Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has turned to religious leaders for help after being criticized over an international survey that ranked Indonesia as being at risk of becoming a failed state.
Yudhoyono, who just returned home from Mexico and Brazil where he attended the G20 Summit and Rio+20 Earth Summit, respectively, admitted that the world view of Indonesia had worsened, according to Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) secretary-general Ichwan Sam.
"The President told us of his concerns about Indonesia's image in the eyes of the world," Ichwan said after meeting the President at the State Palace on Thursday.
"He said that generally our rapport was good except in three areas: corruption, bureaucracy and homogenous conflict. He told us to help work on these." Ichwan was accompanied by MUI chairman Ma'ruf Amin, among others.
"Homogenous conflicts, in particular, have appeared to be intolerant and religious incidents. This is shameful, given that Indonesia has been a model of a good, pluralistic and tolerant nation to the world," he added.
Yudhoyono, who has been shaping his international image during his second presidency, took into account the three elements that he told the ulema were part of the aspects in the 2012 Failed State Index (FSI), a study released to the public earlier this month by noted NGO Fund for Peace.
The study put Indonesia in 63rd place out of 178 countries worldwide, down one position from last year. It categorized Indonesia as being in the "warning" zone toward a failed state.
According to the NGO, among the biggest challenges Indonesia faced were infrastructure development, unemployment, corruption, violence against religious minorities and low quality of education. (mtq)
Murizal Hamzah More than a week after the author of the controversial book "Lumpur Lapindo File: Konspirasi SBY-Bakrie" ("The Lapindo Mud File: SBY-Bakrie Conspiracy"), Ali Azhar Akbar, was last seen in public, the writer's whereabouts remain unknown.
He was last seen at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta on June 19, after filing a judicial review of Article 18 of the 2012 State Budget, which allows the government to use state funds to cover damages and compensation related to the 2006 Lapindo mudflow disaster.
"As of today, Ali Azhar's whereabouts remain unknown," Tjut Sukiadi, a close friend of Ali, told BeritaSatu.com on Wednesday. He said Ali's family and friends had made numerous attempts to find him, all of which had proved futile.
"Yesterday, [Ali's] lawyer M. Taufik Budiman asked the National Police to protect Ali and his family," Tjut added. He again denied speculation that Ali's disappearance was a publicity stunt for his books.
Ali has written two books related to the Lapindo mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java. The first one provided background information on the events related to the disaster, while the second book was about an alleged conspiracy between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, whose family owns oil and gas company Lapindo Brantas. The firm is widely blamed for triggering the Sidoarjo mud volcano that erupted in 2006, displacing thousands of families.
Bakrie is considered a strong contender in the 2014 presidential election. (BeritaSatu/JG)
Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, West Kutai, East Kalimantan Thousands of residents in two West Kutai villages are protesting efforts by a palm oil firm to clear land for a plantation, arguing they will be left with no land of their own to farm.
Masyarani, a Muara Tae tribal elder representing the villages of Murate and Lempunah, said on Sunday that all 600 families in the villages were opposed to the incursion by palm oil company Borneo Surya Mining Jaya.
"We were never involved in the discussions between the district administration and the company about the land," he said. "So why all of a sudden are they clearing us off our own land? We will stand firm against them."
Masyarani said BSMJ was the latest palm oil firm to come into the area. Three other companies have already cleared land in the area for their own plantations, each time resulting in the villagers losing more of their land and with no benefits to show for it.
He said that the commercial farming activities had also taken an environmental toll, with the local groundwater supply becoming contaminated.
"Three companies have already come in here, yet we remain poor and our land has been lost," Masyarani said. "All we have to show for it is increased pollution and plenty of promises, but nothing concrete."
BSMJ was awarded a concession in January 2010 to clear 476 hectares of land in the area for a plantation. Another palm oil company, Munte Waniq Jaya Perkasa, was awarded a 683-hectare concession at the same time.
The Muara Tae people are also protesting MWJP's activities in the area on the grounds that they were never consulted by the authorities before the concessions were awarded. They argue that because the forest in question is ancestral land, the district administration should have sought their permission before awarding a plantation permit for the area.
The district authorities, however, point out that the area has not been formally designated an ancestral forest.
The MWJP case came under international scrutiny earlier this year when it was revealed that the Norwegian government had made a $6.7 million investment in the firm's Malaysian holding company.
The UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency pointed out that the investment was "ethically compromising" because the Norwegian government had also pledged Rp 1 billion ($106,000) for Indonesia as part of a program under which Indonesia would freeze issuing any new forestry permits for primary and peat forests for two years.
Isal Wardana, executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), agreed that the district authorities should have done more to encourage companies to optimize their existing land rather than grant them new tracts of forest to clear.
"There should be no more new permits or expansion of plantations," he said. There are 203 palm oil concessions in East Kalimantan, covering 35,200 square kilometers, 17 percent of the province.
The spread of HIV infections in Papua is alarming, with those in remote regions being deprived of transportation facilities reported to have contracted the disease.
"Two years ago I received information that people with HIV had been found in Puncak regency. It was proof that the disease had already reached villages difficult to reach by modes of transportation," Constant Karma, chairman of Papua AIDS Mitigation Commission (KPAD), said during the launch of an anti-AIDS campaign in Jayapura on Friday.
He said that transmission of the HIV virus looked to be uncontrollable as his commission had constantly received reports of new cases.
As many as 21 people, between the ages of 19 and 49, were reported to have been treated for the virus at Dian Harapan Hospital in Jayapura in June, in addition to 84 cases recorded between January and May.
"The same period last year, we had 56 cases. That's an indication that HIV cases are increasing rapidly," Bruder Agus Adil, head of the hospital's Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT), said.
HIV spread in Papua, according to Constant, is transmitted through unsafe sexual intercourse, which constitutes 90 percent of the current 12,187 cases.
Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura Tribal leaders in Papua urged residents not to fly the Morning Star flag in commemoration of the Free Papua Movement's July 1 anniversary, warning that the flag which is banned in Indonesia will only provoke further violence in the restive province.
The Free Papua Movement (OPM) has disseminated a text message asking Papuans to fly the Morning Star flag on Sunday to mark the 47th anniversary of the militant organization. The text message asked Papuans to stop their daily routines, fly the flag and fire their guns in the air in solidarity with the OPM.
But tribal leaders in Papua say that showing support for the OPM will only lead to further crackdowns and violence.
"Why should they raise the Morning Star flag during every commemoration of the OPM?" asked Philipus Halitopo, the head of mountain tribes in Jayapura and the neighboring district of Keerom.
"This statement will cause unrest and terror. We, the people of Papua, don't agree him [Lambert Pekikir, the leader of the OPM]. We call on all the people of Papua, especially those in Jayapura and Keerom not to be provoked by some groups' attempts to stir up public disorder on July 1."
Philipus said that Papuans should ignore the text messages and not be influenced by "false information and rumors."
"All people should together maintain Papua's security. To my brother Lambert Pekikir, please stop the plan; it won't solve [our] problems. It's not like Papua will gain independence because the Morning Star is being waved," he added.
The leader of the Dani tribe issued a similar statement, explaining that the Lambert and the OPM are trying to stir unrest in the province. "People should not answer Lambert's call," Bion Tabuni said. "It hasn't even been 40 days since Mako Tabuni died. Don't further our sorrows with these actions."
The tribe is still mourning the loss of independence activist Mako, chairman of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB). Mako was fatally shot in a police raid in Jayapura on June 14 that human rights groups have likened to a state-sanctioned hit.
Police said that Mako was involved in a spate of deadly shootings in Jayapura His organization plans to turn themselves in to police in a bid to prove their innocence.
The OPM does not speak for all Papuans, Bion said. "If Lambert insists on forcing his will, the Dani tribe will be at the forefront fighting [the OPM]," Bion said.
The Mee Paniai tribe echoed the statements, with tribal leader Beny Gobay urging Papuans not to "get easily stirred up and provoked. In the end it is innocent people who will be victimized."
The police and military plan to step up raids across Jayapura on Sunday, Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Alfred Papare said. "The TNI and National Police forces will intensify patrols and raids in a number of places. We'll station officers at vulnerable spots," he said.
Banjir Ambarita, Papua The Papua Council Presidium (PDP) threw its support behind a plan to bring Yogyakarta's Sri Sultan Hamengkubowono X to the restive province to mediate talks between Jakarta and an assembly of Papuan tribal, religious and independence leaders.
The council, which represents some 245 ethnic groups in Papua, praised the plan and expressed gratitude toward the sultan for volunteering to mediate this dialog in Papua, where violence has been escalating in recent months.
"This is a good political development. The initiative deserves positive appreciation from both Papuans and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,"Thaha Alhamid, secretary-general of the PDP, said in Papua on Friday.
"As a cultural leader from Java, the sultan understands that the best way to settle the political dispute [in Papua] is through dialog, not war... I think Papua's cultural leaders must welcome the noble initiative," he added.
Indonesia's central government has historically seen Papuans as "separatists" and "enemies of the state," Thaha said. It will be important for the Jakarta delegation to distance themselves from this stance, he added. "That is an old paradigm that has to be left behind," Thaha said. "[It will only lead] to violence and crimes against humanity."
The sultan who also serves as Yogyakarta's de facto governor said during a discussion in Yogyakarta last week that he would mediate discussions between the two sides, but only if the Papuans want to hold a dialog.
"As long as Papuans recognize the need for dialogs [with Jakarta], Yogyakarta is ready to facilitate them. But this requires the trust of Papuans. So I will let people of Papua decide on this," the sultan said.
Lawmakers at the House of Representatives and members of the Papua Legislative Council also welcomed the move.
Arya Dipa, Bandung President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reiterated that he will not pursue dialogue with any party intending to push for a referendum or plebiscite in Papua.
"We can engage in dialogue to achieve progress on development, people's welfare and justice. I constantly have dialogue with their leaders, but there is no room for discussion about a referendum or the like," Yudhoyono stressed as he spoke in front of around 1,000 students from the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commando Institute and National Police Field Officers Institute at the TNI Army Officers Institute in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.
Yudhoyono's statement was in response to a question from one of the students regarding the government's stance regarding the frequent human rights violations allegedly committed by military and police personnel in Papua.
Yudhoyono said the tasks carried out by the TNI and National Police in Papua and West Papua were part of overall efforts to uphold security and justice in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
"The duties of the National Police and the TNI in Papua are to maintain security, protect residents, combat crime and uphold the law as part of their state duties," he said.
During the occasion, Yudhoyono denied the notion put forward by some foreign entities that the conflict in Papua was due to the stifling of freedom of speech.
"If there is a movement in Papua to split, it's called separatism; it's not freedom of speech. It is against the spirit to maintain state sovereignty, including Papua," he said.
A referendum, the so-called Act of Free Choice, was held in Papua between March and August 1969 at the end of the Dutch era. The results claimed that the majority of Papuans freely chose to have Papua become part of Indonesia. The United Nations ratified the results of the referendum in its assembly the following November.
According to Yudhoyono, since he took office as President, he had actively strengthened diplomacy with countries in the Pacific region, such as Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, plus the United States, regarding matters on geopolitics in the region.
"Whenever we draw up a memorandum of understanding [MoU] in the framework of a strategic partnership, there are always explicit statements from these friendly nations that they fully support our sovereignty and territorial unity," he said.
Yudhoyono added that the Papua plebiscite conducted by the United Nations in 1969 clearly showed that the region was part of Indonesia, and that the result of the poll was final. "We must respect the political process implemented by the UN," he added.
With regards to the possibility of violence and violations of basic human rights by TNI or police personnel, Yudhoyono said any party that violated the law would face sanctions in accordance with the law.
"I have repeatedly told military and police personnel not to act excessively, not to break the law or violate human rights. Those who violate the law, such as professional soldiers in the Middle East, will face sanctions. At the same time, the state should not assign a task to soldiers or police that is unauthorized or has the potential to violate human rights," he said.
Yudhoyono added that the government had given real attention to Papua in the form of policies. Since 2005, he said, a militaristic approach to quell conflicts had been replaced with an approach more concerned with people's welfare and the wellbeing of communities.
"We have granted special autonomy [to Papua]. In 2011 alone, Rp 6 trillion [US$642 million] of the country's leftover budget of Rp 26 trillion went on education, while the rest went to Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara. We are serious about improving the welfare of our brothers in Papua," he said.
Bandung President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) asserts there are will not space be open up for dialogue with any party who intends to push the referendum or poll in Papua.
"There is no room for dialogue related to territorial integrity. If it is for justice, welfare I am ready to dialogue. But no referendum, "he said while giving a briefing to approximately 1,000 students Schools Command, Forces Command School and School for middle rank police officers in Officer Candidate School Command Headquarters of the Army, Bandung, West Java, on Friday (29/6).
SBY's statement is an answer to questions of an officer student concerning government's stance on the issue in Papua which are often linked to violations of human rights by soldiers and policy on duty.
Yudhoyono said that all assignments are done by military and police in Papua and West Papua as an attempt to enforce security and law in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. "Assignment of military and police in Papua for a local security guard, protect citizens, combat crime, enforce the law is valid. State duty," he said.
On that occasion, the President also responded to statements and comments from various parties who expressed a variety of conflicts in Papua was due to the silencing of free speech. "If there's breakaway movement, separatism is not freedom of speech. In contrast to the purpose of safeguarding sovereignty, "he said.
According to SBY, since the beginning of the post of President, he has been actively raising diplomacy with countries in the Asia Pacific region such as western Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guini, United States related to the territorial integrity of Indonesia.
"We made a memorandum of understanding and always there is an explicit statement of support of friendly countries and territorial integrity of Indonesia."
Yudhoyono said the poll was conducted by the United Nations (UN) in 1960 in Papua's already clear that the region including parts of Indonesia. The results of the poll is final. "We must appreciate what the UN has done," he added.
Associated with the possibility of violence or acts that violate human rights by soldiers or police officers, SBY asserted, all those who violate the rules will be subject to sanctions according to law.
"I repeatedly tell the soldiers and police do not do more than decency, law and violate human rights. If there is a break as a professional soldier in the Middle East, they can be sanctioned, we can also be penalized. This country should not be assigned tasks to the army and the police then held to be invalid and the potential to violate human rights, "he said.
The reall form of government attention to Papua, continued SBY, is clearly made in the form of policy. Since 2005, he said, the military approach to reduce the conflict has been replaced by a welfare approach to society.
"We have given special autonomy. In 2011 there was Rp 26 trillion to Rp 6 trillion of which was indirectly entered into the field of education. The rest is to Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku, East Nusa Tenggar. We are serious about advancing our brothers in Papua, "he said. [153]
Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura A person claiming to speak for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) says members of the pro-independence group will soon surrender themselves to Indonesian authorities as proof of their innocence in relation to the series of shootings that have rocked Jayapura in recent weeks.
Victor Yeimo, who said he was the KNPB spokesman for international affairs, said the organization was not responsible for the attacks, which have killed at least eight people, mostly civilians.
Mako Tabuni, the deputy chairman of the KNPB, was shot dead on June 14 during a police raid to find those responsible for the attacks. He was accused of being one of the perpetrators. A riot erupted in Jayapura the same day, soon after his death, in protest of the shooting.
The KNPB and Indonesian rights organizations alike have slammed Mako's killing. Indonesian authorities have defended it, saying Mako tried to resist arrest and grab a gun belonging to a police officer. By surrendering themselves to police, Victor said the KNPB hopes authorities will no longer find a reason to scapegoat its members.
"Police must investigate the mysterious shooters that have been doing all those actions instead of continually accusing the KNPB of being behind all of them. As proof of our non-involvement, all of the members of the KNPB are ready to turn ourselves in to the [Papua] Police," Victor said in Jayapura on Thursday.
He alleged that a massive conspiracy was behind the shootings and subsequent KNPB scapegoating, accusing the central government of playing a major role, supported by the police and military.
"The police have accused the KNPB of being the perpetrator behind the series of shootings, but they can never legally prove the accusation. The KNPB, in our fight, never exercises a method of violence.
"If we used violence, then it is a setback to our fight," Victor said, adding that if any KNPB member committed a violent act, they did so on an individual basis and not on behalf of the organization. He did not mention exactly when the KNPB members would turn themselves in to the Papua Police, only saying it would be in the "near future."
Jakarta The cycle of violence in Papua has deep roots back in the earliest days of Indonesia's history as a nation. The victims and witnesses of human rights abuses still feel the grief today.
In a joint report released on Friday, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM-Papua) reviewed Papua's recent history, including the 2001 Papua Special Autonomy Law governing the relationship between the province and Indonesia, within a transitional justice framework.
"Even as we were conducting this research, new outbreaks of violence and cases of gross human rights violations continued to take place," ELSHAM director Ferry Marisan said in a joint press statement.
"We interviewed more than 100 victims, many of whom have profound feelings of distrust, deeply rooted in the past and direct experiences of human rights abuses today. Official acknowledgement of this violent past is a prerequisite to building peace in Papua."
The NGOs said reconciliation would remain elusive unless these grievances were recognized and addressed in a practical way through a transitional justice strategy.
Such a strategy, they said, should include truth-seeking, criminal accountability, reparations, institutional reform to prevent recurrence of human rights violations, and a focus on the rights of indigenous women.
"We are at risk of repeating the past through using force to deal with unrest, instead of opening a process of genuine dialogue. The first step is acknowledgment," said New York-based ICTJ senior associate Galuh Wandita. (mtq)
Jakarta In anticipation of the upcoming Free Papua Movement (OPM) anniversary, the National Police aim to increase security measures in the easternmost province.
National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said the police had received information about a plan by OPM members to hold a flag-raising ceremony during the commemoration, which is scheduled for July 1.
"We hope people will remain calm. Military personnel will assist our police officers to secure the region," he said on Wednesday, adding that he did not have any plan to send additional police officers to the province.
Papua Police spokesman Sr. Adj. Comr. Johannes Nugroho Wicaksono said police would prevent OPM members from raising the banned Morning Star flag, which is regarded as an OPM symbol, tempo.co reported.
"We will remove their flags, but we won't use excessive force. No weapons will be used," he said.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura Three regions in Papua and one in West Papua are looking to become new provinces in the hope of reversing sluggish development under former and current administrations.
The petitioners have urged the Papuan Consultative Assembly (MRP) to issue a recommendation approving their formation.
"We have received four proposals to form new provinces in Papua and the MRP has formed a special committee to study the proposals and determine whether or not it is feasible for them to split," MRP special autonomy committee member Samuel K. Waromi told reporters at his office on Tuesday.
The four proposed provinces are named South Papua, Central Papua, Teluk Cendrawasih (Papua) and North West Papua (West Papua), each comprising several regencies and municipalities.
Since the introduction of regional autonomy over a decade ago, Indonesia has seen the formation of 205 new autonomous regions seven provinces, 164 regencies and 34 municipalities. In total, the country now has 529 autonomous regions: 33 provinces, 398 regencies and 98 municipalities.
The government declared a moratorium in 2009 against the formation of new regions in light of the fact that the new regions were largely under- performing in four areas: Good governance, public services, competitiveness and social welfare.
The declared moratorium, which is expected to end in December, was also triggered by an ugly conflict over a proposed province in North Sumatra that led to the death of then North Sumatra Legislative Council speaker Azis Angkat in 2008.
Despite the moratorium, proposals for additional regions have continued to be put forward and the House of Representatives agreed on bills for the creation of 19 new regions (one province and 18 regencies) in April.
Samuel said people's desire to create new provinces was due to gaps in public service, so much so that despite special autonomy status being granted to Papua, people at the grassroots level had yet to benefit from the legislation.
He likened the condition to grass roots becoming so dry that smoke starts to rise from it. "Will the grass roots be ignored and left to dry and burn? Grass roots need water to survive and nourishment to thrive," he said.
Earlier, in calling for the establishment of Central Papua province, former Nabire regent AP Youw; former Yapen Waropen regent Philip Wona; former Jayapura naval base commander Dick Henk Webiser; and the former head of the Mimika Legislative Council, Andarias Anggaibak, met interim Papua Governor Syamsul Arief Rivai to request his consent to form Central Papua province.
"We have prepared a draft to form the province of Central Papua and we only have to meet two more conditions: Approval by the governor of Papua as the parent province and approval from the MRP as mandated in the 2001 Law on Special Autonomy," said Youw.
"We have minerals but we remain poor. So, we want to form Central Papua so that public services will cater to everyone," Andarias said.
Papua's caretaker governor said people had the right to express their aspirations but that the ratification for the formation of new provinces were the central government's authority. "I can offer no promises in response to their wishes because all decisions belong to the central government," Syamsul said.
The OPM's general coordinator, Lambert Pekikir has announced that three regions in Papua are ready to fly the Morning Star flag on 1 July, the anniversary of the OPM's military wing, the TPN.
The flag flying will last for three days, along with fireworks. He said that the three regions are Wamena, Keerom and Yapen Waropen. People in Wamena are from the mountains, the people Yapen Waropen are coastal people, while those from valleys and lowland areas live in Keerom.
OPM troops along with civilian sympathisers will take part in the flag- flying. "There will be ceremonies as well, attended by the general public and those struggling for an independent Papua. Our military forces are well prepared for these events and if the TNI and police respond with violence, we are ready," he said.
Meanwhile, the police have issued an ultimatum urging that there is no flag flying. "The Morning Star flag is not a flag of the Indonesian Republic or a regional symbol, and anyone who unfurls that flag anywhere in Papua will be seen as having violated the law and will face the consequences in accord with the laws in force in Indonesia."
The army spokesman, Yohannes Nugroho Wicaksono called on people not to fly the flag. "In the interest of security and order throughout the area of Papua, we urging people not to be provoked by those who are planning this event."
Activities undertaken by the police in anticipation of the flag flying on 1 July include intensifying police patrols and sweepings in all police regions. He said that the police have been ordered to act professionally.
The chairman of Commission A of the DPRP, the Papuan legislative assembly, Ruben Magai, has called on all the people not to be provoked by unnecessary issues in advance of the TPN anniversary. He hoped that people will continue to engage in their everyday activities, while calling on the security forces not to use violence. 'The persuasive approach must be prioritised. The best thing would be for all those concerned to sit down and talk, to as to find out what each sides wants.
Philip Jacobson A group of Papuans was in Jakarta on Tuesday to give their own account of the recent escalation of violence in their home region, which they say has been distorted by imbalanced media coverage and statements by authorities who assert that separatists are behind it.
Meanwhile, reports of arrests continue to flow out of Papua as a police crackdown there seemingly intensifies, with the Jayapura Police chief announcing on Monday that his forces had detained three people responsible for "spreading fear and terror" in the province.
The three Jefry Wandikwo, Zakius Saplay and Calvin Wenda allegedly acted in conjunction with slain independence activist Mako Tabuni to perpetuate a series of shootings in Jayapura, including an attack on a German tourist who was injured.
Mako, who was deputy chairman of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was shot dead earlier this month by plainclothes police sent to arrest him.
Officers say they had to shoot Mako because he resisted arrest and made a grab at one of their guns. But witnesses interviewed by the National Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) say the police shot him from their car.
"This is nothing new, these gross human rights violations against those accused of being supporters of separatists," Rev. Benny Giay, who was part of the delegation from Papua and spoke at Kontras on Tuesday, told the Jakarta Globe after the event. "This is how they try to weaken, try to control the civilians."
Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Alfred Papare said Calvin was involved in the shooting of the German tourist while Jefry and Zakius were involved in the killing of a rental car driver as well as arson along with Mako.
The police are still looking for three people involved: Andi Muk, Slamet Kosay, Mako Tabuni and Dani Wenda. "Although we arrested the three we believe are behind the act of violence and shooting, to this day we cannot conclude definitively the motive behind these acts. But what is certain is that they have spread fear and terror among residents," Alfred said.
On Sunday, Australia-based Institute of Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights (IPAHR), reported that five others had been arrested: Zakeus Hupla, Wayut Aspalek, Niel Kogoya, Niel Wolom and Ishak Elopere. At least three of them were KNPB members, IPAHR said.
KNPB was founded in 2008. In coordination with the Britain-based Free Papua Movement and other international groups, it campaigns for a referendum on Papuan self-determination. Its members, mostly students and ex-students, organize demonstrations and hold speaking events to promote their cause.
The Indonesian security apparatus characterizes the group as a dangerous separatist organization. Its members and supporters, meanwhile, including Giay, say it acts peacefully.
An International Crisis Group report from 2010 said the organization consisted of "mostly university-educated students and ex-students who adopted a militant left-wing ideology and saw themselves as revolutionaries, fighting the Indonesian state and the giant Freeport copper and gold mine near Timika... they increasingly saw that the only hope of achieving their cause lay in showing the world that Papua was in crisis and that meant more visible manifestations of conflict."
That same year, the University of Sydney's West Papua Project authored a rebuttal to the ICG report. It stated: "We have found instead that the KNPB is primarily a media and information clearinghouse that expresses mainstream views held by a wide spectrum of Papuan civil society and political organizations, as well as the armed wing of the OPM." Giay said the ICG report was "crazy" and "biased."
KNPB chairman Buchtar Tabuni, no relation to Mako, was imprisoned for three years in 2008 on charges of makar, or subversion, related to his work with KNPB.
Benny Wenda, the exiled Papuan who founded the Free Papua Movement (OPM), said the security forces saw Mako as a threat because of his advocacy, which was why they killed him.
"Mako and Buchtar are really, really brave to tell the truth," Benny told the Globe by phone from Britain. "Indonesia always blames West Papuans. They never look for justice. It really upsets me, really."
Local police, military and government officials are developing a culturally-sensitive approach to addressing violence and unrest in Papua, the National Police said on Tuesday.
National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo did not elaborate on the details of this new approach, but said that he hoped it could solve the province's "Security problem." The programs will urge Papua residents not to violate each others' rights and will instill a belief in "the right of the state," Timur said.
Timur cited recent reports that 11 members of a pro-independence militia operating in Serui, Papua, laid down their arms and expressed their support for Indonesia. "In Serui, 11 people gave themselves up and unarmed themselves. And after the hard work of police and the local community, 11 people claimed to support [Indonesia]," Timur said.
A similar approach could be taken to address tribal conflicts like the recent clashes in Timika, the police chief said. "About tribal issues, we need more involvement from the local government that is based on traditions. Then military, police and the local government can manage to solve the problems they are faced with," said Timur Pradopo.
Jayapura Victor Yeimo, the international spokesperson of the KNPB, the National Committee of West Papua, has announced that members of the KNPB will soon be surrendering enmasse to the police in Papua.
He said that they are absolutely convinced that the series of violent actions that have occurred in Jayapura were nothing to do with the KNPB. He said that the series of shootings and acts of violence were part of a big scenario the mastermind of which is not yet known.
This is why the KNPB has decided to put pressure on the police to investigate these incidents that were the work of "mysterious" or unknown people {referred to now across Papua by the acronym "OTK" [Orang Terlatih Khusus or Specially Trained People].
"The police need to investigate this As yet, they have not be able to say who was responsible and have not made any arrests. The KNPB suspects hat this is all part of a huge scenario by the state authorities which has quite deliberately been stirred up by the police and the military," said Yeimo
With regard to the shooting of Mako Tabuni, this was a violation of the law of the land. "If the state has respect for human beings the case of Mako would have been handled according to due process, and not resulted in loss of life."
He went on to say that the shooting of Mako Tabuni is clear evidence that the law here in this country does not side with the Papuan people. There are no grounds whatever for allegations that the KNPB was responsible. Such activities are not part of the policy of the KNPB which has from the very start declared its intention to struggle along with the Papuan people in accordance with the principle of respect for human life and has totally rejected the path of violence.
This is why all members of the KNPB will gather together and surrender to the police. The KNPB is not a terrorist organisation. If it were to be proven that someone from the KNPB was indeed involved, this would be in order to stigmatize the organisation which is waging a struggle for independence and for a referendum. "This is why we will be surrendering in the near future," he said, without mentioning any date.
Supporters of slain Papuan rights activist Mako Tabuni convened in Jayapura on Thursday night to express their sorrow and frustration over his death, which has been muddied by conflicting accounts from eyewitnesses who identified with his cause and from the police officers who shot him dead.
Religious leaders, tribal leaders, NGO workers and other activists attended the commemoration at the headquarters of the West Papuan National Committee (KNPB), of which Mako was deputy chairman. The organization is pushing for a referendum on Papuan self-determination.
The attendees sought to commemorate Mako as a freedom fighter, not as the troublemaker they say he has been unfairly portrayed as by security forces.
The police say they have reason to believe Mako was responsible for a recent spate of unsolved shootings across Papua, which was why they went to arrest him.
Their version of his death is that Mako resisted arrest and made a grab at one of the officer's guns, forcing them to shoot him. They also say he was armed with the gun that was used to shoot a German tourist on May 29, a seemingly random attack.
Witnesses, though, dispute all of that, saying Mako was only shot while running away from the police and that he never went for one of the officers' weapons or carried one himself.
Gustat Kawer, a friend and legal adviser of Mako who saw the killing take place, reiterated his sympathetic account while speaking at Thursday's event. He called the incident an "extra-judicial killing" and "murder" by security forces.
"The police only wanted to kill him because they thought he was a Papuan independence leader," Gustat said. He added: "Mako's spirit needs to be emulated by his peers. The spirit is not extinguished by the might of the bullet. The spirit of his fight for justice and truth should be followed."
Farouk Arnaz Police in Papua have detained 25 people in relation to a violent, multi-day clash among residents of Kwamki Lama village in Timika, an officer said on Friday.
"The police continue to cooperate with customary leaders and the society to overcome the conflict pitting residents from Upper Kwamki Lama and Lower Kwamki Lama," National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said.
Thirty people have been questioned so far, Boy said. "Twenty-five of them have been declared suspects and were detained," he added. He said the 25 suspects were all from the two rival camps that have been fighting with each other.
"This is our effort to overcome the potential for more conflict and to reduce the tension in Kwamki Lama," Boy said. "We are calling on our brothers and sisters there who are still in conflict to halt the violence because we do no not want victims to fall because of this incident."
The police believe that the violence, marked by street skirmishes involving spears and arrows, was initially set off by a traffic accident.
This is not the first time the two groups have clashed. Most recently, fighting broke out between them in April and May, involving the same type of traditional warfare.
Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh Ayah Din and Raja Muda, both members of the Aceh Party (PA), were reportedly shot by unidentified assailants while traveling home from the swearing-in ceremony of the new Aceh governor in Banda Aceh on Monday.
They suffered shotgun wounds in the attack while driving in a car emblazoned with the party's emblem, which was escorting Aceh Party sympathizers to Langsa, East Aceh.
Ayah Din suffered a wound to his jaw and is in critical condition, while his colleague, Raja Muda, sustained minor injuries.
The party supporters were traveling home after watching the inauguration of Zaini Abdullah and Muzakir Manaf as Aceh governor and vice governor for the 2012-2017 period.
Hostilities had already taken place earlier at the scene, with the former governor, Irwandi Yusuf, being punched in the face. He was beaten, allegedly by members of the Aceh Party, just a few moments after the ceremony had ended.
Irwandi was himself a member of the Aceh Party before parting company and seeking reelection as an independent candidate.
Police have ruled out any retaliatory motive behind the latest assault. "We don't see a connection between the physical attack against the former governor with the shooting incident," Aceh police spokesman, Gustav Leo, said.
Based on eyewitness accounts, the shooting was committed by two perpetrators on a motorcycle. After the shooting, they immediately sped off toward Banda Aceh. "We found an empty cartridge and 30 live bullets at the crime scene, including a magazine which they [the assailants] dropped," said Gustav.
Based on preliminary investigations, the bullets are used in SS1 and M16 assault rifles. However, the type of weapon used in this attack remains unclear. "We have to send the projectiles and cartridge shell to the lab in Medan, North Sumatra to determine the type of weapon used by the perpetrators," said Gustav.
Gustav said police were still investigating several incidents that took place during the swearing-in ceremony.
Police have also started to investigate the assault against Irwandi, as well as identifying several people who were involved in the incident. "We received a report from Irwandi and we have followed up on it. However, we must proceed carefully as we still need more evidence," said Gustav.
The Aceh Party expressed its regret over the incident. "We didn't expect an incident like this would happen in conjunction with the swearing-in ceremony. This was beyond belief and we deeply regret it," said Aceh Transition Commission (KPA) head, Kamaruddin Abubakar.
The KPA is an organization made up of former Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM) combatants under the auspices of the Aceh Party.
Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh Tensions between Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and his predecessor Irwandi Yusuf appear to have outlived the fraught election last April, with Zaini's supporters attacking his rival during Monday's inauguration ceremony.
The incident occurred after Zaini's swearing-in ceremony at the provincial legislature, when Irwandi was leaving the building. Outside the council gates, a crowd of thousands who came in support of Zaini began hurling insults at Irwandi, calling him a traitor.
Irwandi did not respond, but the crowd grew rowdy, and a handful of people rushed at the former governor, hitting him repeatedly over the head. "He was immediately shielded by police officers," said one eyewitness. "Things could have gotten really bad if they hadn't protected him."
Irwandi was rushed to Zainoel Abidin General Hospital with a black eye and other bruises.
One of the officers in his security detail, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the attackers were wearing red, the color of Zaini's Aceh Party. "It started with one of them hitting him in the head. Then six or seven more people piled in," the officer said.
Irwandi, speaking to reporters after receiving treatment at the hospital, confirmed that "the perpetrators were wearing Aceh Party uniforms," adding that he recognized some of them. "The police must investigate this incident, regardless of whether I press charges. There has not been any apology from the Aceh Party."
Tensions between the party and Irwandi had been high since well before the gubernatorial election in April that had to be postponed several times because of the Aceh Party's refusal to recognize Irwandi's bid to run as an independent candidate.
Irwandi blamed the party for a string of attacks in the run-up to the poll; this was refuted as the basis for a legal challenge that he later mounted against the election results.
Banda Aceh Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi inaugurated newly elected Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and his deputy, Muzakir Manaf, at a ceremony here on Monday.
The swearing-in was held in conjunction with the Monday plenary session of the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) and was attended by some 6,000 guests, including members of the DPRA.
Also among the attendees were Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto and the founder of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Prabowo Subianto. The ceremony marked the beginning of Zaini-Muzakir's term, which will last until 2017.
Aceh's Independent Election Commission (KIP) declared Zaini-Muzakir the winner of the April 9 Aceh gubernatorial election. The ticket is backed by the Aceh Party, a local party founded by former rebels of the now-defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Zaini-Muzakir secured some 1.3 million votes, or 55.75 percent of the total ballots cast on voting day, defeating then-incumbent Irwandi Yusuf and his running mate Muhyan Yunan, who collected only 29.18 percent of the votes.
Muhammad Nazar and his running mate Nova Iriansyah finished third with 7.65 percent of votes cast. (Antara/JG)
Jakarta The commemoration of the abortive coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) is still a few months away, but former political prisoners always remember Sept. 30, 1965, as the day that changed their lives.
Following the attempt, which claimed the lives of six Army generals, the Indonesian Military, with the help of mass organizations, prosecuted anyone thought to have links with the PKI. The precise number of fatalities has been disputed, but some put the number as high as 500,000. Those who survived the massacre lived with the stigma of communism and lost their civil rights. One of them, Nani Nuraini, is now 71 years old.
"Even though we are now aged and frail, we still keep smiling and fighting," said Nani, who claims she has just been fighting for her rights. At the Central Jakarta District Court in 2008, she won the right to a lifetime identity card just like any other elderly citizen. In April, however, the same court rejected her request for rehabilitation.
She was arrested in 1968 and sent without trial to Bukitduri Women's Penitentiary in South Jakarta for seven years, simply because, at a young age, she had performed as a presidential palace dancer at the party's anniversary gathering in June 1965. Nani has lived with the stigma of being an ex-political prisoner and communist sympathizer ever since.
While waiting for her appeal, Nani keeps busy with Wanodja Binangkit, a performance group she founded in 2005 with other female ex-political prisoners and victims' families. "Wanodja Binangkit means women full of wisdom. It was set up in the hope that we can rehabilitate our names and will no longer be known as wicked and evil," Nani said.
Nani is not alone in seeking rehabilitation. Amnesty International estimates that more than a million people were imprisoned without trial in the 14 years following 1965. Those who were linked to the PKI were not allowed to become civil servants, military or police officers, teachers or preachers. They were subject to surveillance and their ID cards were labeled "ET" (ex-political prisoner). Though years have passed since the government removed ET status from ID cards in 2004, Nani once saw a banner warning of the influence of the PKI during a performance with Wanodja Binangkit.
Sri Sulistiowati, 71, currently in a nursing home in Jakarta, has also suffered as an ex-detainee. Unable to bear the shame of reporting to the local military post every day, she left her hometown in Cirebon. The former journalist has since made her living selling rengginang (rice crackers) and terasi (shrimp paste) as no one would employ her. "What saddens me most is the impact on my sons. It is hard to find a job with a mother who was a political prisoner," she said. Things are better since the reform, and now her three sons and six grandchildren have found proper jobs, Sri, however, has never received any compensation for what she endured during four decades.
"It is nice that our government has decided to apologize, but it's not enough, We're getting old, We can wait no longer," Sri said. First and foremost, she wants the government to rehabilitate her name, then to pay back what they seized. "They took my house. They should at least give me the most modest home now," (aml)
Jakarta A human rights advocacy body has called on the government to sign and ratify an anti-torture protocol in a show of its commitment to fighting all human rights violations.
Ratifying the protocol would underline the government's commitment toward combating torture, the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) said.
Commission member Arimbi Heroepoetri said on Thursday that the government should sign and ratify the 2002 Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (CAT) to attest to the promises it made during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on human rights in Geneva last month.
According to Arimbi, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa renewed the government's commitment to fighting torture during the UPR in Geneva, saying it was ready to sign and ratify the protocol.
The CAT protocol is an addition to the 1984 United Nations Convention against Torture. It was meant to establish an international inspection system for places of detention, modelled on a system, which has existed in Europe since 1987.
The protocol was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Dec. 18, 2002, and entered into force on June 22, 2006. Currently, the protocol has 71 signatories and 63 parties. Indonesia, however, has yet to sign the protocol, let alone ratify it.
Arimbi said the ratification of this protocol would promote an anti-torture culture and, in turn, could empower advocacy for women, especially regarding domestic violence and trafficking which, according to the commission, accounted for the highest number of incidents.
The commission recorded that domestic violence contributed 95.71 percent of incidents during 2011, or 113,878 cases (311 cases per day). The commission also urged the government to thoroughly examine both past and current human right violation cases and imprison the perpetrators.
"The government should make cases of human rights abuse, especially against women, its priority. We don't see that this issue is a priority for the government at the moment," Arimbi said.
According to the commission, the government also stated its readiness to amend the country's criminal codes and procedures in line with international standards as stipulated in the CAT protocol.
In addition, the government has pledged to investigate and take action against state officials allegedly implicated in torture, including security officers. (fzm)
Jakarta The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) claims it has located 17 mass graves in Central Java where suspected communists murdered during the 1965 purge were buried.
The human rights organization has requested the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) exhume the bodies from the graves, the location of which was not disclosed.
Komnas HAM is concluding the findings of its investigation into the mass killings that followed the 1965 abortive coup, blamed on the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
The head of KontraS' impunity and victims' rights division, Yati Andriyani, said the discovery of the mass graves was more than enough to supply Komnas HAM with undeniable evidence of the atrocities committed. "We located the mass graves by interviewing prime sources in several areas between 2008 and 2011," said Yati.
The prime sources mentioned by Yati were civilians who in 1965 were directed by soldiers to dig the graves and bury corpses or, worse, ordered to carry out the executions, with their own lives at stake.
"The methods used [in the executions] were similar; victims' thumbs were tied together, most were blindfolded and then shot, either in the head or throat," Yati said.
Yati cited the 2000 Law on Human Rights Trials, which defines gross human rights violations as "systemic, direct and widespread killings".
If by exhuming the corpses the assumptions were proven, the findings would be significant evidence to prove gross violations as stipulated by the law, she said. Yati added that KontraS was currently deliberating whether to extend their research to a wider area, particularly to East Java.
Responding to KontraS' statement, Komnas HAM's investigation team head, Nur Kholis, said even though his team was eager to gather as much evidence as possible, exhuming mass graves was not an easy task to carry out. "We have to get a permit from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) before exhuming the graves," he said.
Although Komnas HAM has claimed to have evidence pointing to the involvement of government officials in the systematic persecution of PKI members following the abortive coup, it has yet to name the atrocities as gross human rights violations.
Komnas HAM had previously confirmed that "mass rapes, torture, and killings, in violation of the 2000 Law, occurred nationwide between 1965 and 1966, ending only in the early 1970s", as conveyed by Nur Kholis earlier this month.
On Thursday, KontraS also launched a report aimed at documenting various findings from legal advocates, historical research and their own and other human rights organizations which, according to the commission, were still scattered.
The report reiterates that an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 people became the victims of extra judicial killings, with thousands of others being imprisoned and/or forced into exile.
A son of a former PKI board member in Palu, who was executed in 1967, stood up at the launch and urged Nur Kholis, as the official Komnas HAM representative present at the event, to pay serious attention to the latest findings.
Gagarisman, 51, who currently works at a marketing office in Jakarta, said he wasn't interested in legal action; he simply wanted to find his father's remains so to be able to bury them properly. "I don't want anything other than to bury my father in an Islamic way," he said. (aml)
Bayu Marhaenjati An Air Force soldier arbitrarily seized and destroyed a video tape belonging to BeritaSatu TV reporter Urip Arpan after the latter filmed the wreckage of the military Fokker 27 plane that crashed near the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta on Thursday.
"BeritaSatu TV condemns and deplores that violent action," the broadcaster's deputy chief editor Claudius Boekan said in a statement on Friday.
He added that the action had interfered with the work of the journalist who was only trying to disseminate information, as is his right under the law. Later in the day, Claudius filed a complaint with the Press Council regarding the incident.
Bekti Nugroho, a council deputy overseeing public complaints, said the seizure was a violation of Article 4 and Article 8 of the Press Law No. 40/1999, which states that freedom of the press is a basic human right. The council will summon the Air Force to respond to the complaint.
"We hope there is no recurrence of violence like the seizure and vandalism against news materials," Claudius said. "We call on all parties not to interfere with the work of journalists."
BeritaSatu TV is a sister company to the Jakarta Globe, both of which are owned by BeritaSatu Media Holdings, a unit of the Lippo Group.
On Friday evening, Air Commodore Asep Adang Supriyadi, the Halim Perdanakusuma commander, said he had not heard about the incident. "However, if it really happened then I apologize," he said. "We are open and never intend to cover things up."
Asep insisted that journalists needed to be careful covering the crash site and make sure they didn't disrupt the official investigation. "We have our own rules. We will inform you once we're done," he said.
Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Rizky Amelia & SP/Robertus Wardi While a series of recent surveys show that Golkar will win the 2014 election, chairman Aburizal Bakrie, who on Friday was named the party's presidential candidate, trails other figures in several polls.
Realizing that he has to boost his popularity as early as possible to have a chance of competing for the country's top job with other contenders, Aburizal had been trying to force the party to name him as its only presidential candidate since late last year.
"We don't want to be late. Golkar must decide its candidate now so that we have at least two years to boost our electability," Aburizal told reporters during the party's four-day national meeting in Bogor. "I accept the nomination to be the party's presidential candidate."
All of the party's heavyweights and regional leaders attended the meeting. Aburizal's efforts to push his way through, however, has created tension inside the party, with old guards like former chair Akbar Tandjung showing disdain.
Akbar stated that he could do nothing to stop Aburizal's ambition, and warned that such an "undemocratic" method of appointment could hurt the party's image as a democratic and open party, thus lessening its chances of winning the election.
Muntasir Hamid, the chairman of Golkar's Social Network Forum of Regional Chapter Boards, threatened earlier to push for an extraordinary congress if the party continued to insist on Aburizal as its presidential candidate.
According to Muntasir, there is far from unanimous support for an Aburizal candidacy, as several other officials at the regional level have also rejected the central board's decision.
But Aburizal seems to be able to control regional branch heads with the idea of an extraordinary congress not being able to get wide support. The central board managed to push through the proposal to nominate the business tycoon.
Aburizal said that by nominating a presidential candidate now, the party was able to deal with internal conflict early, rather than during the election cycle.
"By having a definitive candidate now, we can focus ourselves on solidifying the party and winning the election rather than being trapped by disagreement near election time," he said.
Some political analysts have also pointed out that with the early nomination, Aburizal and Golkar have plenty of time to look for a coalition partner and running mate to strengthen their chances.
Aburizal on Thursday named potential vice presidential candidate, including Mahfud M.D., chairman of the Constitutional Court; Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X; East Java Governor Sukarwo; Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, who is an Army Chief and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's brother in law; and Khofifah Indar Parawansa, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB), and chairwoman of the women's wing of the country's largest Islamic organization in the country, Nahdlatul Ulama.
"If he can get Yudhoyono's blessing to get Pramono then he can combine the country's two biggest parties, Democratic and Golkar," said Fachry Ali, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
However, as the party held a meeting in Bogor, senior party members Zulkarnaen Djabar, Setya Novanto and Kahar Muzakir were implicated in graft cases.
Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Ezra Sihite & Arientha Primanita Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum's calm demeanor following a grilling by antigraft officials on Wednesday was a show of defiance to his political detractors, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, analysts say.
Anas was questioned for seven hours by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in connection with bid-rigging allegations surrounding the Rp 2.5 trillion ($265 million) Hambalang sports center being built in Bogor.
Political analyst Ray Rangkuti said Anas' attitude upon leaving the KPK office was meant to send a message to Yudhoyono, who had been hinting that he would oust Anas from the party chairmanship.
Earlier in the month Yudhoyono held a high-level meeting with Democrat officials and founders, but excluded Anas. In a reaction that shocked some political observers, Anas responded with a public statement linking the party's declining popularity to Yudhoyono's poor governance and not just corruption allegations.
Lending his support to Anas, Yudhoyono's son, Edhie Baskoro, denied there was a rift in the party, saying Anas's leadership had been strong. "SBY has run out of ideas to back Anas into a corner," Ray said in Jakarta on Wednesday night. "His speech attacking Anas failed to encourage [the Democrat] regional leaders to call for an extraordinary congress [to oust Anas]."
Ray added that the confidence exuded by Anas was an attempt to show he was not involved in the Hambalang case. He said the move had convinced the party's regional leaders that he was not involved. Other analysts agreed with Ray. Gadjah Mada University's Ari Dwipayana said the appearance was a message to Anas' rivals that he was still strong.
"With that attitude, Anas was trying to show force. Anas is fully aware that he wasn't dealing only with a legal case but a case that could be used to oust him from the party chair," he said. The attitude, Ari went on, was also intended to suggest he had a strong group of loyalist legislators behind him.
Despite his apparent popularity among some factions within the party, Ari said there were many in the party who wanted Anas face justice over his alleged role in Hambalang. This political support could be needed to solve the case, Ari said. "So both sides are waiting. This means the opportunity for the KPK to continue [with the probe] is quite big," he said.
Senior Democrats welcomed the KPK's questioning of Anas, saying the sooner he was held to account the better. In a related development, outspoken Democrat legislator Ruhut Sitompul was removed from the House of Representatives' legal affairs commission after putting pressure on Anas to resign.
Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta The Golkar Party officially endorsed the nomination of chairman Aburizal Bakrie as the party's presidential hopeful at a national leadership meeting in Bogor on Friday.
The endorsement came after leaders of 33 provincial chapters and wing organizations expressed their support.
Yesterday's leadership meeting of the Golkar Party was supposed to end jubilantly, with party members ready to support the nomination of chairman Aburizal Bakrie as the party's presidential hopeful.
But the thrill only lasted for a few hours, as reports of the alleged involvement of party cadre, Zulkarnaen Djabar, in a graft scandal surfaced at the venue.
As representatives of the provincial chapters concluded their endorsement speeches, the party's executive board asked Aburizal if he was willing to run for president. Aburizal said, "I accept this nomination." His agreement instantly drew applause from the party cadres. "ARB for president, ARB for president," they chanted, referring to Aburizal's initials.
Aburizal himself looked confident when delivering his opening remarks at the party's national executives meeting held at the four-star Aston Hotel in Bogor, West Java, on Friday morning. The hotel is run by PT Bakrieland Development, which is partly controlled by Aburizal's wealthy family.
"Golkar will provide legal assistance," he said shortly in response to journalists who asked him for comments on the graft issue. "That's a legal matter, leave it to the legal process."
The Bogor meeting was also aimed at "celebrating" the end of protracted internal debates that saw most factions within the party eventually agree to name Aburizal as the party's presidential nominee, despite minor opposing voices from non-influential cadres.
Despite the agreement of cadres to nominate Aburizal, former Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla was not seen at the venue. According to Golkar's advisory board chairman Akbar Tandjung, the committee had invited all senior Golkar politicians to the event.
Kalla had been widely reported to be nominated as a presidential candidate by other parties, including the newly-established Nasdem Party. "I haven't seen him [Jusuf Kalla] for a long time. Please check with the organizing committee about this," said Akbar, a former Golkar chairman.
Akbar is known to be one of Golkar's senior figures who reportedly opposed the way the party nominated Aburizal in a process he claimed as "not democratic." During Akbar's leadership, Golkar organized a convention to select the best presidential candidate.
Talking to journalists in Bogor, Akbar said he eventually "understood that Aburizal's nomination was supported by almost all Golkar branches and thus it was also democratic." He denied that his approval was due to certain negotiations or political deals.
Similar to Aburizal, Akbar also shied away when asked about the graft scandal allegedly involving a party cadre. He also refused to speculate on whether the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) decision to name the Golkar cadre as a suspect was politically motivated or not.
Another Golkar senior member, Fadel Muhammad, who is a former Maritime Affairs and Fishery minister, said the alleged graft scandal "was sensitive and important to the party, hence it required special attention from our party." Fadel is known to have a close relationship with Akbar and is not among Aburizal's loyalists.
Some Golkar members said that Aburizal had managed to utilize his "political and non-political" resources in order to negotiate his "internal opponents" such as Akbar and Fadel.
When the Friday meeting was about to end, Akbar told journalists that Aburizal's nomination was not final. "In politics, anything can change, yet there is still two years before the election," he said.
Aburizal himself did not show up in a press conference to conclude the meeting while some organizing committee members previously confirmed he would attend it and make press statements.
In addition, Hajriyanto Tohari, a member of Golkar's central executive board, said Aburizal's nomination must be obeyed by all Golkar members. "Any party member who runs for president via other parties will be subject to sanctions that range from suspension to forced dismissal," he told journalists.
Talking about Aburizal's potential running mate, Akbar said that while the party's ongoing national meeting in Bogor, had determined Aburizal as its candidate for the 2014 election, the running mate for the business mogul was still being discussed.
Jim Efstathiou Jr. Asia Pulp & Paper is trying to reassure customers that it uses no illegally logged trees in its paper mills after Greenpeace International accused it of destroying the habitat of the endangered Sumatran tiger.
Asia Pulp, a unit of the Sinar Mas Group, is going directly to its customers to counter "misleading or simply untrue" claims from the environmental group, according to Aida Greenbury, managing director of sustainability for the company.
In a May report, Greenpeace said the company was clearing natural rainforests to supply its mills and logging in areas considered among the last refuges for the Sumatran tiger, which is protected under international conservation programs.
"In general terms, we understand why customers are concerned about some of the allegations," Greenbury said. "That's why we have a duty to explain to customers the real facts in this and other cases."
Asia Pulp has been the target of environmental groups for more than a decade. In a 2001 report, Friends of the Earth said Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper, an Asia Pulp unit that operates pulp and paper mills, got 75 percent of its timber from clearing rainforest.
More than 60 companies have broken supply contracts or ruled out buying Asia Pulp products, according to Greenpeace. "A certain degree of customer churn is normal in any business, and APP is no exception," Greenbury said.
In May, Greenpeace supporters hung a sign on Yum! Brands's headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, accusing it of buying paper products from Asia Pulp made with rainforest wood for KFC chicken buckets.
Independent tests on food boxes purchased at stores in Indonesia, Britain and China in the past two years found fibers from tropical hardwood trees, said Rolf Skar, forest campaign director for Greenpeace. "Whenever you see significant amounts of mixed tropical hardwoods, that means that rainforest have been chewed up and torn apart," Skar said.
The presence of mixed tropical hardwood fibers "says nothing about whether the product is sustainable or not," Asia Pulp claimed in a May 23 statement. Rainforest wood fiber can come from degraded, logged-over or burned-out forest areas, the company said. "The mixed hardwood fibers that we are harvesting are legal and not of high conservation value," Greenbury said.
The company insisted that it was in compliance with Indonesian laws and regulations and that an independent report confirmed that no protected tree species were entering the supply chain. The government cleared Asia Pulp of that charge, the company said. "From the moment the accusations were published, we produced a number of updates for customers," Greenbury said.
Logging forests in Indonesia threatens the critically endangered Sumatran tiger, according to WWF's website. Asia Pulp said last month that beginning on June 1, it would suspend clearing natural forests in areas where it held government licenses to produce pulpwood to take "account of critical issues raised in our dialogue" with nongovernmental organizations.
Asia Pulp units have equity stakes in six companies that hold pulpwood plantation concession licenses in Indonesia. By 2015, Asia Pulp said it would have the capacity to "be wholly reliant" on raw materials from plantations.
"It's a long learning experience," Greenbury said. "We wouldn't be where we are right now if the NGO community didn't let us know where we can improve ourselves."
Markus Junianto Sihaloho The Great Indonesia Movement Party has thrown its support behind the Democratic Party because its founder, Prabowo Subianto, is seeking the ruling party's support in the 2014 presidential election even as it courts the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, an analyst says.
Prabowo is seen to be trying to win the nomination of Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-P by repeatedly hinting that Puan Maharani, Megawati's daughter, would be a perfect running mate. On Wednesday, Prabowo praised Puan as an excellent politician.
The PDI-P has traditionally partnered with Gerindra. In the 2009 presidential poll, Prabowo was Megawati's running mate, but the pair lost to the Democrats' Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The parties have joined forces once again to back the PDI-P's Joko Widodo in the Jakarta gubernatorial poll.
While several observers have said that Prabowo could get a nomination from either the PDI-P or the Democrats, he is yet to get support from Megawati, who still seems to be considering a presidential run of her own in 2014, or Yudhoyono.
Last month in Bali, Yudhoyono invited Prabowo to a reunion of the Indonesian Armed Forces Academy's graduating class of 1973, even though Prabowo graduated a year later. During the event, Yudhoyono took Prabowo aside for a private talk. An official confirmed that both talked about the election, but did not say whether Yudhoyono would endorse Prabowo.
While Prabowo appears to be seeking support from either Yudhoyono or Megawati, he still has neither's backing.
Aleksius Jemadu, dean of Pelita Harapan University's School of Social and Political Sciences, said it was unlikely that Megawati would want to collaborate with Yudhoyono, given their past.
"If either Megawati and Yudhoyono see him as appeasing the either side, both will withdraw their support. That's why [Prabowo] should focus on getting support from one or the other," he said.
A recent opinion poll by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate identified Prabowo as top contender, ahead of Megawati and former Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
The Democratic Party still believes it can be victorious at the polls in the 2014 election, despite a flood of data pointing to the party's dwindling popularity.
"We're sure the Democratic Party will have political escalation with more public support and electability," Anas Urbaningrum, Chairman of Democratic Party, told Antara on Thursday night.
Anas said the party would work hard to boost support over the next two years in preparation for the 2014 elections. "We have a local political agenda... that aims for higher achievement," he said.
Anas' optimism contrasted scores of recent surveys pointing to the party's popularity falling from the top position down to third, behind the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and Golkar.
Commenting on the survey results, Anas said the Democrats had just started the journey for the upcoming election. The chairman said the party would start slowly, and gradually build momentum.
"We're [driving] in second gear during 2011-2012, and will shift into third gear in 2013," he said. "By 2014, we will move to fourth gear and push the gas pedal to the floor. "If the number of supporters is declining, it should be [cause] to work harder," Anas added.
While Anas seemed relatively relaxed about the survey results, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the head of the party's advisory board, expressed a different sentiment.
In recent speech, he complained about party member's involvement in graft cases. Yudhoyono believes the often high-profile cases have led to the slide in popularity, and has asked members involved in corruption to resign.
Incidentally, Anas was questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Wednesday over allegations of his involvement in the graft- embroiled Hambalang Sport Complex project.
Robertus Wardi Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie on Thursday named five potential vice presidential candidates to run with him in the 2014 election.
"So far, the proposals from the regions are five [names], and they are Mr. Mahfud, the sultan, Pramono, Sukarwo and Mrs. Khofifah. We are accommodating all proposals," Aburizal told journalists in Jakarta.
He was referring to the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Mahfud MD, Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, East Java Governor Sukarwo, Army chief Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo and Khofifah Indar Parawansa, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB) and also chairwoman of the women's wing of the country's largest Islamic organization in the country, Nahdlatul Ulama.
He said the sultan was proposed by the party's Yogyakarta chapter, Pramono by the East Kalimantan chapter, Sukarwo by the East Java chapter and Mahfud and Khofifaf were proposed by several provincial branches.
Aburizal said all chapters were free to propose individuals for the party's vice presidential candidate and all inputs would be considered before the final choice was made. "The proposals may still possibly increase and we are giving all regional chapters the freedom to express their views," he said.
He said that there was no decision yet on which candidate would ultimately run alongside him in 2014. "We will see the political developments. The national leadership meeting has not yet decided on the vice presidential candidate," Aburizal said.
Deputy Golkar chairman Syarif Cicip Sutardjo said he would leave the matter fully up to Aburizal, but added that the criteria for the candidates should be set down by the party and be based on electability.
"We have not yet discussed the vice presidential candidate, but the party will set down the criteria. The final word will be in the hands of Mr. Aburizal," Cicip said during a press conference on preparations for the party's national leadership meeting.
Cicip, who is also the fisheries and maritime affairs minister, said the meeting would be held in Bogor, West Java, on Friday and Saturday. He said up to 20,000 party members are expected to attend.
The meeting, he said, will officially declare Aburizal as the party's 2014 presidential candidate, with no guarantee that his running mate will also be decided by week's end.
Markus Junianto Sihaloho Former President Megawati Sukarnoputri has given her strongest hint yet that she may contest the 2014 presidential election, suggesting on Monday that moves to regenerate the party's ranks should not be aimed at shifting power.
At an event to inaugurate the new leadership board of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) youth wing, Taruna Merah Putih, Megawati conceded that a generational change in the country's main opposition party was inevitable.
"We need regeneration, but it has to be about [pushing through] the best [members]," she said. "Don't make it about a power grab. For me, the question of young or old is a relative one."
Megawati, 65, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004 and 2009, has faced mounting calls, including from her husband, Taufik Kiemas, not to stage another bid in 2014 and instead allow the PDI-P to nominate a younger member. However, she reiterated that age should not be an issue.
"For me, there's no such thing as old or young. You can have a 20-year-old who, because of drugs, is unhealthy and no longer thinks clearly. Conversely, you can have an older person who, because of better life choices, has plenty of energy and does well. It's all relative," she said.
PDI-P youth wing chairman Maruarar Sirait said that although the party had not decided on its presidential candidate, the youth wing wanted Megawati to stand. "All the members of Taruna Merah Putih support a Megawati presidential bid in 2014," Maruarar said.
The question of the PDI-P's eventual candidate remains the subject of much speculation. Last October, Taufik said he believed his wife would be too old to run in 2014 and suggested she make way for a younger candidate.
It is widely believed that their daughter, Puan Maharani, 38, is being groomed to take over from the party matriarch, although Taufik stopped short of singling her out by name.
Puan responded at the time by saying she was prepared to take up the mantle, "especially if it is mandated by the party." "My grandfather was president, my mother was also president, and hopefully in 2014 we can win," she said.
Ezra Sihite The National Democrat Party has unveiled a war chest of up to Rp 3 trillion ($318 million) to help it win a massive 31 percent of seats at the House of Representatives in the 2014 elections.
"Our target is to get 176 seats in the House," Ahmad Rofiq, secretary general of the party known as NasDem, said at a discussion in Jakarta on Saturday.
He said that the party's goal was to bring change to the country and to do that it would have to get at least 50 percent of its 300 candidates into the House. "Change will not happen with just 8 or 10 percent of our members in the House," he said.
NasDem's target, if met, would make it the biggest party in the House. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, the current largest party, has 148 of the 560 seats at the House, or 26 percent.
To meet its goal, Rofiq said that NasDem would allocate between Rp 5 billion and Rp 10 billion for each of its 300 legislative candidates, giving the party a war chest of Rp 1.5 trillion to Rp 3 trillion.
"They are competent candidates who lack the financial backing," he said. "If they could raise the money themselves, this would not guarantee their loyalty to the party. We don't want our members to feel that they owe their success to somebody else. We want them to be loyal to the party."
He added that NasDem would also be cautious and transparent in distributing the money. One strategy is to conduct surveys to gauge candidates' electability.
The recently formed NasDem has as its biggest financial backers media tycoons Surya Paloh, a possible presidential candidate, and Hary Tanoesoedibjo.
Ray Rangkuti, a political observer and director of the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA), said NasDem's strategy of funding its members was "an alternative worth trying" because of the inherently improved transparency in the funding process.
"Auditing the funding will be simpler because there's only one source of funding: the party. This also enables the party to better control its members," he said.
He added the party would also be more strict in selecting candidates, and with financial backing, the candidates could be more focused on winning the election and not have to worry about raising funds.
Legislative candidates often finance their campaigns themselves, borrow money from family or obtain loans or funding from other people. Many candidates go into debt following an election, increasing the tendency for them to engage in corruption to pay off their debt.
Ade Irawan, a senior researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch, disapproved of the idea of a party backing its candidates financially, calling the strategy the "new face of vote buying."
"The party will become an event organizer, sourcing money from other 'sponsors' and channeling it to its members. It does not eliminate the problem of vote buying," he said.
He added that the problem of vote buying stemmed from a general disconnect and lack of communication between legislators and their constituents.
Ezra Sihite The Golkar Party has set an ambitious target to win 30 percent of the votes in the 2014 legislative election, but analysts say that might not be enough to propel its chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, to the presidency.
Tantowi Yahya, a Golkar member of the House of Representatives, said during the weekend that the party was confident about its prospects in the upcoming elections, given its performance in a slew of recent surveys.
"It's not just the results from the LSI survey that place Golkar out front," he said, referring to a poll published last week by the Indonesian Survey Circle. "All surveys show Golkar in the lead. This indicates the political reality today."
The LSI survey of some 1,200 respondents showed that 20.9 percent would vote for Golkar, compared to 11.3 percent for the ruling Democratic Party.
The results were a reversal from an identical poll carried out by the LSI in January 2011, in which the Democrats led with 20.5 percent to Golkar's 13.5 percent.
Tantowi said that his party's continued rise reflected the growing public approval of Golkar from the national to the regional level. "Our target for the upcoming elections is to win 30 percent of the votes, and God willing we will achieve that," he said.
Golkar won just 14.4 percent of votes in the 2009 election, while the Democrats led with 20.8 percent.
While the 30 percent target will more than meet the 20 percent minimum required for the party to nominate its own presidential candidate, analysts contend that Golkar's chairman and presumptive nominee, Aburizal, does not have the popularity to go the distance.
Sukardi Rinakit, a researcher at pollster Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate, said that historically, the person who went on to win the presidency was always far more popular than their party.
This, he argued, was how the personality paradigm worked in Indonesian politics, where a party's popularity was the direct result of its members' popularity, and not the opposite.
"History shows that it was always the great figures who raised up their parties," Sukardi said. "Granted, Golkar's got a high rating now, but it will be difficult to translate that into support for Aburizal."
He cited the examples of Sukarno and Suharto, the country's first two presidents, whose personalities overshadowed the popularity of their respective parties. He also argued that the only reason the Democrats were popular was because of their figurehead, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Several recent polls on possible presidential candidates have placed Aburizal behind other more prominent figures, including Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and Jusuf Kalla, a former Golkar chairman.
Jakarta The Golkar Party is expected to nominate chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie as its presidential candidate for the 2014 election on July 1.
Party deputy-secretary-general Lalu Mara Satriwangsa said that the decision would be made during Golkar's national leadership meeting in Bogor, West Java.
"The primary agenda for the meeting is to nominate Pak Ical as a candidate. Personally, Pak Ical has expressed his willingness to accept the nomination. This leadership meeting is a follow-up to our national meeting in October last year. This is only a formality," Lalu said as quoted by tempo.co. Lalu added that Aburizal's candidacy had won support from all elements in the party.
Late last week, 78 Golkar Party branches officially backed Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as their nominee for vice president on a ticket that would be headed by Ical.
Golkar's central board, however, has said that it would consider other names before nominating its candidate, saying that the final decision would be made during the planned national meeting.
Slamet Susanto, Bantul, Yogyakarta Up to 78 Golkar Party branches officially declared Sunday their support for Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X to run as the vice president candidate pairing Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie for the 2014 General Election.
Golkar Party central executive board chief Priyo Budi Santoso was also present during the declaration, which took place in Kebon Agung field, Imogiri, Bantul.
"[Sultan] is the best. If you disagree, try mentioning another name comparable to Sultan," Golkar Yogyakarta chapter chairman Gandung Pardiman said.
Priyo said that this was the first time the party officially proposed a name to pair the party chairman for the upcoming presidential election.
However, the central executive board office would also consider other names, saying that the final decision would be made during the party's national meeting in the end of June, when the party will officially name Aburizal as its president candidate. (swd)
Antara & Robertus Wardi A survey released on Tuesday shows that Islamic political parties in Indonesia are losing popularity, attributing the decline to Indonesia's increasing draw toward political moderates.
The National Survey Institute (LSN) found this month that only 15 percent of respondents (out of a total of 1,230) chose the four "big" Islamic parties, including the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), National Mandate Party (PAN), United Development Party (PPP) and National Awakening Party (PKB).
This figure represents a sharp decline from the 2009 elections, where the same parties drew 29 percent of the total vote. "And it is not impossible that it will even drop deeper in the 2014 elections," Umar S. Bakry, executive director of LSN, told Antara.
Since the end of the Suharto's regime in 1998, Islamic parties enjoyed as much as 38 percent of the vote.
The LSN survey showed that Golkar (Suharto's former party) is now the most popular political faction, followed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the Democratic Party.
The survey also revealed low support for specific politicians from Islamic parties, such as Hidayat Nur Wahid (PKS), Hatta Rajasa (PAN), Muhaimin Iskandar (PKB) and Suryadharma Ali (PPP).
Umar said there are a variety of reasons for the declining popularity. "The Internal problem is a identity crisis among Islamic political parties and politicians," he said, adding that external factors include the strengthening secularism in Indonesian politics.
While similar research also shows that Indonesians are growing more religious, politically, they are departing from Islamic ideology. "The majority of Islamic people in Indonesia tend to be more tolerant, moderate, inclusive and non-sectarian," Umar said.
PKS Spokesman Bukhori Yusuf said that Indonesians might be reluctant to vote for Islamic parties because they're worried those parties are courting extremism. "From what I see, one of the problems is a psychological trauma in Indonesia. Islamic party leadership might be considered as right-wing extremist," Bukhori said.
PKB Chairman Marwan Jafar attributed the dwindling popularity to "transactional politics." Indonesian politicians, in other words, no longer believe in ideology, but money. "Transactional politics has destroyed everything," he said on Wednesday. "But we're optimistic that Islamic parties are still strong."
PPP Secretary General M. Romahurmuzy said on Wednesday that the survey's results are misleading, claiming that the declining votes can be attributed to middle, or smaller parties. Smaller political parties include the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) or the People's Conscience Party (Hanura).
While Romahurmuzy did not specifically name these groups, he said that middle parties were incapable of providing strong leaders with political experience. He also said the majority of Indonesians, especially those with a low level of education, would vote for parties who have "strong character and experienced leaders."
"The slow regeneration in political parties, instead of a being problem, has become the benefitting factor in electability," Romahurmuzy said, referring to the remergence of older and experienced politicians.
Former Chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) Ali Mochtar Ngabali, who has moved to Golkar, conversely said that Islamic parties don't have worthy products to gather votes. "The declining support toward Islamic parties is really acceptable," Ali told tempo.co.
Jakarta Public support for Islamic-based parties is dropping due to their failure to consider the religious concerns of supporters, a survey says.
The survey, conducted by the National Survey Institute (LSN), said that overall support for Islamic parties was currently at 15.7 percent, down from 29.14 percent during the 2009 election and 38.39 percent during the 2004 election.
LSN said that respondents preferred to channel their religious aspirations through Muslim social and political organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. "People have moved to religious groups to deliver their aspirations," LSN executive director Umar S. Bakry said on Tuesday.
An increasing preference for secular politics was expressed by respondents, Umar said. Although most Muslims surveyed were more religious, they had also drawn a line separating religion from politics. Umar said that the survey indicated that Muslim voters were becoming more tolerant and moderate and no longer embraced sectarian politics. However, a distrust of opportunistic politicians had emerged, he added.
"Political parties claimed to represent the interest of Muslims. However, they now have changed themselves into open-based parties that use religion only as a symbol," Umar said.
The respondents said that the behavior of political parties had become pragmatic and that parties failed to include Islam in their policies, according to the survey.
Islamic parties had also failed to accommodate the interests and aspirations of Muslims. "The people then choose religious groups to deliver their aspirations, instead of political parties," Umar said.
"Unless they [Islamic parties] figure out what they want to do and make efforts to accommodate the aspirations and interests of the majority of their respondents, they will sink in the political sphere," Umar said.
The survey group conducted face-to-face interviews with 615 men and 615 women from 33 provinces between June 10 and 20, which were supplemented by additional in-depth group interviews.
Islamic parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) were big players in previous elections. "Islamic parties need to consolidate to regain their existence in politics, otherwise the remaining parties will collapse like the others," Umar said.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) was the best-performing Islamic party, according to the survey, receiving support from 5.1 percent of respondents, just ahead of the secular National Democrat (NasDem) Party, with 4.8 percent.
The presidential prospects of potential candidates from Islamic parties were equally dim, led by PKS figure Hidayat Nur Wahid, who was backed by 4.6 percent of respondents.
Other Islamic politicians fared even worse, such as PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa with 3.9 percent, Crescent Star Party (PBB) founder Yusril Ihza Mahendra with 3.2 percent and PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar with 2 percent.
Nationalist parties fared much better, with Golkar backed by 20.1 percent of respondents, the PDI-P by 14 percent and the Democratic Party by 10.5 percent.
PDI-P chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri was the most favored potential nationalist candidate at 18 percent, followed by the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party founder Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto at 17.4 percent and Golkar chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie with 17.1 percent. (fzm)
Jakarta Another survey has revealed that the ruling Democratic Party will probably only secure a one-digit percentage of votes in the upcoming 2014 election.
A recent survey released by the National Survey Institute (LSN) shows that the ruling party's percentage dropped to as low as 10.5 percent as of June 2012 from 20.85 percent it gathered in the 2009 election.
LSN executive director Umar S. Bakry said that the party would be a mediocre party unless serious changes were applied. Umar mentioned that the cases implicating Democratic Party politicians had lowered the public's trust towards the party.
"The alleged case against the party chairman, the Hambalang case, and others, should be resolved if they want to increase its electability rate," Umar said on Tuesday.
Even more, Umar said that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling party would gather only seven to nine percent votes in the 2014 elections if no firm resolution was made.
The survey received 1,230 respondents from 33 provinces conducted on June 10-20. Information gathering was done by face-to-face interviews, with an equal composition of male and female respondents.
On the other hand, Golkar has shown an increase by gaining 20.1 percent votes in the survey from its 14.4 percent in 2009. Coming after Golkar is the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) with 14 percent, similar to 14.3 percent it garnered in 2009.
Survey on party figures has also shown that Democratic Party's probable presidential candidate, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, would gather votes below five percent.
Leading candidates are PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri with 18 percent, Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party founder Prabowo Subianto with 17.4 percent and Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie with 17.1 percent. (fzm)
Jakarta The country's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, wrapped up its annual leadership meeting on Sunday by issuing a recommendation that the organization would leave politics and concentrate on social affairs, which had long been its focus.
Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said that the organization would become solely a social and religious organization and would no longer be associated with any political parties or organizations.
Until recently, the Muhammadiyah had been linked to the National Mandate Party. The decision could deal a severe blow to the party and its chairman, Hatta Rajasa, who has been eyeing the country's top job in the 2014 presidential election.
Distancing the Muhammadiyah from PAN had been one of Din's main goals since he was elected chairman in 2005. "PAN has no direct affiliation with the Muhammadiyah," he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Din said that although a large number of Muhammadiyah members were active in PAN, the two organizations remained separate entities. When asked about the organization's relation to PAN, Din only said: "PAN? Why should I care?"
Din also said the Muhammadiyah would maintain an equal distance from all other political parties in the country.
More than 300 members of the Muhammadiyah attended the June 21-24 meeting in Bandung. In spite of what the meeting decided in its relationship with PAN, members of the party were seen flying an oversize banner at the gate of a hotel where the conference took place, congratulating participants.
The meeting also witnessed the handover of a seven-story building, formerly PAN's central office in Warung Buncit, South Jakarta, to the Muhammadiyah central board, which will use it as a campus for a business college run by Muhammadiyah.
Former PAN chairman Sutrisno Bachir officially handed over the building and pledged to be more active in the Muhammadiyah now that he had retired from politics.
PAN was founded in 1998 soon after the downfall of former president Soeharto by a number of Muhammadiyah activists, including the organization's chairman, Amien Rais.
The head of the national meeting's organizing committee, Rafani Akhyar, said that participants did not talk about politics or the possibility of nominating Din as a presidential candidate in 2014.
"The meeting was never designed to talk about nominating him as a 2014 presidential candidate or which candidates to support. And we are firm about never participating in politics again," he said.
"According to the theme, the leadership meeting was held simply to give enlightening inputs to the nation. The Muhammadiyah will touch practical politics," Rafani said.
During the meeting, however, criteria for the country's future leaders were compiled. "Muhammadiyah suggests that Indonesians find a leader with vision, a nationalist-humanist, a solidarity-maker, a risk taker, decisive, a problem solver and a moral person," Din said to officially conclude the meeting.
Din also maintained that the criteria was not applicable to him. "I have no intention of running as president and the meeting was not designed to discuss the matter," he said. (aml)
Rangga D. Fadillah State-run oil and gas firm PT Pertamina revealed that crude oil supply for the Balongan refinery in West Java was cut by around 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) due to a demonstration by hundreds of workers at the refinery who demanded the company scrap its outsourcing scheme.
The production of nearby wells like Cemara and Cilamaya, operated by Pertamina EP, had to be reduced to minimize the negative impacts of the demonstration, said Ali Mundakir, Pertamina's newly appointed vice president for corporate communication.
However, he assured that the fuel production and output of the Balongan refinery, which is capable of processing 125,000 bpd of crude oil, were both still normal.
Ali expected the police to help Pertamina handle the security matters. "Balongan is the main vein of Java's economy, particularly West Java. Therefore we hope the police can help us to secure the demonstration," Ali said at his office on Friday.
Hundreds of contractors working for Pertamina under the outsourcing scheme have also blocked the northern coastal highway (Pantura) in Indramayu, exactly in front of Pertamina EP Java Region's office, to demand equal rights as permanent staff.
In January, the Constitutional Court (MK) ruled that contract workers deserved treatment equal to that expected by permanent employees. "On Monday, we'll meet with representatives of the workers," Ali reported.
He said Pertamina was still waiting for technical guidance as a follow-up to the MK's ruling, but would comply with all prevailing regulations.
The company would experience huge losses if workers did not go back to work immediately, Ali said.
Nationwide, people should not worry about the security of the fuel supply, Pertamina sales and marketing director Hanung Budya Yuktyanta said. "There's no disturbance in fuel supply. The reserves in our depots in Padalarang, Cikampek and other locations in Java are secure," he explained.
Hanung expected the police to be more firm in watching over the demonstrators so that they would not destroy important infrastructure.
"The Balongan refinery is one of the country's vital objects. If something happens, not only Pertamina will feel the impacts, but also all citizens in this country," Hanung claimed.
Pertamina currently operates six refineries with a combined capacity of 1.03 million bpd, but which produce only 677,000 bpd of fuel products.
The refineries are located in Dumai, Riau, with a capacity of 170,000 bpd; Plaju, South Sumatra (118,000 bpd); Cilacap, Central Java (348,000 bpd); Balikpapan, East Kalimantan (260,000 bpd); Balongan, West Java (125,000 bpd); and Kasim, West Papua (10,000 bpd).
Migrant worker advocates have lent their voice to the government's calls for answers from Malaysia in the killing of three Indonesians there by the police this month.
Lily Pujiati, the coordinator of the Migrant Workers Care coalition, said during the weekend that the Malaysian authorities' explanation that the three men were shot after firing at the police following an attempted burglary last Tuesday should not be taken at face value.
She called on the government to be critical of the explanation and push for an open inquiry to avoid similar incidents in the future. "We still don't know whether the workers really were engaged in criminal activity or if that was just an excuse by the Malaysian police, because the victims had valid working permits," Lily said.
She added that it was important that the Indonesian government do more to protect its citizens in Malaysia and elsewhere, given that the latest incident was the second of its kind this year.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed last week that three men were killed by the police at the Templer Saujana Rawang housing estate in the city of Rawang, Selangor state, at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday during a suspected burglary.
They said Malaysian authorities believed the three were trying to break into a house when they were stopped by the police. The men tried to escape in a stolen car, leading to a high-speed chase on the freeway.
Malaysia authorities said the men opened fire at the pursuing police vehicles, forcing officers to fire back, hitting the men and killing them. The victims have since been identified as Hasbullah, 25, and Sumardiono, 35, both from Lumajang district in East Java, and Marsudi, 28, from Bangkalan district, also in East Java.
Their bodies were brought home by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, working with Migrant Workers Care and the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI).
The incident mirrors another case on March 30, when police shot dead three migrant workers from East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, also on suspicion of criminal conduct.
M. Kholili, chairman of the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI), called on the government to stop sending migrant workers to Malaysia in light of the recent killings and past cases of worker abuse.
"It would be far better to allow our workers to go to other countries that are more committed to protecting workers, such as Hong Kong or Singapore," he said.
"Far too many Indonesian workers have fallen victim to violence by the police and employers in Malaysia. Yet the Indonesian government's response has always been slow and many of the cases remain unresolved."
Anita Rachman Imas Tati still can't walk properly or stand up for long without a cane. When she moves from one spot to another, she has to grab onto something for support.
"When I fell from the second floor, I hit the ground feet-first," she says. "My ankles were shattered. I don't know when I can walk properly again."
That incident occurred last October in Kuwait, where Imas was employed as a domestic worker. She fell trying to escape from her employer, who the night before had tried to rape her. It was the second such attempt, Imas said.
During her five-month stay in a Kuwaiti hospital, she met an official from the Indonesian Embassy who was looking in on another worker.
"When I asked him for help, he said it was my agent's responsibility because after the accident I had gone directly to the hospital and not reported to the embassy first," the 23-year-old recalled.
Imas's tale is just one story in the litany of harrowing experiences the Indonesian migrant workers often go through.
New protections
The vast majority of Indonesia's four million migrant workers end up in Malaysia or Saudi Arabia. In Malaysia, nearly 2,000 were victims of physical abuse, and 1,200 of sexual abuse in 2011, according to data from Migrant Care.
Anis Hidayah, executive director of Migrant Care, says the government needs to do more to protect its workers overseas. Legislation was passed in 2004 on the placement and protection of migrant workers, but activists are urging amendments, particularly on the issue of protection.
After years of campaigning, a breakthrough was achieved in April when the House of Representatives ratified the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The move obliges the House to pass legislation complying with the provisions of the convention.
"The international convention should be taken as a new standard [for protection]," Anis says. "In the past, we didn't have any and it only hurt our migrant workers."
She added that some points from the convention can be achieved through amendments to the 2004 law. One would entail phasing out the migrants-only terminal at the Selapajang Airport in Banten. In the future, Anis says, migrant workers should be allowed to depart from any airport near their hometown.
The second point is that migrant workers should have the same right as other Indonesian citizens in getting access to legal support, while the third is for the government to ensure full protection for the workers by taking over the work of private worker placement agencies, or PPTKIS, and becoming the sole authority to train workers and send them abroad.
Fina binti Ciing, 26, was one of the countless migrant workers who went through a cursory training program provided by a PPTKIS. Although the course lasted for a month, she says she learned very little and spent most of her time just "eating and sleeping" until her departure.
"If PPTKIS are still allowed to operate, they should be classified as travel agencies, not placement agencies," she said.
Migrant Care contends that if the government takes over the responsibility for training and placement, the workers will be in a much better bargaining position.
And because the state will be fully responsible for the workers, officials will no longer be able to pin the blame on private agencies if something goes wrong.
"Another important point is to review all 19 government bodies linked to migrant workers issues," Anis says.
"These include the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Health Ministry, the Social Affairs Ministry and the police. The government needs to establish a single body focused on migrant workers."
She also proposes a temporary halt to the sending of migrant workers out while the government prepares the transition and adopts the new standards.
Rieke Diah Pitaloka, a legislator with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), says the House is working on the points put forward by Migrant Care. She also promised a complete overhaul of the worker- protection law.
"The non-discrimination point has been accommodated. We've proposed that the government eliminate the special airport for migrant workers," she says.
The new draft also gives local administrations a bigger role in training workers and verifying their skills and documents before they leave.
However, Rieke says that the call to phase out PPTKIS will not be viable. "Is the PPTKIS the root of all of the problems?" she asked. "What the government needs to do is to monitor these private agencies very closely. Only those that meet stringent requirements should be allowed to send workers abroad."
Rieke agrees that the government should be the sole sender of workers, but points out that "we have to draft a law based not just on what would be ideal, but what can be applied."
Mahfudz Siddiq, a legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), says it is also important to have better coordination between the manpower and foreign ministries. The current lack of coordination, he says, leads the two ministries to blame each other when problems arise involving migrant workers.
Reyna Usman, director general of labor placement and development at the Manpower Ministry, says her office fully supports the revision of the 2004 law and the call for the government to play a bigger role in the training and placement process.
But she says further discussion between the House and government is needed on the proposal to make the government the sole authority to send migrant workers abroad.
Tatang Razak, the director for citizen protection overseas at the Foreign Ministry, also says that drawing up a new protection framework is important and should involve the input of all stakeholders.
"We should examine all possibilities. If [sending migrant workers] will be more effective and efficient under the government, then why not?" he said.
He notes that the 2004 law has some good points, including obliging PPTKIS to notify Indonesian embassies on any workers they send to a given country, but that the compliance remains weak. Thus better enforcement is needed if the new law is to work any better.
Fina and Imas know nothing about the recently-ratified convention or the new legislation expected to protect future migrant workers.
Fina says she never felt like she had any protection to fall back on when she worked in Saudi Arabia. She was there for only five months, leaving after enduring physical abuse and 21-hour work days.
She reported it to the agency. "When my employer hit me with a plank of wood, I reported it to my agency in Riyadh but they told me to get back to my employer's house and work," she said.
Syaipul Anas, from Migrant Care's legal desk, says the organization is working to spread the news about the convention and ensure that migrant workers are aware of their rights and the protections afforded to them.
But for those like Imas, whose prospects of ever walking unaided look grim, the new measures have come far too late.
Environment & natural disasters
Markus Junianto Sihaloho The East Java administration's refusal to grant a gas drilling permit to a notorious company linked to Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has been blasted by the party but lauded by rights groups.
Hasan Irsyad, the Golkar chairman at the provincial legislature, said on Wednesday the announcement by East Java Governor Soekarwo last Friday was "baseless."
He said the company, Lapindo Brantas, had already received approval from BPMigas, the upstream oil and gas regulator, to drill in Sidoarjo district. "So what's the basis for the governor's refusal?" he said. "This is very disconcerting."
Lapindo's earlier drilling activities in the district are widely blamed for triggering a mud volcano in May 2006 that has now led to more than 10,000 families being displaced from their homes.
Although the government never made an official determination for the cause of the disaster, it held Lapindo's holding company, Minarak Lapindo Jaya, liable for compensating the residents for the loss of their land.
Minarak was ordered to pay Rp 2.5 trillion ($265 million) in compensation and Rp 1.3 trillion to keep the mud from spreading. Six years after the disaster, it still owes Rp 1.1 trillion.
Hasan said Soekarwo's decision to refuse the permit on grounds that it would "hurt the sense of justice of Lapindo victims" was unreasonable because the company was still processing the payments. "It would be a different story if they hadn't paid anything, but the Bakrie family is committed to paying," Hasan said.
He also claimed that if the company was allowed to resume drilling, it could use the proceeds to speed up the compensation payments, which Aburizal previously said would be wrapped up this year.
Rights groups have welcomed Soekarwo's decision, calling it a brave move in holding the company accountable for its unfinished payments.
Gunawan, from the Indonesian Human Rights Committee for Social Justice (IHCS), said Lapindo should be made to complete its obligations to the people before receiving a drilling permit. "So for us, the refusal was the right move," he said.
He called on authorities to thoroughly evaluate the company's drilling methods once it resumed operations to ensure it did not exacerbate the ongoing disaster.
Jakarta Woman politicians from the United Development Party (PPP) strongly opposed the plan by the Health Ministry to distribute free condoms to people with high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
Wardatul Asriah, head of the PPP woman and child protection division, said the distribution of free condoms would be prone to abuse. Distribution of free condoms, she claimed, could be easily send the wrong signals to teenagers and under-age children.
"We worry about potential abuses," she said at a party meeting on female empowerment and child protection on Thursday.
Instead of distributing free condoms, Wardatul said the Health Ministry should highlight the dangers of casual sex to teenagers, especially girls. She said she would consult with lawmakers and the Health Ministry to review the plan, Antara reported. Opposition to the ministry's free condom plan is in line with the PPP's program to empower women and to promote reproductive health, she added.
Elly Burhaini Faizal and Arya Dipa, Jakarta The debate over the distribution of free condoms as a preventative measure in the fight against HIV/AIDS has become political, with the newly-appointed Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi having to spar with members of the House of Representatives over the new policy on Monday.
Nafsiah reiterated that she had never made any statement on handing out free condoms to school students and teenagers. "What I said in the press conference was that I am committed to realizing the programs of the late minister that have not yet been achieved. I said in the press conference that we had to lay out a long term system of national health and plan of action that deals with the basics, and this plan will hopefully run for the next 20 years. Unfortunately, a journalist misquoted my statement," Nafsiah said.
She also emphasized that there was no mention of the planned distribution of condoms in the press briefing.
The Monday hearing was Nafsiah's first as health minister after she was sworn in to replace Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, who died of lung cancer on May 2. The free condom plan dominated the meeting with lawmakers pressuring her over the new policy.
Iskan Qalba Lubis of the House's Commission IX on demographic affairs, health, manpower and transmigration and a member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said condoms could be an effective contraceptive but could also be easily abused.
"But if you don't communicate this properly, you will lead people astray. I know that you'd rather see the issue of condom use from a medical perspective. But common people will see this issue from a moral perspective instead of a medical point of view. They will think that you are promoting free sex among the youth," he said.
Fellow PKS lawmaker Herlini Amran concurred with Iskan, saying that more education was needed before the government rolled out the new policy.
"We know that adolescents need to be educated and well-prepared. But the government should give them proper information on healthy sex with religious values instead of providing them with improper services like free condoms," Herlini said.
Responding to the criticism, Nafsiah said that condoms would be distributed to those who faced the highest risks. "The number of men going to commercial sex workers has reached about 6 million and 8 million. So we do have a high chance of an HIV epidemic," she said.
As of March 2012, the number of HIV infections through heterosexual intercourse accounted for 71 percent, with only 18.7 percent from injecting drug users.
Separately, the National AIDS Commission's (KPA) acting secretary Kemal N. Siregar said adolescents should always have access to the prevention, medical treatment and rehabilitation deemed critical for protecting them against HIV.
"Without having any effective measures of stopping risky behavior among young people, we'll find that in delaying access to various services, they will run the risk of being infected with HIV/AIDS," he said.
Meanwhile, in Bandung, West Java, dozens of members of the conservative group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia staged a rally protesting against the new condom policy.
The protesters condemned the new policy as it could encourage adultery. "The government should have focused on cracking down on adultery," HTI activist Asep Kurniawan said in his speech.
Pucak Refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia, many of whom fled persecution and conflict in their home countries, say they are being driven to get on boats for Australia out of frustration with the resettlement process.
"It's been two years that I have been here. How long am I supposed to wait?" asked Liaqat Ali Yousufi, 32, an ethnic Hazara from Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni Province, who was registered as a refugee in November 2011 and had hoped to be resettled to Australia by now. "The process doesn't work. There are people waiting three or four years."
"It just doesn't make sense anymore. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to get on a boat," Riad Kamil, 50, an Iraqi asylum seeker from Baghdad, whose case is on appeal after he was refused refugee status in 2011. Both men live in community housing in the town of Pucak, a hub for asylum seekers and their families and the people smugglers ready to assist them about 80km outside of Jakarta.
Almost all of the residents have been granted refugee status by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and some are families seeking asylum. "You can't blame them. It [refugee determination] is an open-ended process, and that's the frustration there are no dates for anything," said an aid worker who asked not to be named.
According to Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship, some 29,000 people have made their way to Australia by boat since 1976. Many asylum seekers feel they have no other choice.
Barred from working, the men and their families are dependent on a handful of agencies and non-governmental organizations working to assist them while their cases are pending.
But they could also be considered lucky more than 1,000 asylum seekers, mostly single males, now languish in 12 government detention centers across Indonesia while their claims for refugee status are being determined.
According to UNHCR, there are close to 6,000 asylum seekers and recognized refugees in Indonesia (4,552 asylum seekers and 1,180 registered refugees), mainly from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Many of their cases have been pending for two to three years, or even longer, activists groups say.
"We are aware of this and are, of course, doing our best to address the problems that a long procedure poses to the situation of refugees and asylum seekers," said Manuel Jordao, the UNHCR country representative in Indonesia
Since 2009 there has been a spike in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country, from 385 in 2008 to 3,230 in 2009, and 3,905 in 2010, UNHCR reported.
This in turn has led to an increase in the number of people in detention that are of concern to the agency, which does not enough resources to cope with the influx. At the end of May 2012 there were 1,159 cases were waiting to be interviewed, 41 percent of them in detention.
But for many asylum seekers and recognized refugees, the delays in the processing their cases is doing little more than pushing them onto boats a move UNHCR strongly advises against.
Smugglers charge an average of $6,000 per person less for children for the dangerous journey in often overcrowded and poorly maintained boats, depending on the time of year.
In 2011 the Indonesian authorities intercepted more than 100 groups of people in various parts of the country, or in boats mostly off the coast of Sumatra.
"We understand that it is not easy to stay because of what are often long waiting periods. However, when we look at the number of boat tragedies recently, we hope that refugees will be more patient and wait for a safe solution to their lives," Jordao said.
On June 22, rescuers were searching for dozens of people in the sea after a boat carrying up to 200 asylum seekers from Indonesia to Australia sank near Christmas Island, an Australian possession.
A second boat capsized on June 27 carrying some 133 Australia-bound asylum seekers, Agence France-Presse reported on Wednesday. Rescue crews pulled 123 people from the sea.
The island outpost is closer to Indonesia than Australia and has long been targeted by asylum-seekers hoping to reach mainland Australia.
"If the Australian government was willing to process asylum seekers in Indonesia and guarantee that recognized refugees would be resettled, far fewer people would need to get on a boat to get protection," said Ian Rintoul, a spokesman from the Australian Refugee Action Coalition.
UNHCR said 522 of the 911 refugee cases submitted to Australia from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011 were accepted. In May 2012, 24 refugees departed for resettlement in Australia, and there are 529 refugee cases now pending.
Rangga Prakoso Antigraft groups expressed high hopes on Thursday that the recent appointment of economist Anggito Abimanyu as director general of hajj pilgrimage management will bring much needed reform to the multi- billion dollar industry.
"[Anggito] is a more suitable figure than appointing a someone from inside the Religious Affairs Ministry," Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Firdaus Ilyas said.
Anggito is known for his tough stance against corruption and successfully led the country's fiscal reform during his time as the fiscal policy chief at the Finance Ministry before resigning in 2010.
In a surprise move, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, whose administration has been marred with numerous corruption allegations, appointed the reform-minded Anggito on Tuesday.
Firdaus said he had high hopes that Anggito could increase transparency and accountability in money management. "There are a lot of hajj funds and they can easily be misappropriated," the ICW researcher said, but he added that Anggito must still change the lack of transparency within the ministry.
An estimated 90 percent of Indonesia's 240 million population are Muslims. Islamic law requires those who are physically and financially able to perform the hajj at least once in their life.
Last year, Saudi Arabia established a quota of 211,000 pilgrims for Indonesia. The current number of Indonesians registered for the hajj is 1.4 million, a backlog of more than six years' worth of pilgrimage hopefuls. Their deposits, totaling Rp 38 trillion ($4 billion) are held in ministry accounts.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) warned in February that this massive balance raised the possibility of misappropriation of bank interest, which is worth around Rp 1.7 trillion annually.
Uchok Sky Khadafi from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) said the ministry had purchased Islamic bonds worth a total of Rp 783 billion in 2010 with an interest rate of between 7.3 percent to 7.61 percent per year.
The government recently announced plans to increase the price of the hajj pilgrimage from $3,537 per pilgrim last year to $3,715 this year.
Rizky Amelia & Ezra Sihite Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators searched the office of the Religious Affairs Ministry Friday morning after a Golkar Party lawmaker from the House Commission VIII which oversees religious affairs was named as a graft suspect for allegedly receiving kickbacks to approve a Rp 35 billion (3.71 million) Koran procurement project.
Zulkarnaen Djabar was reportedly paid an undisclosed amount to push the project through the House of Representatives' Budget Committee. "[We] have issued a letter to start the investigation, declaring him as suspect," Bambang Widjojanto, deputy chairman of the KPK said on Friday.
Bambang declined to offer further details on the case. It is unknown how the Rp 35 billion was used or who printed the Korans if they were even printed. "That's it for now," Bambang said. "We cannot go into details."
The Religious Affairs Ministry spends between Rp 2 billion and Rp 3 billion annually to print 60,000 to 70,000 Korans, Religious Affairs Deputy Minister Nazaruddin Umar said. The annual demand exceeded 2 million, he told Tempo.
Nazaruddin, who served as the ministry's director general when the 2010 deal was brokered, said that he was unaware of the allegations and doubted the case was legitimate.
"We will be cooperative if the KPK needs evidence," Nazaruddin said, adding that he warned his staff not to corrupt budget procurement talks, especially when involving something as sacred as the Koran. The minister also denied the KPK was searching the Religious Affairs Ministry's office.
Zulkarnaen said on Thursday that he was surprised to hear that he was named as a suspect, explaining that he was never involved in the Koran procurement project.
"I was acting normal at the commission," he said on Thursday as quoted by tempo.co. "I don't know that I have been named as suspect, Zulkarnaen said, adding "Astagfirullah" the Arabic phrase meaning "I seek forgiveness from Allah."
The KPK has placed a travel ban on Zulkarnaen, pending further investigation into the allegations.
Nazaruddin urged the KPK to wrap up their investigation in a timely manner. "Finish the investigation soon, so people who were not involved are not held hostage by public opinion," he said.
The deputy chairman of the KPK announced the investigation on July 21, 2012, explaining that graft convict Muhammad Nazaruddin might have had a hand in the project as well.
"Even Holy Book [funding is] corrupted," K.M.S. Romi, a senior KPK official, told tempo.co at the time of the announcement. "How sad."
Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta Controversy over the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) proposal to build a new office building reached new heights on Thursday with some lawmakers beginning to blame each other for opposing the construction plan.
Democratic Party lawmaker Didi Irawadi Syamsuddin a member of House of Representatives Commission III, overseeing legal affairs and laws, which earlier opposed the KPK's request for an additional Rp 160 billion (US$16.9 million) to build a new office building said his faction fully supported the proposal.
"The Democratic Party faction has always agreed to the plan, but the other factions said they needed more time to decide. I say we should proceed with the plan now," he said.
Didi said, however, that his faction could not make the decision alone and had to uphold the democratic principles within the commission. He said he would lobby the other members to approve the plan.
Martin Hutabarat of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) urged his colleagues on the commission to approve the plan. "We, lawmakers, have a bad enough image already. Let's not worsen it by stonewalling the request," he said, adding that he had not had anything to do with the refusal.
Separately, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo confirmed that the ministry had prepared funds for the construction, but could not disburse them due to the lack of the House's endorsement.
"The ministry has allocated Rp 200 billion in a multiyear fund in the state budget. We plan to disburse between Rp 60 billion and Rp 80 billion this year if the lawmakers give their approval," he said after a House plenary session.
According to State Budget Watch director Ramson Siagian the government had the right to directly disburse the funds without obtaining consent from the House as the latter had approved the plans contained in the 2012 state budget, including the new KPK building, at a plenary session. Ramson said Agus' explanation was baseless and that the ministry should immediately give the money to the KPK.
Meanwhile, United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker Ahmad Yani, also a Commission III member, said that even if the funds had been prepared by the Finance Ministry, it would be more economical if the KPK were to seek a vacant building. He said the Commission III members did not object to the KPK getting a new office, but that did not mean a new building needed to be constructed.
KPK advisory board member, Abdullah Hehamahua, said moving into a vacant building would be as costly as constructing a new one because an "extraordinary" institution such as the KPK needed an establishment that met certain criteria. "We would still have to reconstruct the vacant building to fulfill our needs," he added.
The KPK's deputy chairman, Bambang Widjojanto, said the commission had sought information about state-owned buildings from the State Wealth Management Directorate General at the Finance Ministry and were told no suitable buildings were available.
Ahmad rejected Bambang's claim, however. According to Ahmad, the KPK could use the building previously occupied by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in Thamrin, South Jakarta.
"I have proposed the BPPT building several times in our meetings. It has the space the KPK needs and its facilities are advanced enough to support the KPK's activities. I don't see why the KPK cannot use that building now that the BPPT has moved to Serpong," he told The Jakarta Post.
KPK chairman Abraham Samad said the public had shown their sense of trust in his commission through the increasing public donations. "This [public donations increase] has motivated us to maintain the KPK as an institution that belongs to the public," he said.
On the same day, Bambang, along with representatives from a civil society coalition, said they would manage the donations in an accountable and transparent manner.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, former attorney general Arman Abdul Rahman Saleh said they would use the public donations for other purposes if the lawmakers changed their minds and decided to release the state budget funds. (fzm/tas)
Rabby Pramudatama and Margareth Aritonang, Jakarta Several politicians have defended their parties' decisions to keep financial reports from the public, saying they had submitted the reports to the General Elections Commission (KPU).
They also questioned the motives behind Indonesia Corruption Watch's (ICW) request for financial reports from the political parties.
The politicians were responding to the ICW which had reported nine political parties to the Central Information Commission (KIP) for failing to disclose their financial reports to the public.
"Who is the ICW anyway? ICW itself has not been transparent with its reports," Nasir Djamil of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) told The Jakarta Post late on Tuesday. "Just ask ICW whether or not they have disclosed their true donors to the public."
Nasir said it would be better for ICW to help the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigate big graft cases such as the Hambalang or Bank Century scandals instead of focusing on minor matters.
In addition, he said political parties did not have an obligation to fulfill ICW's request. "Political parties should report to the General Elections Commission [KPU] not to the ICW," he said.
The ICW reported nine major political parties to the KIP after the parties ignored their request to provide their 2010 and 2011 financial reports.
The nine parties that declined to fulfill the request are the Democratic Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP), the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra), the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and the PKS, according to the ICW.
ICW researcher Apung Widadi alleged that the parties had declined to make public their financial reports to hide money-laundering practices. He said that the parties might have been cryptic in their financial reports as they did not have good financial management systems in place needed to compile reports.
PDI-P lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, meanwhile, said political parties had two sources of funding; from the state budget (APBN) and from their internal resources.
Eva said that usually the parties only reported their State Budget funds to the public. "While the internal resources, which usually made up the biggest part of party funds, are usually reported to party officials through certain mechanisms, usually at year-end meetings," she told the Post.
Under the 2008 Political Parties Law, political parties receiving public funding must disclose their spending in reports submitted to the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
The nine parties questioned by ICW are entitled to public money as they hold almost all the seats in the House of Representatives (DPR).The money is allotted based on their performances in the 2000 election.
Under the 2010 State Budget, the Democratic Party, for example, received Rp 2.34 billion (US$248,040) in public money, while Golkar received Rp 1.62 billion and the PDI-P received Rp 1.57 billion.
PKS legislator and member of House Commission III, Indra, agreed that political parties should be open in their financial reports as stipulated in the law on access to public information.
"It serves as a mechanism to ensure political parties' accountability," he said. Indra, however, questioned ICW's intentions in requesting the information.
Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Rizky Amelia The Corruption Eradication Commission has received some unlikely support for its plan to expand its office on Monday: the backing of the country's 54 million impoverished food vendors and hawkers.
Members of the Indonesian Food Hawkers Association (PPKLI) flocked to the office of the antigraft agency known as the KPK on Monday to hand over Rp 1 million ($106) in contributions and a letter of support for the country's most respected law enforcement institution.
"As citizens we have to show our support for the KPK," said PPKLI coordinator Junaedi Sitorus. "We're not looking for fame. We don't care about politics. We have little money, but at least it's legitimate."
He added that the PPKLI's 54 million members would contribute Rp 1,000 each over the next three days to help the KPK reach the figure of Rp 225 billion that it needs to build a new office.
There's just one problem: it might not be entirely legal. KPK adviser Abdullah Hehamahua says that by law, the antigraft body is not allowed to take money from non-government sources. "We cannot accept or manage the money. It goes against the state management system," he said.
The KPK has been seeking approval for the construction project from House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, arguing that its current office building can no longer house all 700 KPK employees. The lack of space has forced it to rent space at the nearby Ombudsman Commission building and at the State Secretariat office.
The current building on Jalan Rasuna Said in South Jakarta used to be owned by the now-defunct Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency, and has been leased out to the KPK by the Finance Ministry.
Bambang Widjojanto, a KPK deputy chairman, said the commission has obtained an 8,000-square-meter plot of land behind the current building, where it plans to build the new extension.
Johan Budi, a KPK spokesman, said the commission needs to expand and recruit more staff to handle more cases. "The KPK only has 700 officials serving some 200 million people in Indonesia," he says, pointing out that Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission has 3,000 officials for a country of just 28 million.
But the House has criticized the plan, saying the new building is not an urgent priority, despite the KPK already getting the backing of the Finance Ministry. The House also claimed that the project goes against calls by the government for all state agencies to cut costs.
Analysts, however, accused the House of flagrant hypocrisy. Last year, the House proposed a hefty Rp 1.13 trillion budget to construct a new building for itself, replete with a spa and recreation center. A massive public outcry eventually forced it to scrap the project.
"They are being hypocritical," said University of Indonesia political analyst Arbi Sanit. "The House has been wasting the state budget with its overseas tips. If House Commission III rejects [the KPK's request], it's effectively supporting corruption."
Uchok Sky Khadafi, investigations and advocacy coordinator at the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), said the opposition to the request was no surprise.
"The legislators are just showing their arrogance through the authority they have over the budget," he said. "They want to control the KPK through the budget."
He claimed that the House was taking the opportunity to get revenge on the KPK for its arrest of dozens of legislators in graft cases over the years. Since it was established in 2003, the KPK has arrested 44 former and serving House members.
But legislators have played down allegations of ulterior motives for rejecting the KPK's funding request. Drajad Wibowo, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), pointed out that the House did not get the new building it wanted, so the KPK's case was not unique.
Nasir Jamil from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said that other law enforcement agencies, such as the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), had also applied for building funds, but their requests had not yet been approved.
"Of course, we will give due consideration to all these requests," he said recently. "We don't want to appear to be discriminatory by approving the KPK's request and rejecting the others."
On Monday, House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung said the House leaders would facilitate a meeting between the KPK and Commission III to discuss the funding request. "Personally, I don't mind. I would give my own money toward the new building if I had to," he said.
Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says it has reported nine major political parties to the Central Information Commission (KIP) for failing to disclose their financial reports.
An ICW representative alleged that the parties had declined to make public their financial reports to hide money laundering practices.
"We requested that all political parties disclose their 2010 and 2011 financial reports in April," ICW researcher Apung Widadi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday at the KIP's office in Jakarta. "However, until now, the nine political parties haven't responded to the request. It means they are not transparent."
The parties that declined to comply with the ICW's request included the Democratic Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP), the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra), the Peoples Conscience Party (Hanura) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), according to the ICW.
Apung said that the parties might have been cryptic on their financial reports as they did not have good financial management systems in place needed to compile reports.
"We all know that the actual funding of political parties could reach into the billions of rupiah. Given such facts, it is logical to assume that political parties have become money-laundering institutions," Apung said.
He added the parties might not have been transparent with their financial reports because they lacked commitment. "That is why they ignored our request."
The nine parties questioned by the ICW are entitled to public money as they hold almost all the seats in the House of Representatives (DPR). The money is allotted based their performance in the 2000 election.
Under the 2010 State Budget, the Democratic Party, for example, received Rp 2.34 billion (US$248,040) in public money, while Golkar received Rp 1.62 billion and the PDI-P received Rp 1.57 billion.
Under the 2008 Political Parties Law, political parties receiving public funding must account for the money in reports submitted to the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
Apung said that PKS and Gerindra had given their financial reports to the ICW, although he described the reports as inadequate.
"We appreciate PKS and Gerinda for responding to the request, however, their reports appears only as formality. They were not complete," he said.
According to the 2008 Freedom of information Law, as public institutions, political parties are obliged to respond to public information requests within 30 days.
The KIP has established a multiple phase process to resolve contested information requests, including mediation and adjudication.
Political parties can be sanctioned by the KIP, albeit lightly, if they fail to comply with the commission's decisions.
"The sanctions that the KIP can issue might not be that heavy, but if they do issue a sanction then the bigger punishment will be the moral sanction from the public," Apung said.
Apung said that the ICW intends to push political parties to reform before the upcoming 2014 general election.
The ICW previously said that the operational funds of political parties receiving public money had been spent on items such as electricity bills, staff salaries and archiving instead of political education.
The watchdog group also noted that Golkar, the PDI-P, and the PPP did not allocate any funds for political education, despite Home Ministry decree No. 24/2009, which mandates such allocations.
Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta The public funding initiative to help the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) construct its new building gained momentum with more groups pledging support for the movement.
The country's association of street vendors came to the KPK headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Monday to pledge financial support for the public funding initiative.
Secretary general of the Association of Indonesian Street Vendors (PPKLI) Junaedi Sitorus said that members of the organization, which numbered 54 million, could be ready to donate Rp 1,000 each in the next three days.
Junaedi said that he was optimistic about collecting Rp 162 billion (US$17.17 million) from members of the organization. "We must take actions against any efforts to weaken the KPK," Junaedi told reporters.
The public funding initiative so far has also won support from senior government officials. Late last week, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said he supported the plan and would be ready to be the first donor.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan on Monday pledged that he would donate his salary for the next six months for the public funding drive. "This is a positive development. I support the construction of the new building," Dahlan said as quoted by Antara. Dahlan said that the KPK deserved more support as it had shown a good record in eradicating corruption.
The initiative for the KPK public funding came from the anti-graft body deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto after the House of Representatives declined to approve a new budget for the construction of a new KPK building.
The KPK's leaders have said that the commission needs a new headquarters, as its current building, located in Kuningan, South Jakarta, is operating over its capacity.
The building 31-years-old and formerly the headquarters of Bank Papan Sejahtera, which was liquidated by the government in 1999 was designed to accommodate 350 employees. The KPK currently has 752.
The KPK previously announced plans to recruit an additional 500 employees, bringing the total number of people working for or seconded to the commission from other agencies up to 1,200.
Separately, the KPK advisory board warned that the commission should not accept money from the public until a new mechanism was devised to manage the fund. "I could not accept the funds until there was a clear policy to manage the money," advisory board member Abdullah Hehamahua said.
Abudllah said that the public funding initiative could be used to weaken the KPK. He said that enemies of the KPK could easily attack the commission if it was later found that portions of cash collected under the public initiative plan came from illicit sources.
Meanwhile, Bambang said that as much as the KPK appreciated the public support, the commission also hoped the House would give the go-ahead for the disbursement of the fund. Bambang also said that the KPK had in fact received support from several ministries, including the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Public Works Ministry, and the Administrative Reforms Ministry in its plan to build a new headquarters.
He said that the KPK had thus far not been able to convince the House over the urgency of the new building.
Jakarta Representatives of two of the nation's most prominent Muslim groups are none too outraged about the allegations of corruption surrounding the procurement of Korans by the Religious Affairs Ministry.
The chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Ma'aruf Amin, said on Monday that the graft case should be treated like any other. "Koran or not, people will still commit crimes if they have the intention. This is a legal matter. Those guilty of the crime should be punished accordingly."
Ma'aruf's assessment of the scandal differed from that offered by Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar, who said that the sins of those implicated in the scandal would multiply.
Nasaruddin, who was the ministry's Islamic education chief at the time of the suspect procurement, said that he found no indications of irregularities in the project, which he said involved Rp 3 billion (US$318,000) of state funds in 2010 and Rp 5 billion in 2011.
The Indonesian Budget Center, however, has said that the state might have suffered up to Rp 54.4 billion in losses due to corruption surrounding the procurement. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has interrogated several officials at the ministry about the allegations.
Separately, a spokesman for the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) said that the graft scandal involved government officials stealing money and was no different from other such cases.
"We have to put this in perspective. What's been stolen is the project's money, and not the Korans. It is basically just another corruption case, FPI spokesman Munarman said. "Where there's a project, there's money. People stole some of it." Munarman said that there was no other way but to investigate the case thoroughly.
The response of the MUI and FPI, which stands in sharp contrast to the religious decrees and threats issued by the groups when they perceived a slight, was casual when compared to that of Din Syamsuddin.
On Sunday, Din, the chairman of Muhammadiyah, the nation's second-largest Muslim social and political group, called the scandal odious and shameful to the nation's Muslims.
"I was surprised when first hearing [the allegations]. It needs to be clarified, but I wish it was not true," Din said. "If it is true that there is this scandal at the Religious Affairs Ministry, I don't know how it will be able to manage religious affairs in the country," he said.
Separately, the deputy chairman of House Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs, Jazuli Juwaini, called on the ministry to be transparent on the investigation.
"We need to keep encouraging the ministry to be more honest, trustworthy and transparent. There needs to be severe punishment for any violations," Jazuli said. (aml)
Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said that it was possible to prosecute individuals who obstruct investigations of graft cases.
KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said that the antigraft agency would pursue these individuals, including lawyers, notaries and even journalists, who in recent days had made efforts to mislead the public by giving conflicting accounts about graft suspects.
"We consider these people as 'gatekeepers' and they affect our ways of dealing with corruption," Bambang said during a discussion over the weekend.
Bambang said that the phenomenon was not new to antigraft efforts in other parts of the world, but new to Indonesia. He said that these people who perverted the course of justice could be prosecuted under Article 21 of Law No. 20/2001 on anticorruption.
Bambang, however, said that the KPK could not yet effectively apply the article. "We have been thinking of devising a new mechanism so that these people who obstruct KPK investigations could also be named as graft suspects," Bamband said.
Article 21 of the anticorruption law stipulates that anyone who intentionally prevents, obstructs or hinders the investigation, prosecution, or trial of graft suspects, defendants, or witnesses, could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison and between Rp 150 million to Rp 600 million in fines.
In recent days, the KPK has seen lawyers and supporters of graft suspects giving misleading comments to the public.
Soon after the arrest of graft fugitive Neneng Sri Wahyuni, the wife of former Democratic Party lawmaker Muhammad Nazaruddin, her lawyers said that their client had turned herself in, voluntarily, to KPK investigators. The KPK said that Neneng was apprehended by its investigators soon after arriving from Malaysia.
In the recent tax-fraud case implicating investment company PT Bhakti Investama, owned by media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo, those reportedly implicated in the case had taken the prosecution lightly.
When the KPK issued a summons to question him as suspect, Hary, who is now an executive of the National Democratic (Nasdem) Party, ignored it and arrived at the KPK headquarters two days later. He said that he voluntarily came to the KPK to help the investigation.
In recent days, the KPK has also gotten tough on those who obstructed its prosecution. The KPK has named two Malaysian citizens; R. Azmi bin Muhammad Yusof and Hasan bin Kushi, both as suspects for obstructing an investigation of the graft case involving Neneng Sri Wahyuni.
The two foreigners allegedly played pivotal roles in hiding Neneng from the authorities while she fled the country to Malaysia.
Emerson Yuntho of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said the KPK indeed faced problems in prosecuting those who obstruct its investigation. "I could not remember too many cases where those people could be prosecuted, but I know this is possible, like when the KPK charged Anggodo Widjojo with Article 21," he said.
Anggodo is the brother the main suspect in the fraudulent 2006-2007 procurement of a radio communication system by the Forestry Ministry, businessman Anggoro Widjojo.
Emerson said those who obstruct KPK investigations could be hoping to secure the assets of graft suspects, receive lighter sentences for graft defendants or even releasing graft convicts from jail.
Terrorism & religious extremism
Jakarta Who is supposedly responsible for keeping radical teachings at bay? That is a question few can answer, despite growing radicalism and intolerance plaguing the world's most populous Muslim majority nation.
With no clear measures to protect moderate Muslims against the proliferation of radical groups, Indonesia's war against terrorism may be hitting the wall.
The Religious Affairs Ministry, which is supposed to spearhead the fight against radicalism, has no specific measures or budget for this despite the country's history of major terrorist attacks in the last 10 years.
The ministry, which was recently rocked by a graft allegation in the procurement of Korans worth millions of dollars, has allocated less than 1 percent of its Rp 28 trillion (US$2.97 billion) budget this year for fighting radical movements. And when it comes to specific measures put in place, few ministry officials are aware of any.
"Our division has no specific program to tackle radicalism," said the ministry's director for Islamic development, Ahmad Jauhari. His division is under the Directorate General of Muslim Society Development, and is responsible for preventing Islamic teachings from deviating into radicalism that may lead to violence.
Jauhari said that division officials responsible for de-radicalization merely advised avoidance of radical teachings during workshops and social activities. "We usually hold internal workshops to educate our staff and religious advisors to prevent radicalism, hoping they will transfer their knowledge to local religious offices and communities," said Jauhari.
His directorate employs about 83,000 religious advisors, locally known as penyuluh, to oversee 239,497 registered mosques in Indonesia as of 2010. The ministry's officials and volunteers are traditionally affiliated with moderate Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
Mosques, Islamic boarding schools, universities and high schools are thought to be hot beds for the proliferation of radical groups. According to the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), there is a growing trend in which radicals take over a mosque's management from followers of the NU and fellow moderate Muslim group Muhammadiyah the country's largest and second-largest Muslim organizations, respectively.
People are usually lured into radicalism by listening to radical preachers during Friday sermons before being encouraged to join smaller preaching groups as leeway for the forming of terrorist cells.
The Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), which has branches across the archipelago to make sure mosques operate within the mainstream of moderate Islam, also has no specific measures in place.
"The council is not specifically responsible for the management of the mosques," said DMI secretary-general Imam Addaruqutni. "But we are willing to cooperate with the government to conduct workshops, talks and sermons to address radicalism issues."
The nation's spearhead against the radical movement relies on the programs arranged by the NU and the Muhammadiyah. NU vice chairman for the supreme council Masdar Farid Mas'udi, however, said the organization had no specific anti-radicalism program in place, but acknowledged the BNPT's warning.
He said the organization only had an internal institution that oversaw its mosques. "The NU has been carrying out intensive discussions about de- radicalization within the organization. We instill in our followers a tolerance for other religious groups," said Masdar.
Unlike the NU, the Muhammadiyah seems more prepared. Muhammadiyah secretary Abdul Mukti said his organization had made terrorism its main focus long before Indonesia saw an increase in terrorist attacks.
However, he said that the organization objected to the term "radical" and instead preferred "extremist". "Moderate Muslims can be radicals when it comes to what they believe in, but it doesn't mean that they will resort to violence. Those who use violence are extremists," he said.
To address extremism issues, Abdul said, the organization had published guidance books about the basic principles of the organization, Indonesian politics, pluralism and tolerance. These books are distributed to Muhammadiyah members all over the country and are available at bookstores. He also said the Muhammadiyah had conducted three internal workshops on anti-extremism.
"We are fully aware that some extremists are trying to infiltrate our mosques. That's why we have been heightening the intensity of our programs," Abdul said. (tas)
A survey by the Institution for Islam and Peace Studies (LaKIP) between October 2010 and January 2012 (involving 611,678 students and 2,639 teachers in Greater Jakarta) revealed:
The groups account for 54% of Indonesian Muslim (as of 2010).
Rangga Prakoso & Gita Aqso The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI)'s aggressive efforts to "defend" Islam have won it growing notoriety, but the hard-line group apparently doesn't consider a graft-ridden Koran procurement project important enough to make a fuss about.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced on Friday that it had named two suspects in the graft case surrounding the Rp 35 billion ($3.75 million) project of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
They are Zulkarnaen Djabar, a Golkar Party lawmaker and a member of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs, and the president director of KSAI, the company that handled the project, identified only as D.P.
In a break from recent campaigns embarked upon in the name of Islam, the FPI doesn't seem to have had its feathers ruffled in this particular instance a corruption case that has angered many Muslims here, including Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah.
"This is not a religious issue. It is not the holy book that is being corrupted," FPI spokesman Munarman said in Jakarta on Friday when asked about his organization's opinion on the graft case. "There is nothing special. It is just another corruption case; just eradicate it," he added.
The statement comes as a surprise, given that the FPI has been notorious for aggressively raiding nightclubs, rejecting "vulgar" performances of entertainers including US singer Lady Gaga and engaging in other thug-like activities against what they consider threats to morals and attempts to taint Islam.
Muhammadiyah secretary Agung Danarto slammed the alleged corruption on Friday, saying, "They [the perpetrators] can't even differ between that which is sacred and which is not; this is very saddening." (BeritaSatu/JG)
Tangerang Police arrested three members of Pemuda Pancasila on Thursday in connection with yesterday's deadly attack on the hard-line Betawi Brotherhood Forum's (FBR) headquarters.
Three men, Surono, Endi Yunus and Syamsudin, were rounded up in a raid after they reportedly supplied the machetes used to fatally slash FBR head Muhidin, Tangerang police chief Sr. Comr. Wahyu Widada told the Indonesian news site tempo.co on Thursday.
"We're not arresting the whole organization," Wahyu said. "Just the people who carried sharp weapons."
The police chief did not directly mention the nationalistic group Pemuda Pancasila, but the three men were rounded up at local Pemuda Pancasil head Lurah Muslim's house in Ciledug, Tangerang.
A mob of approximately 50 men attacked the FBR's headquarters in Tangerang at 12:30 Wednesday morning, police said. Muhidin fought back, but died after being repeatedly cut. The hard-line organization reportedly staged a series of retaliatory attacks on alleged Pemuda Pancasila members.
FBR members allegedly stormed the house of Tangerang legislative council member Karnadi's house early Wednesday morning, the legislator told Republika.com. Hundreds of FBR members reportedly armed with molotov cocktails and weapons showed up at Karnadi's house. He was able to escape through the home's front door.
But his vehicles weren't able to emerge from the incident unscathed. "They went in through back gate, burned my Suzuki Escudo car, my Volvo car and my Kaisar motorcycle," Karnadi said. "I recognized them as FBR members by their uniform." Karnadi is currently in police custody.
A mob of alleged FBR members also attacked two motorcyclists whose bikes had Pemuda Pancasila stickers on them. The men were passing by the Villa Dago, in Ciputat, Tangerang, when they were stabbed and beaten.
One man, Sulistyawan, suffered wounds to both of his hands while the other rider, Zaki, was bruised, police said. Both were taken to Putra Delima hospital, in South Tangerang, for treatment.
The mob also pelted a parked car with stones, breaking its windshield, police said.
Bayu Marhaenjati "Pesbukers" host Olga Syahputra may be a comedian, but a recent joke that likened Muslims to beggars is no laughing matter, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said on Tuesday.
On a June 19 episode of his show, Olga made fun of Dangdut singer Julia Perez, telling the entertainer that she sounded like a beggar when she answered the phone with the Islamic greeting "assalamu'alaikum."
"You keep saying assalamu'alaikum. You sound like a beggar," Olga told Julia during the show's June 19 broadcast. The joke was offensive to Muslims, Habib Salim bin Umar Alatas, head of the FPI's Jakarta branch, told Beritasatu.com.
The hard-line group plans to report the comedian to the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), he said. "Olga should apologize. Just ask Olga whether he was sorry," Habib Salim said.
The FPI said that the Olga incident was the latest in a series of television shows that are insulting to Muslims. Habib Salim plans to discuss these television programs with the KPI later this week.
"We will ask the KPI for feedback about not only Olga's case, but [about] a lot of shows on television stations that are insulting religion. There are many programs that harass [religion] and we are going to ask about them," Habib said.
But social activist Ratna Sarumpaet said the FPI was only focused on Olga because he had money. "It's a matter of money. Olga's got a lot of money. The FPI will always find fault with him. [The joke] is not a legal problem, it's just a matter of ethics," she explained.
She doubted that Olga intended to hurt anyone's feelings with the statement. "I know Olga very well. He's a good kid. I'm sure he did not mean to do anything insulting," Ratna said.
Vento Saudale The Islamic Defenders Front, a hard-line Muslim group, stormed the Bogor District Court on Thursday after the court began hearing a case against a teenager accused of killing a member of the group.
The court had earlier planned to stage a closed hearing, arguing that the suspect was only aged 17 and considered a minor.
But the decision sparked outrage from some 50 members of the group, known as the FPI, and its militant wing, the Islamic Defenders Force (LPI), who came to watch the proceedings. The mob forced its way into the court while some 75 police officers deployed to guard the session did little to stop it.
Syakilah, the presiding judge, was forced to adjourn the hearing several times after members of the group shouted and chanted praise to Allah while thrusting their fists in the air.
"This case cannot continue to be heard under such noise," the judge said. "This trial must be calm so witness remarks can be heard clearly and [nothing will] affect the final judgement."
LPI Bogor coordinator Ickwan Tuanakota said that the Muslim group was not trying to disrupt the trial, and argued that the group was there merely to "safeguard" the proceedings. "Nobody minded us coming and we promised not to intervene in the trial," he said. "We are questioning why the trial was not open to the public."
Lead prosecutor Pungki Hapsari explained that although the suspect was almost of the legal age to be tried as an adult, it would be safer for the teenager if the court conducted a closed hearing.
Pungki said that his concerns were confirmed on Thursday by the hard-line group's presence. "It is hard to concentrate, especially when we have to hear witnesses' testimonies in court," he said.
The boy is accused of murdering LPI member Mustofa with a machete in South Bogor on May 7. However, he maintains that he acted in self-defense after Mustofa and other LPI members attacked him and his friends.
Prosecutors have charged the suspect with violating Article 351 of the Criminal Code, which relates to murder. "The maximum sentence is 15 years but because the boy is a minor he faces half of that," Pungki said.
The trial is set to resume on Monday but it is unclear whether the session will be open to the public or closed.
Arya Dipa and Nana Rukmana, Bandung/Cirebon Fifty-two percent of the nation's network of irrigation systems needs repair, a top agriculture official says. The nation's plans for rice self-sufficiency stand in the balance.
Damage to the network from old age, sedimentation and natural disasters was preventing paddy fields from receiving adequate water supplies, Haryono, the Agriculture Ministry's research and development chief, said in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday.
Repairs needed to be made as soon as possible if the government intends on realizing its plan to produce a rice surplus by 2014, according to Haryono. "The level of damages has been classified as light, medium and severe," Haryono said.
He made his comments at a working meeting on intra-provincial cooperation attended by the governors of Bali, Banten, Central Java, East Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Jakarta, Lampung, West Nusa Tenggara and Yogyakarta.
Haryono said that repairs to the irrigation network needed attention from the central and regional governments. If the repairs were not made, more than 300,000 hectares of the nation's 7.23 million hectares of agricultural land would be affected.
Haryono said that the average rice production per hectare in Java exceeded 5 tons, well above the average recorded on other islands in the archipelago.
"In the outer provinces, Gorontalo has the highest rice production rate, while Bangka Belitung and Central Kalimantan have the lowest, which can be attributed to their terrain, which is mostly swamps," Haryono said.
Meanwhile, another meeting participant, Hendry Saptarini of the Indonesian Political Economy Association, said that cooperation between local administrations and the central government was needed to find the money to renovate the irrigation network.
"If the Finance Ministry does not support [repairs], it will be useless. Renovation of the networks is not only the burden of regional administration," Hendry said on Thursday.
Separately, Ali Effendi, the head of the Agriculture and Plantations Office in Cirebon, West Java, said that at least 5,000 hectares of paddy fields in the regency faced harvest failures due to the current long drought.
The affected fields are in 10 districts: Kapetakan, Suranenggala, Gunungjati, Panguragan, Gegesik, Pangenan, Losari, Pabedilan, Astanajapura and Mundu.
More than 2,000 hectares were facing harvest failures in Suranenggala and Kapetakan districts alone, he said. "Within the last several days the paddy fields have not received any water supplies. The paddy plants' age has reached 30 to 50 days," Ali said.
According to Ali, the lack of water could be principally attributed to a drop in water levels at Bendung Rentang Dam at Jatitujuh district in Majalengka regency, which is the main source of water for irrigation in Cirebon.
Ali said that more paddy fields would suffer harvest failures if the regency's water supply problem remained unsolved. "There have been thousands of hectares of other paddy fields that are facing water shortages. We are worried they will also face harvest failures," he said.
One local farmer said that he had already felt the pinch due to the drought. Tasman, a resident of Mundu district, said he had to use a water pump to find ground water to maintain his crops.
"I have to rent the water pump at Rp 20,000 (US$2.12) per hour. In order to water our paddy fields I have to operate the pump for at least six hours a day," Tasman said. "I have to do this, otherwise I will not be able to have a good harvest," he said.
Ali said that most of the 45,000 hectares of paddy fields in Cirebon relied on water from Bendung Rentang Dam.
Ruslan Sangadji, Donggala, Central Sulawesi Hundreds of residents vented their outrage in Balaesang Tanjung district, Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday afternoon over gold mining activities in a 5,000- hectare area.
People destroyed one house and felled trees along a road in the regency, which is located 75 kilometers north of Palu, the province's capital.
According to information The Jakarta Post has gathered at the scene, residents were furious because mining company PT Citra Manunggal Abadi had been carrying out exploration activities without previously informing locals, although it has a mining license for its operations there.
Residents said part of the land, where the company operated, still belonged to them.
The mine was allegedly owned by Donggala Deputy Regent Ali Lasamaulu. Ali could not be reached for confirmation by press time. (mtq)
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan Around 20 people equipped with rattan batons reportedly assaulted a group of farmers holding a land-conflict strike at the municipal legislative council in Medan early on Tuesday.
The farmers from four villages in Padang Lawas regency had been in the council since early June to file complaints that they had suffered intimidation in their land conflict with plantation companies.
Some of them protested by stitching their mouths. The incident occurred 12 hours after chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Ifdhal Kasim had met the protesters.
Based on their testimonies, the assault took place around 2 a.m. when they had already turning into their makeshift tents. Five of them suffered injuries on their legs and arms. They said they were beaten up and trampled on.
Lisma Derniati Tamba, 25, a resident of Tobing Tinggi village, said she was awakened by the rampage, the intruders breaking into the tents with rattans in their hands. She said she was about to rush out to check fellow protesters in other tents but she was apprehended by one of the assailants.
"I was shoved to the ground when I was about to sneak out. I was trampled on by them on the arms and thigh," she told The Jakarta Post. She said she could not identify the assailants because she was just half-awake from her sleep.
The assailants also seized the posters the farmers had used in their protest. The posters carried a message of protest over PT Sumatera Riang Lestari (SRL) and PT Sumatera Silva Lestari (SSL) "stealing their land".
However, Sugianto, an activist accompanying the farmers, said he was not sure if the assault had a link to the protest. He only said the farmers had endured a string of terror acts since they launched their protests. The previous terror, according to Sugianto, took place on June 22 by different perpetrators from Tuesday's incidents.
"In the first act of terror, the perpetrators showed physical features of strongly-built bodies, crew-cut hair and carried sharp weapons. But they did not resort to violence. On Tuesday, the perpetrators were mostly made up of youths around 20 years of age on average. They brought rattan and physically assaulted the farmers," he said.
The conflict between the farmers from four villages in Padang Lawas flared up in 2008 when PT SRL and SSL claimed 1,500 hectares of land. The farmers insisted the land belonged to them. They said they purchased the land in 2004 facilitated by village heads and a district head.
Both sides have since been at odds with the latest incident braking out in May. The incident, in which a number of farming tools and several houses were damaged, prompted the farmers to camp at the legislative council. They said they had been intimidated by a number of people on instruction by PT SRL and SSL. The police said they would develop the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Regional autonomy & government
Indonesia's government is close to implementing changes to Yogyakarta's monarchy system that would effectively put an end to Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X's 14 years of uncontested rule.
The solution will appease both sides, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said. But the minister was tight-lipped when it came to specifics. "There has been good progress, but I should not leak it," Gamawan told Antara. "But the government has found a middle ground."
For decades, the governor's position has automatically been given to the current sultan of Yogyakarta, a position that has been passed down from the original Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono I after his death in 1792.
Indonesia introduced a bill that would change Yogyakarta's system to a democracy more than four years ago. But the bill stalled in the House of Representatives.
In 2010, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that Yogyakarta's monarchy system had to end. The province responded with protests and calls to secede from Indonesia, further derailing the government's plans.
The sultan's current term as governor ended months ago, but he with the blessing of the government has remained in power. Gamawan expects to wrap this issue up by October. "We will discuss it again," Gamawan said. "Hopefully there will be a final solution."
Despite a peace declaration signed by candidates competing for Jakarta's governor slot, a second attack on campaign headquarters took place on Tuesday.
Alex Noerdin-Nono Sampono's campaign center in Ulujami, South Jakarta was attacked by around 20 people wearing helmets and head covers on Tuesday night. Public transit driver Adi Saputra was badly injured in the attack, according to reports. The mob also destroyed campaign banners in front of the building.
"It was not random attack. It was a clear attack our post," Imam Darmadi, manager of Alex's campaign team, told Antara on Wednesday.
Imam said that in addition to reporting the incident to the police, he would also file a complaint with the Jakarta Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) and General Elections Commission (KPUD).
Metro Pesanggrahan Police chief Comr. Darmawan Situmorang told Kompas.com that the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) was behind the attack but Darmawan also said the incident was not related to the campaign "Brawls between the FBR and Pemuda Pancasila often happened [at that location]," he said.
But Imam disagreed. "If it was a brawl between groups, why bother wearing face covers," he said. "It was not a spontaneous attack, they knew it was our campaign post."
Nachrowi Ramli, the running mate of incumbent Fauzi Bowo and a retired general who heads the Betawi Consultative Body (Badan Musyawarah), where he supervises 114 organizations such as the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and the Betawi Communications Forum (Forkabi), told people not to jump to conclusions. He suggested that the FBR might not have been behind the attack.
"This case is still under investigation," Nachrowi said. "This matter should be carefully solved so as to not create slander and conflict."
Last week, someone threw a molotov cocktail at the house of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) candidate Hidayat Nur Wahid, and also burned the spare tire of his car. No suspects have been named or arrested int hat case.
Lenny Tristia Tambun The Jakarta administration is on the defensive over a ranking published recently by CNNGo that lands the Indonesian capital among the world's "10 most hated cities."
Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency head Arie Budhiman said in Jakarta on Monday that the ranking was just an opinion piece written by trip adviser Jordan Rane, and lacked any scientific basis.
"I actually don't want to comment on this matter. But I want to reaffirm that it was merely an opinion article made by the author. CNNGo never conducted an official study or survey," Arie said.
"He [Rane] is a CNN contributor, and only lived in Jakarta for six months, and then he commented about Jakarta. Surely his judgment is not equal with the way the world sees Jakarta," he added.
Arie further said the increasing number of international visitors to Jakarta over the years was proof of Rane's flawed assessment.
Citing his office's data, he said the number of foreign tourists visiting Jakarta had risen by 15.8 percent every year for the past five years, although that figure was smaller than the average 34.1 percent annual growth from 2002 to 2007.
Arie also criticized local media that had quoted the CNNGo article without making it clear that the ranking was only a product of the author's opinion. "Just because one person commented, it doesn't mean he represents hundreds of millions of tourists around the world. Read the article carefully; don't manipulate information."
According to Rane's piece, published at cnngo.com on June 11, Jakarta ranks 7th on the list of the world's most hated cities, after Tijuana (Mexico), Sydney and Melbourne (Australia), Paris, Timbuktu (Mali), Los Angeles and Lima.
Deemed slightly less detestable than the Indonesian capital, New Delhi, Cairo and Belize City rounded out the list. "Jakarta: great, if frustration is your favorite emotion," says a caption accompanying the article.
Rane describes Jakarta as a "sprawling city choked with traffic, pollution, poverty and tourist 'draws' largely revolving around random street adventures and an epidemic of malls." (BeritaSatu/JG)
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja Campaigning for Jakarta's gubernatorial election next month began yesterday amid controversy over its electoral rolls, which have been found to contain dubious names.
All five candidates who are challenging incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo, 64, in the July 11 elections have refused to endorse the voter list. Fauzi, supported by the ruling Democratic Party, is allowed by law to seek a second and final five-year term. His current term ends on Sept. 7.
One candidate has lodged a class action suit against the Jakarta election commission, slamming its recent move to declare the rolls official and ready for the election despite growing complaints.
"With doctored electoral rolls, the Jakarta election cannot be held fairly, as there will be citizens who can't vote and others who can vote more than once," said Habiburokhman, a lawyer who filed the suit against the election commission on behalf of the candidate.
Habiburokhman estimated the number of "irregular names" to be in the hundreds of thousands, from the seven million eligible registered voters. "We demand that the election commission clean up the electoral rolls under the watch of a court- administered panel. We want the court to postpone the election," he told The Straits Times.
The Jakarta governor's race is closely watched because the winner effectively controls Indonesia's capital of 9.8 million people and an annual budget of Rp 36 trillion ($3.8 billion).
As the man in charge of Indonesia's biggest city, the governor enjoys a high profile and receives the most media coverage nationwide of all the governors. He is also in a position to influence voters in the next general election in 2014.
The camp of candidate Joko Widodo, whom Habiburokhman represents, uncovered in its investigation dubious names as well as names that had been registered multiple times.
For instance, there are two voters with the same name Achmad Syuja Wijaya in East Jakarta's Cipinang Muara area. One is male and the other female, according to the evidence list provided in the lawsuit that Habiburokhman filed in the West Jakarta court.
In a case that raised eyebrows, a resident by the name of Suryati Lisma in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, has been registered to vote at three polling stations. "The same name and the same ID card number at three polling stations," said Habiburokhman.
The brouhaha over the Jakarta race is not an isolated one. Disputes have often clouded elections in Indonesia. In December 2010, the country's Constitutional Court ordered fresh mayoral elections for South Tangerang after evidence showed that local bureaucrats supported one of the candidates.
Just last month, the same court rejected a petition filed by the losing parties in the election for Aceh Singkil's regent. They alleged that the winner had a criminal record.
Indonesia has 600 elected regional government posts, including for provincial governors, regents and mayors. The elections are held at different times and each office-holder has a five-year term. Indonesians also elect members of Parliament and the President every five years.
Aminullah, the Jakarta election commission's voter registration chief, said it had accommodated all queries and done the necessary follow-ups such as cleaning up the electoral rolls and registering eligible voters who were not on the list.
Postponing the election was not an option, he said. "We have marked all the irregular names on the rolls, and those names will not be able to vote. We have also invited teams from all the candidates to our office and given them direct access to our database for checks and rechecks," he told The Straits Times.
Doctored electoral rolls are just one problem plaguing many elections in Indonesia. Another money politics continues to be a big concern and is more difficult to detect.
It makes running for public office in Indonesia an expensive venture. To win over voters, candidates often hand out sums of money, in addition to items like T-shirts. In communities without proper medical facilities, for example, a candidate may hire an ambulance to ferry sick residents to the nearest clinic or hospital.
Lenny Tristia Tambun While they celebrate Jakarta's anniversary every year, many Jakartans know nothing about why June 22 marks its birthday.
"Yeah, I know today is Jakarta's birthday, but I forget what we're celebrating," said Amara, an employee at Plaza Senayan, South Jakarta, on Friday. Amara, who was born in Jakarta, said she had never thought about it.
Hanna, a sixth-grader who lives in Karet Tensin, Central Jakarta, when asked about Jakarta's anniversary, was similarly in the dark. "Do you know why?" the 11-year-old girl asked back.
Juliana, a employee at a private firm who lives in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, did not even know that Jakarta celebrated its birthday on Friday. "Isn't that next month?" she asked.
To remind Jakartans of the history of their city, a ceremony held on Friday at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, included readings of the city's founding and history. Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo led the ceremony while Shahnaz Haque, an actress, did the history reading.
"On June 22, 1527, Fatahillah, the Demak king, defeated the Portuguese forces who wanted to rule the area," she told the thousands of onlookers. "The king named the small city Jayakarta, meaning 'city full of glory.' That's why we celebrate it as the capital's birthday," Shahnaz added.
During the ceremony, Fauzi handed out 1,387 awards to civil servants who had served for 15-30 years. "The challenge and development of Jakarta in all sectors leaves various complex tasks to all of the city's offices and the residents. We are grateful that although we face challenges, we can still finish big and fundamental projects," Fauzi said.
Earlier in the day, he told administration officials and city councilors in an address at City Hall what the city had achieved during his term as governor. "We achieved a lot," the governor said. "I congratulate all of you for working hard for the city."
Fauzi is seeking re-election in the July 11 gubernatorial election.
The event turned into a musical show when Fauzi presented two popular singers, Rossa and Afghan, who performed for the civil servants. The civil servants sang along as each of the singers performed their hits.
"Although I was born in Sumedang [West Java], I am proud to be a resident of Jakarta," Rossa said. "This is the city that has raised me."
Jakarta Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) released on Friday a sobering report on the state of the National Police, just days away from its 66th anniversary, which falls on July 1.
The report showed that police behavior and accountability has been on a general decline over the past three years.
For instance, IPW reports an increasing number of police personnel dismissals, which it says is a reflection of worsening police behavior. IPW says that 429 police were dismissed in 2009. This number decreased to 294 in 2010 but jumped even higher in 2011 to 474.
"There have been 12,987 police personnel who have violated National Police code of conduct in 2012 thus far. However, we'll have to wait until December to find out how many of these violators will be dismissed," IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said on Friday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Neta said that some of the key problems of police conduct included the use of torture and intimidation by police personnel when dealing with issues.
Then there were also instances of violence including shootings and excessive force. In 2011, IPW says that police shot 97 innocent civilians. Of these, 19 were killed.
So far in 2012, there have been 18 cases of police brutality involving 34 of its officers. Eight of these cases were related to the misuse of weapons. Ten were torture cases.
Neta says that bad behavior on the part of the police has the effect of making people more violent and combative.
For instance, IPW reports that 65 police stations were vandalized and burned down in 2011, whereas 2010 saw only 20 reports of such incidences. In the first five months of 2012, IPW said that 28 police officers had been attacked.
If this trend of public-police conflicts were to continue, IPW says that the two sides could end up becoming sworn enemies. "All of this has to be stopped. The National Police elite and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government have to care about this grave situation," Neta said.
In order to help improve the police's image, IPW said that the National Police leadership should fire its deviant officers. "The National Police elite have to realize that now is not the time to blindly protect those among their ranks who are deviant. These deviants have to be fired," Neta said.
The reason why these violations of police standards occur, the IPW said, was because of the low level of awareness among those at the top of the police hierarchy of the situations facing those on the ground.
Adding to the problem was the National Police's swelling bureaucracy, which IPW notes includes 261 generals. What results is a lack of enforcement of internal controls, so that rule-breaking personnel do as they please and avoid the punishments that the IPW says they deserve.
On this point, the IPW pointed to an example in June where North Sumatra Police did urine samples of their ranks and found that 114 of their personnel had used drugs. However, these police weren't punished, but rather were quarantined.
"If the police discovered a civilian in that kind of scenario, the civilian would definitely have been firmly processed. This shows how the National Police is still discriminatory," Neta said.
"The government, the House of Representatives and the public have to build external watchdog institutions that prevent bad behavior in the police and help guide them along the path of reform.
"What is really needed to maximize the police's work performance is to strengthen the system of oversight and to better coordinate police personnel in the field," he said. (png)
An open letter from Victor Mambor, Head of the Jayapura Branch of the Alliance for Independent Journalists, has been circulated around Papua, highlighting the pervasive involvement of Indonesian intelligence personnel and military agendas in the Papuan press.
This letter (see below) comes at a time when the Indonesian-run colonial press in West Papua is coming under repeated attack from both Papuan and Indonesian religious and civil society figures, independent media and human rights organisations, for its unethical and blatantly false reportage of the recent upsurge in "unknown killings" in Papua, referred to as OTK (orang tidak ketahui or unknown persons, now referred to across Papua as Orang Terlatih Khusus or Specially Trained People).
Indonesian owned media outlets in Papua have long been identified with Indonesian intellgience and propaganda agctivities, with many outlets being directly owned by military officers for profit, and almost all media outlets coming under the control (either willing or not) of Indonesian intelligence personnel.
West Papua Media wrote a detailed section in the 2011 Pacific Media Freedom report and highlighted the issues faced with press freedom in West Papua, which detail the tactics Indonesian occupation forces use to limit factual reportage in Papua, and to dissuade journalists from doing their job.
However, as time wears on, the Indonesian colonial press is becoming even more blatant in pushing an agenda in step with the Indonesian military agenda. This agenda is being keenly felt by members of the nonviolent civil resistance movement and Papuan civil society, particularly members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), who are being blamed for the OTK campaign despite no evidence being presented to prove the military assertions, with what little evidence present having been entirely fabricated by a Police to terrified to point the finger at the real perpetrators of violence in Papua their big brothers in the military.
This spreading of falsehood has reached a crescendo around the assassination of KNPB leader Mako Tabuni, who was gunned down in an execution on June 14 by Australian trained Detachment 88 officers in Jayapura Justifying their criminal act, Indonesian police have variously claimed that they shot Mako in self defence, despite many witness claims that he was shot in the back while on the ground. Indonesian police then fabricated evidence including placing a handgun on his body in the hospital, and loudly announcing that Mako was responsible with other KNPB members for the series of OTK shootings, including the shooting of a German tourist. This is despite the unchallenged fact that all shooting were carried out with men in broad daylight who made no attempt to hide and nonchalantly drove away in the DS (Police) plated Avanzas.
This was reported uncritically by many in the colonial Indonesian press in Papua, with ironically perhaps, the truth telling in Indonesian metropolitan media coming from independent human rights journalists who went out a their limbs by telling the story of the peaceful activist and freedom fighter whom they had all met and spent time with in his attempts to non-violently raise the issue of his peoples suffering under colonial genocidal policies.
Yet the shootings continue, even with the official suspect dead, with nary a comment coming from the colonial press, a situation that is a direct repetition of the assassination of Kelly Kwalik on December 16, 2010. Kwalik was also blamed for the OTK shootings that have plagued the giant Freeport Grasberg Gold and copper mine for many years, shootings widely blamed on a spat between Brimob police and the TNI for control of mine protection and illegal gold mining businesses. Again, despite the assassination of Kwalik (again by Detachment 88 officers), the shootings continue, and will continue as long as the Indonesian security forces use conflict as a way of guaranteeing their presence. A presence thats only purpose is to exploit natural resources and make the General's money at the heart of why Papuan people resist the colonisation of their Land.
Leader of the indigenous Papuan Kingmi church, the Reverend Benny Giay, was this week in Jakarta to brief international diplomats about the shootings and recent massive increases in state violence against Papuan people. In his briefing, he said that when the government has claims shootings are carried out by separatist groups, Papuans respond to those claims with their usual: "Oh itu lagu lama. The authorities are playing the old song."
As Mambor has outlined in his letter, Giay made a series of formal complaints to the Indonesian Press Council and journalists' associations about the lack of integrity of Indonesian so-called journalists in Papua and of their non-factual scapegoating of ordinary Papuans for separatist and violent actions. This seems to have already threatened powerful people, as a source close to Giay had told West Papua Media that he was physically threatened by a member of the security forces during his advocacy work in Jakarta.
But this behaviour by intelligence services and their not-very-opaque "journalists" is causing many independent media to look at other tactics to regain their Papuan voices.
Just as Victor Mambor has done with his heartfelt letter, the independent Papuan citizen media outlet UMAGI News has taken a bold step in publicly naming a group of Indonesian reporters that it believes are paid intelligence officers under the command of the Cenderwasih military command.
In an editorial, UmagiNews have argued that most Indonesians who serve in professional Media in Papua do not carry out the tasks and functions of a journalist. "Whether in Print, electronic or online media, (journalists should) convey information what has happened, seen, heard, felt. To be independent means to report the events and facts in accordance with the voice of conscience without interference, coercion, and the intervention of other parties including the owners of the press," said the Umagi editorial
"Accurate means truthful according to the objective circumstances when the event occurs; Balanced means that all parties have equal opportunity to have their views heard; and to not act in bad faith means no deliberate and sole intent of the detriment of others. Yet according to KM a Papuan independent journalist, most journalists who served in Papua have always worked closely with the military, which is a violation of the journalistic code of ethics."
Umagi News published the names of the following reporters whom it says it has gathered evidence that shows their active collaboration as informers and/or trained agents with civilian or military intelligence services. Umagi claims its information has come from sources within both the security forces, and from a TNI document from the command of the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Region Taskforce 6 "datasheet of informants/agents", signed by one Ahmad Fikri Musmar (NRP inf Captain 11,970,044,410,576). All suspects are ethnic Indonesians and non-Papuan.
1) M. Imran (Contributor TV One).
2) Robert Vanwi (Suara Pembaruan).
3) Safe Hasibuan (Bisnis Papua and Radio Elshinta).
4) Alfius (Pasifik Post).
6) Rio (Radio Enarotali RPD).
7) Agus Suroto (Metro TV).
8) Evarianus M Supar (2000-2002: Journalist at Radar Kupang Timor, 2003-
2006: Journalist/Editor Timika Pos Daily, 2007 Now: Journalist and
Antara's Timika agent).
9) Anis (SCTV Contributor, Mimika) Note: The concerned had fled from Timika
since the shooting of Kelly Kwalik.
10) Odyi (RRI Sorong, Chairman PWI Sorong).
11) Jeffry (Radar and Dita Sorong Sorong).
12) Angelbertha Sinaga (Pasifik Post).
West Papua Media has sought clarification from independent journalists and human rights sources in West Papua about the veracity of these names, and our sources have concurred with the accuracy of the names given in the Umagi report, though West Papua Media has not yet been able to see the document first hand. However this is not a new claim. For example, On May 16, The TNI held a major meeting with Indonesian press representatives in Sorong, and encouraged soldiers and journalists to work together to ensure "balanced coverage of the affairs of the function and duties of the TNI... so that it can be beneficial for society." The commander of the TNI in Sorong, Colonel Inf Wiharsa Eka, even exhorted all present to monitor events together, as "it runs the full atmosphere of intimate friendship, and even a means to know each other. The journalists should exchange phone numbers, either with me or Danyon commander (Commander Batalyon)," said the Colonel. With friends like these soldiers, how could an honest journalist possibly have any fears of reporting events factually in Papua?
Papuan people reclaiming their own media space is an inevitable next step in the struggle for self-determination. The building a free and robust credible independent media is the basis for any democratic society and indeed this is the core mission of West Papua Media. But Indonesia's deliberate manipulation of the truth and its corruption of the principles of journalism in West Papua, together with the ongoing and constant threats to brave professional and citizen journalists in Papua for telling the truth, are giving those committed to genuine journalism more impetus every day to give voice to the voiceless, and to help the voiceless roar in Papua.
Respected Colleagues and Friends,
This is related to the many people that have recently commented that I (in my capacity as head of the Jayapura city branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) that covers the whole Land of Papua) have complained about, given reminders or admonishments or engaged in other actions that are basically protests against the (local or national) mass media's reporting, considering it one-sided, deceiving the public, manipulatory, biased towards those in power and reflecting the interests of politicians and the security forces. In this regard I feel the need to communicate the following points:
1. AJI is a professional organisation of independent character and so places a high value on the media's independence.
2. Journalists and their reporting are fully the responsibility of the editorial team at the journalist's place of work, or where the news they produce is published.
3. AJI does not assume a capacity to take action against journalists or media who are considered to have taken action such as listed above. It can only take action if a member is considered to have violated the journalist's code of ethics and that of AJI as a professional organisation.
4. I also truly understand how many colleagues and friends feel about reporting that tends to push indigenous Papuan people into a corner, and so seems to endorse the view that indigenous Papuans are separatists and the perpetrators of recent acts of violence. For this reason I very much support the actions Benny Giay CS has taken in making complaints to press and journalist organisations in Jakarta about this problem.
5. There is no need to feel hesitant or reluctant about placing limits on journalists during press conferences or activities. If it is suspected that someone is not a journalist, do not hesitate to remove them or report them to the police. There is no way to justify or defend journalists like this. Many journalists even have a dual job, also acting as informants for interested parties and are involved in the marginalisation of indigenous Papuans and feeding the stigma that they are separatists. Pay close attention to media or journalists who often mention the name Dani Kogoya or the confiscation of Morning Star flags, bullets etc. (this is about journalists present at the scene of an incident, not those reporting from police press conferences), or those that have produced features for television about young people who are OPM members, or journalists who are able to obtain special reports about the OPM or unrest in the interior connected to the OPM. These are the journalists and media which you should be cautious about. These no-good journalists' space to operate must be curtailed because aside from selling out their profession they are also destroying Papua and propagating the stigma of Papuans as separatists. Watch out for and be careful with such journalists. Because from my own observations, many of us are so keen to progress that we do not act with caution and we are not aware if our activities are being recorded to be later reported to certain parties, and will be used in constructing counter-opinions.
6. An attendance list is vital for activities or press conferences. It means that if a media outlet or journalist was not present at an event but then writes report on the activity or what was mentioned in the press conference, it can be reported as a form of deception or unethical activity for a journalist. Such journalistic practices cannot be justified, but find fertile ground amongst journalists in Papua.
Those were the matters which I needed to communicate,
With thanks, Victor Mambor
Issues on Papua and its sister West Papua have always drawn the interest of both domestic and international communities. Both regions are as attractive as the country's capital Jakarta and resort island of Bali.
While Jakarta is the center of gravity for politics and the economy of the country and Bali remains a magnet for foreign tourists, the provinces of Papua and West Papua are rich in natural resources and beauty many of which have yet to be explored or tapped. It is the two regions' natural resources and beauty, as well as the political sensitivities of their history, that have made these regions sexy and hotly debated subjects.
As the police continue to investigate and pursue suspects in a series of shooting incidents that wracked both Papua and West Papua provinces in the last few months, and as separatism remains a thorny issue, proposals calling for the establishment of four new provinces, from the existing two provinces, are yet another test of the Jakarta-initiated "Special Autonomy Status" in both provinces.
Three regions in Papua and one in West Papua are looking to become new provinces in the hope of reversing sluggish development under former and current administrations. The petitioners have urged the Papuan Consultative Assembly (MRP) to issue a recommendation approving their formation.
The four proposed provinces are named South Papua, Central Papua, Teluk Cendrawasih (currently part of Papua province) and Northwest Papua (currently part of West Papua province), each comprising several regencies and municipalities.
Since the introduction of regional autonomy over a decade ago, Indonesia has seen the formation of 205 new autonomous regions seven provinces, 164 regencies and 34 municipalities. In total, the country now has 529 autonomous regions: 33 provinces, 398 regencies and 98 municipalities.
The government declared a moratorium in 2009 against the formation of new regions in light of the fact that the new regions were largely under- performing in four areas: Good governance, public services, competitiveness and social welfare. Still, proposals for additional regions have continued to be put forward and the House of Representatives agreed on bills for the creation of 19 new regions (one province and 18 regencies) in April.
Aspirants do have legitimate grounds in pursuing the creation of the new provinces, citing gaps in public service delivery. Many people at the grassroots level claim to still be waiting to benefit from the special autonomy status granted to both Papua and West Papua provinces.
But, their proposals were no less controversial, as they apparently neglect the principles of efficiency and appropriateness. According to 2010 data, the population of Papua stood at 2,833,381 with West Papua at 760,422. Both are relatively densely populated regions.
Establishing new provinces and regencies will only lessen the size of each province and regency, and trigger serious problems in the availability of infrastructure and skilled manpower to fill new governmental posts in each new provincial and regency administration. These limitations exclude considerations of the financial capacity of both the local and central governments to support the whole process until the new provinces and regencies are financially and institutionally capable of standing on their own two feet.
Their proposals also come at a bad time. Although the country has booked significant economic growth in the past few years, its economy is not completely immune to the potential impacts of international economic or financial crisis.
It is indeed within their rights to demand the establishment of new provinces and regencies, but the final decision on whether to endorse their proposals should also consider the overall impact on the country's financial condition and development programs.
Noah Beaudette In March, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali made headlines by announcing plans to ban skirts above the knee, calling such attire "pornographic."
That month, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Marzuki Alie, proclaimed: "There have been a lot of rape cases and other immoral acts recently and this is because women aren't wearing appropriate clothes... You know what men are like. Provocative clothing will make them do things."
Sexual assault is a serious problem in Indonesia. A 2011 national study found that an average of 28 women are victims of sexual violence in Indonesia each day. Yet instead of blaming the rapists, senior government officials are blaming women themselves for being attacked.
This attitude is sexist, dangerous and wrong. It is also a distraction from initiatives that could actually prevent sexual assault.
If Indonesian lawmakers really want to stop rape and other sexual violence, they could start by providing legal protection for some of the most vulnerable women and girls: domestic workers.
Human Rights Watch has been investigating the abuse of domestic workers in Indonesia since 2005. We found that girls in Indonesia typically enter domestic work between the ages of 12 and 15. Many said their employers forbid them to leave the workplace to visit family or to receive any visitors, leaving them isolated, depressed and susceptible to sexual harassment and assault.
Many suffered some form of physical, psychological or sexual abuse, including rape and murder. One girl, Dian, began working for an older male cousin when she was 13.
She told Human Rights Watch: "I was forced to have sex with him. He threatened me. He said he would hit me if I told anyone... This happened for three years."
Sexual abuse is not a domestic worker's only concern. Most of the girls we interviewed worked excruciating 14- to 18-hour days, 7 days a week. Far too often workers are driven to exhaustion, exploited for little or no pay and starved. Because labor laws exclude domestic workers from protection, employers are rarely penalized.
Police investigations into such abuse are sluggish, inadequate, and frequently lead to dropped cases. During interviews with Human Rights Watch, officials at all levels of government underplayed the importance of and even denied there is a problem.
This apathy, along with the backward thinking of politicians like Marzuki Alie, has led to a lack of conviction and urgency in legislative reforms. A bill designed to protect domestic workers has been on the agenda since 2010, but it is still gathering dust on legislators' desks.
A year ago the International Labor Organization adopted a groundbreaking international treaty known as the Domestic Workers Convention. The treaty offers hope for domestic workers that their labor rights will be respected, and they will have greater protection from violence.
By ratifying the convention, Indonesia would be making a commitment to ensure that domestic workers get effective protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence. The treaty would also provide protection from labor exploitation, including a minimum wage, overtime limits, holidays and mandatory employment contracts.
Slowly, steps have been taken in the right direction. In April the government ratified the Migrant Worker Convention, to better protect Indonesian workers abroad. The government should show the same concern for workers at home, and move quickly to adopt the proposed domestic worker bill and ratify the Domestic Workers Convention.
It is time for the government to recognize that when it comes to stopping sexual assault, legal protection goes further than longer skirts.
On 11 April 2012 the Indonesian parliament ratified a law on managing social conflict (Penanganan Konflik Sosial PKS) in order to address Indonesia's experience of dealing with social conflicts, which has often been considered less than perfect.
The government had previously used a range of different existing regulations as its reference when dealing with conflicts. However they felt that this produced difficulties for subduing conflicts that spring up among the population. The government also felt the need for a single legal reference point to handle such cases. When dense conflicts with ethnic, religious, racial or intergroup aspects occur, such as happened in Poso (Central Sulawesi) or Ambon, the state's response is perceived as slow and less-than-optimal because the government finds it difficult to formulate the appropriate steps to take, as the procedures for dealing with social conflicts are unclear.
But is the main reason for this new law really just to bring about peace and restrain conflict? Or were there other more fundamental and strategic objectives that needed addressing ones that would serve to benefit certain other interested parties?
The first clause of the PKS law defines social conflict as "clashes involving physical violence between two or more groups or factions that results in dispute and/or fatalities, loss of property, has a widespread impact, and occurs within a specific time-frame whereby instability and social disintegration emerge, potentially hampering national development in the sense of achieving security for society". This definition is clearly extremely broad and could be interpreted in many different ways depending on how the conflict is viewed. This therefore gives a grand scope to the government to act against all forms of "social disorder" including agrarian conflicts which make up the greatest number of horizontal conflicts occurring in Indonesia. The Consortium for Agrarian Reform (Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria) has noted that in 2011 there were 163 agrarian conflicts, 22 farmers or others were killed and more than 120 people were injured by gunshots. 69,975 families were affected by these conflicts, with the total land area under contention stretching to 472,048.44 hectares.
According to the letter of the law, it exists for conflict deterrence, management and recovery within the conflict area, with the local (provincial or regency/city) government authorised to mobilise the armed forces. A connection can be drawn here with the handling of agrarian conflicts in which local people (farmers or fisherfolk) are often involved in a dispute with companies or corporations. In such conflicts the corporations always want to resolve their problems in the easiest and cheapest way to make sure they don't lose out. That is why companies often follow the same pattern in dealing with land disputes. They incite horizontal conflicts that pit one group of people against another so that the company can easily take control of the land.
This model works by bribing the elite or local leaders, only offering some of the people compensation for their land or employing some local people who can be easily enticed by high wages and then end up siding with the company. In some situations, physical fights between the people cannot be avoided and property or lives are lost, eventually clearing a way for the company to establish control over the land. Under such conditions agrarian conflicts change into conflicts between the people and that can become a strong reason for the government to intervene to put an end to the conflict, resulting in the company's victory in the land dispute.
The PKS law makes clear that the government can at its discretion deploy national troops with battle capabilities that exceed those of the police. This law opens a wide space for heavy militaristic repression just like often happened during the 32 years Suharto was in power. It is also easy for the state to stigmatise social struggles in which people are demanding their rights, or indeed desiring a more complete social transformation, as a social conflict that must be restrained and extinguished. Just as the state keeps coming out with the same tired old values of stability, calm and order, this law claims that it can bring about such things by pushing for development and economic growth to increase security amongst the people. However, such cliched phrases are used to obscure the true condition of society, where expropriation, exploitation and insults dominate Indonesian people's daily lives. When the government speaks of creating calm conditions, what it really means is a situation that is conducive for big companies to seize people's land and destroy people's economic autonomy, forcing them into waged labour.
To smooth the way for companies to multiply their profits, it is vital they find the right way to prevent resistance from emerging and spreading. If the government's attempts at persuasion, often involving NGOs as agents of social moderation, should fail, mobilising the forces of the military becomes the next choice to repress the people, under the pretext of securing and stabilising the situation. This becomes easier to do under the new law with the decentralisation of the power to establish an area as one of "social conflict". In fact, with the practice of regional autonomy local governments often become loyal guards of companies' interests. The cases of Morowali, Bima, Mesuji, Takalar and Semunying are proof that government is an important player in ensuring a smooth way forward for mining and plantation companies' operations, ensuring permissions are swiftly given without the need to let local people know, and even taking the lead in preventing the people from doing anything about it. We can conclude from this that this new law will tend to reinforce the power of local governments, which have always taken it upon themselves to weaken each individual within their territories, spreading ignorance and using the law and forces of order to repress people, in order to be able to control them more easily and so continue doing exactly what they want.
In the case of social conflicts which at least on the surface are reported as being related to ethnicity, religion, race or intergroup factors, we can learn from the history of human civilization where a way can always be found to resolve such conflicts that fits with the local culture. Societies that have not experienced a formal system of government can always find some balance within their surroundings, even though war is often not avoided. Connected with this, the new law also assigns customary law (adat) bodies and the Conflict Resolution Commission (KPKS) as the institutions which should set in motion peace and reconciliation processes between conflicting parties.
Attempts to react to conflict clearly require substantial amounts of money, especially if the conflict should escalate. As a solution to the state's incapacity to resolve conflict, it uses this law to empower local agents to achieve a resolution. Forums such as the musyawarah mechanism that have their roots in local cultures are appropriated and institutionalised in the interests of stability. But when the state takes over the people's forums like this, anger can easily spread. In both the organisations relating to adat and the KPKS, state elements are very dominant, so the dialogue process will tend to avoid resolving the root causes of the problem and push the people to continue to obey the regulations as enacted by the government. In certain circumstances this is a cheap and easy way to dampen the fire.
Remembering that all laws and regulations are made by a handful of people in privileged positions with their own interests over our lives, we should always be cautious. The domination of a few over the lives of the rest must be stopped. Don't wait around, get started now!
Jennifer Robinson As violence escalates in West Papua, one cannot help but recall East Timor and wonder how much worse it must get before Australia and the international community will act.
Tensions are at breaking point in the easternmost province of Indonesia after the police shooting of independence activist Mako Tabuni.
Human rights activists report Tabuni was unarmed when shot six times by the Australian-trained Detachment 88 forces. Tabuni was deputy chairman of the West Papua National Committee, an organisation advocating independence and the right to self-determination under international law. Tabuni had also been campaigning for an investigation into a recent spate of military killings.
The shooting follows years of violence. At least 16 people have been killed in the past month, according to human rights groups, and hundreds of homes raided, with many burnt to the ground. Thousands are reported to be evacuating, seeking refuge in the forest or heading for refugee camps in Papua New Guinea. Credible reports of human rights violations by Indonesian security forces have emerged, including torture, excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings.
Yet Indonesia's State Intelligence Agency chief, Lieutenant-General Marciano Norman, placed blame on the Free Papua Movement, "foreign agents" and local residents for the violence. The President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, played down the events.
As Indonesia obfuscates and Australia remains silent, West Papua bleeds. While most Australians are proud of our role in ending 24 years of bloody Indonesian occupation in East Timor, we should not forget it came after a long history of accepting Indonesian assertions of sovereignty while ignoring human rights abuse on our doorstep. After East Timor, we cannot claim any wide-eyed innocence regarding West Papua.
Australia is now bidding for a place on the United Nations Security Council on the basis of our alleged "human rights-based foreign policy", highlighting our role in East Timor while trying to keep a lid on our history of inaction there.
The federal Attorney-General has refused freedom of information requests for the release of diplomatic cables dating to the 1970s cables that a University of NSW professor, Clinton Fernandes, says will show Australian complicity in concealing the mass starvation of Timorese.
Are we now making the same mistakes with West Papua? Few are aware of Australian and UN involvement in West Papua 30 years before the intervention in East Timor. Like East Timor, West Papua was annexed by Indonesia in circumstances that violated international law. Comparisons are made, and with good reason. Both territories are made up of distinct minorities. Both are rich in natural resources. Both have struggled for self-determination. Like East Timor, West Papua had a UN vote for self- determination, only the outcome could not have been more different.
In 1999, East Timor got a proper vote and won independence (not before an estimated 200,000 Timorese had died). But in 1969, West Papua got a sham vote and became part of Indonesia.
Last month, East Timor celebrated 10 years of independence or, as the Timorese say, 10 years since the international community recognised their independence. But an estimated 400,000 Papuans have now been killed after more than 40 years of Indonesian oppression and abuse.
This year, Indonesia faced international condemnation for the imprisonment of West Papuan leaders for peacefully calling for independence. When asked if Australia had raised concerns with Indonesia, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Bob Carr, responded by admitting that "before I could raise the subject... the Indonesian Foreign Minister nominated that they have a clear responsibility to see that their sovereignty is upheld in respect of human rights standards", and Carr "was impressed by that".
In responses eerily similar to statements made by Gareth Evans about East Timor during Indonesian rule, Carr warned members of Parliament "against foolishly talking up West Papuans' right to self-determination because it "threatens the territorial integrity of Indonesia" and "would produce a reaction" towards Australia. It would be a foolish foreign affairs minister who did not learn from our mistakes in East Timor.
Australia should, at a minimum, reconsider military aid to Indonesia and call for them to allow media and international organisations access to West Papua to investigate abuses and facilitate peaceful dialogue.
East Timor should remind us of the hefty price of turning a blind eye to repression in the mistaken belief that it serves stability in our region. As a Deakin University academic, Scott Burchill, has long argued, it is not only "a dereliction of our ethical duty, it is politically short-sighted and usually results in blowback".