's costs could be cut to Rp 13 billion.

Chairman of the budget committee Melchias Markus Mekeng and his deputies were not available for comment.

With an overall increase in the House's budget this year, all 560 lawmakers are to receive an increase in monthly salaries and allowances. Lawmakers will each receive a monthly salary of Rp 60 million, an increase from Rp 58 million, for a total of Rp 105 million to cover seven planned activities during the recess period.

"This is part of the House's decision to raise its budget for salaries and allowances to Rp 1.03 trillion this year from Rp 914 billion in 2011," Nining said, adding that lawmakers scheduled to conduct seven activities during the recess, and each activity cost Rp 15 million. The House is in recess five times per year.

The House also raised the budget for the control, budgetary and legislative programs to Rp 903.7 billion from Rp 755.5 billion in 2011, while supplementary funds for the three functions was raised almost by 100 percent Rp 148.3 billion from Rp 78 billion in 2011.

Al Mudjamil, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), confirmed the increases in monthly salaries, allowances and supporting facilities for lawmakers in 2012 and that the increases would be effective as of this month.

Sebastian Salang admitted that while activists had plenty of ammunition to criticize lawmakers' luxurious lifestyles and their corrupt behavior, they were unable to push the House to make necessary improvements in its policies in the legislative, budget and control functions, or to bring legislator's lifestyles more in line with the majority of their constituents.

He also questioned the procurement of anti-bugging device for the budget committee. According to him, the equipment should be canceled and the budget should be returned to the state because the committee must open its meetings to the public. Furthermore, he said, the budget committee has to be closely monitored by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) since it has been believed to be a nest of corruption within the DPR.

The House has been under fire for its poor legislative performance, reaching only 15 percent of its legislative target in the previous year. In addition to controversial facility upgrades, many lawmakers have allegedly been involved in abuse of power and graft cases.

Ethnic & communal violence

Parking dispute turns to mob violence in Lampung

Antara News - January 25, 2012

At least 83 homes were torched or destroyed on Tuesday afternoon during a clash in South Lampung that stemmed from a petty squabble over a parking fee.

Sources said that a mob burned down at least 60 homes in Sidomulyo subdistrict and destroyed another 23, forcing residents to flee.

The violence broke out when hundreds of people from Kotadalam village descended on the neighboring village of Sidomulyo armed with knives, machetes and bamboo spears. Hundreds of police and military officers were deployed to try to break up the brawl.

The huge melee also forced police to reroute traffic on the Trans-Sumatra highway and close off a section of it between Katibung and Tanjungan villages. Cars and buses passing through the area were ordered to pull into the nearest gas stations for several hours until the crowd dispersed and the security situation eased.

The incident was reportedly sparked when a motorcyclist from Sidomulyo refused to pay Rp 1,000 (11 cents) to a parking attendant at the town's market.

An argument ensued, and he pushed the attendant, from Kotadalam, to the ground. In retaliation, a mob from Kotadalam marched on Sidomulyo and attacked residents' homes.

There were reports of several people injured in the clash, but it remained unclear how many. Although it was broken up by mid-afternoon, groups of armed people lingered in the area.

Armed forces & defense

Soldiers brutally beat Pontianak gas vendor

Jakarta Globe - January 30, 2012

Pontianak, West Kalimantan – Officials in Pontianak have vowed to thoroughly investigate the alleged assault of a gasoline vendor by two soldiers on Saturday.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Mukson Munandar, the West Kalimantan Police spokesman, said on Sunday that his office was probing the case with the military police, and urged residents to stay calm. The assault on Saturday afternoon occurred when two soldiers on motorbikes stopped at the stall of Miftah Farid, 24, who sold gasoline in bottles.

They asked him to fill up their bikes but then refused to pay. When Miftah objected, the two assaulted him severely, leaving him with injuries that included a gash to the back of his head. Agustina, the victim's sister, said they hit Miftah with his own tools and kicked him repeatedly.

"They should be fired," a visibly emotional Agustina said. "They don't deserve to serve in the armed forces," she added. "They should be prosecuted. If they can do this in broad daylight, then clearly this is no big deal for them."

Dozens of residents who witnessed the assault immediately restrained the soldiers, identified only as Pfc. Nik and Pfc. Dik, and marched them to a nearby traffic police post. They also took Miftah to a hospital.

After questioning by police, the two soldiers were taken into custody by military police from the Tanjungpura Military Command, which is responsible for overseeing military operations in West Kalimantan.

Agustina said the incident could have been avoided. She said her brother often served motorists who could not afford to pay, in which case he asked them to leave behind some form of ID that he held until they could come back with the money.

The soldiers' superiors have responded by promising to pay for Miftah's hospital treatment.

Military-owned businesses pose unique corruption risks

Wall Street Journal - January 26, 2012

Samuel Rubenfeld – Businesses owned by militaries around the world pose unique corruption risks to the sectors in which they operate, a new report found.

The report, released Thursday by Transparency International's U.K. Defence and Security Programme, looks at how military-owned businesses are structured, what the inherent corruption risks are for these firms, and why and how the countries have made reforms to their military-owned companies.

"Once the military begins to engage in economic activities, it is often difficult to end such practices. In most situations, corruption becomes rampant and a major problem which (sic) harms the state and the national economy as well," the report said.

Introducing a profit motive into the military increases the chance for distraction, the report said. Looking at case studies in China, Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan, the report found that distraction often leads to outright graft, and in the more extreme cases that manifests itself in the form of embezzlement of state funds, tax fraud and even brutal coercive practices on workers.

One case study examined in the report showed the challenges countries face when trying to reform firms owned or controlled by militaries. In Indonesia, Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. disclosed that it paid millions to the Indonesian Armed Forces for security services. Since 2003, the company has avoided making payments directly to individuals in the military, instead making them to headquarters.

However, the story has still remained in the news: The United Steelworkers sent a letter in November 2011 to the US Justice Department calling for an investigation into violations of US foreign bribery law over the payments. At the time, the company said it reports all the financial contributions it makes to governments.

Indonesia, meanwhile, passed several laws in 2004 officially requiring the government to shut down or take over businesses owned by the military by October 2009, but the report said that effort has only been "partially successful."

The reasons for a lack of success? The laws were unclear and didn't explicitly require the military to surrender its businesses. Moreover, the military isn't exactly volunteering to hand over the companies, and the oversight team supposedly in charge of the effort didn't have the power to force it to happen.

"Despite the good intentions of the government's reform agenda, it has failed to see it through. Nonetheless, they have managed to eliminate a vast proportion of the military's commercial enterprises," the report said of Indonesia's efforts.

TNI puts brakes on tank talk as House takes aim

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Ezra Sihite – The Armed Forces chief said on Tuesday that a final decision had not been made on a widely panned $600 million plan to buy secondhand tanks from the Netherlands.

"The Leopards [tanks] are still being discussed, but what is clear is that this is still just one of several armament options and not yet final. We are still studying what would be the most appropriate course of action," Adm. Agus Suhartono said.

Speaking at the House of Representatives, Agus said Indonesia needed battle tanks but officials were still discussing which type to buy.

"Please, do not turn this into an issue, as if there is discord between the government and the House of Representatives," he said. "We are still looking for the best solution, what the needs are and which battle tanks are the most appropriate."

Susaningtyas Nefo Handayani Kertopati, from House Commission I, which deals with defense issues, said the German-made Leopard tank was not suitable for the geographic conditions in Indonesia. "We should consider our geography and conditions when buying weaponry. Is the Leopard what we need?" the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) lawmaker said.

She said a Leopard tank weighed more than 60 tons and could be too heavy for the country's bridges and roads to handle. But beyond such concerns, she said, the military should prioritize local industry.

Mohammad Syahfan Badri Sampurno, a member of Commission I from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said that besides being unsuitable for the geography here, the tanks were fuel guzzlers.

He said state arms manufacturer Pindad was preparing a battle tank prototype that deserved the first look from the military. "If imports are necessary, the government should look for countries that do not tend to dictate to us too much on arms purchases," Syahfan said.

A majority of Dutch lawmakers have said they oppose the sale of the Leopards to Indonesia, citing Jakarta's problematic human rights record.

Ichsanuddin Noorsy, a researcher with Gadjah Mada University's Anticorruption Study Center, said on Monday that the $600 million deal to buy 100 Leopard tanks would leave Indonesia dangerously dependent on foreign funding and technological support.

He said the purchase would be made through an export credit, putting Indonesia in debt to the Netherlands and making it reliant on the country for maintenance and upgrade support.

Army Chief Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, however, told lawmakers that if the Leopard deal was approved there would be a transfer of technology that would benefit armament and military equipment production in the country.

"Currently, Indonesia does not have MBTs [main battle tanks], so how can we develop our military industry?" Pramono said. "[The Dutch] will not transfer the technology if we do not buy from them."

He added that the Army was also studying an offer from the German military for the same tank type.

[Additional reporting from Suara Pembaruan.]

Criminal justice & prison system

Lombok man on trial for taking coconuts off trees he planted

Jakarta Globe - January 31, 2012

Fitri – With the case against 46-year-old Muhsan in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, coconuts are joining sandals, cacao pods, bananas and plates as items of evidence in the prosecution of trivial crimes in Indonesian courts.

Muhsan, who recently went back to his birthplace in Aik Bual village, Central Lombok, after more than two decades in Malaysia as a migrant laborer, has been waiting in a prison cell for the past three months to stand trial for allegedly stealing five young coconuts. Last week he had his first day in court, followed by a second hearing on Tuesday.

According to the prosecution, the coconuts were worth about Rp 2,000 (22 cents) each, and Muhsan faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the several clauses of the criminal code he is accused of breaking.

Muhsan, however, insists that the coconuts belonged to him. "I am accused of stealing five coconuts from my own garden, from coconut trees that I planted myself," he said from behind bars on Tuesday. "I'm bewildered that I could be accused, reported and suddenly detained."

The documents presented in court said that while Muhsan was away in Malaysia, his family sold part of their coconut plantation to a buyer named Amaq Seneng.

But Muhsan said he was not aware of that land sale, which amounted to just 19 are – a local land measurement equal to 100 square meters – of the family's 84- are plantation. Furthermore, Muhsan said, his family never received payment for the sale and had been single-handedly maintaining the plantation ever since.

Even so, at the second hearing of Muhsan's case, prosecutor Eli Tutik Sasmita insisted on pursuing the theft charges, even after learning that the land was the subject of an ownership dispute.

Muhsan is being represented by a team of 13 pro bono lawyers from the Indonesian Advocate and Lawyer Association (HAPI).

Respected jurist Jimly Asshiddiqie commented on the recent spate of trivial prosecutions, saying they demonstrated a failure to understand the meaning and purpose of the justice system.

"Investigators, prosecutors and judges should have an internal sense of justice, for goodness' sake," Jimly, the ex-chief of the Constitutional Court, said during a seminar at the Judicial Commission of Indonesia on Sunday.

"For example, if a [trivial] case is passed on by the police, the public prosecutors should be bigger than that, and if they pass the case on, then the judges should be prepared to rely on their sense of justice and take creative steps to achieve it," he continued. "Their approach to the law appears to be mechanistic and procedural; they are not creative."

The country's police force has recently received international media criticism after a teenager was convicted of stealing a pair of sandals from a police officer in Central Sulawesi.

Central Java police officers also recently charged a pair of mentally disabled boys for stealing 15 bananas and a 55-year-old grandmother with stealing three cacao pods.

Police & law enforcement

Police hand over autopsy reports on two teens at center of rights probe

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

Ulma Haryanto – In an unprecedented move, a messenger from the National Police arrived on the doorstep of the National Commission on Human Rights on Friday with the autopsy report on two teenage brothers who were allegedly tortured to death in police custody.

"We received [the documents] straight from National Police headquarters. They were delivered today," said Johny Nelson Simanjuntak, a member of the commission known as Komnas HAM.

Johny, who is in charge of the commission's probe into the case, declined to disclose the contents of the autopsy report because the investigation is ongoing.

Earlier this week, Komnas HAM said it had given the West Sumatra Police until Friday to hand over documents it needed to complete its investigation into the deaths of 14-year old Faisal and 17-year old Budri M. Zen.

Ali Ahmad, from the Komnas HAM office in West Sumatra, said the police were still refusing on Friday to provide the documents because "there was no official letter from Komnas HAM."

This police reluctance, he added, only fueled suspicion that there was a cover-up. After a four-day investigation, Johny said Komnas HAM had found indications that the brothers had been tortured from the day they were arrested.

Faisal was handed over to the Sijunjung Police by villagers on Dec. 21 on suspicion that he had stolen from a charity box at a mosque. Police arrested Faisal's brother, Budri, five days later. On Dec. 28, the police told their family that the two boys had committed suicide by hanging.

"Police said Faisal admitted stealing 17 motorcycles. But I also have witnesses saying that the police had tortured the boy since the first day he was arrested," Johny said.

Aside from the autopsy report, Johny also demanded that the police hand over Faisal's interrogation report and other documents. Sr. Comr. Dainar Sugiarto, a spokesman for the West Sumatra Police, said such documents were for the police's own investigation, and "not to be submitted to Komnas HAM."

"If the commission has evidence, they will submit it to the police. Let the police follow it up if it is true," he said.

The National Police have sanctioned the Sijunjung Police chief and eight officers under him for negligence in failing to prevent the alleged suicides.

The Sijunjung Police chief, Adj. Comr. Syamsul Bahri, was stripped of his rank and sentenced to 21 days in detention. The other eight officers received between 21 and 28 days in detention, demotions and other administrative punishments, including delayed pay raises.

Police refusing to cooperate in alleged torture deaths: Komnas HAM

Jakarta Globe - January 27, 2012

West Sumatra Police are refusing to supply human rights investigators with the autopsy reports of two teenage brothers who were allegedly tortured to death in custody.

Ali Ahmad, the head of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in West Sumatra, said it was unlikely police would meet today's deadline. "The police are refusing to provide them because there was no official letter from Komnas HAM," Ali told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

Earlier this week, Komnas HAM told the media that they were waiting for documents from the police to complete their investigation on the death of 14-year old Faisal and 17-year old Budri M. Zen.

After a four-day investigation, Johny Nelson Simanjuntak from the national Komnas HAM indicated that the brothers were tortured from the first day they were arrested by Sijunjung Police.

Faisal was arrested on Dec. 21 for stealing from a charity box at a mosque. Busri was arrested five days later for motorcycle theft. A week later the police told their family that the boys had committed suicide by hanging.

"It was clear in the meeting [with West Sumatra police] that they have to abide by Johny's request," Ali continued, adding that the police's reluctance only added to the commission's suspicions.

Aside from autopsy report, Komnas HAM also demanded proof that West Sumatera police had conducted training on Child Protection to their officers, and the brothers' previous criminal records.

Law enforcers 'rarely neutral' in religious conflict

Jakarta Globe - January 26, 2012

Ulma Haryanto – When dealing with religious conflict in the field, police officers and other law enforcement officials tend to put their beliefs before their uniform, a researcher said on Wednesday.

Gadjah Mada University political analyst Samsu Rizal Panggabean said that several factors explained why field officers were reluctant to take action.

"The first is a problem of identity," Samsu said in a public discussion titled Police, Civil Society, and Religious Conflicts in Indonesia. "During our interviews with [police] officers in Pandeglang [in Banten], they all said that when it comes to religious conflicts, their own religion comes first, then their uniform."

Pandeglang includes the Cikeusik subdistrict, the scene of a brutal attack on Ahmadiyah community members last February. Three members of the minority Muslim sect died in the attack, gruesome footage of which was uploaded to YouTube. The footage showed how police officers stood by watching as the Ahmadis were attacked.

"This situation is not unique. We also learned that during the conflict in Ambon [in Maluku], officers there were known to take sides according to their religion," the researcher said. Ambon was the scene of bloody interreligious conflict between 1999 to 2002 that left thousands of people dead.

The second factor behind police inaction in the face of religious conflict, Samsu said, was the lack of support from mainstream religious organizations. "I've never seen the chief of police appear in public with leaders of NU and Muhammadiyah," Samsu said, referring to the largest Indonesian religious organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the second-largest one.

Yosep Adi Prasetyo, deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), added that instead, police are often seen with hard- line groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

"They might say that they are doing it for the sake of getting information, but I have to say the current National Police chief's track record isn't exactly spotless," Yosep said in reference to Gen. Timur Pradopo.

After the Cikeusik attack, Timur suggested in a hearing with lawmakers that the Ahmadis had only themselves to blame for the fatalities for failing to heed police advice to flee.

Yosep said that most of the time police failed to be impartial because they had vested interests: "Funding from outside the APBN [state budget] is actually much larger [than official funding]," he said.

Non-APBN sources of income for the police, he said, included unlawful "security payments" from private companies, acknowledged and called "understandable" by the National Police, and kickbacks from field officers.

But Mubarik Ahmad, a spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), said that police in the recent past have proven that they could take a firm stand in religious conflicts. "There was a time when the West Java Police chief gave a clear instruction to his men at Manis Lor village to not let any outsiders in," Mubarik said.

In July 2010, thousands of anti-Ahmadiyah protesters flocked to the village where around 2,000 Ahmadis lived. "And they did their job, it was tense but nobody got hurt, no blood was shed," Mubarik said.

Police in West Sumatra tortured brothers to death: Komnas HAM

Jakarta Globe - January 25, 2012

Ulma Haryanto – After a four-day investigation in West Sumatra, Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights said it found that two boys who died in jail there were tortured to death by police officers.

Sijunjung Police have maintained that they found Faisal, 14, and his brother, Busri M. Zen, 17, dead in their cell on Dec. 28 after apparently committing suicide. But Johny Nelson Simanjuntak, a member of the rights organization known as Komnas HAM, said their investigation found otherwise.

"I have witnesses' accounts stating that Faisal and his brother Busri had been tortured by the police since the first days after they were arrested," Johny said on Tuesday.

Faisal was arrested on Dec. 21 for stealing from a charity box at a mosque. Busri was arrested five days later for motorcycle theft. Johny said his team found villagers who were there the day Faisal was taken into custody.

"He was kicked in the stomach. The police continued to beat him until late into the evening and there were people outside the police precinct who actually heard the boy screaming in pain," he continued.

Asked whether this was known to be a regular practice by local law enforcement, Johny said Komnas HAM would issue a complete report of its findings.

Five days after Faisal was arrested, the police deployed a team to seek out and arrest Faisal's brother, Busri. "People saw the troops beat him up before throwing him into the vehicle," Johny said. "I found that they were overreacting for a motorcycle theft."

Johny added that Sijunjung Police were unable to show him any criminal records belonging to either of the brothers.

"They told me that Busri had stolen 17 motorcycles, but when I demanded to see the records, they couldn't answer. Not even an interrogation report," he said. From the pictures of the bodies and inspection of the precinct, Johny was also convinced that the brothers did not commit suicide.

"The marks around their necks were on a horizontal angle instead of going upward. I also couldn't find the shredded shirt or curtain that police claimed were used by the brothers to hang themselves," he said.

The National Police have sanctioned the Sijunjung Police chief and eight others under him, but only for negligence in failing to prevent the alleged suicides, and not for human rights violations.

Adj. Comr. Syamsul Bahri, the Sijunjung Police chief, has been stripped of his rank and sentenced to 21 days in detention. The eight other officers all received jail sentences ranging from 21 to 28 days, as well as administrative punishments ranging from demotion to delayed pay raises.

Komnas HAM said it would give the West Sumatra Police a week to hand over the autopsy results and other relevant documents before forwarding its investigation to the National Police.

"We want those responsible for this to be held accountable," Johny said. "We demand a reform in leadership for the police forces in West Sumatra."

House of Representatives Commission III also plans to send a team to verify events. Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said the team would depart on Thursday or Friday.

Economy & investment

Few companies apply for tax incentives: Finance Ministry

Jakarta Post - January 27, 2012

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Investors are not taking advantage of existing tax breaks, despite their claims that they need additional fiscal incentives, according to Finance Ministry officials.

Speaking to reporters in Jakarta on Thursday, interim Finance Ministry fiscal policy agency (BKF) chief Bambang Brodjonegoro said only a few companies had applied for existing tax incentives.

Bambang said that investors were simply not aware of the existence of the programs. "The need for fiscal incentives in the past was also low, because investment was not as much as it is today," he added.

Current tax breaks for businesses include a reduction in taxable income to 30 percent of total investment carried over 6 years, accelerated depreciation and amortization, a 10 percent cap on income tax for offshore taxpayers and extending the period in which losses can be carried forward from five to 10 years.

According to reports, only 85 investors applied for the tax breaks since the government established the allowances by regulation in 2007. Out of the 85 applicants, 78 were granted the incentives.

The government regulation originally stipulated that 72 types of businesses could apply for the tax breaks, which was increased to 101 under government regulation No. 62/2008.

A further revision followed in 2011, when the government issued regulation No. 52/2011, which further expanded the types of businesses eligible for the incentives.

Separately, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy chairman Bambang Sujagad said that businesses welcomed the tax incentives, describing the government's measures as positive for promoting investment and likely to create more jobs.

"However, the government's good intentions must also be supported by the actions of the bureaucracy. Businesses will not be interested if they see that it will take too long to settle bureaucratic requirements," Sujagad said. "So far, we have seen many bureaucratic reforms. However, there are still many overlapping regulations that can create bottlenecks," he added.

BKF state income policy head Astera Primanto Bhakti said that the government was committed to finalizing a decision on tax allowance applications within 15 working days.

"The BKPM only needs five working days to process proposals from businesses and then submit them to the Finance Ministry's taxation office to gain final approval," Tamba Hutapea, BKPM's deputy director for investment planning, said.

History & culture

In Indonesia Chinese wary of standing out too much

Straits Times - January 28, 2012

Desiree Tay – Glodok was once the vibrant heart of this capital city's Chinese community. Yet, a full decade since Chinese New Year became a public holiday in Indonesia, Jakarta's historic Chinatown is a faint shadow of its once-bustling self.

To be sure, there are splashes of festive color to be found in the area's Petak Sembilan and other nearby streets. Bobbing crimson lanterns went up at sidewalks more than a week before Chinese New Year, known here as Imlek – after the local Hokkien pronunciation of 'yin li,' or lunar calendar. Eye-catching hues of scarlet, gold and orange from buntings and other New Year decorations in shops add to the celebratory mood.

But the gaudy displays and tinsel are surrounded by drab grey buildings and the soporific air of traditional Chinese medical halls and provision shops.

Quizzical looks and replies in Bahasa Indonesia met this reporter's greetings in Mandarin to the young Chinese adults standing in front of one shop. The Chinese language is still spoken but it has been all but lost among the generation born during the Suharto years.

From 1966 to 1998, the Chinese language and many expressions of Chinese identity were driven underground as the Suharto government, driven in part by fears of communist China, pushed its policy of assimilation hard. The teaching of Chinese and use of Chinese script in public were banned, and Chinese Indonesians were urged to take on Indonesian-sounding names.

But the ethnic character of a place is harder to shift, and thus Glodok preserved its make-up, as it had since the early 1600s when the Dutch East Indies authorities encouraged the Chinese, who were already familiar with the region, to settle just south of Batavia, the colonial city that is now Jakarta.

Today, more than 80 per cent of the 12,000 residents of the 38ha Glodok ward are of Chinese descent, according to city government data.

Medical hall worker Zhu Qiu Mei, 58, has lived in Glodok for more than 20 years, since her family moved from Palembang. Asked about the muted Chinese New Year celebrations, she responds with two words: "Si chen" (dead city).

This sentiment is echoed by other Chinese Indonesians in the area. The turning point for them was 1998. In May that year, political turmoil sparked by the Asian financial crisis saw mobs of rioters take to the streets in parts of Jakarta, targeting businesses and properties owned by ethnic Chinese.

Chinatown was particularly badly affected. Several buildings were burnt and scores lost their lives. Thousands of Chinese Indonesians fled the only country many had known to be home.

Since then, many have returned but the harrowing memories remain. Chinese Indonesians today make up just under 4 per cent of the country's population of around 240 million, according to the 2010 census. Most live in major cities.

Many in Glodok speak fondly of Abdurrahman Wahid, also known affectionately as Gus Dur. After he was elected president in 1999, he acknowledged the Chinese community's place in Indonesian society and lifted the ban on the Chinese language and public displays of Chinese culture. In 2002, his successor Megawati Sukarnoputri declared Imlek a public holiday from the following year.

Ten years on, Imlek has become an occasion for Indonesians to demonstrate, as well as take stock of, their commitment to pluralism. Articles in newspapers and air-time on TV are given to explaining the festival and Chinese traditions to the wider Indonesian community.

As Vidhyandika Perkasa, a researcher with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, observes: "The holiday has been promoted as a national celebration, in which citizens from various ethnic groups enjoy lion dance performances, paper lantern festivals and the red decorations that brighten the milieu of shopping malls across big cities as a manifestation of the merriment."

Chinatown gets its share of visitors in the run-up to Imlek. And its residents are happy to speak about the Chinatown that they remember.

Liang Qi Chao, 82, and a lifelong resident of Glodok, recalls reunion dinners being small family affairs during the Suharto years. There was no setting off of firecrackers or fireworks. Nor was there any lion dance performance or banging of drums or clashing of cymbals. Cheongsam seller Chen Ben Sa, 54, likens it to being stuck in a tight box.

But now that the community is free to celebrate as it wishes, what accounts for the lack of grand street parties to mark the occasion?

"We don't want to attract attention to ourselves," says Lim Ming Sheng, 62, a shopowner who has lived in Glodok since he was born. "We don't want other Indonesians to get upset because they think we are flaunting our wealth. We'd rather keep to ourselves and celebrate as we always have, in our own homes."

The highlight of Chinese New Year celebrations here is the Chap Goh Meh procession that takes place on the 15th day of the new year. But even that grand finale takes place in the afternoon, not at night as its name suggests.

Asked why, Huang Lan Mei, 62, a shopowner, says simply: "It is safer in the day, when other people are too busy doing their own things."

It seems that even though they are now free to embrace their culture, the Chinese people in this part of town still carry with them a tinge of wariness about being too openly different in an ethnically diverse country where they remain a visible minority.

Unlike Liang, Huang recalls a time before the curbs of old, when Chinese New Year in Glodok was the highlight of the year for her. During those days under then president Sukarno, Chinese New Year was a festive occasion for the entire area.

"I would be so excited as a child, with my new shoes and new clothes... and on the first day of Chinese New Year, we would all be freshly showered and eager to roam the streets, where it was like a big party and this party would carry on into the night," she reminisces. "But it's so different now. Nobody sees Chinese New Year like that any more."

Indeed, those looking for a festive buzz in Jakarta these days are better off at one of the modern steel-and-glass malls, where large-scale dragon figurines and lanterns dot the atriums, and staff are decked out in red or yellow Chinese costumes, complete with Mandarin collars and pig-tail caps.

The shift is yet another aspect of the evolution of the Chinese community here: The younger Chinese want to blend in as part of the larger, modern melting pot that is Indonesia, yet they also appreciate the need to cherish parts of their cultural tradition. As they move out and move on, the enclave that is Chinatown feels their absence.

Though it may have lost its significance as the centre of Jakarta's Chinese community, Glodok retains a special attraction for many, especially when it comes to making festive buys.

"Here, Chinese New Year is celebrated through shopping!" chuckles Lin Lang Yuan, 60, who has been coming to the shops here since he was young.

"We may not celebrate Chinese New Year much here any more," he adds. "But look at how many people come here to shop, which kind of counts as a celebration too, if you think about it."

Call to take a fresh look at the Chinese role in Indonesia's past

Jakarta Globe - January 24, 2012

Ezra Sihite – The contribution of ethnic Chinese to Indonesia has not been clearly recorded in history books, and rectifying this could help to overcome lingering discrimination, a historian said on Monday.

"History books are very important for all Indonesians. And in our history books, we do not see that Tionghoa [ethnic Chinese] had a role," said J.J. Rizal, a historian from the University of Indonesia.

History books, he said, generally neglect to mention how many members of the ethnic Chinese community were active in the country's struggle for independence. He said discrimination against the community could also be reduced through journalism that upholds equality and multiculturalism.

"The government should promote the eradication of the notion that Tionghoa are foreigners," he said.

Discrimination against ethnic Chinese has occurred for decades, Rizal said, but honoring their contributions to the birth and development of the nation could help quash such sentiments for good. He said the discrimination began after 1965, and up until 1998 there were cases of violence against the community.

"The answer lies in how the government manages the concept of nationalism in Indonesian society and in the challenge for ethnic Chinese to fully integrate and become citizens," he said.

Hermawi Taslim, from the Glodok Community, an organization of ethnic Chinese, said the Constitution guaranteed respect for multiculturalism and that the trauma among members of the ethnic Chinese community was slowly dissipating after decades of discrimination. But, Hermawi added, there should be continued efforts to build on the Constitutional guarantees.

He said he tried to follow the advice of former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who abolished a ban on the public expression of Chinese culture in 2000. "Gus Dur said, 'It is not important where you come from but if you can do some good, people will be accept you.'?"

Ester Yusuf, the chairwoman of the Foundation of the Solidarity of the Country and the Nation, said that past trauma from discrimination and violence against ethnic Chinese had caused members of the group to shy away from politics.

"In the past there was certainly trauma," she said. "For example, just taking part in a political organization could get them disappeared or killed."

Now, she said, more ethnic Chinese are entering politics. That is a good thing, she said, adding that ethnic Chinese should look not only toward politics but think more broadly about getting into civil service.

Analysis & opinion

Graceful exit for Anas

Jakarta Post Editorial - January 27, 2012

There was no exaggeration when senior Democratic Party politician Marzuki Alie allegorized the conundrum currently facing the ruling party as a "devastating tsunami". But he and the rest of the party elite simply lack the guts to mitigate the disaster, which will potentially lead them to a crushing defeat in the 2014 elections.

With no affirmative measures in sight following the Tuesday meeting at the house of chief patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to address corruption allegations implicating some of the party's key figures, the public has lost the chance to learn something from the country's largest political party in terms of how democracy should be translated into practice. For that very reason we care much about the internal affairs of the party, known for its electoral campaign tagline of "say no to corruption".

Democracy that advances the culture of accountability and statesmanship often pushes politicians in most democratic nations across the globe to resign, either voluntary or not, which represents a graceful exit given the credibility crisis facing their party. But it's not the case here in Indonesia, dubbed the third largest democracy in the world, as well as the Democratic Party.

It won the most votes in the 2009 legislative election courtesy of the public's trust in its founder President Yudhoyono, who later on secured his second five-year mandate. But public confidence in the party has been plummeting ever since its former treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin was named a suspect in a corruption case related to the construction of an athletes village for the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang – The Corruption Court heard from defendants and witnesses in Nazaruddin's trial, roles that were filled by the party's elite, particularly chairman Anas Urbaningrum.

Anas has denied any link to the SEA Games saga and other graft cases implicating Nazaruddin, who claimed partook in corrupt practices to help Anas turn the table on the favorites for the party's chief post in 2010, which he eventually won. In a court hearing last week, a witness referred to Anas as the "big chief" to describe his involvement in the SEA Games case.

The investigation into Anas' possible role in the graft case is the business of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), but the Democratic Party and Anas himself can help facilitate the legal process if they wish.

The party leaders suspended and later dismissed Nazaruddin as both party treasurer and House of Representatives legislator for the sake of the party's image, as an investigation into the corruption case gained steam. The party's failure to take bold measures against Anas, despite a certain degree of internal pressure, will raise many eyebrows as to whether his suspension or dismissal will deal a major blow to the party's existence.

The party leaders have no other choice but to take a bitter medicine to heal the party's nose-diving approval rate. For their powerful chief patron President Yudhoyono, his decisiveness in the most critical period the party has ever faced will determine not only its chances in the next elections, but also its survival.

Yudhoyono, who on Wednesday reconfirmed his commitment to corruption eradication, should not waste this golden chance to show who is boss now that the party is in a dire need of an exit strategy. But Anas can provide a graceful exit by relinquishing his post temporarily to facilitate a thorough investigation into the current scandal plaguing the party.

Arms-wrestling in Indonesia

Asia Times - January 27, 2012

John McBeth, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is in danger of being caught in the crossfire between a newly emboldened parliament and the Indonesian military over a controversial US$600 million plan to buy 100 surplus Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks (MBT) from the Netherlands.

Lawmakers and arms experts say the 62-ton German-built tank is unsuited to a far-flung archipelago with only two land borders and an under-developed network of roads and bridges that would be major obstacles to their effective deployment, particularly on populous Java.

It is one of the rare times civilians have challenged the military over an arms purchase and comes not long after the parliamentary defense commission dropped its initial opposition to the retro-fitting of 24 second-hand F-16 C/D fighters being provided free by the United States.

Unlike the Leopards, the F-16 deal makes a lot more sense because, in concert with expanding the country's ground-based radar network, it will give the under-strength Indonesian Air Force the ability to defend its own air space – something it has been unable to do effectively up to now.

Army chief of staff General Pramono Edhie Wibowo indicated in a recent interview with Indonesia's Tempo magazine that the decision to buy the Leopards was based not on any consideration of its own strategic needs, but on what Indonesia's neighbors have in their inventories.

"I am not buying in order to compete with them," he said, apparently referring to Singapore's 96 Leopard 2A4s, Malaysia's 48 Polish-built T-72s and Thailand's recent order for 48 Ukrainian-made T-84s. "But I have to equalize our standing in terms of military power."

In focusing on narrow issues such as terrorism and international crime, critics note that Indonesia's 2003 Defense White Paper – the only one it has ever issued – made little attempt to establish the sort of strategic framework which normally determines and prioritizes what military hardware a country requires.

But there is no mistaking what the army wants. Wibowo said if Indonesia enjoyed most favored nation status with Washington, it may have even considered the 72-ton M1 Abrams, the main US battle tank. But he still believes the Leopard is superior in terms of fuel efficiency and maneuverability.

If the tank purchase is controversial, military experts have been equally critical of the $1.07 billion order for three South Korean U209 submarines, arguing the country is in more urgent need of transport planes and fast ocean-going patrol boats, which serve the dual purpose of disaster relief and protecting vast maritime resources.

Wibowo says the Leopards, substantially heavier than either the T-72 or the T-84, will be based on Java, presumably centered on the army's Cavalry School at Bandung, south of Jakarta, where soldiers have only a limited area available to train on old French-built AMX-13 and Soviet-era PT-76 light tanks.

Armored columns normally use the highway network up until they move into actual combat, but Java is one of the most over-populated islands in the world and experts say tanks of that size would chew up already-congested, mostly bitumen roads and turn the countryside into a quagmire.

A career special forces officer, Wibowo is the brother-in-law of the president, a retired general himself who Defense Minister Pranomo Yusgiantoro and Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) commander Agus Suhartono both say has been the driving force behind the army getting preferential treatment in this year's defense budget.

Buoyed by surging economic growth, the government will spend nearly $16 billion over the next five years to modernize the 430,000-strong TNI, which despite its previous dominant position in political life still has antiquated equipment dating back to the Cold War era.

This year's $7.5 billion defense budget, up 30% over 2011, comes with a shopping list that also includes eight AH-46 Apache attack helicopters, twelve 130 mm Russian multiple rocket launchers, 155 mm howitzers and additional French-made Mistral surface-to-air missiles.

Indonesia will need special approval to acquire the Apaches, which normally only go to countries like Singapore that are considered to have a special relationship with the United States because they provide resupply and basing facilities.

Back in the late 1980s, president Suharto turned down the military's request for the Leopard 1, a much lighter version of today's heavily- armored model, and instead chose the Alvis Scorpion, a light reconnaissance tank designed to operate in Southeast Asian conditions.

The 80 Scorpions, 125 AMX-13s (dating back to the mid-1960s) and 30 museum-ready PT-76s currently form the nucleus of the army's 10 tank and cavalry battalions, which are concentrated on Java, but spread out between North Sumatra and Sulawesi. The Marine Corps has an additional two armored battalions.

Diversified supplies

Among the army's newest recent purchases have been 154 APS-3s (Acoa), a wheeled, lightly-armed infantry fighting vehicle built by Indonesia's state-owned Pindad arms company, already a major supplier of assault rifles, machine guns and ammunition to the TNI.

It has also taken delivery of 17 Russian BMP-3s, a tracked 18-ton amphibian with a 100-mm main gun, and will soon receive 22 South Korean K-21 IFVs, built under a joint production deal between Doosan and Pindad. Both vehicles carry a crew of three and nine troops.

The rest of the army's inventory is made up of 46 French AVB and 70 Alvis Stormer armored personnel carriers of varying vintages, and about 250 old Saladin, Ferret, V-150 Commando and BTR-60 armored cars needed for the many civil disturbances that continue to rock parts of Indonesia.

While it may be foolhardy from a cost and logistical standpoint, diversifying sources of supply has become something of a mantra for a country which has a history of being cut off from international vendors at one time or another.

The latest setbacks were the East Timor-related US arms embargoes in 1992 and 1999. But the Dutch severed the military's supply pipeline in 1956, the Americans for the first time in 1958, and the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in 1966-7 after the purge of the Indonesian Communist Party.

Wibowo insists the Leopards will be kept away from border areas, but analysts are still curious about the TNI's plan to create two new armored battalions as part of the reinstatement of a second regional command in Kalimantan, covering Borneo's central and western regions.

In what appears to be a reaction to the still-unresolved Ambalat territorial dispute in the coastal waters off East Kalimantan, senior defense officials have made it clear they intend to strengthen security along the 2,000-kilometer land border with Malaysia.

Malaysia's newly-acquired 45-ton PT-91s, the Polish version of Russia's T- 72, continue to be based on the western peninsula and there has been no sign Kuala Lumpur intends moving any of them to Sarawak, where it maintains only light armored vehicles.

While the Leopard deal has been greeted with astonishment by politicians and tank specialists alike, there is still a recognition that the military does need to develop a better capability in mounted warfare than its antique inventory currently allows.

Some experts even feel the Leopard deal is not as ridiculous as it may seem, pointing to the tank's excellent cross-country mobility. But what is not known is whether they will come with vehicle-launched bridges capable of taking them over gaps and waterways up to 20 meters wide.

"Tankers get pretty clever in making pathways and of course the tank can handle most jungles and trees up to a foot thick without too much trouble," says one cavalry veteran. "But I am not suggesting it is easy or quick and mountainous or really swampy areas are no-go areas."

The only combat test case of heavy tanks operating in Southeast Asia has been the Vietnam War, where the 50-ton M-48 Patton did prove effective in supporting infantry actions on the coastal plains and in urban fighting, mostly acting as a mobile artillery platform. Significantly, many of the US cavalry units in Vietnam were re-equipped in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the M551 Sheridan, a 15-ton light tank more suited to Southeast Asia but vulnerable to rocket-propelled grenades and new Soviet shoulder-fired missiles.

The M-48s were handed over to a South Vietnamese armored brigade, which fought well in what turned out to be conventional tank battles against communist forces in the closing stages of the war until the supply lines failed and they ran out of fuel and ammunition.

How Indonesia's Leopards would be deployed remains a nagging question, given the fact that its largest training ground, with a permanent pool of armored vehicles, lies in southern Sumatra.

In Germany, even with its sturdy bridges and frozen ground in the winter to maneuver on, the American tank units do a lot of training using jeeps as surrogate armored vehicles, both to save costs and to reduce wear and tear on vehicles and the road system.

But in Indonesia's case, keeping the Leopards on Java, with its dense population and weak infrastructure, would seem to limit their mobility to such an extent it would relegate their role to point defense and defeat the very purpose for having them.

[John McBeth is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review. He is currently a Jakarta-based columnist for the Straits Times of Singapore.]

'Patronage still exists today, only in a modified way'

Jakarta Post - January 26, 2012

Regarded as an authority on Indonesian affairs, Australian academic Richard Robison is the author of the best-selling book, Indonesia: The Rise of Capital, which looks at the growth of the Indonesian capitalist class and its influence on politics and the economy. It also examines the effect on the economy from the division of capital into Chinese and indigenous sections.

Robison was a member of the Australian Government's Foreign Affairs Advisory Board, the AusAID Advisory Board and the Board of the Australia- Indonesia Institute. He is now an emeritus professor at the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University in Western Australia. Here, he speaks to The Jakarta Post's Chloe Booker on the changing pattern of relationships between Chinese-Indonesian businesspeople and the state.

Question: Although widely discriminated against during the New Order, the Chinese in Indonesia were also given various business privileges under the Soeharto regime. Do you think this patronage still exists today?

Answer: To engage in almost any kind of commercial activity under the New Order, businesses had to deal with powerful political gatekeepers within the government and its bureaucracy. Forestry companies required concessions controlled by the Forestry Ministry, for example, and monopolies for imports and exports were distributed by various ministries, including trade, or by Bulog. Companies could also obtain preferential credit from the state banks or secure lucrative contracts for construction and supply, most notoriously from Pertamina, but also from a vast range of government companies and ministries. The bulk of the business groups that flourished under this system were owned by Chinese-Indonesians. This was partly because they were already well-established in the world of business and best able to turn political favor into profit.

However, some well-connected, pribumi businesses also flourished, including those controlled by the Soeharto family itself. Some old trading groups became contractors and suppliers, among them that of the Bakrie family. Yes, this patronage still exists today although in a modified way.

Can you elaborate upon the form that such patronage takes today?

It was generally thought that the transition to democracy would change things, as the institutions of elections and representation would offer citizens more power to demand accountability and transparency of politicians and officials. Indeed, with a free press and an active anticorruption commission, there has been a much more vigorous public debate about patronage and corruption and we have seen continuing prosecutions in the courts, a few of them successful. At the same time, government officials, including in the military as well as newly elected politicians, continue to defend their control of patronage and its allocation outside the law. Scandals involving the judiciary show that this problem goes to the heart of the political system, even in a democracy. In summary, reformers have not been able to organize themselves politically to contain the practice of patronage as a basis for politics. The main political parties of democratic Indonesia are the same parties that dominated New Order Indonesia and their derivatives.

It is important to point out that the economy is now very different in some areas and offers fewer opportunities for the old-style patronage. For example, foreign ownership is more important in banking, and many of the old business figures have been forced out as they are not able to operate in increasingly international-governance systems.

The political climate is vastly different in Indonesia today. How does the Chinese-Indonesian business community exist against this backdrop?

The Chinese-Indonesian business community faces a range of challenges in the democratic era. In general, these are not specific to Chinese- Indonesians but apply to all business groups. One challenge is that they do not operate under a highly centralized system of patronage; authority is overlapping and often competing. It is complicated by administrative and political decentralization, which gives authority to provincial governors and to provincial and subprovincial administrations.

Does the present, democratic era mean that Chinese Indonesian business is better or worse off?

Certainly, the relations between the state and business are less concentrated and more disorganized. Business is more open to global influences and expectations. And elected politicians are under more pressure to ensure business opportunities for a wider range of constituents. We see more non-Chinese business groups. We do not now see the sort of dominant business empires built on single political relationships, as the Liem-Soeharto relationship exemplified.

Nevertheless, it is true to say that Indonesian private business remains dominated by Chinese-Indonesian business groups. This is because they have established over time the business networks, the national and international links, the access to various avenues of finance and the expertise and institutional basis in the business world.

Do you believe that discrimination still persists?

Discrimination against Chinese-Indonesians has operated most strongly at the grass-roots level. As in all societies, wider grievances or resentments are often unloaded onto ethnic or religious scapegoats, and this sometimes manifested itself in populist politics and riots. But in the world of business, where profits and returns are paramount, politicians and bankers have not been able to afford discrimination.

While Chinese-Indonesians may expect a range of discrimination socially and in some areas of employment and public office, (how many Chinese are members of the House of Representatives or are governors, for example?), their business operates in a somewhat different world. Put simply, they still control the world of business in Indonesia.