Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – With a month to go before gold mine company PT Agincourt Resources starts production on a 1,639 square-kilometer plot of land in South Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, mass protests have emerged.

On Tuesday, thousands of people from six subdistricts in Batangtoru district, South Tapanuli, burned down a car and 17 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes belonging to the company in protest against alleged waste disposal into the Batangtoru River.

No fatalities were reported during the incident but the company, which started construction activities in 2008, claimed to have suffered from losses of up to hundreds of millions of rupiah due to the incident.

"This is the first time that the masses have committed such acts against our company. Previously we could always settle disputes. Now it's difficult to settle because allegedly, there were provocateurs," PT Agincourt Resources communication manager Katarina Hardono told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Katarina expressed regret over the incident and asked the police to thoroughly investigate the case and find the perpetrators.

According to Katarina, the incident was triggered by people's suspicions that the company had disposed of the waste into the river.

The people, she said, were suspicious that water that the company was pumping into the river was dirty, while in fact it was remnant water that had been processed to meet with standards as stipulated in Environment Ministerial Decree No 202/2004 on Waste Water for Gold and Copper Mining Activities.

Asked whether the mass protest might have a business interest behind it, Katarina said that she would not speculate on the matter. She questioned that the incident occurred at a time when the company was about to start production.

"This will be the first gold mining production activity ever in North Sumatra," said Katarina, adding that the foreign investment company was based in Hong Kong.

Muara Hutaraja subdistrict head Ramli Pardede said that there was once a meeting between locals and the company about the waste. However, he said, the company failed to convince the locals that the water it disposed into the river did not contain toxic agents that damaged the river's ecosystem.

"Presently the company has not yet given an answer regarding waste water in terms of whether it is toxic or not. This is what has incited the mass protests," Pardede said.

Separately, the head of the North Sumatra Police public relation division, Sr. Comr. Heru Prakoso, said that the condition of the mining site had been under control but a number of police personnel were still deployed at the location as an anticipatory measure.

Heru also said that police were still investigating the case and had also identified the perpetrators of the burning.

"It's just a matter of time in terms of making an arrest," Heru said, declining to name the suspected perpetrators.

Farmers protest against 'criminalization' of colleagues

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandar lampung – Thousands of farmers from four districts in Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatra, staged a rally in front of local police headquarters on Wednesday, protesting against what they called the "criminalization" of farmers struggling for their rights.

The protesters, who are currently in conflict with state-owned PTPN VII Unit Cinta Manis, demanded that no farmers should be summoned as witnesses or named as suspects by the police.

"There is an agreement between the farmers and PTPN VII to settle the problem together. The farmers are given the right to mark their land while the sugar company is allowed to resume operations," the supervisor for the farmers, Anwar Sadat, said on Wednesday.

The Ogan Ilir Police on Monday named 14 of the farmers suspects following recent land marking and the forcible stopping of the Cinta Manis sugar company operations by locals.

The naming of farmers as suspects in the case, according to Anwar, was a form of intimidation. He said the police should have arrested officials from the company because it was the company that had been using the land for its business without a license as stipulated in the law.

"We demand the police be fair and professional," said Anwar, who is also director of the South Sumatra Forum for the Environment.

He added that the police had no reason to name the farmers suspects because the marking of the disputed land was done in accordance with a recommendation made at a meeting held at the local legislative council on June 7, which was also attended by the Ogan Ilir Police chief, company lawyers and local administration officials.

He also suggested the police should instead urge the Ogan Ilir and South Sumatra administrations to settle the dispute as soon as possible by returning people's land that had been taken from them in 1982.

Separately, Ogan Ilir Police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Deni Darmapala, said the naming of the 14 farmers as suspects was based on evidence. The police, he said, had discovered a number of farmers who marked the disputed land had no proof of ownership.

Deni also said that according to the agreement made at the legislative council, residents were only allowed to mark and secure the region but not mark the land (as in a mark of ownership).

"However, in the event, they marked the land. Some even began to cultivate the land, meaning that they assumed control [of the land]," he said.

He added that in the meeting, it had been agreed that neither side would violate the law. "Marking and cultivating land that is not necessarily theirs is violating the law," Deni said.

Despite being named suspects, following questioning as witnesses in the case, the 14 farmers have so far not been detained.

"We based our decision on documents at the PTPN, including the business license [HGU] and certificates of ownership," Deni said.

A few weeks earlier, thousands of Sribandung residents occupied the PTPN's sugarcane plantation and demanded the company surrender the three hectares of land they claimed as belonging to them.

They also blocked the access road to the company's sugar factory, thus stopping operations at the factory. Later, residents of 15 other subdistricts from the three districts of Tanjung Batu, Tanjung Laut and Payaraman joined the rally.

Responding to the rally, thousands of the sugar factory's employees conducted their own protest at the Ogan Ilir Legislative Council, demanding that the supremacy of law be upheld. They also demanded that the local administration and police protect the state's assets.

Aceh university students protest Anas visit

Antara News - June 9, 2012

Banda Aceh – Dozens of university students here joined in a "Rejecting Corruptors Community" rally on Saturday, a protest directed against the visit of Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who has been accused of involvement in multiple graft cases.

The students rallied at the Simpang Lima roundabout in Banda Aceh and carried banners reading "Reject Corruptors. Expel Anas from Aceh."

"We refused Anas because he is allegedly involved with several graft cases investigated by KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission]," the coordinator of the community, Heri Tamliqa, said on Saturday.

Anas was in Aceh to attend the inauguration of the Democrats' provincial party board.

The university students performed street theater as well, dragging around a mock corruptor with a rope tied to its neck. Besides rejecting the Anas visit, demonstrators also urged the KPK to speed up and seriously investigate the graft cases allegedly involving him.

"Despite Anas being the chairman of a big party, it doesn't mean that he should be immune from the law," Heri said. "We want to remind KPK to fulfill its promise that it would solve Hambalang and the athletes village case allegedly involving Anas in a year."

Heri said that because Aceh is known as the "Veranda of Mecca," corruptors who caused people's suffering should be barred from visiting. "This is punishment from Aceh university students," he said.

Graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin, who is from the same party, has accused Anas of receiving kickbacks from construction company Adhi Karya to ensure its appointment as contractor for the Hambalang sports complex in Bogor. The Democratic chairman has not yet been named an official suspect in any corruption case.

West Papua

Jakarta protest urges independent investigation into Papua violence

Sinar Harapan - June 15, 2012

Yuliana Lantipo, Jakarta – Humanitarian Solidarity for Papua (Skup) is urging the central government to form an independent fact finding team to conduct a fast and effective investigation to uncover the truth and who is behind the recent violence in West Papua.

Since June at least nine people have been killed and five wounded as a result of mysterious shootings. This was conveyed by Skup action coordinator Alves Fonataba shortly after the group held a demonstration in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday June 13.

According to Skup's records, aside from those committed by the military and police, shootings have also been carried out by unknown persons (orang tidak kenal, OTK). "According to our records, OTK have carried out shootings on 18 occasions that have killed nine civilians and wounded 25 people over the period between January and June 2012", said Fonataba.

This includes the shooting of Tri Sasono, from Ngawi in East Java, who worked as a security officer at the Saga Abe Supermarket. The victim was shot while riding a motorbike with the license plate DS3816AE on the grounds of the Faculty of Education and Teacher Training in the area of the Cenderawasih University in Abepura, Jayapura, on June 10. The other victims were Golberth Febrian Madika, Arwam Kusdini, Iqbl Rivai and Hardi Jayanto.

Victims that have died as a result of military and police actions include Yosias Tabuni who was shot by Jayapura police on Jl. Sam Ratulangi Dok V Yapis Jayapura on June 7, Melianus Kegepe on May 15 and Yesa Mirin on June 4. Scores of others have also been wounded.

Fonataba also protested a statement by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that the violence in Papua was still on a small scale, despite the many people that have fallen victim to the violence.

Women's activist Zely Ariane from the group Free Women (Perempuan Mahardika) said the problem in Papua is the continued increase in troop numbers. "The problem in Papua is a problem for all of the people of the Republic of Indonesia", she said.

Cannot be allowed

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said the police had shot an individual suspected of being one of the leaders of those that perpetrated the recent spate of violence in Papua. The police's actions triggered anger among his colleagues who then set fire to a motorbike, car and three houses in Wamena.

"During the arrest he attempted to resist because the person concerned also tried to seize a weapon", said Suyanto in Jakarta on Thursday. Police, said Suyanto, thus disabled him. Moreover the person was carrying a revolver with 18 rounds.

Because they objected to their friend being arrested by police, a number of people tried to attack and set fire to motor vehicles and houses. According to Suyanto, the perpetrators were from the same group that committed the acts of violence against a foreign national, members of the TNI (Indonesian military), police, a state civil servant and a security guard, which took place recently in different parts of Papua and West Papua.

Earlier police arrested three people suspected of being the perpetrators of several acts of violence. Police are seeking information about the involvement of others from the four (sic). It was during this arrest attempt that police were forced to cripple a person suspected of being one of the perpetrators.

Suyanto denied that the state is intentionally allowing violence to occur in Papua. The arrest of the alleged perpetrators, he said, proves that the state is not remaining silent.

Police are currently looking into the perpetrator's motives. "This is currently being looked into. Usually the police start from the criminal act. Is there another motive, this cannot be conveyed to the public until we know for sure", he said.

National police chief Timur Pradopo explained the incident involving the shooting of Mako Tabuni at 9am local time. The arrest was made by a joint team of officers from the national police headquarters and the Papuan regional police. When conducting the raid there was a dialogue, however two weapons belonging to members of the police were seized. "Other members provided protection because [Tabuni] was threatening [them] so he was disabled", he explained.

According to Pradopo, from the results of an investigation into the spate of violent incidence between May 29 and June 10, the police have obtained the name of a person with the initials M.T. When arrested it was M.T. that tried to resist so he had to be disabled. (Vidi Batlolone)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

'Stop stigmatising all West Papuan as separatists': Activists

Seruu.com - June 15, 2012

Jakarta – Humanitarian Solidarity for Papua (Skup) is urging all government institutions to end the stigmatisation of the Papuan people as separatists in responding to developments in West Papua.

"Security personnel must change their paradigm. Don't immediately view minor unrest as separatism. The presence of the national police and the TNI [Indonesian military] should be aimed at crating a sense of security not fear", said Ray Rangkuti during a press conference held by Skup at the offices of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Central Jakarta on the afternoon of Friday June 15.

Up until now, according to Rangkuti, the TNI and police are still committing acts of violence that are making the situation in Papua increasingly unfavorable. Yet, he said, the presence of security personnel in Indonesia's eastern-most island should be to provide a solution to the conflict in Papua. "The [counter-terrorism unit] Detachment 88 has been sent to Papua. What for?", asked Rangkuti.

Rangkuti said the government should see that the various incidents in West Papua cannot be separated from each other. "This represents part of an integral [approach]. Starting from the security sector to welfare. The NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia] can only be upheld if the government upholds justice for the Papuan and Indonesian people as a whole", he said. [simon]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Indonesian rights groups slam police for Papua death

Agence France Presse - June 15, 2012

Jayapura – Human rights activists on Friday slammed Indonesian police for the killing of a prominent Papuan independence leader who was allegedly involved in a series of mysterious shootings.

Authorities said on Thursday that Mako Tabuni, deputy chairman of secessionist West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was armed when shot by police as he tried to escape a raid in the town of Waena near the provincial capital Jayapura.

"Even if he resisted arrest and tried to escape, police should not have shot him to death. As far as we know the KNPB is not an armed group," said Ifdhal Kasim, head of the government-backed National Human Rights Commission.

He told reporters his group, the country's top rights body, would investigate whether police followed proper procedures before opening fire on the activist. The incident ignited a wave of anger among residents in Waena, who set homes and cars ablaze on Thursday.

"If police suspected Tabuni to be behind all the shootings they should not have killed him. They should have proven the allegations," said Poengki Indarti of Imparsial, an independent human rights group.

KNPB spokesman Warpo Wetipo said that according to witness accounts Tabuni was unarmed and police kept shooting at him even after he was down with gunshots to his leg.

Police said they had arrested four people over the past two weeks over a spate of violence in the restive province, including an incident in which a German tourist was shot and seriously wounded late last month. Among those arrested was KNPB chairman Bukhtar Tabuni, who is a cousin of the victim.

About 500 people, riding motorcycles and trucks, escorted Mako Tabuni's body on Friday from hospital to his home in Sentani, some 45 kilometers away.

Indonesia in 1969 took control of the Papua region – a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island – after a vote widely seen as a sham. Jakarta keeps a tight grip on Papua, with the military regularly clashing with locals. Foreign journalists are restricted from reporting freely in the region.

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

Unreliable police allegations against Mako Tabuni

Bintang Papua - June 14, 2012

Following the assassination of Mako Tabuni, the deputy chairman of the KNPB (National Committee of West Papua), the police are now alleging that the man they murdered was responsible for seven cases of violence perpetrated by the KNPB, and say they are now conducting investigations to see whether he was responsible for seven acts of violence including the shot fired against a German visitor.

They are alleging that this is based on confessions made by the Buchtar Tabuni, the chairman of the KNPB, and other KNPB members who are now facing charges. The chief of police is quoted as saying: "According to confessions by KNPB members, Mako Tabuni was responsible for a numbe of violent actions, all of which are now under investigation."

The police also claim that they found a pistol and bullets among Tabuni's possessions which have now been sent to Jakarta to establish whether the bullets are the same as those found in the bodies of persons who have been shot.

Asked about the furore that has followed in the wake of the killing of Tabuni, the police chief said that was "incidental". "In some cases the members act as if they are wiling to surrender but then put up resistance and try to seize weapons which is why the police opened fire."

He also said that his men are now hunting down eight members of the KNPB who are alleged to have been involved in recent acts of violence. According to the police, Tabuni was shot four times, twice in the thigh, once in the head and once in the waist.

[Translated by TAPOL]

Papuans angered by President's statement

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang and Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – Papuans condemned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement, which downplayed the escalating violence in the province and considered the recent deaths from shooting incidents as relatively minor in comparison to conflicts in other parts of the world.

During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Yudhoyono said "the recent incidents in Papua can be considered small-scale, with a limited number of casualties" and "they are minor if we compare them to the violence in the Middle East, where deadly attacks with so many fatalities occur almost every day".

Papuan activist John Djonga said the statements reflected Yudhoyono's lack of commitment to promote and protect human rights, an issue that his administration had championed and promoted to the global community.

"It's really sad for the President to disrespect all the victims of recent shootings. Violence is still painful regardless of how many victims there are. So for me, it is now clear that the Yudhoyono [administration], and the Indonesian government in general, have no commitment to upholding justice and protecting human rights in Papua," Djonga told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said that all the international human rights covenants promoting human rights that Indonesia had ratified were useless as the government paid little respect to the lives of its people. "Or maybe it's only the lives of Papuans that don't deserve the government's respect," he said.

Separately, members of the House of Representatives from Papua, Pasakalis Kossay and Agustina Basik-basik, called on Yudhoyono to apologize for his statement. "The President's words really hurt Papuans, and the relatives of all victims, in particular those who have been shot dead in mysterious circumstances," said Paskalis, who chairs the Caucus for Papua at the House.

At least 16 people were killed in the past month alone in mysterious shootings. The latest incident claimed the life of 44-year-old Surono, a security guard and part-time motorcycle taxi driver in Jayapura, who was shot dead near the campus of Cendrawasih University last Sunday.

The mysterious shootings in Papua escalated only a few days after the Indonesian government claimed that "Papua is stable" during the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) quadrennial human rights review on May 23.

Diplomats in the review session inquired about human rights violations in Papua and the Indonesian government's commitment to releasing Papuan political detainees such as Filep Karma, who was arrested for flying the flag of the Papuan separatist movement.

Separately, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsudin said that authorities had followed proper procedures in detaining Papuans.

"We have never detained anybody for expressing their freedom of speech as has been accused by some parties. The Papuans who were detained, including Filep Karma, are those who have obviously violated the law on treason. Therefore, it's misleading to address them as political detainees," Amir told reporters.

Separately, the executive director of human rights watchdog Imparsial, Poengky Indarti said that treason charges were highly political and prone to abuse by the government.

"Karma, and many of his colleagues, was detained for flying the Morning Star flag, the flag associated with a separatist movement. They are condemned as separatists, therefore they are political detainees," Poengky said.

KNPB leader Mako Tabuni shot dead by Australian-funded Detachment 88 troops

West Papua Media - June 14, 2012

Angry scenes have reportedly erupted in Jayapura and across West Papua after officers from the Australian- funded and trained Detachment 88 counter-terror troops shot dead the secretary-general of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Mako Tabuni, during a botched arrest attempt while he was chewing betel nut at a kiosk in Abepura, West Papua early on Thursday morning.

According to credible independent church human rights sources in Jayapura that spoke to witnesses in Waena, Mako Tabuni was shot and wounded by heavily armed Indonesian police as they stormed the area outside the student dormitories at the Cenderawasih University Abepura.

Senior members of KNPB have told West Papua Media that Tabuni had been walking with friends to buy and eat Betel Nut from a kiosk near the university. After he separated from his friends, they heard gunshots. and they saw a white Avanza car drive up and ambush Tabuni, according to his friends. Tabuni was shot at least six times, according to both witnesses and journalists in Jayapura.

Police took Tabuni to the police hospital in Jayapura, where he reportedly died from his wounds soon after arrival. The Kapolres (police chief) has told media outlets including West Papua Media via SMS that Tabuni was killed because he resisted arrest and attempted to seize the weapons from the Detachment 88 troops. According to the It has been confirmed independently that the Australian-funded and trained Detachment 88 troops were in command of the arrest operation. Tabuni was unarmed at the time of his arrest, which is a violation of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

KNPB contacts report that a combined team of military and POLRI, BRIMOB, Detachment 88, and Intelligence officers are raiding dormitories of Papuan students in Abepura, chiefly those of highland origin students who are the traditional support base of the KNPB. In this sweep, security forces have confiscated books, bags, clothing, computers, phones, and cameras. Security forces are also conducting searches across Abepura, Jayapura, Kotaraja, Waena, Sentani and several other places. Many students have been severely beaten and arrested in dormitories in Waena and Asrama by over six companies of Indonesian army (TNI) and Police. KNPB sources have expressed fear that the students, already beaten severely and taken to Rusunawa police centre, will be tortured and possibly killed by occupation forces.

Supporters of Tabuni have reacted angrily and have taken to the streets and are allegedly burning houses belonging to military and police in the Ruko, Waena and Abepura areas, in an eerie reversal of the June 4 rampage by Indonesian soldiers in Wamena.

Security forces are reportedly on the streets with orders to shoot rioters dead on sight, and the situation is described as extremely tense. It is not clear if those who have caused property damage are in fact members of the pro-independence movement, or are undercover Indonesian intelligence officers.

A senior highland human rights activist in Jayapura, whom West Papua Media cannot identify for safety reasons, told West Papua Media that the entire Papuan population is living in a state of constant trauma and fear due to the escalation of Indonesian repression.

"Pro-Independence activists and Papua human rights workers have become the operating target of the (ongoing)shootings, not to mention all the KNPB activists the security apparatus are seeking," said the source.

"Finally, I spoke with three of our members hiding in the suburbs. If the Indonesian security forces are still after us, then they would not want or like it if we had entered the woods and hid," he said. "To step into the forest is for avoiding premature death."

Papuan activists are calling for urgent international attention to the rapidly deteriorating humans rights crisis in West Papua. A senior KNPB activist has begged: "In this case our nation is pleading for UN Intervention to be done now, because Indonesia is planning to kill all us Papuans."

Papua independence activist dies after being shot by police

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang and Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta - The National Police confirmed Thursday that the deputy chairman of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), Mako Tabuni, died after its members shot him in Abepura, Jayapura regency earlier on Thursday morning local time.

In a press release, the National Police said that some Papuan Police members opened fire after Tabuni had taken a firearm belonging to one of the policemen and had tried to escape when policemen approached to arrest him.

"One of the [police] personnel released a warning shot but Mako Tabuni ignored it and pointed the firearm at our members. Another policeman later shot Tabuni," the press statement said, without elaborating which part of Tabuni's body the bullet penetrated.

Tabuni was then rushed to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital where he died at 10:30 a.m. local time, an hour after he was shot.

According to the statement, police confiscated at the hospital one firearm with six.38-caliber bullets - a gun that had previously been stolen from First Brig. Hendra of the Keerom Police in 2010 - and one bullet cartridge.

Following the fatal shooting, other KNPB members grew increasingly angry and later ran amok, injuring three civilians, the statement said.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said that according to testimony given by three suspects they recently arrested, referred to as JW, BT and KW, Tabuni was allegedly involved in recent shooting and arson attacks in the country's easternmost province.

"Whether they were working as a group, we don't yet know. We are investigating and building the case," he said prior to a meeting with the House of Representatives' legal commission without elaborating further.

Tabuni was also allegedly involved in the June 5 shooting in Entrop, near Jayapura city, which killed a soldier, identified as Frengki Dungki Kune.

Riots in Papua after police gun down independence activist

Jakarta Globe - June 14, 2012

Angry residents of Indonesia's resource-rich Papua island burned cars and shops on Thursday after an independence activist was shot and killed, police and human rights activists said.

A low-level insurgency for independence has simmered on Indonesia's easternmost island for decades.

Mako Tabuni, deputy of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was shot dead while resisting arrest, human rights activist Markus Haluk told Reuters. Tabuni had been campaigning for an investigation into a recent spate of shootings.

National police spokesman Muhammad Taufik said the victim was shot dead in the town of Waena during a police raid. "He was armed. Police asked him to surrender but he didn't. Police shot at him, hitting his hip and leg. He died on the way to hospital," he told reporters.

Haluk told Reuters that he doubted law enforcement's explanation of the incident. "This is not law enforcement, this is ridiculous," Haluk told Reuters by telephone from Jayapura, the province's main town.

"Security forces are using the excuse of law enforcement to shoot, using the classic excuse of the separatist group stigma," Haluk said of Tabuni's killing. Police confirmed Tabuni's death saying he was shot in the hip and leg and died on his way to hospital.

News of the killing brought people out onto the streets of Jayapura and some of them torched shops and vehicles. Television footage showed police inspecting burned out buildings and smoldering cars.

"People were angry after they heard that their leader or friend was arrested and burnt several motorcycles, cars and three houses," security minister Djoko Suyanto said.

He added that four people had been arrested in the past two weeks over a spate of violence in the region, including the fatal shooting of a German tourist late last month.

They included KNPB head Bukhtar Tabuni, who was released from prison last year after serving three years for organizing a 2008 rally, according to police. Police said the group was suspected of organizing protests in recent months that have left shops and public facilities in several Papuan cities badly vandalized, but it has denied responsibility.

Pro-independence rallies and displaying separatist symbols are considered treason in Indonesia, and protests in Papua, a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island, have ended in bloody clashes with police.

Jakarta annexed Papua in 1969 in a self-determination referendum widely regarded as a sham and continues to keep a tight grip on the region through its military and police to quell a decades-long insurgency by poorly armed rebels.

Papua one of the most resource-rich areas in Indonesia and a hot destination for investment. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold has the big Grasberg copper and gold mine on the island and BP's Tangguh LNG field is centered at Papua's Bintuni Bay.

Resource companies share the island with indigenous communities, many of whom rely on hunting and subsistence farming and lack access to health care and education.

Papua's development lags the rest of Indonesia, an ethnically diverse country with the world's fourth largest population. (Reuters/AFP)

Jakarta protest calls for concrete action to resolve conflict in Papua

Kompas.com - June 14, 2012

Vitalis Yogi Trisna, A. Wisnubrata, Jakarta – West Papua is a region of Indonesia that is extraordinarily rich in natural resources and culture. Parts of Papua have even been designated as "a heaven that has been lost" because of its beauty.

This richness and beauty however is not in proportion to the recent security situation in West Papua. In the month of June alone 11 people have been killed and five wounded as a result of mysterious shootings.

This concern over the situation in West Papua was expressed in an action in Jakarta by the group Humanitarian Solidarity for Papua (Skup), who held a long-march to the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday June 13. Through this protest action they demanded that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono take concrete steps to end the violence in Papua.

The protesters also demanded an evaluation of the performance of the national police and the TNI (Indonesian military) in relation to the widespread shooting incidents, calling on the police and the TNI to coordinate to resolve the conflict.

"Peace is what is being longed for by all the people of the land of the Cendrawasih [Bird of Paradise]", shouted one of the demonstrators during the action.

Notes

Humanitarian Solidarity for Papua (Skup) is made up of Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), the Papua NGO Cooperative Forum (FOKER LSM Papua), National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS) the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP), the Papuan Traditional Social Community Against Corruption (Kampak), the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (DEMOS), the Indonesian Human Rights Committee for Social Justice (IHCS), Asian Justice and Rights (AJAR), the Coalition for Justice and Revelation of Truth (KKPK), the Indonesian Association of the Families of Missing Persons (IKOHI), the Jakarta consulate of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), (Komite Nasional Papua Barat), the Student Struggle Center for National Liberation (Pembebasan), the People's Liberation Party (PPR), the Indonesian Civic Network (Lima) and the Jayapura Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jayapura).

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Solidarity action in Semarang demands investigation into Papua violence

Kompas - June 13, 2012

Puji Utami, Semarang – Scores of Papuan students from National Papua Solidarity (Nasional Papua Solidaritas, Napas) held a protest action in front of the regional police headquarters (Mapolda) in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang on Wednesday June 13.

The protesters, who held a long-march along Jl. Pahlawan towards the Mapolda under tight police security, demanded that the government fully resolve the conflict taking place in Papua.

In addition to giving speeches, they also distributed leaflets containing their demands to pedestrians in the area and sung Papuan traditional songs. Action coordinator Ottis Tipagau said that the government must be held responsible for all of the victims of the mysterious shootings that have been taking place in Papua.

"The government must immediately form an independent national investigation team and allow room for an international investigation team to investigate the cases of mysterious shootings that are creating uneasiness", he said.

The protesters also called on the government to evaluate and rationalise the presence of both organic and non-organic troops throughout Papua. The Indonesian government, they said, must also open up democratic space in order to fully resolve cases of violence that have taken place.

"For more than 50 years Papua has been part of NKRI [the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia] but the government has been incapable of empowering the Papuan people, on the contrary the Papuan people have been given policies that are very much identical with militarism so the people are still intimidated to this day and the economy controlled by people from outside Papua", said Tipagau.

This he said has resulted in an increase in discrimination in the lives of the Papuan people. "Seventy-two percent of Papuans live below the poverty line, will the government remain silent and ignore all this by sacrificing the Papuan people? We are simply demanding the realisation of peace in the land of Papua", he asserted.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

President, TNI commander admit soldiers' overreaction in Papua

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Arientha Primanita – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admitted on Tuesday that security officers had overreacted with their handling of the security situation in Papua, where violence has escalated for the past couple of weeks.

"Security officers with the TNI [Indonesian Military] and the National Police have been deemed over reactive in their responses to activities committed by certain elements, such as the killings of citizens and TNI soldiers stationed in the region," Yudhoyono said on Tuesday while opening a Cabinet meeting on the recent security situation in Papua.

Yudhoyono stopped short of further explaining the statement, but TNI commander Admiral Agus Suhartono made a similar confession after the meeting.

Agus referred to the alleged attack of a village in Wamena, Papua, by a group of TNI soldiers, reportedly in retaliation for the killing of a fellow soldier by an angry mob after he and another soldier, critically wounded, almost hit a child while riding a motorcycle through the village.

"We should take lessons from this situation. They [TNI soldiers] shouldn't have overreacted. But we must also understand the emotional states of the soldiers," Agus told reporters after the Cabinet meeting at the presidential office. "We don't want other overreactions by the TNI there because we don't want any human rights abuses," he added.

Agus said the TNI had made an agreement with residents of Honai Lama village to build tents as temporary shelters for some villagers who lost their houses, reportedly burned down by TNI soldiers. "We've also agreed to question TNI members that overreacted, and have agreed that police should at the same time investigate murders of TNI soldiers. Investigations must run both ways," he said.

Besides the Wamena village attack on June 7, at least seven shootings, some of them fatal, have been reported in the Papuan capital of Jayapura – A German tourist was shot and wounded on May 29. In the latest case a security guard at the Cenderawasih University campus was killed.

No one has been arrested for the attacks. State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Marciano Norman has accused the Free Papua Movement (OPM) of being behind the Jayapura shootings, but the OPM has denied any responsibility.

Yudhoyono has ordered a thorough investigation into the incidents and said he would dispatch the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Djoko Suyanto, to Papua to monitor the situation.

SBY ignores West Papua murders

New Matilda - June 12, 2012

Alex Rayfield – West Papua is roiling. In the last two weeks a spate of shootings, killings and military violence has surprised even seasoned Papua watchers. But as West Papua bleeds, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono remains silent.

The latest wave of violence started on 29 May when a 55-year-old German born man, Pieter Dietmar Helmut, was shot and wounded at a popular beach in Jayapura – Although multiple witnesses identified the car from which a Papuan man allegedly shot Helmut, police are yet to make any arrests.

The same day Anton Arung, a primary school teacher, was fatally shot in the head by an unknown gunman as he was standing by a kiosk in the highland town of Mulia.

Four days later, activists from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), a pro-independence youth organisation, protested the shootings. According to witnesses Indonesian police then opened fire.

Five people were wounded in the attack. 23 year-old Yesaya Mirin from Yahukimo village was shot dead while 29 year-old Panuel Taplo remains in a serious condition with bullet wounds.

When KNPB leader Buchtar Tabuni confronted the police at a second demonstration in the capital he was arrested, further inflaming an already tense situation. Jailed independence leaders Dominikus Surabut and Selphius Bobii and Ruben Magay, a provincial parliamentarian not known for his pro- independence views, have publicly criticised the police's handling of KNPB and called for Buchtar Tabuni's release.

As tensions increased text messages circulated warning people to beware of "Dracula" and other such demonic denizens of the night. In West Papua warnings of Dracula and the like are code for people to stay off the streets because of covert military operations. Similar SMS messages were sent before prominent independence leader Theys Eluay was assassinated in November 2001.

The following week was a particularly bloody one in Jayapura – On Sunday 3 June, university student Jimi Ajudh Purba was stabbed to death by unidentified attackers. A day later, 16 year-old high school student Gilbert Febrian Ma'dika was shot by unidentified assailants on a motorcycle and survived a gunshot wound to his back.

On Wednesday 6 June a civil servant was reportedly shot dead in front of the mayor's office and the following day a further three people were reportedly shot, two of whom died. One of those attacked was a police officer, Brigadier Laedi.

On the following day, Friday 8 June, Teyu Tabuni, who was affiliated with KNPB, was shot dead as he was standing at a motorcycle taxi parking area in Jayapura – According to a witness, Yopina Wenda, Tabuni was shot four times in the head by a uniformed policeman who then fled the scene.

The following week on 10 and 11 June two more people were reportedly shot dead, one outside a shopping mall and the second close to Cendrawasih University in Abepura.

In the same week that mysterious killings rocked citizens of Jayapura, the highlands of West Papua also bled. On 6 June soldiers from Battalion 756, not regularly stationed in West Papua but brought in for combat duties, knocked over and killed a three year old child, Desi Wanimbo, while riding their motorcycle in the village of Honai Lama on the outskirts of Wamena.

Relatives of the child then allegedly stabbed one of the soldiers to death and badly beat a second.

New Matilda spoke to local Wamena based activists Simeon Dabi and Wellis Doba by phone who said that soldiers then went on a rampage burning 70 houses, killing 22 pigs (an animal highly valued by highland Papuans) while indiscriminately discharging their firearms.

Dabi and Doba both reported 11 people with serious injuries after soldiers shot, stabbed and beat residents. Hundreds fled into the mountains and jungle. Two more Papuans later died of injuries sustained from the military, 40 year-old Elinus Yoman and 30 year-old Dominggus Binanggelo.

Meanwhile in Yapen, an island off the north coast of West Papua, reports are filtering through of military operations. New Matilda spoke to one activist in Yapen who reported by mobile phone that around 60 people – 10 families from 14 different villagers – have sought refuge in the jungle after police and military launched search and arrest operations following a gathering of leaders held by the West Papua National Authority.

The Indonesian government's response to recent shootings in Jayapura has been to call for assertive action including house-to-house searches for armed combatants. Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman, the chief of the Indonesian Intelligence Agency, told the Jakarta Post by phone that "We have no choice but to do the sweep, as civilians are not allowed to hold guns. Rules must be upheld."

Ironically, Norman made these comments days before Police admitted a policeman shot dead KNPB activist Teyu Tabuni on 7 June.

The six main groups that the police, military and intelligence agents consistently target in sweeping operations are leaders from the Federal Republic of West Papua who declared independence on 19 October last year, the pro-independence groups KNPB and WPNA, church leaders and tribal leaders.

All these groups are unarmed – fighting words notwithstanding – giving credence to activists' claims that the purpose of the sweeps is not to maintain security but to trample dissent.

While police and the military blame Papuan separatists, human rights defenders in Papua point the finger at Indonesian security forces.

In an interview with the Jakarta Globe Ferry Marisan from the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua (ELSHAM) said that "Papua is a place for law enforcement to get promoted... Isn't it strange that after a series of shootings, the police cannot find the perpetrators? They always claim the perpetrators are unidentified gunmen. They analysed the bullet, conducted ballistic tests but the results were never made public."

Human rights defenders in West Papua argue that the both the police and military have a vested interest in creating and maintaining conflict to justify their continued presence and to maintain lucrative legal and illegal business interests.

But it is not only business interests at stake. The security forces in West Papua also see themselves as bravely defending the Indonesian state from greater unravelling.

In their eyes this justifies covert operations. Last year New Matilda met two Papuans from Sorong who were paid to attend a ceremony in Manokwari where they were inducted into a civilian squad that would ostensibly assist the police with anti-corruption investigations.

The activists recited oaths of allegiance to the Indonesian state and were given uniforms and ID cards – viewed by New Matilda. Those present at the meeting were then told that a handful would be selected for combat training in Jakarta. In the shadow of Indonesian militia violence in East Timor in 1999 reports like these deeply trouble Papuans.

Local activists are not the only ones raising troubling questions about SBY's handling of the situation in West Papua. Opposition MP Tubagus Hasanuddin, a member of the Parliament's Defence Committee, told Radio Australia he wants answers.

"How can there be 30 shootings in one and a half years and not a single case solved?" he asked. "Twenty-seven victims have fallen. We must find out why."

Hasanuddin's figures may be on the conservative side but he is proof that there are Indonesians who want to see progress on finding a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in West Papua.

Church leaders like Fr Neles Tebay from the Papua Peace Network argue that action from Jakarta to reign in the security forces is essential because provincial legislators have no control over the police and military.

However, SBY is rapidly running out of time. His presidency expires next year and Papuans are increasingly calling for the United Nations to intervene.

It is said that deeply seated conflict polarises the protagonist's positions. In West Papua those positions are hardening and the numbers of protagonists are increasing. The police and the military are defending a state that has lost all legitimacy in Papuan eyes.

This reality is not helped by the fact that many in the police and military – over 90 per cent of whom are Indonesian – hold deeply racist views about the people they are meant to protect.

Politically Papuans' interests are not represented by the provincial parliament. The DPRD, or local provincial parliament, find themselves caught between demands for independence from their Papuan constituents and a rigid refusal to enter into talks from Jakartan party bosses 3000 kilometres away – even talking is seen as too much of a concession to the independence movement.

In the middle are Papuans, seething with indignation over decades of abuse by the security forces and increasingly vocal about their demands for genuine self-determination.

Time may not be the only problem. Many doubt whether Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono is willing to spend any political capital making good on his repeated promises to solve the Papuan problem with "peace" and "dignity".

On the contrary SBY has publicly stepped in to protect and defend the security forces when they have been accused of gross acts of violence against civilians and refused to countenance the evidence that state violence is a systemic problem in West Papua.

Downplaying the problem in Papua may win him friends in the military but in the Papuans' eyes it makes him look ineffectual. It tarnishes his international image as a democrat and strengthens the hand of those inside and outside West Papua who call for independence.

This makes the voices of the church and senior tribal leaders calling for dialogue sound measured and reasonable. The only problem is there is no indication that SBY is listening.

[With West Papua Media.]

SBY: Sanctions for Papua law enforcers committing 'inappropriate actions'

Jakarta Globe - June 12, 2012

Arientha Primanita – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday warned police officers and soldiers on the ground in Papua to abide by the law and follow proper procedures while attempting to maintain order in the restive province.

"I want inappropriate actions to be prevented," Yudhoyono said prior to a cabinet meeting to discuss recent violence in Papua. "Though upholding the law is the duty of our officers, the implementation [of that duty] should not exceed what is appropriate, which could cause other problems. "In cases where there are violations by military or police officers while carrying out duties in the field – which is not easy and is complex – sanctions should be handed down."

His comments come after a military (TNI) rampage last week in the village of Wamena, in which police said one civilian was killed and 17 others were wounded. The attack was said to be retaliation for an incident in which angry villagers stabbed a soldier to death after he struck a child while riding his motorcycle.

While there has been criticism from lawmakers that the president has neglected the intensifying conflict in Papua, Yudhoyono said the central government had done no such thing. He called on his cabinet ministers to inform people of the government's proactive approach.

"If we're silent, we're assumed to be not doing anything," he said. "Talk, so people understand the problem.... Indonesia respects the law and international conventions, but without explanation, there will be wrong perceptions."

Last week was a bloody one for Papua, particularly in the provincial capital of Jayapura, where at least seven people were killed. The most recent reported incident took place in front of the Cenderawasih University on Sunday, in which one person was shot dead.

"The action [attacks] can be said to have happened on a small scale with limited victims," Yudhoyono said. He contrasted the events in Papua with violence in Middle Eastern nations such as Libya and Syria, which have taken thousands of lives.

"The figure is far [lower] than the violence in the Middle East, [where] we can witnesses, every day, attacks and violence with huge numbers of deaths," he said. "Despite that, even one casualty should not be neglected."

[With additional reporting from Antara.]

'Foreign hand,' not security Intel, at play in Papua: Lawmaker

Jakarta Globe - June 12, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A senior legislator has blamed unnamed foreign parties for the deteriorating security condition in Papua province amid speculation about the involvement of security forces and separatist rebels in a recent series of shootings there.

Tubagus Hasanuddin, deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission I, which oversees security and foreign affairs, claimed on Sunday that the distribution of the attacks across the province suggested they were highly coordinated events and not isolated incidents.

"I think there's a possibility of a foreign hand playing around in Papua," he said at a news conference in Jakarta.

"Just looking at the spread of the incidents and the timing, it's clear that these shootings have been organized very carefully and systematically, and the targets chosen for a reason. These attacks have been well-planned and funded through local operators on the ground," he added.

Tubagus, a former military intelligence officer, said he believed the attacks, all of which have involved unknown gunmen firing on civilians or security officers, were meant to stoke separatist sentiment in the restive province.

"Meanwhile, the security forces, in particular the intelligence community, has been powerless in uncovering the powers behind all these incidents and are instead pointing the finger at one another," the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislator said.

He called for both increased intelligence efforts and pressure on the diplomatic front to resolve the problem, insisting that the government's political will to delve into the issue would be the key to success.

Tubagus was speaking two days after a delegation of legislators from House Commission I arrived in Papua to assess the security situation there. At least 13 civilians and 15 security officers have been killed in a spate of attacks by unknown gunmen during the past 18 months.

Commission chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said that addressing the security situation in Papua would not solve the chronic underlying issues plaguing the province.

He said that those could only be tackled through dialogue with religious and community leaders, adding that Commission I would work with the government to establish better communication between all parties.

The legislators also met with members of the provincial chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), who claimed they were being targeted and could not speak freely on what they knew about the security situation.

"There are many things we would have liked to tell the legislators, but we can't because we need more protection," Victor Mambor, the AJI Papua chairman, said on Saturday.

He claimed that intelligence agents from the police and military had infiltrated many local news organizations, and that journalists in Papua were increasingly on the receiving end of threats, beatings, torture and even murder.

He cited the case of Jorsul Satuan, a TVOne reporter who was attacked by unknown assailants while filming in Abepura on Thursday.

[Additional reporting from Antara.]

Same foes, same woes behind Papua chaos

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura – The government, once again, is blaming the deteriorating security situation in Papua on its usual suspects: the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and foreign interests intent on instigating conflict.

On Monday, for example, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman claimed that at least three parties, including the OPM, foreign agents and local residents themselves were behind the waves of shootings and violence in province.

Marciano said that the OPM had evolved into a force to be reckoned with, having perfected its methods, accumulated a sizeable warchest and gained substantial support for its guerilla campaign from urban residents.

"Members of the OPM, who normally operate in the rural areas, now dare to run their armed operations from within city limits, because they've won backing from local political groups, which support the separation of Papua," he told reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door session with lawmakers on House Commission I overseeing security.

Marciano said that the local groups were funded by sympathetic foreign NGOs and continued to describe the OPM's new strategy. "The OPM is divided in two groups, one focused on politics and one that runs armed operations. Both groups have been in constant contact these days. They have also made contact with their colleagues abroad. And by terrorizing the cities, they are trying to show the world that Papua is unstable [...] and direct global opinion to support their movement," Marciano said.

He said that BIN would analyze the situation before recommending a course of action to the government.

At least 16 people have been shot dead in Papua in the past few weeks. Last week, one civilian was killed in an incident involving Indonesian Military (TNI) troops, while another civilian, Teyu Tabuni, 19, was shot dead by police officers on Thursday in Jayapura.

After the most recent reported fatality, where the body of a civilian was found on the lawn of the Cendrawasih University's Teacher Training Center on Sunday, the school imposed an afternoon curfew on campus and cut school hours.

University spokesman Paulus Homer said the measure was a precaution to prevent students from becoming victims of the escalating violence. "We don't want any of our students to be shot dead like the others. It's enough that many of our students have become victims of robberies during the day," Homer told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Homer said that the local police had yet to take action on the reports campus administrators had filed about the increasing number of robberies on campus.

Contacted separately, Papuan peace activist Neles Tebay said that the local police had to seriously investigate the recent spate of unsolved shootings to prevent further violence from erupting in the province. "The recent unsolved shootings are only a small part of the real problem in Papua, and the government must resolve it," he said.

Neles said that all parties in Papua, including local governments, local residents, the business community and separatist groups must come together to start a dialogue on resolving the violence. "That's the only way to end what has been happening here," Neles said.

On Monday, several Commission I lawmakers called on the government to step up its efforts to start talks in Papua in order to mute potential external critics. "The problems in Papua should not attract the international community, if the government is serious about finding solutions," lawmaker TB Hasanuddin of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said.

Meanwhile, Commission I chairman, Mahfudz Siddiq of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said that the Papuans themselves were serious about dialogue.

"We have learned that Papuans know very well the importance of dialogue to resolve the ongoing violence in Papua, but they don't have any ideas about the form of the dialogue or parties to be charge of the initiative," he said.

Intelligence chief accuses Papua separatists of plotting recent attacks

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2012

Ezra Sihite – The head of Indonesia's State Intelligence Agency (BIN) said on Monday that the separatist group the Free Papua Organization (OPM) are behind the runaway violence Jayapura.

"Surely they are members of OPM," Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman said after a meeting at House of Representatives on Monday. "It is a new development that the [OPM] political front in the city and the armed front that fights in the jungle are now combined. So the group that fights in the jungle has moved to the city."

The BIN chief said that a recent string of shootings in Jayapura was part of a bid to attract international attention to the restive province. Separatist groups in Papua are engaged in an ongoing fight for independence with the Indonesian military. The province was officially annexed in 1969.

Mahfudz Siddiq, head of the House Commission I, said the shootings were meant to coincide with the OPM's July 1 anniversary. "Police need to put an end to their hesitation and should strengthen their ties with the Indonesian military as people have demanded the police reveal the mastermind behind the violence," Mahfudz said.

But the OPM has denied the allegations, explaining that all OPM members have been ordered to stay at the organization's secret headquarters in preparation for the anniversary of the OPM's military win, the National Freedom Troop (TPN).

"All members have been gathering at our defense headquarters," Lambert Peukikier, the commander of the TPN office in Keerom, a neighboring district to Jayapura, told kompas.com on Monday.

At least 13 civilians and 15 members of Indonesian security forces have been killed in Papua in the past 18 months. The violence has intensified in Jayapura where at least seven people have been shot in the last week.

The latest incident occurred on Sunday when police found a local resident dead in front of Cenderawasih University in Jayapura.

An investigation into the spate of violence has found all sides pointing fingers. "I'm worry [this] will escalate public's distrust to the law enforcement," Mahfudz said. "This is bizarre, when talked to the people, [they said] they were suspicious of law enforcement. When we talked to the law enforcement, [they said] the perpetrators were armed civilians."

Kontras Challenges military, spy roles in wake of Papuan killings

Tabloid JUBI - June 11, 2012

Jubi and the PMC news desk – In the wake of many shootings that have occurred this month in the West Papuan region capital of Jayapura and its environs, the human rights group Kontras has challenged the role of the Indonesian military and police and questioned the work of the state intelligence agency.

The coordinator of Kontras (Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence), Olga Helena Hamadi, said the police should investigate all the shooting incidents and reveal who was who behind them.

She said the TNI (Indonesian military), police and intelligence should work harder on this issue. "It is strange that all these shootings are occurring in the heart of the city, yet not one of the perpetrators has yet been arrested," she said.

"The police should investigate these incidents. It is the duty of the police to safeguard the security of our citizens. It is not enough for the police to issue statements saying that these incidents are the work of OTK – Orang Tak Kenal or Unidentified People."

If the army and the police were finding it difficult to discover who was who are behind these shootings, civil society groups should work in collaboration with each other to work out a solution, she said.

The chairman of BUK (United for Justice), Peneas Lokbere, said the police must have the confidence of the community. "If they fail to reveal any of the forces that are behind these incidents, they will lose the the confidence of the community," he said.

Albertus, a representative of the Franciscans Secretariat in Jayapura, also said the police must reveal the people who were behind these activities. "The police are entrusted with the task of providing security and tranquillity for the community," he said.

Albertus added that the shootings had created fear and anxiety among the people in general which makes it difficult for the community to feel sure about their safety.

[Abridged translation by the Indonesian human rights group TAPOL.]

Imparsial: SBY must take action to stop the terror in Papua

Tabloid JUBI - June 11, 2012

Imparsial, the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor, has expressed concern about the many acts of terrorism such as shootings by OTK – Orang Tak Dikenal – in Papua.

The executive director of Imparsial, Poengky Indarti,called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to get involved in solving the problem and accept responsibility for a situation that threatens the lives of civil society.

"These mysterious killings are a threat to innocent people and must be stopped without delay," she said. "The President must summon all the authorities, the chief of police, the military commander, the chief of BIN – the intelligence agency, and the Minister of the Interior and acting governors.He must take responsibility for safeguarding the lives of the people.

"There are indications that neither of the governors are conducting an oversight of the activities of the troops in Papua who seem to be out of control."

"This situation must not be allowed to continue," she said, adding that the President "must immediately start making preparations for a Jakarta-Papua dialogue so as discuss what the problems are in Papua."

She also said that according to Imparsial one of the problems is the process of electing the governors. Her organisation sees the shootings as preparatory to the forthcoming elections of the governors.

This is what happened some time ago in Aceh when the same kind of thing happened. There are vested interests in Jakarta who want to benefit from disturbances in the regions as the year 2014 approaches [the next round of presidential, parliamentary and gubernatorial elections.]

[Translated by TAPOL]

Lawmaker: SBY 'the main problem' with solving Papua conflict

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2012

Ezra Sihite – Amid ongoing attacks in Papua, a lawmaker on Monday called for the president to focus on solving the problem in the restive region.

"As long as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono refuses to respond to all of the recommendations, such as starting a dialogue between Jakarta and Papua, the shootings will continue," lawmaker from House Commission III Eva Kusuma Sundari said.

"The problem has been identified, possible solutions have been recommended, but the president stays still. The main problem is with the president."

At least 13 civilians and 15 security officers have been killed in a spate of attacks by unknown gunmen during the past 18 months. The situation was getting worse last week with more people killed.

The latest shooting happened on Sunday night. A Papuan local was found dead in front of Cenderawasih University in Jayapura.

Defense minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said only police should be focusing on solving the problem. The military can only be involved if the cases are related to separatism.

"Intelligence might also be involved, but they should be very careful as Papua is a sensitive case," Purnomo said on Monday. "There is indeed an internal threat, but the problem is related to the public order so it is the authority of the police. Let them solve it, we are ready to help if needed."

Regarding Eva's criticism about Yudhoyono, Purnomo said the government had come up with the right approach by improving the welfare of the Papuan people through the government's Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B).

Government urged to begin dialogue in Papua to avoid foreign intervention

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The government has been urged to be more active in beginning an initiative for a peace dialogue for Papua to avoid international intervention.

"The problems in Papua should have not attracted the international community if the government seriously resolved them," lawmaker TB Hasanuddin of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction said Monday.

The vice chairman of the House of Representative's Commission I on intelligence, defense and foreign affairs added that foreign roles had been identified in the recent escalating violence in the country's easternmost province.

"I just had a meeting with a high ranking official who informed me that there were foreign agencies participating in worsening the conflict in Papua. The government has also identified Papuans who were trained [to be involved in conflicts]," Hasanuddin said.

He, however, refused to disclose the details. "Information on the international intervention in Papua is not for the public. However I can assure that the undisclosed violence in the land during the recent United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, has contributed to the escalating violence there," said Hasanuddin, who represents the West Java IX electoral district consisting of Majalengka, Subang and Sumedang regencies.

Some quarters in Indonesia are suspicious that the US marines deployment in Darwin, Australia, is related to problems in Papua and might serve as an intervention force, an allegation which has been denied by the US.

Commission I chairman, Mahfudz Siddiq, said that people in Papua understood the urgency for a dialogue due to escalating violence there, but were uncertain about what and how the dialogue should be carried.

"We learn that Papuans know very well the importance of dialogue to resolve ongoing violence in Papua, but they don't have any ideas about the form of the dialogue or parties in charge of the initiative. Therefore, the government must take the initiative because President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed his agreement upon a peaceful dialogue there," said Mahfudz of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction.

He has recently led a group of Commission I lawmakers to meet and discuss with various groups of people comprising the natives, activists, religious leaders, academics, as well as the government.

Mahduz, representing West Java VIII electoral district of Cirebon and Indramayu regencies and Cirebon mayoralty, described that the streets in Jayapura and Abepura were empty, with not even a single person daring to be out during the evening as the people were haunted by the mysterious shootings.

"During our three-night stay there, we found out that the people were so haunted by the unresolved shootings that they didn't dare to come out. It is obvious that there is suspicion between the people and members of the police and the military accusing each other as perpetrators," he said. (nvn)

OPM behind recent shootings in Papua: BIN

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) has accused the Free Papua Movement (OPM) of being behind the recent shootings in the country's easternmost province.

BIN chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman said Monday that members of the OPM, who he said normally operated in rural areas, had dared to run its armed operations within city limits.

"They want to ensure the public and the government that they exist and are able to take control of the province. They are using the international attention, as well as international reports on the land, to attract empathy from the international community to support their movement," Marciano told reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door meeting with House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs.

Marciano added that BIN had also identified international support for the OPM in terms of moral courage and cash.

"We found out that the OPM is divided in two groups: those who focus on politics and those on running armed operations. Both groups have been in constant contact these days. They have also made contact with colleagues abroad. We are still investigating to search for more details on this," he said. (iwa)

Police detain three in Papua

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2012

Jakarta – Police in Papua have arrested three people in connection with the escalating violence in the country's easternmost troubled province.

Deputy chief of the Papua Police, Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw, said the three people were now being detained in two different locations.

"We arrested two people in Abepura on June 7 and detained one in Sentani on June 9," he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview on Sunday. Paulus added that these three were perpetrators in "the recent assaults", and that the attacks were all connected.

Papua has experienced escalating violence in the past few weeks with 15 people reported as having died.

Last week, two civilians were killed in separate incidents involving Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel and police officers. In the second incident, Teyu Tabuni, 19, was shot dead by police officers in Jayapura on Thursday last week.

Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman of the House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs, who had just returned from the commission's two-day working visit to Papua, said the detained suspects were "members of armed groups in possession of short-barreled weapons".

"The Papua military commander, the Papua Police deputy chief and intelligence officers all told us [members of Commission I] that armed groups had orchestrated the attacks, as the OPM's [Free Papua Movement] anniversary, which falls on July 1, was drawing near," Mahfudz said.

Mahfudz said that although the anniversary fell on July 1, the organization often celebrated the event on Dec. 1. Last December, hundreds gathered for mass prayers in Sentani, Jayapura regency to observe the 50th anniversary of what they called the freedom of Papua. Clashes occurred in other parts of the region prior to and during the celebrations.

Mahfudz suspected that the groups had also arranged the attacks to disrupt the President's planned visit to the province. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to visit Papua on July 3, to join an event organized by the Indonesian Scouts Movement (Pramuka).

During their stay in Papua, Commission I members visited Jayapura and Abepura and held meetings with various religious communities and representatives from local community organizations.

"The situation there is complicated. Locals suspect that the police and the military are behind the incidents. The latter, on the other hand, blame separatists in the region. There are also people who demand Papua's independence," he told the Post on Sunday.

Separately, intelligence analyst Wawan Purwanto said that conflicts in Papua had been going on for far too long and that it was time for the government to change its policy toward Papua.

"While the concept of Papua as a region with special autonomy is good, its implementation has so far only been damaging to locals. Now, there are too many conflicting parties in Papua and each has its own interests, be they political or economic," he said. (tas)

Student action in Yogyakarta calls for troops out of Papua

Tribune News - June 11, 2012

Yoseph Hary, Yogya – Responding to the brutal actions by Indonesian security forces against Papuan civilians, Papuan students in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta are to hold a peaceful action and long-march from the Papuan student dormitory on Jl. Kusumanegara No 119 to the zero kilometer point in the centre of the city this afternoon.

Speaking during preparations at the dormitory, the spokesperson for the Papua Student Association (PMP) in Yogyakarta, Andi Umagi, said the theme of the demonstration would be calling on the government to withdraw Indonesian troops from Papua.

The reason being, the troops in Papua are clearly committing human rights violations. "The action is planned for 10am. We're currently making preparations, we'll start in a moment. But it will be a peaceful action", said Umagi on Monday June 11.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Escalating Papua violence raises serious questions

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite – Complacency by the authorities is allowing a spate of shooting incidents in Papua to go unchecked and unsolved, underscoring President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's weakness in addressing problems in the province, observers say.

Legislators, activists, academics and Papuan residents all questioned on Friday the government's failure to arrest any of the perpetrators after more than 30 shooting incidents in the past year in the country's easternmost region.

"It's just strange that the government can't solve a single case even after nearly 30 people have died recently in the province," said opposition legislator Tubagus Hasanuddin, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission I, which oversees security affairs. "It seems like the authorities are allowing [the violence] to happen."

House Speaker Marzuki Alie alleged that some people were deliberately orchestrating the bloodshed in order to grab power and get access to the province's abundant natural resources. "Some have used the chaotic condition there to benefit themselves," he said.

Marzuki, a member of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, said that the shootings could indicate that people were fighting for control of natural resources. While he did not rule out the possibility that soldiers and local officials could be involved in the incidents, Marzuki said the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) must identify the groups behind the incidents.

Aleksius Jemadu, dean of Pelita Harapan University's School of Social and Political Sciences, said he suspected that the authorities' inability to solve any of the cases was due to the involvement of security officers in the incidents.

"Although the military as an institution can't be involved, some of its members might be. These incidents show that Jakarta has failed to address the problems in the province. The shootings indicate that the local officers don't listen to the central government," he said.

Tjahjo Kumolo, another opposition lawmaker, said that the reputation of the TNI, as the military is known, would be severely hit if it could not prove that it could bring security to the province. "I am sure the allegations against the TNI are untrue. However, the military should work with the police to find those responsible so that they can put the rumors to rest," he said.

A Papuan caucus at the House also demanded the TNI and government put an end to the violence after at least 15 people were killed in the past month.

The caucus also demanded that the government investigate a shooting spree on Wednesday that they claimed resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians. "The perpetrators must be punished, even if they are soldiers," said Paskalis Kossay, the coordinator of Caucus for Papua.

Several Papuan lawmakers demanded that Yudhoyono form a team to investigate the shootings, including Wednesday's reported killings.

"Local residents have reported the shootings to authorities," said Papuan legislator Diaz Dwijangge. "However, we have continued to witness incidents of violence in the last several weeks. If the government continues to do nothing, we are afraid that the shootings and violence will continue."

Indonesia arrests two pro-independence activists in Papua

Agence France Presse - June 10, 2012

Two pro-independence activists were arrested in Indonesia's restive Papua province for holding "anarchic protests", national police said Friday.

One of those arrested was Bukhtar Tabuni, head of the West Papua National Committee, who had left prison last year after serving three years for organizing a 2008 rally, national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said.

Tabuni was arrested on Thursday in the city of Abepura along with another activist, Jefri Wandepbud. "The men were arrested in relation with anarchic protests" by the West Papua National Committee, Amar said.

He said the group is suspected of organizing protests in recent months that have left shops, public facilities and a university campus in several Papuan cities badly vandalized.

Pro-independence rallies and displaying separatist symbols are considered treason in Indonesia, and protests in Papua have ended in bloody clashes with police.

The West Papua National Committee denied it was responsible for any violence and said on its website that the police were using the group as "a scapegoat."

Tabuni was jailed in 2008 for organizing a protest to support the International Parliamentarians for West Papua, a pro-independence pressure group of international lawmakers launched in the British parliament that year.

Indonesia in 1969 took control of the Papua region – a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island – after a vote widely seen as a sham.

Jakarta keeps a tight grip on Papua, with the military regularly clashing with locals. Foreign journalists are restricted from reporting freely in the region.

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

BIN identifies shooting perpetrators

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura/Jakarta – Armed groups were believed to have infiltrated cities and towns in Papua as calls for tougher measures grew in the wake of escalating violence in the easternmost province.

"We are now intensifying investigations and looking for information where these groups are coming from and who they are," National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman told reporters before departing for Ambon, Maluku, as part of a presidential entourage.

He said these groups had usually been stationed in remote areas, but occasionally entered cities and towns with the help of associates in cities updating information about the movements of law enforcement and military officers.

"I hope Papuans support the efforts and help provide us information should they see civilians in possession of firearms," he said.

The bloody week was marked with unabated threats of a mysterious shooting, military rampage that left a civilian dead and scores of others injured as well as a fatal shooting by a police officer.

An independent human rights group, West Papua Media, alleged the rampage – launched following a comrade death – killed three civilians and said that the TNI and police should be held responsible for the deaths.

The group has posted a disclaimer, however, saying that its report, which is available online at westpapuamedia.info, is a preliminary report only; further assessment needs to be carried out by local human right workers.

Marciano said his office had preliminary information about the profile of the armed groups, "but it is not good to let you have this information."

The head of government-sanctioned Presidential Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), Lt. Gen. (ret.) Bambang Darmono, acknowledged that the situation in some places in Papua could no longer be considered conducive.

"This has prompted many to speculate over what are actually behind these violence," he said, adding that the police must probe the incidents immediately to help smooth his unit's programs.

Calls for investigation into the case came from the Caucus of Papua at the House of Representatives, who urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to immediately appoint an independent investigative team.

"We note that at least 15 people have mysteriously died in the last one month, but nothing has seriously been acted upon in the cases. It seems that the government has intentionally ignored the escalating violence there," lawmaker Paskalis Kossay, who chairs the Caucus, said Friday.

From Jayapura, rights activists expected the police to continue pursuing the perpetrators in spite of the arrest of West Papua National Committee (KNPB) head Buchtar Tabuni, who was allegedly linked to violent protest in May.

"Buchtar has been arrested, but we hope the unidentified gunmen who have caused terror also be caught and don't let Buchtar become the scapegoat of the shootings," Manokwari Education, Research, Investigation and Legal Aid Institution (LPPPBH) executive director Yan Christian Warinussy said.

Yan said he had his own reasons that Buchtar, or KNPB, was not behind the shootings that terrorized Jayapura residents over the past week.

Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Johanes Nugroho said Buchtar was arrested not because of the shootings but the incidents that took place following the protests so far held by KNPB in Jayapura.

Buchtar became a suspect in a vandalism case, but was not detained so he could improve the performance of KNPB during protests. He said the police had a number of names and promised to bring them to justice.

Teyu Tabuni, who was killed by police personnel on Thursday, was buried on Friday.

[Margareth S. Aritonang contributed reporting from Jakarta.]

Armed groups infiltrate Papuan cities: BIN

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman said on Friday law enforcement and military officers had begun screening for weapons after identifying that armed groups had infiltrated Papuan cities.

"We are now deepening our investigation and looking for information on where these groups are coming from and who they are," Marciano told reporters before departing for Ambon, Maluku, for an official presidential visit.

He added that these groups had usually been stationed in remote areas but occasionally entered cities and towns with the help of their associates updating them with information about the movements of law enforcement and military officers.

Marciano added the police and military forces had begun screening some cities and looking for weapons held by unauthorized civilians.

"I hope Papuans support the efforts and help provide us information should they see civilians with firearms," Marciano said.

He added his office had preliminary information about the profile of the armed groups, "but it is not good to let you have this information."

Marciano denied reports saying that hundreds of homes in Wamena had been burned by military officers. "There were only several houses and some motorcycles burned," he said.

The head of government-sanctioned Presidential Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), Lt. Gen. (ret.) Bambang Darmono, acknowledged that the situation in certain areas in Papua could no longer be determined as conducive.

"And yet many incidents are left unresolved. This has prompted many to speculate over what is actually behind this violence," he said, adding that the police must probe the incidents immediately to help smooth his unit's programs.

An independent human rights group, West Papua Media, has accused the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police as those responsible for the deaths of eight civilians during Thursday's rampage in Wamena, Papua.

Aceh

Suspected punk badly beaten in Aceh orgy raid

Jakarta Globe - June 14, 2012

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A 16-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after being beaten by an angry mob in a raid on a group of teenagers suspected of having an orgy outside a village in Aceh on Wednesday.

Arif, a second-year student from a senior high school in Banda Aceh, was sent to Meuraxa Hospital in the provincial capital in a critical condition after police managed to save him from the mob of villagers.

Two other teenagers, school dropouts Zaini, 17, and Rizki, 16, were less severely injured in the attack, while more than two dozen other teenagers believed to have participated in the orgy managed to flee the scene.

Arif's condition was reportedly improving on Thursday after receiving medical treatment, but he still had bumps and bruises all over his body and was nursing a broken hand.

The raid, involving hundreds of residents, took place in a paddy field outside Gani village in Ingin Jaya subdistrict, Aceh Besar, at about 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Ingin Jaya Police chief Insp. Ibrahim Prades said on Thursday.

"The residents conducted the raid because they were upset with those strongly believed to be engaging in sordid activities with six women. But those women escaped, along with 20 other [male] teenagers," Ibrahim said.

"The residents said the teenagers organized an orgy at the location. As evidence, they found some clothes left at the scene," he added.

One of the raid's participants, who refused to be named, said some of the teenagers were only wearing underwear when the mob set upon them. "They've hung out here too often. They smudge our village with their indecent activities," he said.

Ibrahim said one of the teenagers was slashed by a cleaver, but managed to escape. He also said the villagers hunted for the alleged orgy participants for some time, but failed to capture more.

The police chief said based on the way the youths dressed, the villagers suspected they were punks. "But we cannot actually say they are punks. They're just trying to be punks."

Home affairs minister saddened by 'rumored' demands for church closures

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Ezra Sihite – Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said that he was disheartened by "rumored" demands to close 20 churches in Aceh, explaining that local residents need to accept that Indonesia is a pluralistic nation with more than one recognized religion.

The minister was responding to a rumor that residents of the conservative Islamic province have demanded the closure of 20 churches. Last month, 16 storefront churches – locally called "undung-undungs" – were shut down in the Aceh Singkil district amid demands from local Muslim groups.

Gamawan warned Aceh residents to resist religious intolerance. "Let people of a different religion build a place of worship if they want to," Gamawan said. "The majority shouldn't force their views on the minority. Tolerance should continue to exist."

The minister heard the rumor from Aceh's newly-elected governor Tarmizi Karim. The two men have discussed the issue and share similar opinions on the matter, Gamawan said.

"The governor told me about this issue. I said, 'please obey existing regulations,'" Gamawan said. "We live together. We're pluralistic, and there is more than just one religion in this country."

Aceh, Indonesia's westernmost province, practices a local version of Shariah law that bans everything from unmarried couples fraternizing after dark to skinny jeans. (BeritaSatu/JG)

Regent orders churches closed, destroyed in Aceh

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The discovery that a regent in Aceh ordered 20 places of worship closed in April is raising concerns that growing intolerance will trigger communal conflicts.

The closures were ordered by Aceh Singkil Acting Regent Razali AR in a letter signed on April 30 that also ordered members of the congregations to tear down the churches by themselves.

"The local administration says that if the church members refuse to comply, the administration itself will demolish the buildings," Veryanto Sitohang of the United North Sumatra Alliance, a human rights group, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

"The deadline for the demolition was June 8. It has been a few days since the deadline, but nothing has happened so far," Veryanto said.

Razali ordered the closure of 17 Protestant churches, two Catholic churches and one place of worship belonging to followers of a local nondenominational faith.

He issued the letter following a protest by members of the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) at the regency office on the same day. The group alleged that the establishments violated community agreements signed in 1979 and 2001 by Muslim and Christian leaders in the regency.

One of the affected ministers said the agreements were signed under force. "Church officials signed the documents because they were under threat. The documents said that the Christians are only allowed to have one church and four undung-undung in the regency," Erde Barutu, the minister of the Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church in Aceh Singkil, said.

Undung-undung refer to small non-denominational places of worship. Erde said the number of Christians living in the regency had increased significantly since 1979, and currently topped 15,000.

According to the Central Statistics Agency, the population of Aceh was comprised of 4,413,244 Muslims, 50,309 Protestants and 3,315 Catholics in 2010.

After the closures, there are currently only two churches open in Aceh Singkil, both built after 2000. Most of the churches slated for demolition were built in 1930s and 1940s.

Erde said that members of the congregation of most of the churches continued to perform religious services inside the sealed buildings, while other members, some of whom were armed, remained on guard outside.

Meanwhile, Sunday religious services for children have been cut short due for security reasons.

Separately, Tigor Padang from the Aceh Singkil Christian Communications Forum said that church officials have sent letters to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, several ministries and the National Police to protest the closures and scheduled demolitions. Only the Law and Human Rights Ministry has responded, Tigor said.

A team from the North Sumatra government's Law and Human Rights Agency visited the churches on June 7. "They said that they would report their findings to the law and human rights minister," Tigor said.

Erde said that if the situation worsened in Aceh Singkil, local Christians would set up a blockade of the regency from North Sumatra. The border between Aceh Singkil and North Sumatra lies in some Christian-dominated villages, such as Keras village in Suro subdistrict.

Separately, Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said that he was not aware that the acting regent had ordered the places of worship to be closed and demolished. Gamawan said that he would contact the acting regent to ask for clarification, adding that citizens had a right to worship as long as they complied with regulations.

"Churches must not be demolished if the officials have fulfilled the requirements. If they don't have building permits, they must obtain them first. And if the local administration refuses to issue the permits, we must find out the reason," Gamawan said.

The dispute in Aceh adds to the long list of incidents of religious intolerance in the nation.

In Bekasi, West Java, members of the congregation of the Filadelfia Batak Protestant Churches (HKBP) continue to be regularly assaulted and harassed by Muslims as the parishioners try to conduct Sunday services.

The Bekasi regency sealed off the church site in 2010 after local residents objected to the construction of the church. The regency has refused to open the site even after the Bandung State Administrative Court ruled in favor of HKBP Filadelfia.

Members of the GKI Yasmin congregation face similar harassment in Bogor, West Java.

Various human rights groups have reported cases of attacks on Ahmadis as well, including congregations in Cikeusik, Banten, and Tangerang. (tas)

Aceh Singkil Christians demand reopening of churches

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2012

Jakarta – Representatives of Christian worshipers from Aceh Singkil regency, Aceh, demanded on Tuesday that the government take action against what they say is the wrongful closure of their churches.

Some 20 Christian houses of worship in Aceh Singkil regency have been closed since the Aceh Singkil administration decided on May 1 to begin sealing what the administration considers to be illegally built churches.

The administration reportedly used 1979 and 2001 regional agreements to justify the closures.

These agreements, designed to prevent conflict between Christians and Muslims in Aceh Singkil, stipulate that there must be no more than one church and four chapels built in the entire Aceh Singkil regency. Christian representatives from Aceh Singkil said that these agreements are outdated and no longer reflect current realities.

"The agreements may have made sense back then when the Christian populations were small. But now, there are 15,000 Christian worshipers of various denominations living in Aceh Singkil. They all can't possibly fit into one church and four chapels," Veryanto Sitohang, executive director of the United North Sumatra Alliance (ASB), said on Tuesday when visiting The Jakarta Post's office.

Christian representatives also told the Post that it would not make sense to use regulations or agreements made during and after 1979 to close churches built before that year.

"Many of these churches were built during Dutch colonial rule, long before Indonesia even achieved its independence," said Reverend Erde Brutu of Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church (GKPPD) in Suro district, Aceh Singkil. He was also present at the Post's office.

A GKPPD church in Aceh Singkil's Simpang Kanan district, for instance, was built in 1932. Erde's church was built in 1952.

Furthermore, Tigor Padang, a member of an Aceh Singkil Christian community forum, said that Muslim neighbors who live in the same villages as the Christians had no problems with the existence of Christian houses of worship.

Instead, representatives said, the only Muslims who have problems with the churches are those who live outside the villages that have Christian populations.

They noted that there was a 300-person pro-closure demonstration outside the Aceh Singkil regency office on April 30 that featured a strong presence of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

As a result of the closures, Christians in the area have had to worship in secret. Their churches may have been sealed, but they said that they have had no other choice but to worship in the sealed churches. They would enter the churches through back or side doors.

"When it comes to things like marriages, we obviously have no other alternatives but to use our closed churches. But we've always had to have our members keep a lookout for people who may want to attack us while we're worshiping," Erde told the Post. (png/mtq)

20 churches in Aceh face threat of demolition

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2012

Jakarta – Twenty churches in Singkil regency, Aceh, have been closed down and are likely to be demolished by the local administration.

According to a lawmaker from House of Representatives Commission III on human rights, Eva K. Sundari, the commission received complaints about the forced closure of 20 churches from the United North Sumatra Alliance on Monday.

The core of the problem is the contradictory regulations between the 2007 gubernatorial decree on the guidance of the construction of houses of worship and the 2006 joint ministerial decree governing the construction of houses of worship.

"Under the ministerial decree, a house of worship can only be built if it has secured the approval of 90 worshipers while the gubernatorial decree requires the approval of 150 worshippers," Eva said Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com. The ministerial decree also requires the approval of 60 local residents of different faiths.

Worse still, Eva said, was a local edict that forbade Muslims from approving the construction of houses of worship other than mosques, which made it impossible for the churches to fulfill the requirements.

Not only have new churches been forced to close but also the Pakpak Dairi Protestant Church, which was established in 1932. It too is likely to be demolished, she said.

"Guidance from the home minister is needed so that the local consultative forum and the police can be fair and neutral for all citizens and not bow down to intolerant groups," she said. (iwa)

Freedom of speech & expression

Prison for 'Minang atheist'

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2012

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Jakarta – In what critics have condemned as a precedent that may harm free speech and individual liberty, a court in West Sumatra sentenced on Thursday Alexander Aan, 32, to two-and-a-half years in prison for blasphemy and publicly declaring himself an atheist.

The Muaro District Court in Sijunjung regency also fined Alexander Rp 100 million (US$11,100), or face another two months in prison. The verdict was lighter than the three-and-a-half years without a fine sought by prosecutors.

Alexander may be the first person in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, to be imprisoned for being an atheist.

In the verdict, presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma said Alexander was proven guilty of blasphemy against Islam and insulting the Prophet Muhammad through his personal Facebook account "Alex Aan" and the "Ateis Minang" Facebook group, of which he was an administrator.

"We establish that the defendant committed the act intentionally because he objected when other parties protested his posts and he did not immediately remove a number of posts in the Ateis Minang group despite the fact that as an administrator he had the authority to do so," said Eka.

According to the judges, Alexander's actions violated Article 28 of Law No. 11/2008 on Information and Electronic Transactions because he had spread information that had caused hatred and enmity against individuals and groups based on tribal affiliations, religion, race and societal groups (SARA).

The judge also mentioned Alexander's open declaration that he was an atheist, which could be read by many people. This was not acceptable behavior for a citizen and civil servant under the state ideology of Pancasila and the Constitution, which obliges every citizen to have a religion.

Despite their judicial victory, prosecutors have filed for an appeal. Prosecutor Syahril Jasman said he was not satisfied with the sentence, which he deemed too lenient.

After the trial, Alexander said he accepted the court's ruling. "I accept the judgment and will abide by it. For me, faith is a personal matter and I have expressed my regret and apology to every party, including my family," he said. Alexander offered his apology, expressed his regrets and asked forgiveness from God on Feb. 5, 2012.

His lawyer from the Padang Legal Aid Institute, Deddi Alparesi, said he would file an appeal. "The fine does not make sense because no one was harmed and the defendant would face difficulties in paying it due to his and his family's financial condition," said Deddi.

Noted human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said he was concerned about what had happened to Alexander Aan. "Religion and faith are personal issues. There shouldn't be any law that regulates what we believe in," he said on Thursday.

"Our Constitution recognizes our freedom of religion and our rights to express our opinion. His rights must be protected even if he stated that he was an atheist," he added.

Futhermore, Todung said, it did not mean that Alexander did not believe in God by being an atheist. He said that it was possible that Alexander was just unsatisfied with the existing religious establishments in Indonesia.

According to Todung, the state cannot charge anybody unless they have clearly violated the law, for example by inciting hatred toward a certain religious group.

Erna Ratnaningsih, former head of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), said that every citizen had the right to voice their opinions, including ones that were related to religious issues.

Blasphemy cases 2010-2012

March 17, 2010: Ibnu Rachal Farhansyah, a non-Balinese, posts a Facebook status likening Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence, to feces.

Feb. 8, 2011: Antonius Richmond Bawengan is sentenced to five years in prison by the Temanggung District Court for his alleged blasphemy against Islam.

March 15, 2012: A local Shiite leader in Sampang, Madura, Tajul Muluk, faces five years in prison for insulting Islam.

Amnesty calls for release of jailed Indonesian atheist

Jakarta Globe - June 15, 2012

Amnesty International has called for the immediate and unconditional release of an Indonesian man detained for professing atheism, calling his imprisonment a serious setback for freedom of expression in Indonesia.

"Amnesty International believes the charges and sentence are in contravention of Indonesia's obligation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR], particularly Article 18, which protects an individual's right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Article 19, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression," the rights group said in a statement on Friday.

A court in the Muaro district of West Sumatra on Thursday sentenced 30-year-old Alexander Aan, a civil servant from Pulau Punjung subdistrict, to 30 months in jail and a fine of Rp 100 million ($10,600) for violating the Electronic Information and Transaction Law. He was charged with "disseminating information aimed at inciting religious hatred or hostility" under that law and also of religious blasphemy under the Criminal Code.

Alexander was reportedly an active member of the Minang atheist Facebook group. He allegedly posted statements and pictures that some construed as insulting to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

On Jan. 18, an angry crowd who had heard about his alleged Facebook posts gathered at his workplace and threatened to beat him. Police officers intervened and took him to the Pulau Punjung Police station for his safety.

Amnesty said the United Nations Human Rights Committee – the UN body charged with interpretation of the ICCPR – noted in its General Comment No. 22, freedom of religion includes the freedom to have and adopt atheistic views. The right to hold and express such views is guaranteed under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

Amnesty International continues to express concern over Article 156a of the Indonesian Criminal Code, created by Presidential Decision Number 1/PNPS/1965, on the prevention of religious abuse and/or defamation, which imposes a prison sentence "for whosoever in public intentionally expresses their views or engages in actions that in principle incite hostilities and are considered as abuse or defamation of a religion embraced in Indonesia."

The human rights group has urged the government to repeal the Presidential Decision and Article 156a of the Criminal Code, which it said are used to imprison people for as long as five years for, in some cases, merely peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression or religion.

Indonesian atheist jailed for Prophet Mohammed cartoons

Agence France Presse - June 14, 2012

An Indonesian man arrested after writing "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook page was jailed for 30 months Thursday for sharing explicit material about the Prophet Mohammed online.

Alexander Aan, 30, was found guilty of "deliberately spreading information inciting religious hatred and animosity," presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma told the Muaro Sijunjung district court in western Sumatra.

Aan started an atheist group on Facebook on which he shared comic strips of the prophet having sex with his servant, Dharma said. He also uploaded three articles on his account, including one describing the prophet being attracted to his daughter-in-law.

"Under the Electronic Information and Transactions law, we sentence him to prison for a length of two years and six months," Dharma said. "What he did has caused anxiety to the community and tarnished Islam."

Aan was beaten by an angry mob and arrested by police in his hometown of Pulau Punjung in western Sumatra in January after posting the material online and declaring himself an atheist.

The court had earlier indicted Aan with two other charges – persuading others to embrace atheism and blasphemy – and prosecutors had sought a three-and-a-half-year jail term for him. But the court convicted him of the most serious charge and dropped the other two.

Aan's arrest sparked outrage among Indonesians and international activists, who showed their support on his Facebook group and circulated petitions to have his charges dropped.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, guarantees freedom of religion in its constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but only recognizes six faiths: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Confucianism.

Its courts have in recent years given light sentences to perpetrators of violent attacks on Christians and Islamic minority Ahmadis, some of which have been fatal.

'Minang atheist' sentenced to 2.5 years in prison

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Alexander Aan, 32, a Minang civil servant who was arrested for blasphemy after he declared himself an atheist on a social media website, was sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment and a Rp 100 million (US$10,600) fine by the Negeri Muaro District Court in West Sumatra on Thursday.

Presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma said Alexander had been proven guilty of defaming Islam and insulting the Prophet Muhammad through his Facebook account and a fan page titled Ateis Minang (Minang Atheist). Prosecutors previously sought 3.5 years' imprisonment without a fine for Alex.

"We considered he acted deliberately, as he did not delete [the information] after protestors reported it to police; whereas he, as an administrator of the fan page, was able to do that," Eka said.

The judge cited several sentences deemed defamatory, such as Muhammad tertarik kepada menantunya sendiri (Muhammad was attracted to his own daughter-in-law) and Kisah Nabi Muhammad bersenggama dengan babu istrinya (The story of Prophet Muhammad having sexual intercourse with his wife's maid).

Eka concluded, therefore, that the defendant had violated Article 28 of the Information and Electronic Transaction Law by spreading racial and religious hatred.

Alex said after the trial that he accepted the judges' decision, adding that he regretted his actions. In a written statement in February, Alex said he regretted his behavior and that he prayed for God's mercy.

However, Alex's lawyer, Deddi Alparesi, said his client would appeal. "The fine of Rp 100 million makes no sense because no one suffered any financial loss in this case," Deddi said, adding that the case should have been handled by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

In January, Alex, then a civil servant in the Dharmasraya regency of West Sumatra, was arrested for blasphemy after creating the Facebook fan page, which was "liked" by more than 1,000 Facebook users. On the fan page, Alex, who acknowledges Islam as his religion on his identity card, said that he was an atheist of Minang descent from Padang, West Sumatra, which is a Muslim stronghold.

Alexander also declared that he did not believe in angels, devils, heaven and hell or other "myths". (swd)

Activists call for acquittal of embattled atheist Alexander

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Febriamy Hutapea – Human rights activists have called for a court to acquit a civil servant who faces up to three and a half years in prison for admitting to being an atheist.

"The sentence demand for Alexander Aan is excessive and shows the arbitrariness of the law and law enforcement officials," Hendardi, the director of the Setara Institute, said in a news conference on Monday.

Alexander, a civil servant in Dharmasraya district, West Sumatra, came into the public spotlight in January when he was assaulted by a mob for posting from his Facebook account that he did not believe in a deity.

Prosecutors later charged him with hate crimes under the 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions Law and with blasphemy under the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of six years and fines of up to Rp 1 billion ($106,000).

A verdict in the case is expected on Thursday from the Muaro District Court in West Sumatra's Sijunjung District.

Hendardi argued that Alexander should never have been charged. He pointed out that Indonesia had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which meant the government was obliged to protect members of minority faiths, including those identifying themselves as atheists. He also said the case against Alexander violated his right to free speech.

Hendardi described the trial as a case of criminalization, pointing out that Alexander's Facebook post in no way constituted incitement or provocation, as prescribed in the ITE law and the Criminal Code.

"Setara in no way condones the content of Alexander's Facebook post, but the right of each citizen to free expression must be guaranteed, including Alexander's," he said. "This case is about the criminalization of free expression, of which anybody can become a target. The Setara institute calls for the court to free Alexander."

Police urged to be serious in Irshad Manji case

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2012

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The Yogyakarta Police have been urged to be serious in dealing with the forced abandonment of the recent discussion forum, allegedly marred by acts of violence and vandalism.

The forum discussed a book titled "Allah, Liberty and Love" by Irshad Manji of Canada last month. The book's author was also present at the Institute of Social and Islamic Studies (LKiS) office in Yogyakarta.

The call for tougher police measures was conveyed by the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Yogyakarta over the weekend. They deplored the fact that the police had yet to name a suspect in the case even though as the LBH had presented the police "with photos and video depicting the faces of the perpetrators".

"It has been a month, but no significant developments have been made in the case," LBH Yogyakarta director Samsudin Nurseha told The Jakarta Post, on Saturday.

A group of people in robes and helmets forcedly dispersed the gathering on May 9, 2012. Some of the participants were injured and the office was damaged.

Witnesses said the attackers also distributed a press release issued by the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), one of the Muslim hardline groups in the country. "Juristically, the evidence we have presented is enough for the police to name a suspect. The police have heard from witnesses as well," Samsudin said.

Yogyakarta Police's public relation division head Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti said the police could not be in a rush in looking into the case. "We are still developing the case. As there are many people involved we cannot expect to get the case over in just two days," Anny said.

MMI chairman Irfan S. Awwas confirmed that his colleague Jarot Supriyanto had been summoned by the police for a hearing. Jarot was said to be the coordinator of the group during the incident. "He was heard as a witness," Irfan said.

Irfan said that the MMI had reported LKiS to the police as the organizer of Irshad Manji's book discussion. He said the report was filed because LKiS had defamed Islam by organizing the discussion.

Political parties & elections

Senior party official: Yudhoyono wants chairman Anas out

Jakarta Globe - June 15, 2012

Ezra Sihite & Arientha Primanitha – Amid speculation about what President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meant earlier this week when he asked troubled members of his Democratic Party to step down, a senior member of the party has clarified that Yudhoyono was referring to the party's chairman, Anas Urbaningrum.

"We won't oust Anas, but [he] should resign and focus on his problem," Ruhut Sitompul, the Democratic Party's head of communication and information division, said on Friday as quoted by Detik.com. "Otherwise, our party will be wrecked."

Ruhut said Anas should not exacerbate the problem by insisting on remaining chairman, and should instead respect Yudhoyono's request as the head of the party. Yudhoyono could work to restore the party's graft-tarnished image if the embattled chairman stepped down, Ruhut said.

"We both [Anas and I] joined the party mid-stream," Ruhut said. "The icon of the party is only Yudhoyono, so please resign."

On Wednesday during a Democratic Party forum, Yudhoyono advised all cadres who could not tow the party line to voluntarily step down. "For the party's cadres that cannot comply with clean, smart and polite politics, better get out now," he said. "Don't have any slight intention to corrupt."

Max Sopacua, the party's deputy chairman, said on Friday that Yudhoyono's speech was not directed at specific Democrats but to all the party's members. "I didn't pay attention to the content of his speech, but I think it is for everybody," Max said. "He wants to clean the party immediately."

Yudhoyono said recent polling showed the popularity of the party he founded in decline because of the inclinations toward graft that some of its members had shown.

At least four Democratic Party members have been implicated in corruption scandals involving the construction of an athletes village in Palembang and the Hambalang sports center in Bogor, as well as university equipment procurement projects. The senior party members include Anas, Youth and Sport Affairs Ministry Andi Mallarangeng, graft convict and former party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin and lawmaker and graft suspect Angelina Sondakh.

Max said the Democratic Party has a mechanism in place to oust its members if voluntary resignations are not forthcoming.

NasDem funding raises eyebrows

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Ezra Sihite – A decision by the National Democrat Party to give as much as Rp 10 billion ($1.1 million) to each of its candidates preparing to run for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2014 has elicited mixed responses from other parties.

The move by the fledgling party, known as NasDem, is a fresh tactic in Indonesian politics, said Hadjriyanto Thohari, a deputy chairman of the Golkar Party. "It's a smart way of helping the candidates stay out of financial difficulty," he said on Monday.

Candidates running for office typically have to borrow widely to sustain their bids. Many politicians are known to have sold their assets or even borrowed from loan sharks to pay for their campaigns.

Once elected, most use their new position to make as much money as possible, often through corruption, to pay off their debts and reclaim their assets, antigraft activists have said.

Hadjriyanto said NasDem's move was thus a good way to keep the candidates from taking money from shady sources or committing corruption to pay it back.

However, Ruhut Sitompul from the ruling Democratic Party wrote off the tactic as a ploy to buy the candidates' loyalty.

He said that candidates who took the money would not represent their constituents once elected, but would be beholden to media tycoons Surya Paloh and Hary Tanoesoedibjo, NasDem's two biggest financial backers. "They can't be loyal to the people anymore," he said.

But NasDem chairman Patrice Rio Capella said his party would not require the candidates to pay back the money or make any political commitments. "We just want them to focus on winning a seat without thinking about paying off any debts," he said.

Dem politicians convene to 'save party's image'

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Beginning on Tuesday, the Democratic Party is holding a two-day meeting with the participation of all local party leaders to seek a solution to what they deem as the deterioration of the party's image due to reports of rampant corruption.

On Tuesday evening, the local party leaders held a meeting with the party's patron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java.

Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and members of the central board are expected to appear at a session on Wednesday, due to be held at a hotel in downtown Jakarta.

"What has happened to several of our members, including Angie and Anas, really troubles us. Even though these individuals are responsible for their conduct, it's obvious that they are taking the party's image down with them. Therefore, we need to clean up our image and regain public trust," Andi Saiman, one of the Democratic Party's founding members, said, referring to graft convict Angelina Sondakh and Anas.

Angelina is currently being detained for her alleged role in the bribery scandal centering on the SEA Games' athletes' village construction project in South Sumatra.

The party's former treasurer, Muhammad Nazaruddin, who was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison for accepting bribes of Rp 4.6 billion (US$487,600) linked to the athletes' village, implicated Anas in a scandal surrounding the construction of a sports facility worth Rp 1.52 trillion in Hambalang, West Java. The scandal has also implicated another of the party's senior members, Andi Mallarangeng, the youth and sports minister.

Speculation is rife that the two-day meeting is aimed at deciding the fates of both Anas and Andi. A number of Democratic Party politicians have denied such speculation, however, saying that the meeting was a regular consolidation meeting.

"We are gathering various elements in the party to reflect on what has been happening during the last eight months. It is, of course, deeply troubling when the public associates the party with bribery. We just want to remind party members to stay honest and be responsible in politics," Democratic Party politician Sutan Bathoegana said.

New candidates few and far between for Indonesian presidential election

Jakarta Globe - June 9, 2012

Ezra Sihite, SP/Robertus Wardi & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Surveys are finding that old faces will dominate the upcoming presidential campaign, with the latest poll placing general Prabowo Subianto atop the list of potential candidates for 2014.

A survey conducted by Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate put Prabowo, a retired Army general and founder of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), ahead of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, former Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Prabowo was chosen by 25.8 percent of the 2,192 people surveyed, followed by Megawati with 22.4 percent, Kalla with 14.9 percent and Aburizal with 10.6 percent.

"They are the only possible presidential candidates because they have invested the time and money since at least 2004," said Fachry Ali, a political expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). "It's hard for newcomers to emerge."

Other figures mentioned in the survey include Surya Paloh (5.2 percent) and Wiranto (4.5 percent).

All those featured are in their 60s or 70s, and have been in politics since the New Order Era, which ended with the downfall of Suharto in 1998.

Political observer Ray Rangkuti said he was worried about the lack of quality young figures on the political scene. "We need fresh and young figures to shoulder today's more challenging world issues," he said.

He also asked the survey institutes to include young figures in their surveys. "I am sure that if they include young people in the polls, the respondents would pick them," said.

There have some younger candidates whose names have been mentioned as potential candidates. They include former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, Megawati's daughter, Puan Maharani, and Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan.

However, discourse on them has fizzled of late, with Anas busy facing graft allegations and Mulyani publicly rejecting the possibility of her candidacy. Meanwhile, Anies has little support from political parties, while Puan is polling far behind her mother.

Maruarar Sirait, a legislator from Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said Megawati still had what it took to become president.

Fachry, however, said Megawati was losing ground. "Support for Prabowo is getting real while Megawati is still supported only by those who backed her in 2009," he said.

Surveys & opinion polls

Indonesia is a 'dangerous place' to be a woman: Poll

Jakarta Globe - June 15, 2012

Ismira Lutfia – A global poll of gender experts has ranked Indonesia 17th out of the world's 19 biggest economies in terms of the best places to be a woman. That put Indonesia lower than South Africa and Mexico, and just above Saudi Arabia and India.

The poll of 370 gender specialists, conducted by TrustLaw, a legal news service run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, found that policies promoting gender equality, safeguards against violence and exploitation and access to health care made Canada the best place to be a woman among the G20 nations.

According to the foundation's website, "violence, child marriage, sexual trafficking, harassment and exploitation make Indonesia dangerous for women while health services are poor."

"Women suffer sexual violence each day, according to the National Commission on Violence Against Women [Komnas Perempuan], with rape being the most frequent form of violence," Sunila Singh, an independent gender expert, was quoted by the site as saying. "Other forms include sexual trafficking, sexual harassment, torture and sexual exploitation."

The website also noted that 90 percent of women in Indonesia had claimed to have suffered sexual harassment in the workplace, according to the OECD Development Center, and that one Indonesian woman died every hour in childbirth, according to the UN population fund.

TrustLaw asked aid professionals, academics, health workers, policymakers, journalists and development specialists with expertise in gender issues to rank the 19 countries of the G20 in terms of the overall best and worst to be a woman. The EU, a member of the G20 as an economic group along with several constituent countries, was not included in the survey.

The experts also ranked countries in six categories: quality of health, freedom from violence, participation in politics, workplace opportunities, access to resources such as education and property rights, and freedom from trafficking and slavery.

Respondents came from 63 countries on five continents and included experts from United Nations Women, the International Rescue Committee, Plan International, Amnesty USA and Oxfam International, as well as prominent academic institutions and campaigning organizations. Representatives of faith-based organizations were also surveyed.

Agustinus Supriyanto, a Komnas Perempuan commissioner, said the government should quickly enforce a number of international conventions the country has ratified into the national legal system.

"[The conventions] need to be followed up and implemented," he said. "Trafficking cases are high in Indonesia for [women trafficked] domestically or abroad."

Indonesia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, but few implementing laws have been enacted based on the conventions.

Another problem, he said, is that authorities are still reluctant to enforce implementing laws, such as the Law against Domestic Violence.

Labour & migrant workers

Tens of thousands rally across Indonesia for May Day

Direct Action - June 11, 2012

James Balowski, Jakarta – In some of the largest demonstrations seen in recent years, tens of thousands took part in May Day rallies across Indonesia calling for higher wages and an end to contract labour and opposing fuel price increases.

According to the national police, there were rallies in 17 provinces, including Jakarta and the other five provinces in Java, Riau, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, Bali, North Maluku, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Jambi, Gorontalo, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and West Kalimantan. The largest rally, in Jakarta, involved an estimated 36,000 people. North Sumatra had an estimated 25,000 protesters, while East Java and West Java had about 30,000 and 22,000, respectively. Despite the size and militancy of the protests, police said there were no major incidents and demonstrations proceeded peacefully.

Bali and outer islands

Antara News reported that scores of workers from the Unity for a People's Independent Nation (Perkasa) rallied at the Balinese provincial government office in Denpasar demanding the formation of an independent labour supervisory committee, saying the many labour problems in Bali are a time bomb that could explode at any time. Perkasa also called for the nationalisation of foreign mining companies, an end to contract labour and a standardised reasonable living cost index (KHL) to calculate minimum wages.

Workers in Batam, Riau province, called for an end to outsourcing, the implementation of a national social welfare system and revisions to the KHL. "Let alone health care or other guarantees, there isn't even any job security under outsourcing systems. We demand that the government realise the promise to abolish this system", Batam Indonesian Metalworkers Trade Union chairperson Yanit told Kompas.com.

Thousands rallied in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, where workers from the Indonesian Transportation Trade Union Federation blockaded the road leading to the port. In speeches they called for the port management to act against companies using non-Makassar Port Cooperative labour, wages increases and rest facilities and the abolition of contract labour and outsourcing. Metro TV said that students also held an action at the Makassar flyover in solidarity with the workers.

In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, workers gathered at the governor's office, demanding welfare improvements. "We want the government to abolish the outsourcing system, which tends to cause losses on the part of the workers", rally coordinator Lalu Wirasakti told the Jakarta Post, saying that the system results in many companies paying below the regional minimum wage.

Detik News reported that several hundred workers in Samarinda rallied at the East Kalimantan governor's office, where they called on the government to increase the provincial minimum wage, saying it was the lowest in Kalimantan, abolish outsourcing and make May 1 a national holiday.

Sumatra and Aceh

The Aceh Post reported that workers in the Achenese capital of Banda Aceh commemorated May Day with a convoy starting at the Raya Baiturrahman Mosque, stopped off at the Aceh governor's office and ended at the Aceh House of Representatives, where they called on lawmakers immediately to ratify a by-law on labour.

A rally in the South Sumatra city of Lampung ended in a clash with public order agency officers (Satpol PP), leaving one student injured. The incident began when hundreds of people from the Lampung Peoples Movement (GRL) gathered at the governor's office, where Satpol PP had set up a security line. Protesters said the clash broke out after a Satpol PP threatened demonstrators with a bayonet. The GRL – which is made up of 14 labour, student and farmer organisations – called for the abolition of contract labour and outsourcing and increases to the Lampung minimum wage. "The government must close down companies that channel outsourced labour because it harms workers", labour activist Rifki Indrawan told Detik News.

In Palembang, South Sumatra, workers from the Carrefour Indonesia Trade Union held a theatrical action demanding an end to union bashing and contract labour and the implementation of a joint working agreement. Action coordinator Fido told Media Indonesia that many Carrefour employees had been penalised, suspended or sacked by the French-owned retail outlet.

Java and Jakarta

In the West Java capital of Bandung, thousands of workers from the from the All Indonesia Trade Union (SBSI) 1992, the National Trade Union Confederation and the Solidarity Alliance for Labour Struggle rallied at the governor's office, opposing increases to fuel prices and electricity rates and demanding an end to contract labour and union busting. "Make May 1 a national holiday. We also demand a reasonable national wage to be given to all workers", SBSI 1992 chairperson Ajat Sudrajat told Detik News.

A report by Detik News said that around 500 workers from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI) blockaded roads in front of the Tangerang City labour office with hundreds of motorbikes and five large busses. After failing to meet with the head of the labour office, the protesters moved off to link up with other Tangerang workers protesting in nearby Jakarta.

Republika Online reported that around 100,000 workers from a trade union alliance comprising the All Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI), the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPSI), the Confederation of Prosperity Labour Unions (KSBSI), the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy, the Indonesian Association of Trade Unions and the Indonesian Metal Trade Workers Federation (FSPMI) rallied in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta.

After demonstrating for around an hour, the protesters moved off to the nearby Bung Karno Sports Stadium where the KSPSI, the KSBSI and the KSPI declared the formation of a new Indonesian Workers and Employees Council (MPBI) and three council presidents. "It is hoped that the MPBI will become an organisational umbrella to bring about prosperity for Indonesian workers and the people of Indonesia", KSBI president Mudhofir was quoted as saying by Tribune News. Speaking before tens of thousands of workers, the council said it would fight for universal health care, pensions for all workers, state subsidies for workers and their families, for May 1 to become a national holiday and for the abolition of outsourcing.

Hundreds of journalists from the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) used May Day to demand welfare improvements during a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, to which they brought a huge effigy of an octopus symbolising the tentacles of mass media conglomerates.

"The situation is not favourable for creating a healthy journalistic climate in Indonesia; journalists' poor living standards make them increasingly susceptible to the temptation of bribes in any form from sources", AJI Jakarta chairperson Umar Idris told Detik News, adding that the threat of dismissal is also undermining journalists' freedom of expression and the media.

Hundreds of workers from KASBI demonstrated at the Klaten Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) in Central Java, demanding welfare and the abolition of contract labour. Action coordinator Akbar T. told the Solo Post that contract labour and outsourcing are workers' principal enemy and the main reason for the lack of job security and must be abolished.

Hundreds of workers in the East Java city of Malang called for May 1 to be designated a national holiday. "This is a non-negotiable request from the workers", Indonesian Workers Solidarity Struggle chairperson Hafidz Lutfi told Kompas.com. Lutfi said that workers are expected to work for the interests of company owners yet their wages are minimal. He added that they are calling for the government to review the 2003 labour law because it allows companies to employ contract workers who can be easily and arbitrarily dismissed. "That is the inhuman nature of Law Number 13. It totally oppresses workers", he said.

In January the Constitutional Court declared unlawful a section in the 2003 Labour Law that allows contract labour and outsourcing. However, the Department of Labour has failed to enact a decree to formalise this, allowing companies to ignore the ruling and continue replacing permanent workers with contract labour. Of the 33 million workers in the formal sector, only 35% are now permanent, a decline from 76% prior to the law coming into effect. The remaining 70% of the workforce is employed in the informal sector, with little or no job security.

Kompas.com reported that around 15,000 workers in Pasuruan, East Java, took to the streets under the banner of the Pasuruan Regency Trade Union Alliance, which is made up of the SPSI, the National Trade Union (SPN) and the Indonesian Muslim Workers Trade Union. Rallying on the East Java coastal highway, the workers called for the abolition of outsourcing, for companies to pay the minimum wage and for the resolution of labour disputes in Pasuruan.

Thousands of workers from the Workers Challenge Movement (Gerbang) rallied at the governor's office in the Central Java capital of Semarang, having earlier blockaded a road near the Mangkang weigh bridge. The protesters, who came from the SPN, the Kahutindo Trade Union, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, the People's Democratic Party and the Indonesian Workers Federation, called for an end to contract labour and outsourcing, a reasonable wage, for May 1 to be declared a national holiday and impartial law enforcement. "If workers are deemed troublesome quick action is taken, but if a company is in the wrong, action takes a long time or [the violation] is even permitted", Gerbang coordinator Heru Budi Utoyo told Detik News.

Around 200 workers from the SBSI 1992 rallied in the Central Java city of Solo, condemning President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for failing to pay attention to workers' welfare and manipulating workers for political interests. "Evidence of this is that the government has remained silent on contract labour systems that clearly do not side with workers", Media Indonesia quoted one of the workers as saying in a speech.

In a separate action, hundreds of workers rallied at the Solo District Court, where they handed over a petition demanding the annulment of Law Number 2/2004 on the resolution of industrial disputes, which they said was extremely detrimental to workers. "My co-workers and I were demanding the right to receive reasonable severance pay but were counter-sued by the company for as much as 2 billion rupiah [US$200,000]. Workers are in a weak position because of Law Number 2/2004 that places workers in a weak position in the civil courts", a recently dismissed workers told KRjogja.com.

Thousands of workers from across East Java poured into the provincial capital of Surabaya, where they blockaded the road in front of the governor's office, calling for and end to outsourcing and low wages and for revisions to the KHL and social security. Hery Mardyanto, the head of the FSPMI Surabaya branch, told Media Indonesia that the trade union is asking for a total of 86 KHL components, the most crucial of which is school fees, and coverage of the cost of fuel. Around 50 people from the Federated Indonesian Trade Union Alliance Front also joined the action.

Demonstrators from the SPN, the Islamic Students Association (HMI), the Student Executive Council, the Indonesian National Students Movement and KASBI rallied at the city hall in Tegal, Central Java, demanding welfare improvements, wage rises and an end to outsourcing. Action coordinator Agus Slamet called on the people to have the courage to fight the politics and economics of capitalism, which benefit only employers. "Wherever capitalism springs up, they use the ploy of recruiting contract labour, this clearly does not benefit the working class, this method must be abolished from this country", Slamet told KRjogja.com.

Viva News reported that around 2000 students and workers from the Indonesian Youth Solidarity Movement, the SBSI 1992 and the Indonesian Student Union blockaded the Polonia Airport in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, which had been cordoned off by police equipped with a water cannon and a Barracuda armoured vehicle. An action was also held in the city's Independence Square by more than 1000 workers from 12 labour organisations including the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union Federation, the Indonesian Independent Trade Union, the FSPMI, the Indonesian Workers Coalition, the Independence Workers Union, the Indonesian Workers National Front and the Printing and Media Information Trade Union.

Thousands of students and workers marched through the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on May Day in a series of coordinated actions centred on the Malioboro shopping district, the Yogyakarta DPRD and the central post office. Several groups took part, including the Bantul branch of the Indonesian Independent Trade Union Federation, the Yogyakarta Workers Alliance (ABY), the KASBI, the Yogyakarta Special Province Non-Government Organisation Forum, the Yogyakarta People's Alliance, the People's Challenge Alliance, the Kemudo Workers Association, the Gendong Workers Association, the Gadjah Mada University Student Executive Council, the HMI and the Indonesian Youth Front for Struggle.

During the march through the Malioboro area, one of the groups held a theatrical action in which four demonstrators played the role of workers with their bodies smeared in red paint and their feet tied to a box made from black cardboard pushing a trishaw carrying an employer. At the Yogyakarta DPRD, another group held a sleep-in to depict a government that "sleeps" instead of paying attention to workers and a "walking backwards" action portraying the degeneration in the quality of ordinary people's lives.

ABY secretary general Kirnadi said they reject contract labour and outsourcing and criticised companies for muzzling trade unions, some of which were prevented from joining the May Day rally. "Outsourcing systems are a form of modern or new style of slavery, they must be abolished", Kirnadi was quoted as saying by Detik News.

West Papua

Viva News reported that in West Papua, activists used May Day to demand independence with hundreds of Morning Star flags flown as thousands marched through Manokwari city calling on the government to restore the sovereignty and independence of the Papuan nation. Although flying the Morning Star openly is illegal, police took no action.

The Morning Star was also flown at a protest by around 300 people in Sentani, Jayapura, at the grave of Papuan figure They H. Eluay, who was murdered by the Army's Kopassus Special Forces in 2001. Backed by troops and a Barracuda armoured vehicle, police moved in and tore down the flags, arresting 13 people.

Police said that the Morning Star was also flown during demonstrations in Biak, Sorong, Jayapura and Jayapura city, in which thousands demanded Papuan independence. Detik News also reported that a member of the Indonesian military was assaulted during a march from Kotaraja towards Jayapura.

Apindo warns of massive layoffs due to rising costs

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2012

Jakarta – The Indonesian Employers Association (Apkindo) warned Friday of business closures and massive layoffs following the 55 percent increase in gas prices imposed last month by state gas distributor PT Gas Negara (PGN).

Calling on the government to moderate the increase, Apkindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi told a press conference: "Hundreds of thousands of people stand to lose their jobs," Apindo and 30 other industry associations have written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono demanding that the increase in prices be phased in, starting with 15 percent in July and by 11 percent thereafter every six months to 2014, Sofjan said.

"That way, we can adjust our strategy with a clear and fixed pricing plan," he said. PGN raised the prices it charges to industrial customers following the increase in gas prices from its contractors, such as ConocoPhillips and Pertamina EP, which operate from South Sumatra. The gas distribution monopoly raised its gas rates for customers in West Java to US$10.20 per million British thermal units (Btu) from $6.80.

Sofjan said the abrupt price increase would result in a 20 to 30 percent increase in production costs for industries that use gas for their energy source. "This ballooning production cost will lower our competitiveness in the international market," he added. The jump in gas prices comes on top of the massive increases in production costs faced by employers, including the hikes in minimum wages early this year, which in West Java exceeded 20 percent.

The combination of these increases in costs will further undermine Indonesia's export growth, which has slowed to 4 percent in the first four months of 2012 from 30 percent during the same period last year. Also in April, Indonesia suffered a trade deficit for the first time since July 2010 to the tune of US$641.1 million.

In their letter to President Yudhoyono, the business associations demanded that PGN meet its contractual obligation in supplying gas.

The Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (Gappmi) secretary-general Franky Sibarani said his members only received 63 percent of the gas needed from PGN this year and that they had to turn to the more expensive state electric utility PLN to make up for the power shortfall.

Sofjan said companies have had to fight over the lack of gas supply from PGN in the past. "Now that [PGN] has raised the gas prices, supply is still lacking," he added.

In contrast to Apindo's complaints, PGN investment planning and risk management chief Wahid Sutopo said that the company's customers generally understood the price increase.

"Even after the adjustment, the unsubsidized gas price is still lower than the subsidized 3 kg LPG's price," he told The Jakarta Post. He also said that PGN has discussed the price adjustment with business associations for quite a long time. (han)

Environment & natural disasters

Aceh peat clearing was 'illegal'

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – A formal government investigation into the clearing of a vast tract of protected peat forest in Aceh has concluded that only one of the two companies involved was at fault, while exonerating a second company of any wrongdoing.

Sudariyono, the deputy for legal compliance at the Environment Ministry, said on Monday that palm oil plantation company Surya Panen Subur 2 "was suspected of burning some 1,183 hectares" of land inside the Tripa peat swamp from March 19 to 24 this year.

"Our suspicion is that a really wide swath of land [was burned] in such a short time, and this indicates that it was systematic, meaning there was an element of intent," he said.

He added that a second company, Kallista Alam, was believed to have burned some 30 hectares of its 1,605-hectare concession in the peat swamp, but that it was the victim of a bureaucratic foul-up. "Its permit is suspected to be the problem, because it was issued after the [deforestation] moratorium was implemented," Sudariyono said.

He added that while the law prohibited the issuance of new concessions on land with peat layers more than three meters deep, the two companies were given concessions for just such an area.

Kallista's permit, issued by former Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, is currently the subject of a legal challenge by activists, who point out that it was granted after a moratorium map was published that clearly identified Tripa as a protected area.

The Tripa swamp is a key habitat of the Sumatran orangutan, a critically endangered species, with 200 individuals believed to be living in the area.

Sudariyono said the ministry's investigation team had not found any indications that orangutans might have been killed in the forest fires. "We have not found any orangutans in the cleared areas, possibly because they ran away," he said.

Basuki Wasis, a forestry expert from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), also said there were no indications of any orangutans being killed.

"However, there were six orangutans captured by an NGO, the Leuser Ecosystem Foundation," he said. "Four of them have been returned to the forest, while the rest are now at the local nature conservation office."

90% of Balikpapan coral reefs destroyed: Environmental activists

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2012

Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, Balikpapan – Only a tenth of Balikpapan Bay's original coral reefs remain today, with environmentalists blaming shipping activity and the destruction of mangrove swamps for the drastic degradation.

Mumum Saputra, the information and data coordinator for the Kalimantan Coastal Foundation, said on Friday that 89 to 90 percent of the reefs had been destroyed. "The situation is critical," he said.

He said the destruction of the reefs began in the 1970s with the development of Balikpapan when huge chunks of coral were blasted out of the seabed for use in construction.

But the main culprits in the past few years, Mumum said, were the increased shipping in the area and the clearing of Balikpapan's mangrove swamps.

The mangroves, he pointed out, served as natural filters for the water from the Wain River emptying out into the bay. Without them, large amounts of sediment washed into the bay and smothered the coral reefs, eventually killing them.

"Dynamite fishing, which used to be a problem here, is no longer happening," Mumum said. "So a lot of the destruction is due to ships and sedimentation."

He said the only way to prevent the complete destruction of the remaining reefs was through a coordinated effort by the three regional administrations that share the bay.

Only 17 percent of Balikpapan Bay falls within Balikpapan's jurisdiction. Most of it, 80 percent, is in North Penajam Paser district, while the remainder falls in Kutai Kartanegara.

He stressed the importance of preserving the reefs for their special value. "These are among the most unique coral reefs in Indonesia, because they grow in a bay that is relatively isolated [from the sea]," he said.

Health & education

Despite progress, too many women and children still dying: Unicef

Jakarta Globe - June 14, 2012

Indonesia has been able to cut by more than half the annual mortality among women and children in just over two decades, but too many of them continue to die, Unicef said on Thursday.

Since 1990, annual mortality among Indonesian women and children has declined by more than half, according to global estimates in "Building a Future for Women and Children," published overnight by the Countdown to 2015 initiative, Unicef said in a press release.

"Indonesia has made important progress to improve the health of its mothers and children, since making its own commitment to a World Fit for Children," said Dr. Robin Nandy, Unicef's chief of child survival and development in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, improved health policy and legislation, a renewed focus on reducing malnutrition and improved coverage of key services such as prenatal care are all contributing to reductions in overall mortality. "But even today, it is estimated that 150,000 children die in Indonesia every year before they reach their fifth birthday, and nearly 10,000 women lose their lives annually to problems in pregnancy and childbirth," Nandy said.

"We must look closely at the barriers that are slowing progress toward preventing these deaths, especially in relation to maternal health, in order to build on previous achievements."

Disparities between communities and socioeconomic groups in Indonesia are clearly apparent in the health sector, the Unicef release said. Under-5 mortality rates among poorer families are more than three times those in the wealthiest households. Among mothers with no education, only 15 percent give birth in a health facility – a proportion that increases through the levels of education to 71 percent of mothers with secondary or higher level education.

The percentage of births attended by a skilled worker also increases with a mother's income or educational status.

Unicef said Indonesia must focus on system-wide approaches that address all components – human resources, health and nutrition education, access to care, quality of services, regulation and standardization of services, governance and adequate levels and targeting of financing. Along with health insurance and other social protection mechanisms, these efforts will build a more responsive and equitable public health system.

"Investing in a more equitable health sector, and strengthening the safety nets for the most vulnerable, will deliver long-term benefits to Indonesia," Nandy said.

Nandy said healthier mothers delivered healthier children and healthier children stayed in school. Mothers also tended to have fewer but healthier children themselves in later life, and are more productive members of society.

"Together, this provides a solid foundation for eliminating poverty, reducing social exclusion and sustaining economic growth and stability," she said.

In 2010, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched a Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, an effort that has generated $40 billion in commitments to meet key goals supporting women's and children's health. These goals include more trained midwives, greater access to contraceptives and skilled delivery care, better nutrition, prevention of infectious diseases and stronger community education.

Indonesia has committed to the program, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has played a leading role in the Every Women, Every Child Initiative to mobilize and intensify global action to improve the health of women and children around the world, stating in 2010 that "the health- related [Millennium Development Goals], particularly MDGs 4 and 5, are cornerstones for achieving all others."

Graft & corruption

Nazaruddin, Rosa and Angelina allegedly involved in graft-ridden project

Suara Pembaruan - June 15, 2012

Novianti Setuningsih – A trio of high-profile Indonesian graft figures, Muhammad Nazaruddin, Mindo Rosalina Manulang and Angelina Sondakh, were not only taking kickbacks for Sports Ministry projects, but also allegedly tried to get kickbacks in a laboratory facilities procurement project.

The rector of the Bogor Agriculture Institute (IPB), Herry Suhardiyanto, told his lawyer that Nazaruddin, a graft convict in the construction of a now-infamous athletes village project in Palembang, had also offered to provide laboratory equipment needed by IPB.

"Before the project for laboratory equipment was carried out, the rector was visited by Nazaruddin," Nazaruddin Lubis, Herry's lawyer, said on Thursday. "[He] said he would help [Herry] in the procurement of laboratory equipment."

Lubis said that Nazaruddin told Herry that there had been a budget allocation for IPB's laboratory project worth Rp 40 billion ($4.2 million). Nazaruddin, who allegedly made a personal visit to the rector, said that he could help Herry to get the project approved.

Lubis said that after the visit, Nazaruddin's staffer Rosalina also met with Herry. She offered him "something" as a kickback to award a certain company the laboratory equipment contract.

Herry refused the request, pledging to follow the proper tender mechanism as regulated by the Higher Education Directorate General of the Education Ministry, his lawyer said.

"Rosa often came after that, but she was turned down," Lubis said. "She told my client that 'the rector of IPB is stubborn.'?"

Lubis denied the allegation that his client had also communicated with Angelina, a graft suspect in the IPB procurement project. "In this case, Nazaruddin planted the seed, Rosa [Rosalina] did the gardening and Angie [Angelina] harvested it," Lubis said.

However, that denial was contradicted by Herry's other lawyer, M. Irham, who said Angelina had also offered the laboratory equipment project to his client. "The rector was once visited by Angie," Irham said.

Herry was questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday as a witness against Angelina in the case. Besides being named as a suspect for receiving a kickback in the Nazaruddin athletes village scandal, Angelina was also named a suspect for taking bribes to help the budget approval at the House of Representatives for several universities' facilities projects, a program under the Ministry of Education and Cultural.

The KPK found 16 suspicious financial transactions to Angelina worth Rp 600 billion, allegedly graft-tainted funds from the universities' projects.

Nazaruddin's wife arrested by KPK after one year in Malaysia

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The wife of former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, Neneng Sri Wahyuni, who is a fugitive from the law, was arrested at her home in Pejaten, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Neneng fled the country last year to avoid prosecution. Along with Nazaruddin, Neneng ran dozens of companies under a holding firm called Permai Group, also known as Anugrah Nusantara, which they allegedly used as proxies to win government projects that were later subcontracted to bigger companies in exchange for fees.

In August last year, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Neneng a suspect for her role as executive of PT Alfindo Nuratama Perkasa, a subsidiary of the firm that won a bid to carry out a 2008 solar power equipment project at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

Neneng flew from Kuala Lumpur and arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, at around 11:30 a.m. Neneng stayed overnight in Batam, Riau, according to KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto.

"We arrested her in her residence in Pejaten, South Jakarta, at 3:30 p.m. after we failed to arrest her at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport," Bambang told a press conference on Wednesday evening. Neneng made no effort to resist arrest, he said.

KPK investigators also detained two Malaysian nationals, Razmi bin Muhammad Yusof and Hasan bin Kushi, who allegedly helped Neneng escape.

The two Malaysian nationals arrived at the airport aboard the same flight as Neneng. "We believed the two Malaysian men played important roles in helping Neneng while she was on the run," Bambang said. "One of the men is allegedly an advisor to the Malaysian Kingdom."

The two men were identified as Hasan bin Kushi and Azmi bin Muhamad Yusof. One suspect was arrested in Hotel Oasis Amir in Central Jakarta, while the other was arrested on his way to Cipinang penitentiary. The suspect was planning to visit Nazarudddin. The two suspects arrived at KPK headquarters in Kuningan at around 6 p.m. to face interrogation.

Another KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas, who stated on Tuesday night that KPK investigators had lost track of Neneng, said that his office had "received information that the two men might be Malaysian intelligence officers."

Both Bambang and Busyro declined to give more details about the roles of the two men, saying that KPK investigators were still on the case.

KPK investigators also detained a female suspect who accompanied Neneng during her flight. Investigators are looking into her role in assisting Neneng.

Nazaruddin and Neneng both fled the country in May last year to avoid investigation in two different graft cases. Nazaruddin was arrested in Cartagena, Colombia, in August 2011.

The last time the KPK heard of Neneng was in April, when her lawyers negotiated terms for her arrest. The KPK then suspected that Neneng was likely hiding in Malaysia.

Bambang confirmed that his office had received a letter about the terms of the arrest, but he stated that the KPK declined the request. He also dismissed a claim made by Nazaruddin's lawyers, stating that Neneng was not arrested and had turned herself in instead. He said that Neneng herself had yet to appoint any lawyer to represent her.

Neneng and Nazaruddin's companies were implicated in at least five dubious procurement projects. Some of the cases are still the subjects of KPK preliminary inquiries.

Bribes were taken in Hambalang project, KPK officials say

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Rizky Amelia & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Corruption Eradication Commission has determined that there was foul play in the construction of the Hambalang sports center in Bogor, the agency's chief said on Monday.

The commission known as the KPK is now trying to determine exactly how much money the graft cost the state, chairman Abraham Samad said. "We are still calculating the actual amount," he said.

KPK officials also explained why they were taking such a long time with the case, which is still in the preliminary investigation phase.

"It's not as easy to investigate as it seems," Abraham said. "We still need more time to complement the data that have already been gathered by the KPK."

The case involves officials at the highest levels of government, including Anas Urbaningrum, the chairman of the ruling Democratic Party.

Although Anas's name has been mentioned by several officials who have been implicated in the scandal, including Muhammad Nazaruddin, the former Democratic Party treasurer who was convicted earlier this year in a similar bid-rigging case, the chairman has not been summoned for questioning by the KPK.

KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnain has denied that his office was delaying questioning Anas because of political pressure, saying it was just a matter of time before the KPK was ready to press forward with questioning him. "We're only concerned about how we can uphold justice," he said recently.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the commission had not set a date for questioning Anas. "There's no problem. It's just a matter of getting the timing right," he said.

Besides Anas, Nazaruddin pointed the finger at Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, who he said took Rp 20 billion ($2.1 million) from Adhi Karya, the state-run construction company that won the main contract. He also alleged Anas took Rp 100 billion for rigging the entire tender process. Andi and Anas have denied the claims.

The KPK has questioned more than 50 people in the Hambalang case, including Adhi Karya executives, National Land Agency (BPN) chief Joyo Winoto, Democratic Party politician Ignatius Mulyono and Anas' wife, Athiyyah Laila, the former commissioner of Dutasari Citralaras, a subcontractor for Adhi Karya.

The public dialogue surrounding the case has been marked by conflicting accounts of what actually happened. One of the biggest questions is who approved the funding for the project, which amounted to almost Rp 1.2 trillion.

On Sunday, Taslim Chaniago, a legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN), refuted claims by the House of Representatives that it never signed off on the funding.

Taslim said the Sports Ministry would only have received the money if legislators on House Commission X, which oversees sports affairs, and the House Budget Committee had agreed to forward their approval for funding to the Finance Ministry.

His remarks came in response to claims by members of Commission X that they never approved the funding, despite reports that they had signed off on Rp 1.18 trillion. Of that amount, Rp 688 billion has been disbursed.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) previously said it was common practice at the House that go-aheads for such fund allocations be given by a handful of legislators in the relevant commissions and by the House Budget Committee.

Fitra investigation coordinator Uchok Sky Khadafi said that many requests by ministries for the disbursement of funds were decided only by the leaders of the oversight commissions and the Budget Committee.

KPK asks for second opinion on suspects who claim to be sick

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2012

Rizky Amelia – Suspects being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will no longer find it easy to claim being ill and escape or delay investigations.

The KPK on Monday signed an agreement of cooperation over medical evaluation and second opinions on the conditions of witnesses, suspects and convicts with the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI).

"Suspects usually refer to the result of the medical assessment of their personal doctors and therefore we need second opinions," KPK chairman Abraham Samad said. "The IDI will provide the necessary specialists to provide second opinions." Abraham said people being interrogated as witnesses, suspects or convicts would sometimes pretend to be ill or collapse.

"The KPK is conscious that it needs a more objective explanation from experts in the medical field and therefore the KPK is cooperating with the IDI to have a better understanding of objective medical evaluations when facing cases like this," Abraham said.

Under the agreement, the IDI will provide the necessary specialists to conduct an examination of the witnesses, suspects or convicts.

IDI Chairman Priyo Sidipratomo said the cooperation would be at both the central level and the regional level. "IDI's assessment cannot be appealed," he said. "IDI determines it, and there should not be any further second opinion. They will be final."

Doctors who produce deceitful information will face IDI sanctions. Their practice license could be revoked for providing false medical information. "The IDI has the duty to guide and supervise," Priyo said. "The IDI also has the authority to issue sanctions, in the form of license revocations."

Many corruption suspects have used alleged health problems to avoid or delay the legal process.

In the latest case, former Cilegon mayor Aat Syafaat, who is suspected of corruption related to the construction of the Kubangsari port in Cilegon in 2010, had to be rushed to the hospital for what his lawyer alleged was a heart attack. It could not be independently verified that Aat had suffered a heart attack.

Nunun Nurbaeti, who was convicted of bribing lawmakers, argued she was suffering from bad health conditions, including memory loss, necessitating hospital treatment.

Website seeks to shame graft convicts online

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2012

Jakarta – Indonesians will soon have a chance to revisit the nation's most infamous graft convicts – as images and information on the scofflaws have been incorporated into a online encyclopedia.

The website, to be launched formally on June 12, was titled "Korupedia" and billed as an encyclopedia of Indonesia's corrupt, Teten Masduki, one of the site's founders and Transparency International Indonesia's (TII) secretary-general, said on Friday.

Teten said that TII, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Air Putih Foundation, among others, developed the website so that people would never forget the names of the nation's corrupt. "One should not forget those wicked individuals who have dragged this country down," Teten told The Jakarta Post.

Wawan Suyatmiko, a database manager for TII, said that, for now, Korupedia would only document corruptors whose convictions had been upheld by the nation's final court of appeals, the Supreme Court.

On the site, www.korupedia.org, readers can find relevant information on graft convicts, including their police mug shots at the time of their arrest.

The infamous individuals listed on the website as of Friday include former tax official Gayus H. Tambunan, businesswoman Artalyta Suryani and former Subang regent Eep Hidayat. In addition, the website has been aggregating graft-related news from online media and maintains a Twitter account, @korupedia.

Wawan said that the database team had collected information for dozens of corruptors convicted between 2000 up until this year.

"We are hoping to reach a minimum of 100 names of corruptors by Tuesday. The list will be updated daily to ensure that readers will not be bored," Wawan said. "We will also try collect data from graft cases back in the 1980s and 1990s."

Separately, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas applauded the idea of a virtual wall of shame, saying that the website would help the public better understand corruption cases. "University-based studies are not good enough, due to the small numbers of researchers focusing on investigating graft cases," Busyro told the Post.

Another KPK deputy chairman, Bambang Widjojanto, also praised the website, saying that "any attempt to fight corrupt officials must be appreciated."

ICW reported that graft cases caused Rp. 2.17 trillion (US$232.19 million) in state loses in 2011, and had involved 1,053 suspects and implicated officials from both the central and regional government, lawmakers at the House of Representatives, business executives and directors of state and regional owned companies. (asa)

Terrorism & religious extremism

Counterterrorism risks faltering on budget cut

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2012

Rendi A. Witular and Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Amid growing religious radicalism that often ignites acts of violence, and a history of major terrorist attacks in the last 10 years, the fight against terrorism and radicalism may risk losing steam.

The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), which has been on the frontline of this battle for the last two years, has fallen victim to the Finance Ministry's budgetary efficiency, aimed to accommodate the ballooning fuel subsidies triggered by soaring global oil prices.

This year's diminutive budget for the agency, which mostly carries out intelligence work to detect and prevent terrorist threats, has been further cut by 27 percent to a mere Rp 92 billion (US$9.7 million).

The BNPT's chairman, Insp. Gen. (ret.) Ansyaad Mbai, said the cuts had been made amid the agency's aggressive measures to prevent the seeds of terrorism by "facilitating and empowering" moderate Muslims to work against the proliferation of radical groups.

"These cuts will severely impact our operational budget for uncovering terrorist networks, and preventive measures through partnerships with moderate religious leaders and groups," said Ansyaad in a recent closed- door hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission III on legal affairs and security.

With many top terrorist leaders either killed in police raids or in custody, Ansyaad said the agency was planning to allocate more resources this year and next to help prevent moderate Muslims from falling under the sway of radicals.

Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population, has not seen a major terrorist attack since the bombing of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in 2009. However, based on the agency's studies and interrogations of terrorist convicts, the seeds of terrorism continue to flourish.

According to the BNPT, there is a growing trend in which radicals take over mosque management from followers of moderate Muslim groups Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah – the country's largest and second-largest Muslim organizations, respectively.

"Mosques are key sites for the spread of radicalism. People are lured into radicalism by listening to radical preachers during Friday sermons," said Ansyaad. "Then they are encouraged to join smaller preaching groups before being recruited into terrorist cells, and at the ultimate extreme, committing suicide bombings."

According to BNPT data, although around 80 percent of mosques in Greater Jakarta are still under the management of either the NU or Muhammadiyah, the figure is gradually declining, and radicals have started to infiltrate staff at most of the mosques.

Preventive measures are coordinated by the BNPT, which has the immense task of monitoring around 800,000 mosques and 40,000 registered Islamic boarding schools in a country whose territory is larger than the eurozone.

The Religious Ministry's director for Muslim development, Ahmad Jauhari, said there had been attempts at preventing radicalism in mosques for the past couple of years through the distribution of religious materials, both in print and sermons.

"We've been doing this for some time," said Jauhari, whose directorate is responsible for the de-radicalization program. "But the budget for such measures is still small."

While Jauhari declined to disclose any figures, the ministry's financial reports revealed that less than Rp 30 billion is allocated annually for "de-radicalism" efforts, which is comparable with the maintenance budget for five Presidential Palaces.

"The budget allocation does not reflect the President's policy on preventing radicalism and terrorism, and keeping the country safe," said House Commission III member, Eva Kusuma Sundari. "Budgetary efficiency seems to be sacrificing the essentials," she said.

Commission III deputy chairman Nasir Djamil said the commission would lobby the Finance Ministry and the House's budget committee to leave the BNPT's budget intact.

"We'll fight for it. It's for the public's safety. The worst-case scenario is to have the National Police share its budget with the BNPT in terms of intelligence work, and other ministries or agencies for de-radicalization programs," he said.

Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said the decision to cut the budget was made based on the evaluation of the agency's past performance. "Budget cuts depend on a reward and punishment mechanism. If they spend less, then their budget will be cut. Budget allocation also depends on whether ministries or agencies have new initiatives or not," he said.

Budgetary efficiency was proposed in April, after lawmakers opposed the government's plan to raise fuel prices in order to cut ballooning subsidies worth more than Rp 130 trillion.

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Government can take vigilante groups 'to court'

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The government can go to court if it wants to disband vigilante mass organizations such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) for its members' violent actions, several experts have agreed.

Constitutional law expert Refly Harun said on Thursday, however, that the government could not of its own volition order questionable mass organizations to disband.

"But the government can go to the district court or the Constitutional Court to file a lawsuit against their violent acts, and once the verdict is in, it would have to be final and binding," he said.

Ali Bachtiar, the director for mass organizations at the Home Ministry, said that based on the Mass Organizations Law, the government had no authority to disband FPI.

"However, the government could file suit against FPI members and officials. But no action could be taken against the organization because the Criminal Code cannot be applied to institutions or organizations," he said.

Refly disagreed with Ali's statement, saying that a district court could order the FPI disbanded if judges determined that the group ordered its members to use violence in its activities.

Refly said that the Constitutional Court also had the authority to disband vigilante groups that violated the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the freedom of expression and assembly.

The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced FPI chairman Rizieq Shihab to 18 months' imprisonment in October 2008 for his involvement in the assault of activists at a rally at the National Monument (Monas).

Meanwhile, Malik Haramain, chairman of the House of Representatives' special committee deliberating revisions to the Mass Organizations Law, said that the government would be able to move against radical groups more effectively once the revisions were endorsed.

Malik said that the final bill might propose giving the government explicit authority to disband mass organizations with violent members. "The bill requires all mass organizations to be registered with the government and to adopt the national ideology of Pancasila as their basic principle," he said.

According to the Home and Foreign ministries, more than 65,000 mass organizations have been registered with the government.

Didin Wahyudin, director for the sociocultural and NGO affairs division at the Foreign Ministry said that there were currently 109 foreign NGOs authorized to operate in Indonesia because they fulfilled all administrative, legal and security requirements.

MUI supports FPI's action to report Gramedia to the police

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2012

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) says it has supported the decision from the hard line group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) to report publishing company PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama (GPU) to the police for circulating a "heretical book".

MUI chairman, Amidhan, said on Wednesday that the notorious hard line group FPI had the right to report any party who they deemed had conducted defamation against Islam, adding that the group was merely "monitoring" the society. "We should wait for the law enforcers to investigate the case," Amidhan told The Jakarta Post.

He was commenting on the FPI's move to report GPU to the Jakarta Police on Monday for circulating copies of the Indonesian translation of Wilson's Five Cities that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York Shaped Global History.

The group claimed that the passages on page 24 of the book indicated that Prophet Muhammad was a crook and a pirate, who ordered his men to raid caravans and murder them as a move to control Medina. While he acknowledged that he had yet to read the book, Amidhan said that if the allegations were true, the book had indeed "insulted the Muslims".

"We have the freedom to express ourselves but the freedom must not hurt somebody's feelings, in this case the Muslims," he said, adding that GPU should be very careful before circulating such book.

The FPI accused GPU of violating Articles 156a, 157, and 484 of the Criminal Code on religious defamation, hate speech and printing texts liable to criminal charges. (asa/iwa)

'FPI's move in reporting Gramedia to police is 'unacceptable': Activist

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2012

Jakarta – An activist has described the actions by hard-liner group, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), in reporting publishing company PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama (Gramedia) to police for selling a "heretical book", as "unacceptable".

Executive director of the Wahid Institute, Ahmad Suaedy, said Tuesday that the move to report the company to the police was an intimidatory measure toward the country's "freedom of expression".

"Even though the FPI is following existing procedure by reporting them [Gramedia] to the police, the very act of reporting could be deemed as a threat to freedom of expression," Ahmad told The Jakarta Post.

He added that instead of denouncing Douglas Wilson's book, which the FPI considers "defames Islam", the FPI could just write another book to rebuff the claims made in it.

The FPI reported Gramedia to the Jakarta Police on Monday for circulating copies of the Indonesian translation of Wilson's Five Cities that Ruled the World: How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London and New York Shaped Global History.

The group claimed that the book suggested that the Prophet Muhammad was a crook and a pirate, who ordered his men to raid caravans and murder them as a strategy to control Medina.

The FPI accused Gramedia of conducting religious defamation and producing hate propaganda and of, therefore, seriously violating the Criminal Code. (asa/dic)

Freedom of religion & worship

Bekasi to challenge ruling on church opening

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2012

Bandung – The administration of Bekasi regency will fight against a court ruling in favor of embattled Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) Filadelfia over the construction of their church in Jejalen Jaya, Tambun district.

Deputy Regent Rohim Mintareja said on Thursday that the administration had just obtained information that a private company claimed to be the rightful owner since 1996 of the land on which the church is being built.

"The administration will file a lawsuit to annul the court ruling because the location in question is still in legal dispute," he said after a coordination meeting on West Java public safety in Bandung presided over by West Java Deputy Governor Yusuf Macan Effendi.

The State Administrative Court ruled that HKBP Filadelfia had secured the legal requirements to build a church in the location, but hard-liner groups, residents and the local administration objected to the presence of a church in the area.

Rohim said that should the court ruling be executed, "it would upset public order because of the strong opposition from local residents."

Bekasi district head tells HKBP Filadelfia to chill, move worship

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Bayu Marhaenjati – Bekasi district head Neneng Hasanah Yasin has asked members of the HKBP Filadelfia church to "cool down" and conduct worship at a location provided by the local government.

"In the latest meeting with the district head and the Bekasi Police chief mediated by the National Commission on Human Rights [Komnas HAM], the district head told us to cool down," the lawyer for HKBP Filadelfia, Saor Siagian, told BeritaSatu on Tuesday. "The district head requested some time to inform people and we really understand that."

Saor said the church members were advised to abide by the government's plan to move their worship services to a building provided by the local administration to prevent further altercations with local residents.

"Worship will still continue, as it should not be abandoned," Saor said. "We will conduct the worship at PGRI building, which was chosen by the government to prevent threats."

Saor said the church still expects the Bekasi administration to implement a Supreme Court ruling handed down last year. "We will wait to meet with the district head again and [ask her] to do what has been agreed, that the court ruling should be implemented," he said.

"The court has decided that the government should reopen the church and give the congregation members of Filadelfia a permit to worship. We hope to meet in the coming weeks so there will be certainty for us to have a permanent [house of] worship."

The church submitted an application for a building permit in 2007, but despite meeting all the requirements, including the permission of its neighbors, a permit was not issued. Instead, in 2009, Neneng issued a letter banning members of the congregation from worshiping on the designated church land, forcing the 560 members to hold services on the side of the road fronting the property. On Jan. 12, 2010, local authorities sealed the building.

Local residents in Bekasi began regularly protesting against the church in January of this year, several months after the Supreme Court overturned the district government's decision to deny the church a building permit. Recently, the protests have included physical violence and intimidation tactics directed at the churchgoers. At an Ascension Day service last month, residents threw stones, bags of urine and rotten eggs at the congregation members.

Joint decree, for or against religious tolerance?

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2012

Jakarta – The government claims that the 2006 joint ministerial decree on places of worship was drafted to maintain harmony between subscribers of different faiths.

But for smaller religious communities, the decree has been blamed as a source of harassment toward minorities. The decree requires religious groups to seek approval from local residents before building their places of worship.

Abdul Kadir Makarim, head of the East Nusa Tenggara branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said that it was difficult for Muslims to build mosques in the predominantly Catholic province. He added that even though the Muslims had obtained the building permit (IMB) from the mayor, they could not proceed with construction because locals objected.

"We have fulfilled all requirements stated in the decree, including securing the approval of 60 local residents of different faiths. Just when we are about to start the construction, residents withdraw their support. It always happens like that," he said from Kupang in a telephone interview on Monday.

The Religious Affairs Ministry's data from 2010 shows that there were 1,026 mosques, 5,035 Protestant churches and 2,102 Catholic churches in East Nusa Tenggara. Meanwhile, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that there were 423,925 Muslims, 1,627,157 Protestants and 2,535,937 Catholics in the province that same year.

Abdul said that what happened to them was unfair because locals could build their churches without having to comply with the decree. He added that the local administration had also turned down some building permit requests submitted by Muslim community members.

Irfan Abubakar, the director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture, said that freedom of religion was acknowledged in Indonesia's Constitution, but in practice, many communities strived to retain their dominant position. "This shows in the incidents that have happened so far," he said.

Nurul Hidayat, a professor of Islamic studies at Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali, said that it had not been easy either for Muslims to build mosques or mushollas (small mosques) on the island of the gods. "Muslims need to get approval from Hindu locals who are the majority," he told The Jakarta Post.

There are places, though, where Muslims can feel at ease in Bali. In some traditional villages, such as Kampung Jawa, Kampung Islam Kepaon and Kampung Islam Bugis, Islam is the dominant religion.

In Bali in 2010, Muslims accounted for 13.37 percent of the population with 520,244 people. There were 669 mosques and 21,483 Hindu temples in the same period.

Bonar acknowledged that the frequency of religiously intolerant acts was on the rise in Indonesia, but said the intensity of the problem varied among the religions.

"There are people who say that Christians are not the only ones being persecuted because Muslim minorities in some parts of Indonesia are also forbidden from building their mosques. But these Muslims are not harassed, attacked, beaten or chased away from their own premises," he said. Both Abdul and Nurul said that nobody had ever resorted to violence as a reaction the construction of mosques in their areas.

Irfan attributed the phenomena of Muslims' use of violence in religious disputes to historical events. He cited the fact that although Islam was the dominant religion in Indonesia, Muslims had been disenfranchised under the authoritarian regime of former president Soeharto.

Irfan said that this had imbued Muslims with an inferiority complex that was now coloring their behavior toward people of different faiths, especially in places where Muslims were in the majority.

"There are now radical Islamic groups in Indonesia and they are very sensitive to issues of Christianization, secularization and Westernization," he said.

Another factor in the increase of sectarian rifts is the lack of legal assurance on religious rights in the 1945 Constitution and the state ideology of Pancasila, a problem which the joint ministerial decree was meant to address.

According to Untung SK Wijayaputra, head of the Communion of Indonesian Churches' (PGI) branch that oversees the southern, western and southeastern parts of Sulawesi, there had been no legal protection before that decree. He pointed to incidents in which mobs attacked the churches and burned down the local PGI office in 1990s.

"The joint ministerial decree is not perfect. At the moment, I am working with other church officials in drafting a new regulation to replace the decree. We hope that the draft will help solve the recurring problems," Untung said. (tas)

Islamic law & morality

Publisher holds book burning for text that allegedly defames Islam

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2012

Indonesian publisher Gramedia Pustaka Utama burned hundreds of copies of a book that called the Prophet Muhammad a pirate and a murderer on Wednesday following protests by the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front.

The books were burned outside the Bentara Budaya cultural hall in the Kompas Gramedia complex in Palmerah, West Jakarta. Company president director Wandi S. Brata oversaw the book burning, along with several Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) officials, including deputy chairman Ma'ruf Amin.

The book, "Lima Kota Paling Berpengaruh di Dunia" ("Five Cities that Ruled the World"), was pulled from Indonesian book stores on June 9. The text, written by US theologian Douglas Wilson, explores how five cities – New York, Jerusalem, Athens, Rome and London – shaped the world.

In the book, the author alleged that the Prophet Muhammad was a murderer and a pirate who attacked merchants and caravans, according to the FPI. The FPI filed a complaint with police, saying that Gramedia had defamed Islam by publishing the book.

The Islamist organization also claimed that the book was still on sale in Indonesia a day after it was recalled.

"Page 24 of the book contains words that are an insult to Rasulullah [the prophet]," FPI spokesman Munarman said. "This is a crime of formal offense; withdrawing the books is not enough. Rasulullah is a symbol in Islamic teachings, and defaming religions is a crime according to the Criminal Code."

It is against the law in Indonesia to publish materials that are considered libelous toward a certain religion, ethnicity or nationality. Offenders face up to five years in prison and Rp 4,500 ($0.47) in fines under Article 156 of the Criminal Code.

Gramedia publicly apologized in the Indonesian newspaper Republika last weekend for publishing the book. (Antara/JG)

North Maluku's Tidore declares itself 'nightclub-free zone'

Jakarta Globe - June 12, 2012

The administration of North Maluku's Tidore island and its surrounding archipelago has declared the district a nightclub-free zone, saying it will rely on other sources of revenue better suited to the region's traditional values.

The head of Tidore's Culture and Tourism Agency, Asrul Sani, said on Tuesday that Tidore would instead prioritize the development of marine tourism, among other things, to boost its income.

"Tidore's cultural values do not tolerate nightclub businesses. Thus the city administration has declared that Tidore is shut off to such businesses," Asrul said.

He said there had been no objections to the new policy, adding that local businesses actually supported it. Asrul further said that although nightclubs had substantial potential to contribute to regional revenues and reduce unemployment, both the Tidore administration and its people thought there were many other sources of income that could instead be tapped.

He added that Tidore would also maintain its policy banning the sale of liquor in observance of the islands' Islamic followers, who are forbidden from consuming alcohol.

Tidore Islands, an archipelagic district of North Maluku famous for its white sand beaches and turquoise waters, is home to some 98,000 people, the majority of whom are Muslims.

Asrul said aside from its beaches, Tidore offered tourists a palace from the past kingdom of Tidore and old fortresses left by Spanish colonials, which date back several centuries. There is also an annual Tidore cultural festival held every April.

He added that Tidore would promote itself through active participation in tourism and photo exhibitions in Jakarta and other sites outside the capital. (Antara/JG)

FPI: Tasikmalaya's shariah bylaws are constitutional

Jakarta Globe - June 9, 2012

Ulin Yusron – Defending a plan in Tasikmalaya, West Java, to establish Shariah-inspired bylaws, the Islamic Defenders Front defended the constitutionality of the proposal on Friday and urged its implementation.

"The Jakarta Charter, the content of which is the same as the opening of the Constitution, stated: 'Belief in one supreme God with mandatory Islamic Shariah for its believers,'" said Munarman, a spokesman for the organization commonly known as FPI. "So the implementation of Islamic Shariah is constitutional."

The Jakarta Charter of 1945 was adopted by the drafters of the Constitution as the founding document's preamble, with some adjustments. Indonesian founding father M. Hatta rejected the "mandatory Islamic Shariah for its believers" provision, considering that many people in eastern Indonesia were not Muslims. All the drafters agreed to delete that part.

However Munarman, who was referring to the rejected version of the Constitution, said instead that banning regions from implementing Shariah was against the Constitution.

His statement came after Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi prohibited the Tasikmalaya municipality from establishing Shariah as the implementation of the region's 2009 bylaw on people's life and norms based on Islamic teachings. Gamawan said that maintaining security and order was the obligation of the central government, so establishing a Shariah police force would go against the Regional Autonomy Law.

"Bylaws should not consist of things that are not the authority of the region," Gamawan said on Friday. "So, there is no way such a bylaw will be agreed. We will fix it."

The bylaw would require women to wear headscarves outdoors and would prohibit unmarried men and women from being alone together.

In Indonesia, Shariah police exist only in Aceh, which has been granted special autonomy to conduct Islamic Shariah-based government. Enforcement by police there has courted controversy, including arresting punk music fans and patrolling the streets for people deemed to be wearing clothes that fit too tightly.

Sex & pornography

PDI-P lawmaker Karolin denies sex tape allegations

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2012

Ezra Sihite – Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Karolin Margret Natasha denied allegations that she starred in a sex tape with fellow lawmaker Aria Bima on Monday in her first statement on the widely- circulated video since it was released in April.

"It was not me," Karolin told a journalist on the sidelines of a House of Representatives meeting on Monday, adding that "it is undeniable that there is a political factor in this case."

The sex tape, which was posted on the website www.kilikitik.net, is currently under investigation by the Jakarta Police and the House's Honorary Council. Both parties allegedly featured in the steamy video have denied their involvement.

Karolin, the daughter of West Kalimantan governor Cornelis M.H., has been absent from House meetings since the allegations broke. She returned to work this week, explaining that the attention surrounding the alleged sex tape caused her to miss a number of meetings.

"I returned to active duty this week, and there is no problem with [my] performance," she said. "It was my weakness as human [in not] responding the case that is being discussed."

Aria claimed the video featured a lookalike, a man the lawmaker identified as E.G.M. An anonymous source close to the investigation backed Aria's claims, explaining that it was E.G.M., not Aria, in the sex video. The man had started a company called Advance Borneo and released the tape out of anger when his business failed, said the source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Experts and politicians weighed in on the sex tape scandal shortly after the video broke, with some admitting that the man did look a lot like Aria while others doubted the claims. Aria has said that he knew the woman in the video.

Karolin said that the allegations have not affected her home life. "My husband said 'wow, it's exciting to get married with you'," she said.

Aria said that he plans to file a defamation lawsuit against www.kilikitik.net for publishing the video. Karolin said that she will wait for the results of the police and House investigations before taking any action. "I have to face it one by one," she said. "After the investigation by the Honorary Council is over [I might then report it to the police]."

The Honorary Council has not summoned her for questioning.

Parliament & government

KPK's Century report not a hit at house

Jakarta Globe - June 15, 2012

Ezra Sihite – Antigraft officials told the House of Representatives on Wednesday that there was strong reason to believe that the decision to bail out Bank Century in 2008 was flawed, but legislators were left disappointed after expecting them to name suspects.

Abraham Samad, chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said at a House hearing that several experts, including state law expert Saldi Isra from Andalas University in Padang and criminal law expert Romli Atmasasmita from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, had said the decision violated the law.

"Their opinions will be used to intensify our investigation," he said. But Abraham declined to say when the KPK would name any graft suspects, prompting criticism from legislators.

Lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo said it was disappointing that the KPK was still unable to name any suspects for graft in the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout.

"We had high expectations that they would report to us that they were going to name some suspects. However, they only reported opinions that they got from experts, just to confirm that the bailout violated the law," the Golkar official said.

Expectations of a breakthrough in the investigation, which to date has only netted a handful of officials for banking violations but no graft charges, were stoked last week after the KPK announced it had uncovered significant new evidence.

At the same time, the National Police said they were ready to send new cases linked to the bailout to prosecutors, including fresh charges against the bank's former co-owner, Robert Tantular.

Legislators have blamed senior officials at Bank Indonesia, the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) and the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) of violations in the November 2008 bailout.

At the time, the central bank was headed by Boediono, now the vice president, while the KSSK was under the leadership of then-Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who is now a managing director at the World Bank. At the height of the furor over the policy, legislators attempted, but failed, to invoke an inquiry that could have led to impeachment proceedings against Boediono.

Andi, PKS escape reshuffle

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih and Elly Burhaini Faizal, Bogor/Jakarta – Andi Mallarangeng escaped firing on Wednesday, as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a minor Cabinet reshuffle and the appointment of several top officials.

The youth and sports minister was thought a likely candidate for the ax after he was implicated in the high-profile corruption case surrounding the construction of the Hambalang sports complex.

Andi is also one of several Democratic politicians widely slammed within the party for tarnishing its image. The Cabinet's three ministers from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) also escaped the chopping block in what observers said was a likely attempt to keep the President's ruling coalition intact.

The ministers were retained despite the repeated defections of PKS lawmakers from the coalition's line during critical votes in the House.

Yudhoyono said he appointed former attorney general Hendarman Supandji, who is also the First Lady's childhood friend, to replace Joyo Winoto as the head of the National Land Agency (BPN).

To fill the vacancy created by the death of Endang Rahayu Sedya-ningsih, Yudhoyono appointed National AIDS Commission (KPA) secretary Nafsiah Mboi as health minister.

The President also appointed upstream oil and gas authority BPMigas' operations chief Rudi Rubiandini as the Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister – a position left vacant after the death of Widjajono Partowidagdo on April 21.

National Economic Committee (KEN) deputy chairman M. Chatib Basri, meanwhile, was appointed head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). Chatib's predecessor, Gita Wirjawan, is currently trade minister.

Yudhoyono said he appointed Hendarman to lead the BPN so the senior prosecutor could bring his expertise in solving land-acquisition disputes. "I found Hendarman suitable to fill the post to settle legal problems in the sector."

Hendarman faces a tough challenge. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named BPN the least-transparent government institution with the worst record in fighting corruption. Joyo, the BPN's outgoing chief, has been accused of accepting bribes in connection with the Hambalang case.

Hendarman's tenure as attorney general came to an abrupt halt last year, after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Presidential Decree on his appointment was unconstitutional. Critics, meanwhile, previously said that his performance in combating graft as Attorney General was lackluster.

Political analyst Indria Samego questioned Yudhoyono's decision to appoint Hendarman as BPN chairman. "He did not really excel as the attorney general. I wonder if Hendarman will be able to solve problems currently plaguing the agency," he said.

Also raising concern was the appointment of the incoming health minister, Nafsiah, who at 72 may no longer be in her prime, despite an outstanding performance at the National AIDS Commission. Interim Health Minister Ali Ghufron Mukti, however, disagreed, saying that Nafsiah's experience would prove a boon.

"The President has chosen Nafsiah, a woman with extensive experience in dealing with health-related problems With her experience, I'm sure she can really take us in the right – and more positive – direction," Ali said. (tas)

Hendarman Supandji

Born: Klaten, Central Java, Jan. 6, 1947

Education: 1972 Law school at Diponegoro University in Semarang, C. Java

Career:

April 2005 - May 2007 Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes
2007 - September 2010 Attorney General Officer
2012 The National Land Agency (BPN) Head

Rudi Rubiandini

Born: Tasikmalaya, West Java, Feb. 9,1962

Education:

1985 Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
1991 Technische Universitaet Clausthal in Germany, specializing in petroleum engineering

Career:

2009 Adviser to the BPMigas chief
2011 the operational deputy of the country's upstream oil and gas authority BPMigas
2012 Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister

M. Chatib Basri

Born: Jakarta, Aug. 22, 1965

Education:

1992 Bachelor's Degree from University of Indonesia (UI)
1996 Master of Economic Development from Australian National University
2001 PhD from Australian National University

Career:

Lecturer at the University of Indonesia's School of Economics
2001 Associate Director for Research LPEM UI
In January 2012, appointed as a member of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) selection committee
In November 2010, Axiata Group Berhard of Malaysia, appointed Chatib Basri as the business group's independent non-executive director.
May 20, 2010 - present Deputy Chairman of The National Economic Committee (KEN)
2012 chairman of BKPM

Nafsiah Mboi

Born: Sengkang, South Sulawesi, July 14, 1940

Education:

1964 University of Indonesia (UI) in school of medicine,
1990 Master of public health (MPH) from Antwerpen University, Belgium

Career:

1982-1987 Member of People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
1997-1999 Head of the UN Committee on The Rights of the Child (She is the first Asian to take the post)
1999-2002 Director of Gender and Women's Health at the WHO in Geneva
2003-2006 Member of The National Commission on Violence Against Women
2006 The National AIDS Commission (KPA)'s secretary-general
2012 Health Minister

Award

1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service

SBY told to drop defensiveness, start solving problems

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – More calls have emerged for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to be hands-on in solving problems ranging from human rights violations to rampant corruption, instead of busily defending himself against negative public opinion.

He said on Wednesday that his Democratic Party was cleaner than other parties in the field of corruption, after downplaying on Tuesday a spate of Papua shootings as insignificant compared to uprisings in the Middle East.

"He [Yudhoyono] must remember that he is the president of this country even though he is also the Democratic Party's chief patron. I think he should have addressed corruption as a common enemy instead of ranking parties, because corruption disadvantages everyone," House of Representatives deputy speaker Pramono Anung of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P) said Thursday.

He was referring to a Democratic Party meeting on Wednesday evening during which Yudhoyono reportedly presented data showing that the number of corruption cases involving Democrats amounted to "only" 3.9 percent of total cases between 2004 and 2012, placing the party in fifth position among corruption-tainted political parties.

During the meeting, Yudhoyono further said that the top four political parties on the corruption list accounted for 34.6 percent, 24.6 percent, 9.2 percent and 5.2 percent of total cases between 2004 and 2012.

He, however, did not disclose the names of the parties. The PDI-P lawmaker said he did not feel his party was among the "more corrupt" parties to which Yudhoyono referred.

Separately, United Development Party (PPP) secretary-general M. Romahurmuziy said that Yudhoyono would create misunderstanding among other political parties.

"I appreciate his data, but I'm afraid the President has condemned politicians from other parties as corrupt. It's best to leave it for law enforcement agencies and to the public to judge [which political parties are more corrupt]," he said. (mtq)

Jakarta & urban life

Jakarta governor's race has most doubting promises of change

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2012

Lenny Tristia Tambun – Jakarta residents are less than enthusiastic about the approaching gubernatorial election, doubting any of the candidates will be able to solve the capital's most pressing issues, poll results show.

The Center for Political Research of the State at the University of Indonesia (Puskapol UI) polled 594 Jakarta residents between May 24 and June 4. The capital's near-constant congestion and annual flooding topped the list of pressing concerns. But nearly half of those polled had some doubts about whether any of the six gubernatorial candidates can successfully solve Jakarta's problems.

A reported 42.7 percent said they didn't know if any of the candidates could fix Jakarta. Eight percent said that none of them were up to the task, said Dirga Ardiansyah, a researcher at Puskapol UI.

On the more optimistic end of the spectrum, 46 percent of those polled said there was at least one candidate who do the job, Dirga said.

"Jakarta residents realize how heavy and complex the problems of the city are," said Sri Budi Eko Wardani, director of Puskapol UI. "The residents are passive and have little intention to participate in the election."

The campaign season will begin in earnest on June 24, Dirga said, allowing Jakarta's voters enough time to judge the candidates capabilities.

But gubernatorial hopefuls will have a hard time convincing most voters that their promises are sincere, the poll showed. According to the survey, 61 percent of the respondents did not believe the candidates' promises or that new programs would make the city a better place to live. Only 26 percent of those surveyed were optimistic about Jakarta's future under the elected governor.

"Several alternative [candidates] have only cause doubts that they would make conditions better in Jakarta," Dirga said.

Nearly half of those questioned (49 percent) doubted a new governor would do any better than current Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo.

Fauzi claimed to have reduced flooding in the capital and addressed the city's traffic problems during his term. But many of his critics point out that a simple trip outside debunks these claims.

The election is scheduled for July 11.

Jakarta water trust plays alleged obfuscation game

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2012

Philip Jacobson – For more than a year, a civil society group has been trying to access certain data and documents associated with the management of Jakarta's piped water system, which since 1998 has been run by two private, foreign-controlled companies.

Under Indonesian law, the information should be public. And the parties that hold it, both public and private, say they have no problem with its release.

Yet despite repeated attempts to obtain the information, including letters, emails, phone calls and personal exchanges dating as far back as April 2011, the group, called the People's Coalition for the Right to Water (Kruha), remains empty-handed.

The companies, Palyja and Aetra, say they have always acted in an ethical way and complied with all the rules. Same with PAM Jaya, the state agency that ultimately is responsible for Jakarta's waterworks.

But Kruha advocacy coordinator Muhammad Reza, who also represents the People's Coalition Against the Privatization of Water in Jakarta (KMMSAJ), a larger umbrella group, said his experience showed otherwise.

In interviews with the Jakarta Globe, Reza described a process wherein the parties professed transparency, but only ever passed the buck. "They only pay lip service," he said. "They are trying to make a fool out of the public."

Last November, Reza initiated a formal process through Indonesia's Public Information Commission (KIP), aiming to force the release of what he seeks through legal means. On Monday, the process entered adjudication, at the conclusion of which KIP will either declare the information public or rule in favor of PAM Jaya.

The most important document is an addendum attached to the contract PAM Jaya holds with its operators that includes capital expenditures, operational expenditures, financial projections – everything that is used to calculate what people pay for water in Jakarta and what PAM Jaya pays the operators for their services.

Passed around

Indonesia's 2008 Law on Freedom of Information and its 2009 Law on Public Services require state agencies like PAM Jaya to let anyone access information regarding any agreement that they have with a third-party contractor.

The contract between PAM Jaya and the operators, meanwhile, includes a "confidentiality clause" that forbids the disclosure of "all commercial and technical information" held by either party. The clause does make an exception. If both parties sign a "written agreement," they can release confidential material.

Palyja's position is that it is totally transparent and that it is up to PAM Jaya to decide whether to release the information Kruha has requested. Palyja first expressed this view in a letter dated April 25, 2011, written by Philippe Folliasson, the Palyja president director, in response to a letter from Reza asking for a long list of documents. For each item, Folliasson wrote either that it was already available on Palyja's website or something along the lines of "Palyja leaves it to PAM Jaya to agree to provide this document."

Folliasson confirmed that view to the Globe by phone on May 23. "Our position is that we will follow up with whatever PAM Jaya wants to do," he said.

PAM Jaya chief Sri Kedari, meanwhile, says he would release the information, if not for the confidentiality clause, which means the operators could sue PAM Jaya if it granted Kruha's request. Sri confirmed this several times, including in interviews with the Globe in February and April.

In the April interview, when the Globe showed Sri a copy of Palyja's letter from 2011, which the Globe had obtained from Kruha, Sri said it did not amount to a "written agreement" as required by the contract, and thus he could not release the requested information.

When asked if he had ever gone to Palyja directly to ask it if it would sign a written agreement, Sri said that PAM Jaya had sent letters to both Palyja and Aetra but that both companies had refused.

In KIP mediation sessions on March 26 and April 9, PAM Jaya officials said the same thing, Reza said. At the first session, after PAM Jaya said it couldn't release the information for fear of getting sued, it was decided that PAM Jaya should ask the operators about signing a written agreement and that they would meet again on April 9. At the second session, the PAM Jaya officials reported back that the operators had refused, Reza said.

However, on May 23, Folliasson, asked if PAM Jaya had ever asked Palyja if it would consent to release the information Kruha sought, said, "Not as far as I know. It's mostly been the other way around, as far as us relaying [Kruha's requests] to them [PAM Jaya]."

Informed of Sri's claim that PAM Jaya had written Palyja about making a written agreement, Folliassion said he couldn't recall definitively whether he had communicated with Sri on the matter. "I may have talked to Sri about it," he said. "If there is a written correspondence – I'm not sure we have anything in writing. I need to check. I don't know by memory."

Asked if Palyja's stated willingness to disclose the information meant he would sign a "written agreement" as stated in the contract, Folliasson said that it did. "Palyja is totally transparent," he said.

Aetra president director Mohamad Selim, meanwhile, told the Globe by phone in April that Aetra had never gotten any such letter from PAM Jaya. "If we had received such a letter, I would have seen it," he said.

Even if he had received such a letter, Selim said he would have rejected it. "I have a contract with my shareholders," he said. "I cannot release any information related to this thing. The information is all confidential."

Hasan Basri Saleh, a special assistant to Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, declined to comment. "Any information on PAM Jaya can be obtained directly from the board of directors," he wrote in a recent text message, referring to Sri and his staff.

Sri, when asked in April, was not able to produce a copy of the letter that he said PAM Jaya had sent the operators. He did, however, have a copy of the contract's Article 47 on "CONFIDENTIALITY," which he had someone photocopy for the Globe.

Flushed out

Asked how it could possibly be that both PAM Jaya and Palyja said they would agree to disclose the information, yet Kruha had been unable to obtain anything, Reza said, "That is the question of corruption within PAM Jaya. There are some people in PAM Jaya who really work for Palyja, and they are the subject of a KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] investigation."

KMMSAJ and Indonesia Corruption Watch reported PAM Jaya to the KPK on Jan. 31. The report accused PAM Jaya of conspiring to enrich the operators at the expense of Jakarta residents.

KMMSAJ says that if they can see just how the money has been used by the operators, who are reimbursed for everything they spend by PAM Jaya, they will be able to expose what has really been going on.

The group also seeks outright termination of the privatization arrangement. They say it defies Indonesia's 1945 Constitution and has always been illegal.

"We want to use the contract as proof in court because we are going to sue them through a citizen lawsuit," said Aliza Yuliana, a coordinator with Women's Solidarity, a member of KMMSAJ.

She added that the deal was "absolutely a failure already and we don't trust anyone. The management from the private sector, they only think about profits. But water should be in the public sector because it involves people's lives."

Because of a massive, growing debt that PAM Jaya owes its operators – at last count, more than Rp 600 billion ($64 million) – it has for more than a year been under orders to push for renegotiation.

On Monday, PAM Jaya finally signed a "rebalanced" deal with Aetra. Fauzi, who will stand for reelection next month, clapped as Sri shook hands with Selim at City Hall after inking the new contract.

Reza called the signing a "disaster," saying the whole process was carried out behind closed doors. "There was no public involvement," he said.

For now, KMMSAJ is pushing on with the KIP and KPK processes. But Reza is worried both processes are taking too long, especially now that Aetra has its new deal.

Moreover, since the start of 2012 there have been no members on the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body, set up in 2001 to serve as a neutral watchdog and mediator for the city's new water trust.

The body's five members were only informed in mid-February, after a long delay in which they did not know their status, that their terms would not be renewed for another period. Terman Siregar, the Jakarta Investment Agency chairman, is in charge of selecting the new candidates. He said his office had already conducted fit and proper tests and submitted its five names to the governor. All that was needed now, he said, was for Fauzi to sign off.

"The draft of the decree has been prepared, of course," Terman told the Globe on May 29. "I don't understand what is happening. "Maybe it is because of the tight schedule of the governor because he's now running for the next term," he added. "Maybe he doesn't have time to look at the letters," he added.

Sidebar: A look into the companies behind the city's piped water

Palyja and Aetra, the two companies that run Jakarta's piped water system, have global connections.
Palyja, which manages the western half of Jakarta, is owned by Suez, a France-based transnational with operations worldwide.
Aetra, which handles the eastern half, is controlled by Acuatico, a Singapore-based consortium with water supply interests in Jakarta, Tangerang and Hanoi.
Suez is named for Egypt's Suez Canal, which it built. It has interests in water, electricity, natural gas and waste management. In 2010, it made $6.5 billion in profit.
Suez controls water in more than 100 cities. As in Jakarta, some of its privatization projects have been beset by controversy, including in Manila.
In 2006, Suez sold 49 percent of its shares in Palyja to Astratel Nusantara, part of Astra International, one of Indonesia's largest conglomerates.
Acuatico was formed in 2006 to acquire Aetra from Britain's Thames Water, which entered Jakarta with Suez in 1998. Acuatico's majority owner is Recapital Advisors, an investment firm co-founded by Sandiaga Uno, one of Indonesia's richest men. Its minority owner is Glendale Partners, an infrastructure management firm.
Acuatico holds a 95 percent stake in Aetra. The rest belongs to Alberta Utilities, a unit of Bakrieland Development.
Since 1998, Palyja has made more than $107 million in revenue. Aetra has netted $32.7 million.

Ghost voter spat may derail polls in Jakarta: Analyst

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2012

Ronna Nirmala & Camelia Pasandaran – A refusal by polling officials to strike fictitious or ineligible voters off the electoral roll for the Jakarta gubernatorial election is threatening to pull the plug on the July 11 poll, an analyst warned on Friday.

Gun Gun Heryanto, a political communications expert at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN), said that if the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD) did not revise the list, five of the six candidates could boycott the polls in protest. "There's no way an election can be held with just one candidate," he said.

The camps of five candidates running in the election have identified hundreds of thousands of so-called ghost voters and have repeatedly called on the KPUD to revise the list of about seven million voters. The KPUD has acknowledged the presence of the ineligible voters but has refused to remove them from the list.

Only the incumbent, Governor Fauzi Bowo, has not raised objections to the list. His opponents, including Solo Mayor Joko Widodo and legislator Hidayat Nur Wahid, contend there may be up to 130,000 ghost voters on the electoral roll.

Gun Gun said that if the candidates did boycott the election, it would serve as an important lesson for everyone.

"There's a political lesson to be learned from a failed election as much as from a successful one," he said. "That's why if the candidates are truly committed to boycotting the poll [over the voter list], they should have the data to back up their claims."

But he added that the odds of the candidates refusing to take part in the election were slim, given that no other local election in the country had ever been called off under similar circumstances.

"All the elections where the voter list has come under question have proceeded in spite of protests," he said. "But that's because of weak- willed electioneering. That's why the challengers in this election must be really brave. They have to keep putting pressure on the KPUD to be responsible [for the list]."

Gun Gun argued that for the candidates to run in spite of their objections would undermine the legitimacy of the election.

"No matter the outcome, the losing candidates will claim they were disadvantaged by the voter list, and this is going to lead to disputes and even a challenge being mounted at the Constitutional Court," he said.

Some experts, however, contend that the KPUD made the right decision in not revising the list.

Masykurudin Hafidz, supervisory manager of the People's Voter Education Network (JPPR), said changing the list this close to polling day would prove highly disruptive and throw the legitimacy of the election into doubt. "It will also be prone to manipulation by some of the candidates and their camps," he said.

On Thursday, KPUD chairwoman Dahlia Umar said the voter list would stand as announced on June 2, despite the candidates' objections. To prevent ineligible voters from balloting, she said, officials manning polling stations would be told which voters were registered to vote at multiple stations. That way, she said, they could ensure voters were only allowed to vote once.

Armed forces & defense

Military restructuring and national priorities

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – News reports on the high-profile corruption investigation into the construction of a sports facility worth Rp 1.52 trillion (US$161 million) in Hambalang, West Java, combined with reports about the continuing security disturbance in the restive Papua province and the ongoing Euro 2012 soccer tournament have effectively captured the attention of the general public. Amid such events, the ongoing organizational restructuring within the Indonesian Army has drawn minimal, if not zero, media coverage.

The limited restructuring process in the Indonesian Army is focused on expanding the scope and responsibility of nine Military Resort Commands (known locally as Korem) – a military unit lower than and under the supervision of a Regional Military Command (Kodam) – which are commonly led by a colonel. The nine Korems affected by the "special restructuring scheme" are Biak, Merauke and Sorong in Papua and West Papua provinces; Manado in North Sulawesi; Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara; Tanjung Pinang in Riau Islands; Pekanbaru in Riau and the provinces of Lampung and Yogyakarta – Under the new restructuring plan, each of the nine Korems will be led by a one-star general.

There has been no comprehensive explanation regarding the ongoing restructuring process, with both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Army headquarters offering little justification for elevating the ranks of commanders of the nine Korems. TNI spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul only recently provided a brief explanation that the policy was implemented due to the Korems' (excluding Yogyakarta's) strategic locations, which border other countries. Yogyakarta is a special case due to the province's status as a special province within the country's governance system.

That was it and no more than that. It also remains unclear whether the House of Representatives' (DPR) legislators – as the representatives of the Indonesian people in the country's political system – are aware of the restructuring plan.

A glance look into the restructuring plan will lead general Indonesians to a conclusion that the move is technically OK and will not have a shocking or significant impact on the overall policy, particularly related to the State Budget (APBN), as it will affect only nine of the total 43 Korems across the country.

But in reality, the ongoing restructuring process is not as simple as it looks. The Army was the third and final force within the TNI's tripartite forces that selectively elevated the ranks of commanders whose scope and responsibilities were on par with those of a Korem commander. At least one Navy base in Papua and an Air Force base, also in Papua, have been led by a one-star Navy admiral and an Air Force one-star general, respectively.

Such limited information on the new restructuring process has obviously led to speculation that the Army did not want to lose face and remain one step behind the other two forces, and that the process would not stop at the nine Korems, but would continue with the remaining 34 Korems. Once all of the Army's Korems are restructured, it is very likely that the Navy and the Air Force will follow suit.

If that is the case, the limited restructuring scheme within the Army – and the Navy and the Air Force – will spiral beyond its initial small scale and will trigger an overall restructuring of the TNI. This will in turn lead to an expansion of military units nationwide, including supporting personnel and equipment, and costs to the State Budget.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with the TNI's, or currently the Army's, restructuring process, especially when understood in the context of needing to adapt to the increasing size of the population and new administrative regions (provinces as well as municipalities and regencies) as well as new global challenges that require better organization. Everything changes and develops in time, including the country's military. The only problem is that the general public has limited knowledge of or even access to information on the new policy.

It should also be remembered that expanding the military's structure and organization is only one element of a complex and interrelated development program within the country – meaning that any military buildup or expansion program should also consider the larger context of the country's development.

Problems in the country's border areas, for example, include poor or minimal access to infrastructure such as roads, markets and hospitals – essential elements for remote regions, especially for those that border a more prosperous region of a neighboring country. What has been happening in our border regions is that our citizens have to cross the border in order to meet their basic needs for food and other commodities, a condition that is not conducive for the unity and integrity of an archipelagic nation like Indonesia, where the fruits of development have yet to equally reach the all regions.

In these cases, priority should be put on developing border regions, rather than hastily pursuing strong military presence in the absence of critically needed infrastructure. The key word is priority.

Economy & investment

Banks 'held hostage' by big depositors: Bank Indonesia

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2012

Hans David Tampubolon and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia (BI) has uncovered worrying evidence that the country's banks are being held hostage by their big clients, preventing them from lowering their interest rates in line with the central bank's low interest-rate policy.

BI Governor Darmin Nasution said that based on the central bank's survey, most banks could not cut their interest rates to an affordable level for businesses as they had to spend huge amounts to keep their big depositors from going elsewhere.

Around 99 percent of the country's banks offer special high-level interest rates or provide generous gifts to their big depositors, which then must be covered by proceeds from higher interest rates levied on businesses, including small-scale enterprises, according to Darmin.

Banks usually offered a rate of at least 8 percent to their big clients, well above the usual deposit rate of 5.8 percent, annually, Darmin said. BI's benchmark interest rate currently stands at 5.75 percent.

"Only a small percentage of bank clients have significant amounts of funds. Therefore, they have huge bargaining power," said Darmin late on Tuesday. "If a depositor has funds of between Rp 1 billion [US$106,000] and Rp 10 billion, banks will have no problem letting him go. But when he has Rp 5 trillion, then he can shake down any bank," he said.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, has been aiming for a low interest rate comparable with neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Low interest rates help spur business activity and have kept economic growth hovering at above 6.5 percent amid the global economic slowdown. "Mid-scale and large-scale businesses need to borrow from banks to invest. But if lending rates stand at 22 percent, businesses are reluctant to borrow," said Darmin.

Recent data from BI revealed that the average lending rates for investment stood at 11.29 percent for rupiah loans in February. For working capital purposes, private banks imposed 11.83 percent.

Due to these high interest rates, the country's loan to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio remains low at 29 percent, while in Malaysia and China it is more than 100 percent.

Darmin also blamed local banks for being too greedy in reaping profits by imposing high interest rates. "Both our cost of funds and net interest margin (NIM) index are relatively high compared to our neighbors, such as the Philippines and Malaysia," he said.

"The spread between cost of funds and NIM is only 3 percent in Malaysia and is only 4.5 percent in the Philippines. In Indonesia, the spread is still between 5.5 percent and 6 percent," he added.

Standard Chartered economist Fauzi Ichsan said that although Darmin might have a point on banks' desire to keep their rich clients happy, there were also other factors that made banks more prudent when providing loans, and imposing high interest rates.

"First, learning from the experience of the last monetary crisis, banks are now more prudent about containing risks before making loans. Secondly, banks lack confidence in the legal system," he said.

"Our legal system has not yet been able to reassure creditors about their loans. How many times have we seen banks not being able to take legal measures against debtors who fail to comply with their obligations?" he added.

Fauzi said that lowering interest rates could be achieved if the authorities managed to create a competitive environment within the banking industry.

"We need to see more banking penetration and access to provide competitiveness. With more competition, banks will be more likely to lower their rates," he said.

Implementation of new mineral export rule a mess: Kadin

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2012

Jakarta – After recording a negative trade balance, due to weakening global demand, Indonesian exports are likely to take another beating as commodity exporters struggle to deal with the stricter trade regulation that has been in place since May 6, stakeholders say.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) says that Ministerial Decree No. 7/2012 has become a considerable stumbling block for mining activities as companies have had to apply for the so-called clean and clear status in order to be able to obtain a specific export permit and pay a 20 percent export tax. The regulation applies to the export of 65 mineral commodities, excluding coal.

"The regulation's implementation is a mess," said Kadin vice chairman for trade, distribution and logistics, Natsir Mansyur, last week.

Natsir said that the procedures on how to obtain the clean and clear status constantly changed, as did those on obtaining export permits. Such a dilemma, he said, was coupled with the enormous undertaking of getting approval from regional governments in order to be able to get the clear and clean status.

Minerals accounted for 16.94 percent of Indonesian non-oil-and-gas export value in 2011. In the first quarter of this year, the export value of mineral products rose 19.24 percent to US$2.59 million, but then plunged in April by 6.94 percent to $2.41 million, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

The BPS reported last week that Indonesia's trade balance plunged into the red in April for the first time in nearly two years due to an unexpected drop in exports. The agency said that the nation's trade deficit was $641.1 million in April after it recorded a surplus of $920 million in January, $692.8 million in February and $840 million in March.

"[Since the implementation of the new trade rules], mining companies have lost about Rp 1 trillion ($107 million) in revenues. When will this stagnancy end? Ramadhan is approaching and companies need to prepare wages," he said, referring to the Islamic holy month, in which companies pay out traditional annual bonuses.

Ina Primiana, a member of the Institute for Economic Study, Research and Development (LP3ES) said that regulation inconsistency, including the export tax regulation, had caused greater damage to the nation's trade than the lingering eurozone crisis.

"Time and time again, policy instability has hobbled domestic industry. It also makes foreign investors think twice about entering Indonesia, afraid that changes in regulations will affect their business here," she said, adding that according to the World Economic Forum, policy instability ranked as the fourth most problematic factor in a nation's economy.

Ina said that Indonesia was the only ASEAN country that suffered a trade deficit with China under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA).

"This indicates that there is something wrong with us. Besides policy instability, the deficit was caused by the government's late moves on protecting domestic industry and low import taxes," she said.

Indonesia imposes on average 6.6 percent import taxes, lower than major exporter countries, such as South Korea (12.1 percent); Brazil (13.7 percent); China (9.1 percent) and India (13 percent).

To revive the nation's trade, Ina suggested the government revive domestic industries, curb import growth and expand export markets, particularly into non-traditional markets in Asia, Africa and South America.

Indonesia's exports are oriented toward 13 countries, including China, Japan and the United States, which make up around 70 percent of total exports. However, the global economic turmoil that has affected those traditional destinations has put pressure on Indonesia's exports. (yps)

Ministry cuts budget for machinery upgrade

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2012

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – The Industry Ministry says it will cut funding for a machinery revitalization program as part of a state budget efficiency push.

The ministry will allocate Rp 145.5 billion (US$15.57 million) in 2012, down 4.6 percent from Rp 152.5 billion last year, for the program, which aims at enhancing competiveness in the textile, footwear and leather industries, the Industry Ministry's textiles and miscellaneous industries chief, Ramon Bangun, said on Friday.

"The reduction in allocated funds was prompted by budget efficiency needed to offset the delay of the fuel price hike," he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

Around Rp 34 billion, or 23.37 percent of the ministry's total budget for restoring aging industrial machines, had been disbursed to 32 firms as of May, Ramon added. "We actually approved 100 firms to get the financial aid, but so far, we've processed disbursements to 32 firms," he said.

The ministry was also assessing an additional 18 companies for the program, Ramon added. At least 173 had asked to take part in the program this year, according to the ministry.

The machine restructuring program has been conducted since 2007 for the textile industry, and since 2009 for the footwear and leather industries, to revitalize the industries and attract private investment.

The Industry Ministry said it had disbursed Rp 1.21 trillion to the industries, which attracted Rp 8.23 trillion in private investment following the aid.

Around 4 million spinning machines, 200,000 weaving machines and 34,000 knitting machines all over 20 years old were in use by thousands of textile companies nationwide in 2011, according to the ministry.

Indonesian Textile Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat expressed his dissatisfaction over program cut, saying that there were many firms on the waiting list.

"The government has approved 111 firms, but there are still 70 others on the waiting list. The budget should have been raised instead of cut," he told the Post.

Ade claimed that limited funds for the program had resulted in a loss of a significant amount of potential investment. The Rp 145.5 billion allocated after the cut would only create Rp 1.4 trillion in private investment, he added.

According to Ade, the state money would have several effects on the textile industry, pushing up the industrial growth, employing workers and subsidizing purchases of imported machinery.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) economist Adam Latief said that the government should allocate a special budget for the program. "Up to present, I see there has been a tendency for the allocated funds for the program to be residual, depending on the state's fiscal capability," he said.

The program, according to Latif, would substantially strengthen the competitiveness of the industries, especially by their cutting production costs due to high electricity consumption. Based on a previous LIPI report, Latief said that the machines used by local manufactures used 18 percent more energy than those employed by Chinese firms.

People

Obituary: Liem Sioe Liong, New Order tycoon, Soeharto crony dies

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2012

Jakarta – Liem Sioe Liong, also known as Sudono Salim, once the country's wealthiest person who amassed vast wealth from his close connection with former New Order strongman Soeharto, passed away on Sunday evening from age-related illnesses in Singapore. He was 96.

Liem is survived by his wife Lie Las Nio and his four children Albert, Andre, Anthoni and Mira. "He passed away due to age-related illnesses," said former colleague, businessman Sofjan Wanandi, on Sunday.

Liem, who died in Raffles Hospital at around 3 p.m. local time, spent his retirement in a private residence adjacent to Changi International Airport in Singapore.

He decided to relocate to Singapore in 1998 in the wake of the anti-Chinese riots that swept the capital following the resignation of his patron Soeharto on May 21.

His close ties with Soeharto and the accusation that he benefitted immensely from the relationship had made him the target of anti-Chinese mobs during the rioting. His home on Jl. Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta, was ransacked.

The patron-client relationship between Liem and Soeharto dated back to the early 1950s.

Born in Fujian, China on Sept. 10, 1915, the impoverished Liem left his hometown for Indonesia when he was only 22. In the 1950s, he became a logistics supplier for the Indonesian Military's Diponogoro Division in Central Java, during which he forged ties with Soeharto, who was then only a colonel. He won projects for the military command when Soeharto was in charge of the division in the 1960s.

He set up Central Bank Asia (later BCA) in 1957, which thanks to easy access to credit from the New Order government grew to become one of the country's biggest banks.

When Soeharto came to power in 1965, Liem's fortunes took off. Liem's PT Mega was one of only two companies licensed to import cloves. In 1969 he was granted a license to trade in flour by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog). In the early 1970s, he set up Bogasari Flour Mills which then monopolized the import, milling and distribution of flour in the country. By 1991, Bogasari was the world's largest commercial buyer of wheat.

In 1975, he opened a cement plant, Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, and by the mid-1980s the cement-producing complex in West Java was said to be the biggest in the world. The company is now controlled by German cement maker HeidelbergCement.

In the 1980s, he acquired sole agency for the assembly and distribution of Suzuki, Volvo, Nissan and Mazda cars, Hino trucks and Suzuki motorcycles.

Following Soeharto's downfall, the Liem family business ran into trouble with the Reform era government opening an investigation into the tycoon's alleged swindling of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) funds.

University of Indonesia political analyst Fachry Ali said that Liem's passing would mean little to the country's business community. (tas)

Business tycoon Sudono Salim dies in Singapore

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2012

Shoeb K. Zainuddin – He was a giant of Indonesia's business world, a confidante of former President Suharto and the founder of the Salim Group. Sudono Salim, also known as Liem Sioe Liong, died on Sunday in Singapore at the age of 95 after a long battle with illness.

Born in China, he came to Indonesia in the mid-1930s to join his brother in Medan, North Sumatra, where he diversified their peanut trading business into the clove market. While in Medan, Liem supported the Indonesian war for independence with medical supplies and other items.

It was during this time that he forged his lifelong relationship with Suharto, who was then an officer in the Army. Over the next 50 years, Liem built one of the most formidable business groups in the country, with interests in cement, banking, property, food products, automobiles and trading.

Among its assets was Indofood, the world's largest producer of instant noodles, and First Pacific, a Hong Kong-based company that operates in more than 40 countries. The group in employs more than 100,000 workers in Indonesia and throughout the region.

During the New Order, the Salim Group received favored treatment from Suharto, but observers say it was Liem's entrepreneurial skills that allowed his businesses to flourish. The bank that he founded, Bank Central Asia, grew as it served the needs of the business community, in particular small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Mari Elka Pangestu, the tourism and creative economy minister, said Liem provided the beginning for a number of industries. "I met him many times and he was a very quiet man," she said. "He was very loyal to his country and he loved Indonesia."

As noted by lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, Liem laid the foundations for the country's industrial development by investing in the cement and finance sectors. He also invested heavily in food products, and Indomie has become a staple for millions of Indonesians today.

"Oom Liem was a controversial figure, especially after the 1998 riots, but he is a pioneer of the nation's industrialization and we need to appreciate that," Lubis said.

Sofyan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said Liem achieved his success through hard work. "Even though former President Suharto helped Liem's success in his business, he wouldn't have been able to expand his empire without entrepreneurial skills," Sofyan said.

Liem was Indonesia's first industrialist, and his efforts helped build the country's economy in the years after the anti-Communist purge. According to Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, who is also chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Liem was one of the few Indonesian business leaders who succeeded in building a global brand.

He was also a patriot, according to senior political analyst Soegeng Sarjadi, who knew him personally. "He has been loyal to the leadership, the nation and especially the business community," Soegeng said. "Loyalty to Indonesia, especially to business development, would be the best way to describe him."

The 1997 Asian financial crisis hit Liem and the Salim Group hard. He was forced to hand over assets worth billions of dollars to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency to help clear government loans to BCA.

Following the May 1998 riots, when his house was raided and ransacked by mobs, he went to Singapore, leaving the day-to-day running of the business to his son Anthony.

[Additional reporting by Faisal Maliki Baskoro & Yanto Soegiarto.]

Analysis & opinion

Ignoring Papua

Jakarta Post Editorial - June 14, 2012

In an effort to solve a problem, a leader has to avoid blowing an issue out of proportion or, in the extreme, playing it down as if everything is fine. Unfortunately President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is doing both.

When he learned that one or two Cabinet ministers had placed their allegiance to him below loyalty to their parties, Yudhoyono did nothing, despite his prerogative of coalition unity. But when fatal shootings flared up in Papua, killing at least 16 civilians and security personnel in the past month alone, the President saw no urgency to settle the issue once and for all despite the fact that violence has been plaguing the naturally resource-rich province for decades.

We are appalled by the President's latest statement, which described the recent incidents in Papua as small-scale, merely taking into account the small number of fatalities that were far below the number of lives lost in violence in the Middle East. The President has sent the wrong message about his administration's knowledge of what is really happening in Papua. More than that, the statement confirms that doubts over Jakarta's commitment to addressing the prolonged injustice in Papua are not groundless.

Now the public at home and around the world understand why there has been no comprehensive policy to deal with Papua, despite a number of initiatives, like the formation of the Unit for Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B). The unit has so far done much to open communications between local Papuans, including rebel groups, and the central government, but Jakarta's propensity to underestimate the core problem of Papua – which is injustice – undermines the hard work and achievements of the unit.

The Papuan shooting spree comes against the backdrop of the international community's discontent with Indonesia's human rights record in Papua during the UN Human Rights Commission's convention in Geneva a few weeks ago. It is therefore imperative for Indonesia, the government in particular, to regain the world's trust through affirmative policies aimed at delivering justice for the Papuan people, including an end to impunity given to perpetrators of atrocities.

Post-New Order Indonesia has resolved half of the Herculean job of keeping Papua as part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia through special autonomy for the province in 2001, which allows Papua to enjoy and manage the lion's share of its revenue from natural resources. But distribution of wealth has failed to materialize as most of the huge funds have been wasted – or embezzled by the local elites – as is evident in the fact that Papua and West Papua remain the most disadvantaged regions, mostly because of Jakarta's poor supervision and – more importantly – ignorance.

That Jakarta has let Papua squander its golden opportunities to develop and advance is not surprising given President Yudhoyono's indifference to the Papuan people's right to security.

Reports of the imminent restructuring of Papua's military command may exacerbate the already deteriorating security situation in the province. The chief post in each of the three military commands (Korem) is currently held by a colonel but will be given to a brigadier general. Only time will tell whether the restructuring will result in the deployment of more troops to Papua.

Until Yudhoyono, who himself promised a new deal for Papua after taking office in 2004, agrees to hold talks with the Papuans and listen to their grievances, the chance of a comprehensive solution to the Papua conflict will remain slim.

Indonesia succeeded in ending armed conflict and bringing peace back to Aceh in 2005 because there was a will. The same determination must prevail in winning Papua's hearts and minds.

Cracks emerge in Yudhoyono's facade

Asia Times - June 13, 2012

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Indonesia has been running its own version of the China bargain. In exchange for economic growth, Indonesians have largely agreed to overlook the government's failure to deal with other pressing issues.

Now, with the prospect of slowing growth, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration needs either to find new ways to boost the economy or show some long overdue leadership.

Last year, Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 6.4%, the fastest since 1996, the year before the Asian financial crisis hit. Last year's fourth-quarter growth rate of 6.5% marked five straight quarters of economic growth above 6%.

The country won international kudos for producing such solid results in a shaky global economic climate, countering slowing exports to Western destinations with a rise in consumer spending, infrastructure spending and foreign investment.

The local currency, the rupiah, has advanced 1% against the US dollar after gaining 4.4% in 2010. Inflation fell to a controllable 3.8%. Credit agencies Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings both recently raised Indonesia's debt to investment grade, which makes government borrowing cheaper.

Trade gap

This year, however, poses greater challenges as the slump in Europe seems more likely to spread than subside. First-quarter figures show Indonesia's growth continued at 6.3%.

At first glance, that's a good start toward the government's forecast of 6.5%, but it was the slowest growth figure registered since 2010, and so far the second-quarter has brought more troubling news. Inflation has climbed toward 4.5%. Exports in April fell 3.5% to US$15.6 billion, leading to a trade deficit of $641 million, Indonesia's first month in the red since June 2010.

The trade deficit is particularly ominous because foreign reserve outflows could add to pressure on the value of the rupiah, which on May 31 fell to its lowest since November 2009. The Indonesian currency is down more than 3% in 2012 and off 10% from its high in August last year.

Each 1% drop in the rupiah lifts inflation by up to 0.1%, according to economists. A falling rupiah also makes holding Indonesian equities and bonds less attractive to foreign investors. The Jakarta Stock Exchange's benchmark index is down nearly 10% during the past month.

President Yudhoyono's administration is trying to fight back. Last Friday, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said the government plans an economic stimulus package to boost domestic consumption. Consumer spending accounted for 55% of Indonesia's GDP last year, while exports made up 32%.

To keep wallets open, Martowardojo said the government will raise the threshold on taxable income by almost two-thirds, to 24 million rupiahs (US$2,553). That's a first step to encourage more household spending; or it would be, if another government agency wasn't working simultaneously to counter its impact.

At nearly the same time as Martowardojo announced the stimulus plan, the country's central bank said it will go ahead with its plans to restrict credit and thus reduce consumption. Bank Indonesia's new credit rules, which take effect next week, require a minimum 30% down payment for property mortgages and private cars, 25% for motorcycles, and 20% for commercial vehicles.

Those down payment rates are approximately double prevailing norms. Industry officials suggest that under the new rules, sales of cars and motorcycles will fall short of forecasts by more than 10%, tumbling below 2011 figures.

Similarly, Martowardojo said the stimulus program would also include incentives for investment through accelerated infrastructure financing. The government, however, has not established the required regulations to actually spend more on infrastructure faster.

It is difficult to determine whether Yudhoyono and his administration are the villains or the victims in this round of policy incoherence. But it has arguably become the unfortunate norm during his second-term government.

Ducking the mandate

On many fronts, Yudhoyono has squandered the overwhelming electoral mandate for reform he won three years ago. Rather than acting boldly to press for the changes his supporters sought, Yudhoyono has gone out of his way to compromise, in effect asking the opposition to run the government, and to duck the big issues.

Some argue that Indonesia has just run into an overdue sour patch after a couple of years of nothing but sweet spots. But the current troubles highlight how hollow Indonesia's economic boom has been, and how little its leaders have done to build on it.

In exports, for instance, shipments have focused on the low-hanging fruit of natural resources, leveraging into a global commodity price upswing. In value terms, nearly all of Indonesia's exports are non-renewable resources, including coal, petroleum products and precious metals.

Investors, however, tend to take Indonesia's commodities and run to process them elsewhere. Even the rock from the Freeport-McMoRan's giant Grasberg mine in West Papua is sent to Singapore for processing.

Despite its labor-cost advantages over China and Vietnam, a large relatively open domestic market, and duty-free access to the rest of Southeast Asia and China through Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trade pacts, Indonesia has been unable to attract significant manufacturing investment.

Manufacturers that have tried Indonesia as an alternative to China often complain that its logistics are inferior due to poor infrastructure. China's government has poured comparative billions into roads, ports and other big-ticket projects.

Only now, with its newly won investment grade credit rating, can Indonesia borrow the funds to undertake similar infrastructure improvements. At the same time, the country still has a difficult time attracting non-portfolio investment. That is mainly because the government hasn't tackled the big issues facing the country, most notably corruption and a dysfunctional judicial system. Nobody wants to invest in a factory or bridge built on legal quicksand.

Foreigners are rightfully leery of a system where tycoons play by a different set of rules, and Indonesians who are successful are more interested in getting their money out of the country – into a Singapore condo, for example – than investing at home.

To its credit, Yudhoyono and his team have tried to fight corruption. They've supported the surprisingly effective Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK by its Indonesian acronym).

But convictions and jail terms always seem to stop with the little guys, tax officials like Gayus Tambunan, rather than following the chain to the big businesses that Tambunan alleges paid him off to fix their taxes. You can see the glass as half-empty or half-full, but at least there is a glass.

What you won't see is Yudhoyono getting out in front on any issue. He has consistently let hot-button issues percolate and generally adopts a consensus position with the backing of allies. He often lets others do the talking for him.

That leads many observers to believe that Yudhoyono doesn't really know what he wants, doesn't really care, or doesn't really mean what he says, and thus his pronouncements are often ignored.

No way to treat a lady

The recent cancelation of a concert by American singer and songrwriter Lady Gaga would be a comic footnote if it didn't perfectly illustrate how Yudhoyono's weak leadership hurts Indonesia, domestically and internationally.

Last month, a sell-out crowd of 52,000 paid from US$50 to more than $200 to see Lady Gaga perform at Jakarta's Bung Karno Stadium. But hardline Muslim groups, including the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) that specializes in mob violence, threatened to attack the airport when the pop diva arrived and to disrupt the show.

The police, notoriously reluctant to stand up to Islamist and other religious extremists without explicit instructions from politicians, balked at issuing permits for the concert. When no one in government or the mainstream religious establishment dared to stand up against the hardliners, promoters canceled the show.

"FPI is grateful that she has decided not to come. Indonesians will be protected from sin brought about by this Mother Monster, the destroyer of morals," FPI Jakarta chairman Habib Salim Alatas told a wire service. "Lady Gaga fans, stop complaining. Repent and stop worshipping the devil. Do you want your lives taken away by God as infidels?"

While Yudhoyono remained hunkered in his bunker, for good measure his government's Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali sided with FPI, saying, "I strongly believe this cancellation will benefit the country."

The opposite is more likely true. Foreign companies looking to invest in Indonesia will see that Yudhoyono's government lacks the fortitude to stand up to fringe groups with the same level of support and credibility as Florida's Koran burning pastor Terry Jones. Instead, Indonesian authorities will let extremists threaten violence against innocent people without consequence and scuttle a multi-million dollar international enterprise.

Lady Gaga had the last word when she said, "There's nothing holy about hatred." And, she probably knows, it's bad for business, too. As the economic squeeze tightens, perhaps Yudhoyono will realize he has to act decisively and get his government in line to promote economic growth. As the clock ticks down on his final two years in office, he may realize a healthy economy is the lone positive legacy he can hope to leave.

[Longtime editor of award-winning investor rights advocate eRaider.com, Gary LaMoshihas written for Slate and Salon.com, and works an adviser to Writing Camp (www.writingcamp.net). He first visited Indonesia in 1994 and has been watching ever since.]

The week in review: Year of the thick-skinned

Jakarta Post - June 10, 2012

Endy M Bayuni – Did you know that 2012 is The International Year of the Rhino? No, you didn't miss the news. We, the media, did. Few, if any mainstream media sources (including this publication), gave the story a miss when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared it in a speech to mark World Environment Day on Tuesday.

Indonesia, home to two of the world's five remaining species of rhino, is spearheading this year an international campaign to save the stocky, thick-skinned animal from extinction. Animal groups say there are only 50 Javan rhinos and around 200 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild. No one has sighted a Java rhino for a while, but the only clue that this animal still exists is the occasional discovery of its dung, so we are told.

Environmental groups appreciate the President's gesture. Sadly, however, the public cares far less about the fate of the rhino, judging by the lack of media publicity.

President Yudhoyono would probably have generated far more public interest if he had declared The Year of Thick-Skinned People instead. No disrespect to the rhinos – they were born that way – but such a declaration is bound to hit home to a nation that is becoming more and more thick-skinned in defense of its own good.

Indonesia is still smarting from last week's shaming at the UN Human Rights Council when the government presented a report that painted too-rosy-a- picture, defying the reality on the ground. Several governments present at the hearing in Geneva of Indonesia's four-yearly review of its human rights situation pressed the Indonesian delegation on the questions of religious intolerance and the security situation in Papua.

While Indonesia's human rights failings are common knowledge, it is amazing to see how thick-skinned officials can be as they remain in constant denial. This week, they were joined by religious leaders like Hasyim Muzadi of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), who claimed that Indonesia was the "most tolerant nation in the world"; and Tengku Zulkarnaen, the deputy secretary-general of the Indonesian Ulema Council, who called on the national security apparatus to "crush" Indonesians who were bad-mouthing the country's human rights record abroad. He called them "whores", according to the Republika newspaper.

At least the Presidential Office admitted on Wednesday that the security situation in Papua has become unstable, contradicting the government's report in Geneva a week earlier, which claimed that the Papuan situation was firmly under control. "Unstable" doesn't even describe the situation now, with reports of daily shootings this past week, some against security officers, but others perpetrated by them. On Wednesday, a civilian was found dead after soldiers ran amok in Wamena following the death of a colleague.

The problem with this attitude of constant denial is that it is preventing the government from taking the necessary steps to address the problem. If you don't own up to the problems in the first place, how can you expect to find the solutions? Admitting that the condition is unstable may not go far enough to reach a solution. How about describing it as a rapid descent into violence? Maybe then we can seriously start searching for a solution.

Further evidence of society's rising intolerance comes from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); I know them enough of the center's staff to vouch that they are not whores. A CSIS survey has shown that while most Indonesians had no problem living in the same neighborhood as people from other faiths, nearly 70 percent of them said they would not want to have other religions' places of worship in their neighborhoods and nearly 80 percent said they opposed inter-religious marriage.

Tasikmalaya this week becomes the latest district in the country to go the Sharia way in defiance of the Constitution, which bans discriminatory treatment against anyone. Typically, it singles out women as prime targets by requiring them, Muslims or non-Muslims, to wear the veil. The introduction of the Islamic law comes with the provision of establishing a force of morality police to ensure compliance. Aceh, the first and only province in the country that has embraced Sharia, this week began stopping men and women who wore clothes deemed too tight.

When a state starts sponsoring discriminatory acts and promoting intolerance, there is no stopping it. This nation is doomed.

The Constitutional Court ruled this week that President Yudhoyono was within his constitutional prerogative in creating and appointing deputy ministers to support the work of his Cabinet, but it faulted him for limiting the appointments to career bureaucrats. These are political appointments and the President should not limit himself in making his choices. No harm has been done with this ruling, as the President can keep his deputy ministers; but still, losing a case in a court of law over a constitutional issue further undermines his credibility and ability to govern.

Interestingly, a survey released by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate showed that 80 percent of Indonesians believed that the country could become a superpower. In the absence of a strong economy and a powerful military, Indonesia is far from acquiring that status. But with its huge population – the fourth-largest in the world – and a decent economy and stable politics, Indonesia can be a regional power. To become a power to be reckoned with, Indonesia must also possess other credentials, such as a substantive democracy, respect for human rights and tolerance. Being thick-skinned is certainly not one of them.