There are those who are paid with a boxed meal and a bit of cash to take part in a staged demonstration, and there are those who are really desperate. The two are often confused.

So when six villagers from the little-known Meranti Islands in Riau threatened to set themselves aflame in front of the State Palace earlier this month, they were met with suspicion and a somewhat muted response from the government.

Self-immolation as political protest was done prominently by Buddhist monks in Vietnam during the 1960s. Then there was the young Tunisian street vendor who triggered the Arab Spring when he lit himself on fire last year.

For Indonesians, none have hit closer to home than Sondang Hutagalung, a 22-year-old student activist who immolated himself near the State Palace last December.

A short note found by his girlfriend after the incident showed Sondang's frustration with the social problems plaguing his country. Sondang "cursed" injustice, public apathy, poverty, pain and sadness, evil rulers and criminals. "... damned [them], until I cannot feel anything anymore," the note said.

Unanswered calls

With so many issues vying for the public's attention, it was easy to overlook the plight of the 33,240 residents of Padang Island in Riau's Meranti chain.

Until the villagers journeyed to Jakarta last year to protest in the capital, their dispute against the Riau government and the Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper company had mostly only been covered by the local media.

"For almost four years, we fought a good fight," Muhammad Riduan, the leader of the protesting villagers, told the Jakarta Globe in a recent interview. "We plan to burn ourselves in front of the State Palace because our target is to have the president himself handle our case."

Their aim is to get a 2009 Forestry Ministry decree that granted 40,000 hectares – almost half the island – in concessions to RAPP revoked.

The villagers initially tried working through diplomatic channels, Riduan said. They met with representatives from the company and the local government. None of it helped.

Last November, they stepped things up a notch. Some 84 villagers camped outside the House of Representatives for three months. Several stitched their mouths shut in a dramatic hunger strike. Still, it didn't work.

"The government sent its representatives to do mediation and investigation for this issue, but as we had predicted earlier, that team came only for formality. They didn't produce anything," Riduan said.

So on July 5, he and five other villagers came again to Jakarta and said that if their demands were not met, they would set themselves on fire.

They were immediately brought to a safe house with tight security in Tebet, South Jakarta. A week later, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan told reporters that his ministry would revise the island's spatial planning.

"Land belonging to the villages and the people will be excluded from the concession area," Zulkifli was quoted by state news agency Antara as saying. "So the borders of the community land and the company's will be clear."

Since then, several of the protesters have returned to their villages. Riduan, though, has stayed in Jakarta to make sure the government keeps its promise.

"What the government did to us is not fair," he said. "We were offended many times and [the offense] only motivates us to do this sacrifice. We are tired. We don't want to die. But we have to warn the government. We screamed and this would be our last effort."

Walking tall

An unresponsive government was also what brought 44-year-old Hari Suwandi to the capital. Hari trekked on foot for 25 days from his home in Sidoarjo, East Java, to draw attention to the plight of the people from his village, Kedung Bendo, which was buried in the massive Sidoarjo mudflow in 2006.

He was followed by three women in their 60s: Suyati, Mainah and Wiwik Wahjutini. They took the train to Jakarta. "We demand justice. We demand our rights," Wiwik said. "Our goal is to meet the president."

It is the women's third such attempt. "The first time [we came to Jakarta], he was busy with reforming his ministerial cabinet," Wiwik said. "The second time, his son was getting married."

The mudflow has been widely blamed on Lapindo Brantas, a gas-drilling company controlled by the Bakrie Group, and the firm was at one point ordered to pay out compensation to the affected villagers. Wiwik carried with her a six-page document that said the company still owed her and 35 other households a total of Rp 13.7 billion ($1.5 million).

Like Hari, Wiwiek and her friends wanted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to be firm with Lapindo.

"All of us saved for years. I had to save for more than 20 years for a house that is now buried under the mud," said Wiwik, who said that this time around she would stay in Jakarta until Friday. "We will wait and keep on demanding our rights also for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

In 2007, a presidential decree held Lapindo liable for compensation to the villagers who lost their homes to the mudflow. But two years later, the Supreme Court ruled the disaster was caused by natural forces, and the original presidential decree was revised to deem compensation the government's responsibility.

But that didn't end the dispute. A group called the Savior Team for Lapindo State Budget has filed a challenge with the Constitutional Court against saddling the government with making the payout, arguing that taxpayer money should not be used to cover for a private company.

From desperation to agitation

Teddy Hidayat, head of psychiatry at the Hasan Sadikin hospital in Bandung, said that violent protests were more an expression of agitation and aggression than of frustration.

"Desperation and frustration may lead to aggression, but to reach that level it depends on each individual," Teddy said. "The point of a demonstration is more to attract public sympathy than for people to express themselves."

Freedom of expression is enshrined in the Constitution. "As long as a demonstration does not inhibit the fundamental rights of others, it is acceptable," said Haris Azhar, a prominent human rights activist.

In cases of extreme protests, he added, the citizens of society have two responsibilities. The first is to provide help however they can, and the second is to remind the protesters of the consequences.

"The ultimate responsibility to change the situation still lies in the hands of the government," he said. "Being silent will only exacerbate the situation."

And the award goes to... Indonesia's toilets!

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2012

The Tourism Ministry has announced plans to award Indonesian parks for their clean public toilets, which officials hope will make Indonesia a more attractive tourist destination, and will reinforce a local ethos of hygiene.

Director General of Tourist Destination Development Firmansyah Rahim told a press conference on Monday that the assessment started May 14, and will continue to Sept. 9 for some 62 recreation parks in 16 provinces.

"The 2012 Sapta Pesona Award for clean public toilets is aimed to appreciate and motivate the management of recreation parks," Firmansyah said, as quoted by Antara.

Among the members of the prize jury are Naning S. Adiwoso, head of the Indonesian Toilet Association, and Sudaryatmo, who represents the Indonesian Consumer Foundation. The award will be given on Sept. 27 to coincide with World Tourism Day.

Firmansyah said he hoped the award would foster better and more sanitary toilets, as well as improve public perception of Indonesian tourism centers. He also hoped the award would make Indonesian's more mindful of hygiene when using public toilets.

"Toilet management should maintain cleanliness in order to improve services for both domestic and foreign tourists," Firmansyah said.

The award is not unprecedented; similar prizes have been given since 2007 to Indonesian zoos, airports and museums with clean toilets.

According to a 2011 World Toilet Organization survey, Indonesia's toilets were ranked below the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, placing them among the dirtiest in Asia.

The study ranked countries by the number of germs found on toilets randomly tested in each country. As many as 80 million germs could be found living on a single Indonesian toilet.

Poor hygiene at such a level can potentially lead to the spread of infectious diseases such as typhoid. And merely flushing the toilet, experts say, does not eliminate this risk.

West Papua

Freeport to pay higher royalties after months of contract talks

Jakarta Globe - July 23, 2012

Tito Summa Siahaan – Freeport Indonesia has agreed to raise its royalty payment to the government, according to a statement from a top economic minister on Monday.

The announcement represents progress in the government's protracted renegotiations with Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US based mining giant Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold, who was one of the first foreign companies to invest in Suharto's New Order Regime in the 1960's.

Freeport operates the world's biggest gold and second-biggest copper mine in the restive province of Papua. "[Freeport] is willing to increase the royalty," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa. He did not, however, specify the percentage increase.

In February, the government created a team to renegotiate older mining contracts that generally asked for smaller royalties. And in March, Indonesian authorities announced a new law cutting maximum foreign ownership in mining companies from 80 percent to less than half.

Both actions were a bid to keep a larger portion of revenues from the country's vast natural resources, and increase the participation of local entities in the mining sector. At present, Freeport pays a 1 percent royalty to the government on its total gross sales of gold.

A 2003 government regulation requires mining companies to pay a royalty of 4 percent for copper exports, 3.25 percent for silver, and 3.75 percent for gold. But Freeport's contract was established before 2003, and the Indonesian legal system does not recognize the principle of retroactivity.

Terms agreed to in contracts signed before the 2003 law, in other words, take precedent. "Now, [the royalty] is only at 1 percent, it is very small," Hatta said in February.

Royalties have been just one issue on the negotiating table, however. Government revenue, requirements for miners to process raw materials in Indonesia and divest a stake to local owners, the size of mining concession areas and the use of local content in operations have also been up for discussion.

On these matters, Hatta said Freeport was willing to build a smelter to comply with the government requirement to process ore minerals locally. He also said the mining giant was willing to give up some of its land due to a reevaluation of its mining concession area and increase the participation of the local government and regional companies.

Hatta, who is chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), a close ally to President Susilo Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, also said Freeport-McMoran had agreed to sell part of their interest in their Indonesian operation.

"[Freeport Indonesia] agreed to divest a stake, but there's no agreement on the 51 percent that we requested," Hatta Rajasa told reporters on Monday. Details on other terms of the IPO, including the time frame, have not been shared.

Freeport Indonesia's president director, Rozik B. Soetjipto, had said early this month that the miner was willing to increase its royalty, but asked the government to reduce the amount it must pay in corporate income tax. Indonesian companies typically pay a 25 percent income tax, while Freeport pays 35 percent.

[Additional reporting by Agence France Presse.]

Freeport McMoRan's Indonesia mine recovers from 1st quarter problems

Nasdaq/Dow Jones - July 20, 2012

Tatyana Shumsky, New York – Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s (FCX) Indonesia operations are approaching "normal" levels after a first quarter marked by labor disruptions, chief executive Richard Adkerson said on the company's second- quarter earnings conference call.

Labor unrest at the world's third-largest open-pit copper mine, Grasberg in Indonesia, took a toll on Freeport's profitability earlier this year. A shut-down from late February to mid-March saw the company lose about 80 million pounds of copper and around 125,000 ounces of gold production, cutting first-quarter earnings by 49%. However, operations at the open pit mine are returning to "normal" levels, Mr. Adkerson said.

"Our relationships with our workforce has improved significantly," he said, adding that the company has "made further progress to improve productivity." "We are now in sight of completion of our mining in the pit," he said, adding that the company is set to complete open pit mining at Grasberg in 2016, moving operations underground thereafter.

The Grasberg disruptions have raised Freeport's company-wide copper-mining costs by about 30 cents a pound, Mr. Adkerson said. The cost of getting a pound of copper out of the ground, excluding company-wide costs like overhead and depreciation, are now seen at $1.47 a pound in 2012. This is up from previous forecasts of $1.43.

Freeport continues to work "cooperatively" with the Indonesian government on the review of the company's contract of work agreement and on extending that contract to 2041 from 2021, Mr. Adkerson said. He declined further details of the talks, as discussions are ongoing.

Papuan street parliament says state must guarantee the heath of tapols

Tabloid JUBI - July 19, 2012

Jayapura – The Papuan Street Parliament (Parjal) insists that it is the responsibility of the Indonesian government to safeguard the right to life of Papuans who are still behind bars.

Yusak Pakage, the spokesperson of Parjal, said that as a former political prisoner himself, he knows that prisoners suffer many difficulties as a result of the use of violence. "The state should be responsible for medical treatment and for the prisoners' right to life," he said.

The director of the district office of the Department of Law and Human Rights, Daniel Biantong announced last January that there were 23 Papuan political prisoners, of whom 16 were being held in Wamena prison, three were being held in Biak and two in Abepura. The two in Abepura were Philip Karma [usually spelt Filep] and Samuel Yaru.

Those being held in Biak are Numbuga Talenggu and Yafrai Murib who are both serving life sentences, while Kimanus Wenda and Linus Hiluka in Nabire prison have been sentenced to 20 years and in Biak, Apotnagolik E. Lokobal has been sentenced to 20 years.

Other tapols who are serving sentences of 20 years are Kanius Murib who is being held in Wamena, while Samuel Yanu who is being held in Abepura is serving a sentence of three years.

"Because I have myself spent time in prison in Wamena, I have a sense of solidarity with these political prisoners. It is the duty of the state to help them," he said.

[Translated by TAPOL.]

Police disperse humanitarian action in Jayapura

Tabloid JUBI - July 19, 2012

The police in Papua forcibly dispersed a humanitarian action taking place when Papuans were out collecting money to help political prisoners.

They were from an organisation called Solidarity for Human Rights Victims, SKPHP. The police said that they had dispersed the people because the SKPHP has not registered with the provincial administration.

The news was confirmed by Peneas Lokbere, a member of the SKPHP, who told JUBI that before undertaking the action they had notified the police of their intentions in both Abepura and Jayapura. Having done this, it meant that the police would grant permission for the action to take place.

Nevertheless, while the action was in progress on Friday at 1pm, the police dispersed those taking part in the action. "We were forcibly dispersed," said Peneas. "They said that this was because we had not registered the organisation with the authorities. and therefore, we were not allowed to continue with this collection of funds."

He also said that after the police came to disperse the action, they dispersed peacefully. "We did not offer any resistance. If we had resisted, it would have led to a lengthy process." Peneas said that they would follow up their action on Friday, 20 July. "We will go to the police and ask for permission to continue with action."

The street collections were being undertaken to provide for the medical requirements of the political prisoners and the other prisoner who are ill at the prisons in Abepura and Jayapura – Among those who are ill in Abepura Prison are Filep Karma, Ferdinand Pakage and Jefrai Murib.

Their intention was to carry out this action from 9am Thursday 19 July until Saturday 21 July.

[Translated by TAPOL.]

Human rights activist tried for vandalism

Jakarta Post - July 19, 2012

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The trial of Buchtar Tabuni, 32, human rights activist and leader of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), began at the Jayapura District Court. He is accused of violence and vandalism at Abepura Penitentiary on Wednesday.

This hearing might raise eyebrows since Buchtar was arrested on June 5 by Papua Police for allegedly being linked to a series of violent protests in Jayapura in May and June. He was detained after attending a meeting of the Papua legislative council, suspected of involvement in a string of shootings in the city.

During the first hearing, presided over by Judge Haris Munandar, prosecutor Ahmad Kobarubus said that the defendant was accused of violating articles 170 and 406 of the Criminal Code which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

The defendant and his colleague, Dominggus Pulalo, allegedly tossed rocks at the hall, office and workshop of the Abepura prison as warden Liberti Sitinjak announced to inmates that a convict was shot and killed as he attempted to escape.

"The defendant and his colleague Pulalo yelled to other inmates to throw rocks at the office as he picked up rocks and tossed them at the prison hall, office and workshop, causing glass panes to shatter," said Kobarubus.

Gustav Kawer, Buchtar's lawyer, said the indictment had nothing to do with the reasons behind his client's arrest on June 5. "Buchtar was arrested in connection with shootings in Jayapura and his position as KNPB leader, but this indictment was for another case. I guess there is a plot to divert the charges," Gustav told reporters after the trial.

The trial was adjourned until July 23 to allow the examination of witnesses. Prosecutors promised to present ex-Abepura prison warden Liberti Sitinjak, who has now been transferred to Ambon, Maluku, as a witness.

Human rights activists have called for the police to pursue the perpetrators of shootings and terror in Jayapura, saying that Buchtar must not become the scapegoat for the violence.

Manokwari Education, Research, Investigation and Legal Aid Institution (LPPPBH) executive director Yan Christian Warinussy said that he believed that neither Buchtar nor the KNPB was behind the shootings that terrorized Jayapura residents.

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

Police officer is latest fatality as violence continues in Papua

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Farouk Arnaz & Banjir Ambarita – A police officer succumbed to his wounds after being found beaten and stabbed in Keerom, Papua, on Tuesday.

Residents found First Brig. Sudirman Atang Sabil clinging to life with serious stab wounds in front of the Pramuka Buper Waena Jayapura building at about 8:30 p.m., two hours after he had left his post at the Keerom district police office.

"He was tortured and he died from loss of blood, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said on Wednesday in Jakarta.

Boy said Sudirman left Keerom at the conclusion of his shift and was headed for Jayapura, the provincial capital. The victim was not wearing his uniform or carrying his service weapon.

"Keerom to Jayapura is a one-hour drive," Boy said. "Residents found him with stab wounds that were about seven centimeters deep and rushed him to Dian Harapan Hospital." He said the officer died about an hour after arriving at the hospital.

Police have yet to establish a possible motive for the stabbing. A joint team from the Keerom district police and the Papua provincial police is investigating.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yohanes Nugroho Wicaksono confirmed that the officer had died of stab wounds. "The victim was stabbed repeatedly, which resulted in heavy bleeding that led to his death," the spokesman said. "We are still investigating the killing and processing the crime scene. The perpetrators are still not known."

Two weeks ago, three people were found stabbed to death in Ndeotadi, in Papua's Paniai district. One of the dead was a member of the Indonesian Military (TNI), but it is not know if the killings are connected.

Like this week's incident, those victims were also discovered by locals. The bodies were found in a shop-house near a gold mine in Ndeotadi that was owned by the dead soldier, Warrant Officer Sunaryo. "Sunaryo was a member of the Paniai district military command, while the two other victims were identified as Aco and Nini," Boy said.

Military ties

Indonesian jets in Australian war games

Sydney Morning Herald - July 18, 2012

Lindsay Murdoch and Michael Bachelard – Indonesia will send its front-line Sukhoi jet fighters to take part in Australia's largest air combat exercise this month, signalling a new era of enhanced defence co-operation between the two countries.

The Indonesian air force has not previously given the Australian Defence Force access to the Russian-made aircraft, which were built to compete with the fourth-generation jet fighters of the US.

Four Sukhois will be in the Northern Territory for Exercise Pitch Black 2012, which will include mock combat with Australian F/A-18s in Australian and Indonesian airspace. US jet fighters will participate in the exercise from July 27 to August 17, and will be commanded from Darwin and Tindal air bases.

Military analyst John Farrell said the decision to send the Sukhois to Australia would bring defence co-operation between the ADF and Indonesian military to a new level.

"Indonesia has never before been prepared to send its primary air defence asset to a foreign nation," said Mr Farrell, who publishes the Australian & NZ Defender Magazine.

"That fact they are sending them to Australia indicates that Canberra and Jakarta have looked up and seen much greater threats around them," he said, referring to China and India.

"The Sukhoi-27s are Indonesia's most secret air defence asset. This shows a lot of trust towards Australia, a decade after relations between the two defence forces were in deep freeze."

It is also a vote of confidence in the defence relationship after Indonesia expressed concern over US marines operating from a joint facility in Darwin.

Indonesian air force spokesman Colonel Agung Sasongkojati confirmed to The Age the plan to send jets to Australia for Pitch Black. Colonel Sasongkojati said the air force had needed to train its pilots on the aircraft before it could deploy them in the joint exercise.

Indonesia's air force has been on a buying spree recently. It already operates 10 Sukhoi-27s and four Sukhoi-30 MK2 jets, and recently announced a new order for six Sukhoi-30 MK2 fighters.

A joint communique issued after the July 3 meeting between Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that "co-operation between Australian and Indonesian defence forces goes from strength to strength" and encouraged senior defence officials in both countries to "review existing security co-operation".

Australia and Indonesia are negotiating to establish a defence co-operation arrangement.

Canberra's military ties with Jakarta have been strained over many years. Relations hit their lowest point in 1999, when Australian troops were sent to East Timor to quell violence by pro-Indonesian military militia groups.

But in recent years the military-to-military relationship warmed as Australia provided expertise to Indonesia's security forces to counter terrorist groups. The decision to send the Sukhois to Australia is believed to have been approved by Dr Yudhoyono.

Human rights & justice

Indonesia's 1965 violence a 'serious human rights violation': Komnas HAM

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2012

Ronna Nirmala – The National Commission on Human Rights has called the orgy of violence that shook the country in 1965 following a failed coup attempt blamed on the communists a serious human rights violation and a crime against humanity.

It is thought that up to half a million people died in the purge targeting the left, sparked by an attempt to overthrow the country's founding President Sukarno. In the immediate aftermath of the coup attempt, Maj. Gen. Suharto mobilized his force and effectively took control of the country. He would eventually become president and serve for more than 30 years.

After a four-year investigation, the rights commission, known as Komnas HAM, found sufficient preliminary evidence of serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity, said Nurkholis, who headed the investigation team.

"After thoroughly studying and analyzing all the findings, including testimony from victims and witnesses, reports, relevant documents and other information, the ad hoc team investigating serious human rights violations in the 1965-66 incident, concluded that violations had indeed been committed," Nurkholis said on Monday.

He said the preliminary findings indicated incidents of murder, extermination, slavery, eviction or forced eviction, deprivation of freedom, torture, rape and abuse. "These acts were part of attacks launched against civilians according to the rulers' policy," Nurkholis said

Komnas HAM has identified some of those responsible for the violence, he said. "Based on the series of crimes that took place and the descriptions provided by the victims and the evidence that has been cross-examined, we have come up with several names that we believe were involved in the field during the 1965-66 incident," he said.

Although he declined to provide names, Komnas HAM did not hesitate to point its finger at the Command for the Restoration of Security and Public Order (Kopkamtib), the pervasive security network set up by Suharto following the 1965 coup attempt.

"The military command or officials who failed to control their forces effectively to prevent, stop or take action against human rights violations are responsible for the incident," he said.

The investigation team, which was established on June 1, 2008, and worked until April 30, 2012, questioned 349 witnesses who either heard about incidents during the violence or experienced it firsthand.

Komnas HAM attributed the lengthy investigation to several factors, including the wide geographic area covered, budget restraints and the act that many of the witnesses had died . Nurkholis called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take over the case to provide justice to the survivors.

Bejo Untung, who survived the violence, urged the president to follow up on the findings and apologize to all the victims and their families.

"The president can issue a presidential decree to follow up Komnas HAM's findings and to apologize to the surviving victims and their families and the families of victims who lost their lives during the incident," said Bejo, chairman of the Foundation for the Investigation of Murdered Victims in 1965-66.

Bejo said the president would be neglecting serious human rights violations and a human tragedy on a massive scale if he did not follow up the findings.

Komnas HAM also urged the attorney general to investigate the case. "We submitted all our investigation results to the attorney general on Friday," said Kabul Supriyadi, another member of Komnas HAM's investigation team. . "Now we ask the attorney general to immediately process it and investigate it."

Komnas HAM declares 1965 purge a gross human rights violation

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has declared in its findings on Monday that the systematic prosecution of alleged members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) after the failed 1965 coup was a gross human rights violation. The commission urged that military officials who were involved in the purge be brought to trial.

Nur Kholis, the head of the investigative team on the 1965 coup, said that state officials under the Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Kopkamtib) led by former president Soeharto who served from 1965 to 1967, and between 1977 and 1978, should be taken to court for various crimes, including mass rape, torture and killings.

Nur Kholis said that his team had handed over the 850-page report to the Attorney General's Office (AGO). "We hope that the AGO will follow up the report," he said.

During more than three years of investigation, the team had gathered testimony from 349 witnesses.

Nur Kholis said that military officials had deliberately targeted innocent civilians during the operations, which occurred nationwide. "Many of the victims had nothing to do with the communist party or its subordinates. The military officials made it look like those people were linked to the party," he said.

After the Sept. 30, 1965 movement, thousands of people, some estimate as many as 500,000, who were suspected of being PKI members were killed. Many more were imprisoned for years without charge.

The discrimination against people associated with the PKI continued with the government barring them from being civil servants, military officers, teachers or clerics. Former members of PKI also found it hard to get jobs due to the ex-political prisoner status on their identity cards.

In 2004, the Constitutional Court ruled that ex-members of PKI were allowed to contest elections. Two years later, the government deleted the ex- prisoner label from identity cards.

Nur Kholis said that the team demanded the government issue a formal apology to victims and their families. The apology should be followed by rehabilitation, reparation and compensation.

The Murder Victim's Research Foundation (YPKP) said that the late former president Soeharto was the person most responsible for the crimes. However, the fact that he had passed away should not deter the AGO from investigating the case. YPKP said that several other perpetrators remained alive. (fzm/lfr)

Freedom of speech & expression

Rights groups call for the release of Madura Shiite cleric

Jakarta Post - July 17, 2012

Jakarta – Human rights groups have called for the release of Shiite cleric Tajul Muluk who was sentenced to two years for blasphemy against Islam.

The human rights groups which formed the Alliance for the Sampang Case Solidarity said that there had been a miscarriage of justice during the legal process against Tajul.

"By allowing the court to send Tajul Muluk to prison, the government is not only ignoring religious intolerance but actively violating religious freedom in the country," Febionesta of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH-Jakarta) said on Monday.

Tajul Muluk was sentenced by the Sampang District court on July 12, after presiding judge Purnomo Amin Tjahjo declared him guilty of blasphemy against Islam.

Tajul, who had his house and pesantren (boarding school) burned down by an angry mob in December last year, was accused of preaching to his followers that the Koran was not the original scripture and the true version of the Holy Book is only revealed to Imam Mahdi.

Responding to the verdict, Tajul insisted he was a victim of slander and vowed to appeal to higher courts. "This is about my dignity. I am not an infidel. I have videotaped evidence that this trial was fabricated for political ends," the 39-year-old preacher said.

The verdict on Tajul came only weeks after a court in West Sumatra sentenced Alexander Aan, a self-proclaimed atheist, to two-and-a-half years in prison for blasphemy.

Members of the coalition, which include the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH- Jakarta) and the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), criticized the court proceeding as being engineered.

The group claimed that the presiding judge in the case ignored testimony from 16 witnesses who testified that Tajul was using the same Koran that has been approved by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

"We are concerned about the impact of the court's decision. It will deal a blow to religious freedom in Indonesia," Sinung Karto of Kontras said.

The coalition said that it would file an appeal against the verdict and closely monitor the next court proceedings to ensure that justice is done.

Choirul Anam of HRWG said that as a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Indonesia must ensure that the Shiite community can practice their faith peacefully in the country.

"Iran is also a member of OIC and has a large populations who subscribe to Shia. How can Indonesia build relationships with other members of OIC if the government fails to make sure Shiite groups can live and worship peacefully in this country?" Choirul said.

In May, the government delivered a report to the United Nations Human Rights Commission summit in Geneva, Switzerland, claiming that Indonesia is an open, tolerant and democratic society.

Last week, the Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD told visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday that people were free to adhere to atheism and communism and could only be punished if they set up an organization that acted against the country's ideology.

Choirul said that the decision to imprison Tajul indicated government inconsistency in protecting religious freedom in the country. "Clearly, the government did not practice what they preach," said Anam. (nad)

Media & press freedom

Media criticized for biased reporting

Jakarta Post - July 21, 2012

Jakarta – Monopolistic media ownership in Jakarta is to blame for insensitive and biased reporting on conflicts beyond the island of Java, critics have said.

The condition is worsening because the development of information and communication technology is also centralized in Java. According to the Center for Innovation Policy and Governance (CIPG), the media industry in Indonesia is controlled by 12 groups, including MNC, Kompas Gramedia, Jawa Pos, Elang Media Teknologi and CT Corp.

Not only do they control print media and broadcasting stations, but they run on numerous different platforms including the Internet.

MNC Group, for example, has newspapers, tabloids, TV stations and a news website. Similarly, CT Corp belonging to business tycoon Chairul Tanjung also runs TV stations, news portal as well as tabloids. These media companies are located in Java but control broadcast information from Aceh to Papua.

Firdaus Cahyadi from the Satu Dunia Foundation, an NGO focused on access to information for ordinary Indonesians, said that the monopoly and the highly centralized media industry produced biased news reports. According to him, media companies tend to publicize conflicts and issues that happen outside Java from Jakarta's point of view.

"Numerous conflicts take place in eastern Indonesia over natural resources but media companies are mostly located in Jakarta, therefore the news is written from Jakarta's point of view, without giving voice to the public in eastern Indonesia," Firdaus said in a press conference recently.

The unequal distribution of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure also contributed to the homogeneity of news viewpoints.

According to the study by Satu Dunia, the highest tweet production came from Jakarta with 15.37 percent, followed by Surabaya with 10 percent. The least tweet production is from Jayapura with only 0.15 percent.

"Social media like Twitter can be a very useful platform for citizens to criticize and put pressure on the government, but again Twitter production is still dominated by the citizens of Java," Firdaus said. "This means, Papuan citizens, for example, can't express their opinions because they have no infrastructure to support it," he added.

According to Fajri Siregar of the CIPG, the situation is worsened by conglomeration in the industry. "Media concentration through mergers or acquisitions contributes to the homogeneity of the news. The same news angle can be published on a number of news platforms such as websites, television, radio and newspapers," Fajri said.

Fajri added that monopolized media ownership threatened the spirit of diversity of information in the country. "The government should allocate more money as an incentive to develop ICT infrastructure in the eastern part of Indonesia and make sure all citizens have equal access to information and to opportunities to express opinions," Firdaus said. (nad)

Political parties & elections

Suryadharma faces challenges within PPP for presidential bid

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2012

Jakarta – The presidential ambitions of United Development Party (PPP) chairman Suryadharma Ali encountered a major stumbling block as a number of local party branches decided to back former vice president Jusuf Kalla of the Golkar party.

The party's deputy chairman, Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin, said that a number of regional branches of the PPP had nominated Kalla as their candidate for the 2014 presidential election, although Kalla himself had not responded to the offer.

"Kalla is one of the strong candidates from outside the party. But internally, Suryadharma Ali remains the number one choice," Lukman told reporters on Monday.

The PPP executive said some of the party's members endorsed Kalla for his experience as a vice president during the first term of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in addition to his reputation as a trustworthy politician.

A number of major political parties have officially forwarded their leaders as presidential candidates. Last month, the Golkar Party announced with great fanfare that its chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, would be its candidate for the 2014 election.

The National Mandate Party (PAN) also endorsed its chairman, Hatta Rajasa, as its presidential candidate. Smaller political parties like the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the People's Conscience Party have also nominated their leaders as presidential candidates.

In a recent survey conducted by the Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting Firm, 3.7 percent of respondents supported Kalla. The most popular candidate in the survey, chief patron of the Gerindra party Prabowo Subianto, was supported by 10 percent of the survey's respondents. Suryadharma failed to earn a spot in the top-10 most electable candidates.

Lukman, however, said that talk of presidential candidates should be put on the back burner as the PPP would first focus on the legislative election.

"We need to first meet the parliamentary threshold for the House of Representatives before deciding whether we can endorse our own candidate or whether we need to build a coalition with other parties," he said. PPP only garnered 6.61 percent of the vote, which translated into 37 seats in the House, in the 2009 election.

Aware of Suryadharma's limited appeal, which was recently eroded by his controversial moves as Religious Affairs Minister, the PPP has looked for other candidates for the 2014 election, including young academic Anies Baswedan and veteran politicians Aburizal and Hatta.

Responding to the PPP's decision to name Kalla as its possible presidential candidate, a member of Golkar's central executive board, Hajriyanto Tohari, said that his party would not make any efforts to block it. "We don't feel that we suffer any losses," he said, adding that it shows the quality of Golkar as a political party.

The Golkar Party central board recently reprimanded Kalla, warning him that he could be expelled from the party if he sought a presidential nomination from other political parties. Kalla is considered Aburizal's toughest challenger within the party in securing the nomination.

Hajriyanto said that Golkar would approach the issue cautiously as no official statement had been issued on Kalla's nomination. "Endorsements of a presidential candidate should not only be made in front of reporters," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief patron, Taufik Kiemas, said that Kalla only had a slim chance to succeed in the 2014 election.

"Looking at the center of political power in 2014, I don't think they have the ability to win," he said, adding that the 2014 presidential election would be decided by his wife, Megawati Soekarnoputri of PDI-P, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono. (cor)

PPP eyes Kalla as presidential candidate in 2014

Berita Satu - July 23, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The United Development Party (PPP) is seriously considering naming former Vice President Jusuf Kalla as its presidential candidate for the 2014 presidential race.

Though Kalla is from Golkar Party, he garnered a substantial amount of votes from PPP cadres during the party's national working meeting in February, PPP deputy secretary-general Arwani Thomafi said on Monday.

The former chairman of the Golkar Party, which is set to nominate its current chairman Aburizal Bakrie in the upcoming presidential race, defeated other potential candidates from outside the party, including Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M. D., former Women's Empowerment Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan.

Arwani added that Kalla finished third, securing 9.6 percent of votes, in an electability poll performed by Saiful Mujani and Research Consulting in late June, after former President Megawati Sukarnoputri (17.6 percent) and Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto (16.7 percent).

"JK's rather good electability will trigger interesting dynamics in our second national working meeting next year. In the end, PPP wants our presidential candidate to win the presidential election," Arwani said.

He added that PPP would continue to monitor Kalla's activities and the trend of his electability in polls conducted by various survey institutes.

The biggest challenge to Kalla's PPP nomination, according to Arwani, could come from the chairman of the party itself, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali.

PPP will discuss the issue further in its national working meeting next year. In the meantime, it has established a special unit to prepare for the 2014 presidential election headed by senior PPP politician Lukman Hakim Saefudin, Arwani said.

'Yudhoyono should resign from Democratic Party'

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call for his ministers to resign their posts if they are preoccupied with preparing the 2014 election rings hollow, as he himself is active as chairman of the Democratic Party's board of patrons.

Many have said that his call to ministers was part of his public relations campaign.

"President Yudhoyono warning against ministers whose political party activities take precedence over their roles as government officials means little considering he still serves as the chief patron of his Democratic Party. He contradicts his own statement," University of Indonesia's political analyst Iberamsjah said on Sunday.

Iberamsjah called on Yudhoyono to set an example by resigning from the Democratic Party. "It would have been more meaningful if the President had resigned from his position in his party before making the statement. It is now only seen as a public relations campaign to improve his standing," he said.

In his speech prior to a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office late last week, Yudhoyono suggested that ministers who were too busy with their political campaigning ahead of the 2014 election should resign.

The President also warned his aides against conspiring to abuse the state budget. Yudhoyono said that ministers must share the blame if one of their subordinates should be arrested for graft.

Of Yudhoyono's 34 ministers, 18 are from political parties including three party chairmen, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali of the United Development Party (PPP), Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Manpower and Transmigration Minister Mohaimin Iskandar of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Hatta is the only minister who makes no effort to conceal his presidential ambition. Mohaimin said that he was not the target for Yudhoyono's statement. "But I can understand if ministers are expected to only focus on works in the government," he said.

Suryadharma also shrugged off the suggestion that he was singled out by Yudhoyono. "There's nothing unusual about the President's statement. It was a message that he has to get across," Suryadharma said.

Tjahjo Kumolo, secretary general the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said Yudhoyono's statement in fact pointed to a contradiction within his government. "The President should have been aware when appointing politicians as ministers in the first place of the probable consequences," he said.

Tjahjo said that he should have understood that politicians must work for the prosperity of their political parties. He said that Yudhoyono's statement reflected Yudhoyono's efforts to pass the buck if the government fails to perform well.

Deputy secretary general of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), Saleh Husin, said Yudhoyono's call would likely fall on deaf ears.

"Yudhoyono appears uncomfortable with the presence of some ministers in his cabinet and wants them to resign but he only has the courage to issue indirect statements. I think it won't work. He's made similar statements in the past, but nobody resigned," he said. Saleh said the statement could instead point to an internal rift in his cabinet.

Lawmaker Didi Irawadi Syamsuddin of the Democratic Party said Yudhoyono's statement must be seen as a warning to some cabinet members. "They run ads touting the success of their ministries, but focus on the personality of the ministers," he said.

Aburizal's candidacy still a hot topic in Golkar Party

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – There are signs members of the Golkar Party remain divided over the decision to declare its chairman Aburizal Bakrie as the party's presidential candidate.

Golkar politician Zainal Bintang claimed that a meeting held in Bali and attended by the party's 33 Regional Representatives Council (DPD) leaders on Monday was a maneuver to thwart Aburizal's presidential candidacy.

"Ical's [candidacy] was declared just two weeks ago and [they] already want to evaluate it. What's going on?" Zainal said, referring to Aburizal by his nickname.

Zainal cautioned that internal bickering will hurt Golkar's vote in upcoming national legislative elections. Given legislative election results determine whether a presidential candidate can be nominated, the consequences could be far-reaching.

"This will become a boomerang for the DPD members in the 2014 legislative election if [Golkar] fails to achieve the 30 percent target set by Ical," Zainal said.

Zainal called on the Golkar DPD members to resign, or for the organization to push them to resign, because they tried to break the party. But he said he supported the evaluation if it was intended to strengthen Aburizal's presidential candidacy.

"If the intention of the meeting was to strengthen Ical, that's good, because that's a form of their political moral responsibility," he said.

Golkar deputy secretary general Nurul Arifin denied that the meeting was intended to block Aburizal's presidential candidacy, saying that it was designed to strengthen his electoral prospects. "The assumption that the meeting was to evaluate Ical's presidential candidacy is not true," Nurul said.

He added that the DPD leaders wanted to find a common point of view to help Aburizal win the 2014 presidential race. "So, they talked about concepts and strategies to help Ical become Indonesia's next president," Nurul said.

I Komang Purnama, secretary of the party's Bali DPD chapter, said the meeting followed one in Bogor at which Aburizal was declared Golkar's presidential candidate. Komang said the meeting was intended to evaluate what needed to be done or improved upon to strengthen the candidacy.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, former Vice President Jusuf Kalla spoke out against the party's decision to dismiss members who are nominated by other parties as presidential or vice presidential candidates. Golkar member Kalla, who is often approached by other parties to run, said he had never heard of such a sanction.

"I've never read about that sanction," he said. "It's not even in the party's statute, which is the highest [law] in the party."

Kalla said he did not care if the party decided to fire him. "It's fine by me if they want to fire me once, twice or three times. It's not a problem," he said.

Kalla said many parties had approached him informally to discuss the possibility of him being nominated as either a presidential or vice presidential candidate.

He said he believed that such approaches are inevitable in politics. "Personally, many have talked [to me]. "Let's just see what the situation is like," he said.

Surveys show that Kalla's popularity remains high. The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and National Democratic Party (NasDem) have both reportedly sounded out his interest in standing for them.

A recent survey by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting found that Aburizal, a business executive and former minister, was among the least popular potential candidates for the 2014 presidential poll.

"Ical has made a concerted effort to become a presidential candidate, but public resistance to him is still high," Saiful said.

Environment & natural disasters

2009 Timor Sea oil spill 'just as devastating as Gulf of Mexico'

Jakarta Globe - July 22, 2012

Kupang, West Timor – A prominent US expert in oil spill recovery said in Kupang on Saturday that Indonesia needs to craft a program to deal with the lingering and largely over-looked effects of the 2009 Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea.

Dr. Robert Spies, who was the Chief Scientist for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, and who served as an adviser to US government after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, said the Timor Sea can still be restored, but only with "serious attempts" made by the Indonesian and Australian governments in coordination with the company who operated the Montara platform.

Serious attempts would include substantial money, much of which should come from Thai state-owned oil and gas company PTT Exploration and Production, Montara's primary operator.

Spies said he's recently studied the impact of the Montara spill in the Timor sea, especially in Indonesian waters. He said the pollution caused by the Montara leak was just as severe as the Gulf of Mexico spill.

"Restoration programs could be made after hearing expert opinions involved in examining the effects of the pollution on the environment," Spies said at a discussion on pollution and impact on the environment.

The Montara oil spill leaked an estimated 2,000 barrels a day from Aug. 21 to Nov. 3 2009 (or 74 days), according to the Australian Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. The Montara slick grew to almost 90,000 square kilometers and entered Indonesian waters, according to environmental group WWF.

A team led by the Environment Ministry said the oil slick covered 16,420 square meters of Indonesian maritime territory. The West Timor Care Foundation, which supports poor fishermen in eastern Indonesia, estimated the spill affected the livelihoods of about 18,000 fishermen. Businesses such as seaweed and pearl farms were also reportedly hit.

Spies said damage in the Gulf of Mexico was minimized thanks to quick action taken by American authorities in 2010; Spies said the US government was quick to launch environmental restoration programs, and asked British Petroleum to finance much of the environmental assessment.

BP was also asked to provide compensation for people directly impacted by the spill – namely fishermen.

Similar methods could be used for the Timor Sea pollution through coordination through the multitude of companies involved, Spies was quoted as saying by Antara.

The Motara platform was owned by Norwegian-Bermudan Seadrill, and operated by PTTEP Australasia (PTTEPAA), a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) – that company was in turn a subsidiary of PTT.

Houston-based Halliburton was involved in cementing the well, and were also involved in cementing the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon well. (Jakarta Globe and Antara)

Health & education

HIV infections may hamper efforts to achieve MDGs

Jakarta Post - July 21, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – The growing numbers of HIV infections and the maternal mortality rate pose serious threats to the nation's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said on Thursday that despite ongoing preventive measures, Indonesia is still witness to an upward trend in HIV infection rates.

"At 0.3 percent, Indonesia does not have an especially high rate of HIV infection within the region. But what worries us is that the rate continues to increase," she told journalists after attending the reorganization of financing for the country's fight against AIDS.

"When I took up the post of Health Minister, all of our MDGs targets were on track except two: mortality during childbirth and goal number 6: HIV/AIDS prevention," she added.

With ongoing international support provided by a number of donors, including the Global Fund, Nafsiah said that HIV prevention was not just about money.

"It's not easy to change behavior. Behavioral changes do not depend just on money. To achieve these changes, we need strategic planning and, in particular, to choose the service packages which are most effective in preventing the spread of the infection," she said.

During the period 2006-2010, infection caused by intravenous drug use declined to 34 percent while sexual transmission was responsible for 53 percent of total infections during the period.

In the first six months of 2011, the percentage of new AIDS infections through sharing needles stood at 16.3 percent while sexual transmission caused 73 percent of the total.

Kemal N. Siregar, newly-appointed AIDS Prevention Commission (KPA) national secretary, said the prevalence of HIV infections in gay communities had shown a sharp increase.

"Preventive measures conducted by gay and transgender movements are well intentioned, but their efforts are not insufficiently integrated with health care services," said Kemal. "There must be improvements in HIV prevention, particularly in better connecting programs to health care in community health facilities," he added.

While having adopted effective policies on HIV/AIDS prevention, Indonesia still has work to do to ensure that policies are implemented, particularly at the local level.

UNAIDS country coordinator, Nancy Fee, said that action on HIV/AIDS prevention should not only be at the state level but that local officials from health departments, civil societies, and other stakeholders must work together. "The focus needs to be on effective implementation of the programs," she told The Jakarta Post.

Dropout rate linked to higher tuition fees

Jakarta Post - July 21, 2012

More than one-third of 24,000 junior high school graduates in Central Java's Banyumas are unable to afford their tuition fees, the Banyumas Education Agency reported.

According to the agency, around 9,000 students are unlikely to enroll in senior high school, similar to the dropout rate last year. At the elementary level, 2,000, graduates cannot continue, higher than the 1,500 students in 2011.

Parents have complained about the high tuition fees in the city. "The state technical high school demands a Rp 4.5 million [US$477] entry fee," said parent Mulyono (not his real name) on Friday.

"If I do not pay the fee, they say my kid will be kicked out of school," he added. Mulyono filed a complaint at the Regional Representatives Council on Friday. Apenk Sunarto of the Education Agency said economic factors were to blame.

More housewives contracted HIV/AIDS in 2011: Commission

Jakarta Post - July 19, 2012

Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – More married women in the city were infected with HIV and AIDS in 2011, Jakarta AIDS Prevention Commission (KPAP) says.

KPAP secretary Rohana Manggala said that 345 housewives contracted HIV/AIDS last year, a 55 percent jump from 2010.

"HIV and AIDS are now spreading to general population, including to mothers and babies, not only the high risk population. Last year, there were 693 HIV and AIDS cases found in women, 345 of whom were simple housewives," she said.

Key populations for HIV/AIDS are drug users, prostitutes, transvestites, homosexuals, and heterosexual males who associate with prostitutes.

In total, the commission reported that there were 5,555 HIV/AIDS cases found among housewives and babies last year, up from 4,282 cases recorded in 2010. While in 2009, there were 2,849 housewives infected by HIV/AIDS, higher than 2,072 cases in 2008.

Santi Sardi from the Indonesian Family Planning Association (PKBI) said that the fact was surprising as the increase was higher than the increase recorded among sex workers.

"Most of the housewives are infected because of their husbands' heterosexual behavior. Nationwide, there are 3.1 million heterosexual men, 1.9 million of whom are married men," she said, adding that Jakarta became the biggest contributor to the total figure in the country.

However, based on profession, housewives were the second-most infected demographic, while private employees top the list, with 680 cases found last year. In the third place was self-employed individual with 297 cases. In 2011, the total figure of new HIV and AIDS cases in Jakarta was 2,605.

Rohana said that 20 percent of the cases were found in East Jakarta, 17 percent in West Jakarta, 15 percent in Central Jakarta, 11 percent in South Jakarta and 10 percent in North Jakarta.

Data collected by the commission last year also showed that 1,380 heterosexuals were at the highest risk of being infected by HIV/AIDS, followed by drug users at 1,004, and 74 others were bisexuals. KPAP also said that in the city, 81 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases were found in individuals between 25-44 years old, followed by those above 45 years old at 11 percent.

Rohana said that to curb the high transmission of HIV and AIDS in the city, the commission had set up posts that offer various programs, including counseling, therapy, prevention for mother to child transmission, and treatment. Nationwide, Jakarta had the most people testing HIV positive last year.

Children & domestic violence

Violence against children on the rise

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2012

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The number of acts of violence against children, particularly cases of sexual assault, in North Sumatra has increased by 55 percent as compared to last year, reports the Indonesian Pusaka Foundation (YPI).

In the first half of 2012, the figure escalated to 143, while in the previous year it stood at 80, said Mitra Lubis, YPI staffer for women and children's affairs.

Among the figures, 81 children have been sexually abused and 24 others have suffered other forms of violence. The victims, she continued, are mostly students, aged between 13 and 18. Mitra said that the assaults occurred in all parts of the province with Medan having the most cases, followed by Deli Serdang and Serdang Bedagai.

"There are 50 children, who have been abused in the last six months in Medan, while there are 23 victims in Deli Serdang and 15 others in Serdang Bedagai," said Mitra. "This reports pretty much show that Medan, which is the capital city of North Sumatra, has yet to learn be kind and safe for children," she added.

The main problem is that the guilty parties have not been brought to justice, Mitra went on. Mitra took the example of a case of sexual assault in Tebing Tinggi that involved a girl named Icha, 14, who was reportedly abused by her boyfriend.

She also mentioned a case, which was involving police officers, who have conducted violence against three children in Medan.

As of today, Mitra said, the cases have yet to be brought to the court. "We urge the police to solve all cases of violence against children and punish the perpetrators," she said.

Child expert Edy Ikhsan, who is also an attorney, said the acts of violence against children which had happened lately were just the tip of a much bigger iceberg that might lead into more serious problems for the country in the upcoming years.

"We predict that the number of cases of violence against children will increase in the future as they are linked to poverty and environmental factors. Another thing is there is no control on the freedom of use of electronic media," explained Edy.

In a bid to tackle this problem, he said, the government must make a strong commitment to protect children as stipulated in the Law on Child Protection and the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

"Children of the nation should be protected from any forms of violence. If we do nothing about this, I am afraid that this country will lose its next generation," Edy said.

Refugees & asylum seekers

Two more suspects named in TNI people smuggling case: Police

Jakarta Globe - July 19, 2012

Farouk Arnaz – The National Police have arrested two more suspects in connection with plot to use a military escort to smuggle 45 Iranian and Syrian asylum seekers to Australia, police said on Thursday.

The two suspects – both civilians – allegedly agreed to help five members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) escort the asylum seekers to a waiting boat on West Java's southern shore. They were promised Rp 5 million ($530) each if the asylum seekers reached the boat safely. The two suspects were detained on Thursday.

"Both of them are still being questioned at Sukabumi police office." National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said. They have been charged with people smuggling, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Local police previously arrested five members of the Indonesian Military in the sweep, TNI spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said on Wednesday. The soldiers were allegedly guarding four vans packed with asylum seekers as they drove through West Java to a boat waiting at Palangpang beach. The boat would then take them to Australia's Christmas Island.

"The [soldiers] came from the Siliwangi territorial command in West Java," Iskandar said. "They are being interrogated by the military police."

Police are still searching for the alleged mastermind behind the people smuggling ring. The bust came weeks after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard agreed to combat people-smuggling.

It wasn't the first time members of the TNI have been implicated in people smuggling. In December of last year, three soldiers from the Brawijaya command in East Java were arrested as they allegedly attempted to smuggle asylum seekers to Australian soil.

Indonesia probes asylum seekers' 'military escort'

Agence France Presse - July 18, 2012

Indonesia is probing whether 45 Iranian asylum seekers arrested Wednesday, as they prepared to undertake a hazardous sea journey to Australia, had a military escort, a police spokesman said.

The Iranians, together with five men wearing Indonesian army uniforms, were arrested in the early hours as they arrived in four vans on Java island's western coast, Sukabumi district police spokesman Martinus Sitompul said.

"We arrested them at 3:00 a.m.," he said. "All of them were Iranians, including 12 women and eight children. Five men in Indonesian army uniforms were with them and we are investigating whether they are really with the military or if they were wearing fake uniforms."

Local media reports have alleged that asylum seekers pass through checkpoints and board boats bound for Australia with help from corrupt military or police officials.

Last December police arrested four soldiers in Indonesia after an Australia-bound boat capsized in Indonesian waters, killing nearly 200 of the 250 on board. Survivors said they had boarded the boat with help from men in military uniforms.

Police Wednesday arrested a further 103 migrants, including women and children, on a different beach in the East Java provincial district of Malang, local police chief Rinto Djatmono told AFP.

"We detained them this morning. They were on the beach waiting to board a boat to Australia. They were Afghans, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and Sudanese. We have handed them over to immigration authorities for processing," he said.

Australia is struggling to deal with a steady influx of asylum seekers arriving by boat, with many using Indonesia as a transit hub, boarding leaky wooden vessels there after fleeing countries such as Afghanistan and Iran.

Some 94 people are estimated to have drowned after two boats went down on the perilous sea route in recent weeks, between Indonesia and Australia's Christmas island.

Graft & corruption

KPK looks into lawmakers' bank accounts

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2012

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is looking into suspicious transactions involving the bank accounts of 10 members of the House of Representatives.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the 10 individuals were members of the House's budget committee, who were implicated in a number of graft cases. "We have run an analysis on the report from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre [PPATK]," Johan said as quoted by kompas.com.

The PPATK said that the agency had run an analysis on more than 1,000 suspicious transactions and found the 10 individuals. "We have sent the 10 names to the KPK, PPATK chairman M. Yusuf said.

Yusuf added that the transactions involved between Rp 100 million (US1,000) and Rp 3 billion.

Trial begins in Miranda vote-buying scandal

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2012

Rizky Amelia – The trial of graft suspect Miranda Goeltom opened on Tuesday with the prosecution alleging that the University of Indonesia economics professor was the driving force behind a vote-buying scheme to push her way into a top Bank Indonesia post.

Miranda allegedly asked graft convict Nunun Nurbaeti to disseminate traveler's checks to lawmakers who pledged their support, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutor Supardi said at the Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday.

Miranda had previously asked Nunun to introduce her to lawmakers to discuss her 2004 bid for the position of deputy senior governor at Bank Indonesia, the prosecution alleged. The professor had tried, and failed, to earn the appointment in 2003.

"After the meeting was over, Nunun said that someone said 'this is not a thank you project'," Supardi said. "It meant that support for the defendant would result in compensation for the lawmakers who chose her during the fit and proper test."

Miranda is accused of masterminding a vote-buying scheme that placed 480 traveler's checks totaling Rp 24 billion ($2.52 million) in the hands of lawmakers willing to sell their support. Nunun, who funneled the funds to corrupt politicians, was convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail earlier this month.

During her trial, Nunun, the wife of former National Police deputy chief Adang Darodjatun, testified that Miranda approached her, asking to be introduced to members of the House of Representatives House Commission IX, which oversees banking and finance matters.

Nunun introduced Miranda to numerous House members, including: Endin J. Soefihara, Hamka Yandhu and Paskah Suzetta. Miranda later met with House Commission IX members from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at the Dharmawangsa Hotel and with officers with the Indonesian military and police at her office in the Bank Niaga building, Supardi said.

"The defendant requested that, during the fit and proper test, military and police officers not ask about a personal issue that likely contributed to her failed attempt to be appointed a governor's position at BI in 2003," he said.

A day before the test, Nunun accepted 480 traveler's checks and instructed a staff member to deliver them to lawmakers who had promised to support Miranda's bid. "The gifts are allegedly related to the defendant's [Miranda] appointment as the deputy senior governor of Bank Indonesia," Supardi said.

More than 30 former and sitting lawmakers have been convicted of receiving the bribes. The defendant's legal team objected to the claims, saying that the indictment was incorrect.

"The indictment is not accurate. It is not clear and it is incomplete," Dodi Abdulkadir said. "The content does not provide details of the crime. The indictment said that Miranda asked to be introduced to lawmakers. Is it a crime to introduce someone? The prosecutor can not explain why introductions can be categorized as a crime."

Dodi explained that his client never attended the meetings with lawmakers and alleged that none of the recipients of the 480 checks ever pointed the finger at Miranda.

Miranda said the prosecution's indictment is based on false data. "The prosecutor made the indictment based on assumption only," she said.

Fitra calls for investigation into new BP Migas offices

Jakarta Globe - July 22, 2012

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency has called for an investigation into an untendered office space procurement by state upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas that it says could cost the state billions.

The budget watchdog, known as Fitra, accused BP Migas of bypassing tender procedures in signing a deal with the company Sanggarcipta Kreasitama for office space in South Jakarta at a cost of Rp 76 billion ($8 million).

Fitra questioned BP Migas' decision to procure the space for Rp 76 billion and pay Rp 300 billion in rent for five years, an amount it says is enough to build a whole new office space.

Uchok Sky Khadafi, coordinator of Fitra, said late on Friday that BP Migas did not negotiate the procurement price with Sanggarcipta as stated in standard government tender procedures.

"This procurement reeks of corruption. There was no tender. KPK must step in to investigate," Uchok said, referring to the Corruption Eradication Commission.

Fitra, citing the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), said BP Migas started looking in September 2010 to move from its office space in the Patra Jasa building on Jalan Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta. BP Migas appointed property consultant Procon International to find a suitable building. Procon recommended the Wisma Mulia, another building on the same street.

Sanggarcipta, the operator of Wisma Mulia, agreed to the procurement arrangement with BP Migas in November 2010.

Sanggarcipta offered BP Migas an office space of 29,000 square meters, stretching from Wisma Mulia's 22nd floor to the 40th floor, to be leased for five years with a fee of Rp 345.9 billion, with an additional procurement fee of Rp 76 billion.

BP Migas negotiated the rental fee down to Rp 300 billion, but did not negotiate on the procurement fee.

Uchok said that BP Migas' lack of negotiation could cause a state loss of up to Rp 76 billion. "BP Migas did not carry out a price estimation before relocating its office. It skipped that process because the lease at Patra Jasa was running out," he said.

Uchok also questioned why BP Migas would spend Rp 300 billion to rent an office for five years when the money could be used to build a new building. As a comparison, the KPK requested a budget of Rp 200 billion from the House of Representatives to build a new building for its office space.

"This is clearly a waste of government money. It totally contradicts what the president said about saving the state budget," he said.

I Gde Pradnyana, the deputy of operation control at BP Migas, said that the company cooperated with BPK to carry out an internal investigation into potential corruption in the case last year. "Our internal affairs and BPK concluded that there was nothing wrong. No one was punished," Gde said.

Gde refused to comment when asked why BP Migas spent Rp 300 billion to rent a building. "We have explained our reasons to BPK," he said, without giving further details.

Gde said that BP Migas was ready to be questioned by the KPK. "Be my guest. We will explain everything to them," he said.

Sluggish probe may lower public trust in KPK

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2012

Jakarta – A number of politicians have been implicated in the graft case surrounding the Rp 1.52 trillion (US$161.12 million) project, and most of them have been questioned. But none have so far been named suspects.

KPK investigators have only named one suspect, Dedi Kusdinar, the Youth and Sports Ministry's financial and internal affairs bureau chief.

Analysts have criticized the commission for its slow progress and warned that the public may lose trust in the KPK if the antigraft body failed to carry out timely and fruitful investigations into the case.

"The KPK really has to speed things up. If they take too long, then the 'first rung of the ladder' might collapse, which would mean that we'll lose access to the higher rungs," the Indonesia Budget Center's executive director, Arif Nur Alam, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The KPK's deputy chief, Bambang Widjojanto, recently described Dedi's position in the Hambalang case as being on the "first rung of the ladder", meaning he was a low-level suspect.

"Taking too long would give politicians time to fight back against the KPK. Other things could happen, too. Political interests could lead to the tampering of whatever evidence the KPK has," Arif said. "People could also become suspicious of the KPK."

Aside from a lack of urgency, insubstantial results could also sow seeds of doubt in people's minds, analysts said.

"People will become suspicious as to why the KPK always nabs low-level guys like Dedi but never senior-ranking ones," KPK Watch director, Yusuf Sahide, told the Post. "People like Dedi may indeed be suspects, but they aren't the main actors."

Several senior politicians have been implicated in the case including Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng.

Former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, who was convicted for his part in a separate graft scandal, has accused Anas of playing a major role in the project, which was launched by the Youth and Sports Ministry in 2010.

The ministry appointed state-owned PT Adhi Karya as the general contractor under a joint cooperation scheme with another company, PT Wijaya Karya.

Nazaruddin claimed he had helped PT Adhi Karya win the project's tender via one of his companies, PT Anugrah Nusantara. He claimed Anas was co-owner of the company.

The KPK raided the offices of PT Adhi Karya on Friday but it has not announced its findings. "We have to ask why the standard operating procedure [SOP] for KPK investigations that involve party and political elites tends to be slow," Sahide added.

Analysts have proposed several steps that they believe would ensure quicker results for the KPK.

"We really hope there's going to be a high-level suspect by the end of the week. Otherwise, the public might think there's a problem inside the KPK," Arif said. "A public audit of the KPK by the House of Representatives could also quell public doubts about the KPK's integrity," Yusuf said.

Responding to these comments, KPK chief Abraham Samad said the commission had to be very careful in order to ensure that all suspects would stand trial and be sentenced according to the evidence uncovered.

"The KPK can't afford to be rash. That behavior, along with weak evidence, could end up being a dangerous boomerang that would come back on the KPK," Charta Politika analyst, Arya Fernandes, added. (png)

Antigraft body raids more offices as Hambalang probe deepens

Jakarta Post - July 21, 2012

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) raided the head office of construction firm PT Adhi Karya on Friday to collect more evidence for a graft scandal surrounding the construction of the Rp 2.5 trillion (US$265 million) Hambalang sports complex in Bogor, West Java.

A day before, KPK teams simultaneously raided seven different locations, including the offices of the Youth and Sports Ministry's planning division in Central Jakarta and Cibubur, construction firms PT Adhi Karya and PT Wijaya Karya and the East Jakarta Public Works Agency.

"As of now [around 4 p.m.], our team is searching Adhi Karya's head office in Pasar Minggu [South Jakarta]," KPK spokesperson Johan Budi told reporters at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta on Friday.

Johan said that from Thursday's raids, KPK investigators had managed to gather stacks of documents related to the case. He also denied speculation that the KPK also raided the office of Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng in the ministry's office building on Thursday.

A travel ban had been imposed on Dedi Kusdinar, the ministry's financial and internal affairs bureau chief, who had been named a suspect, Johan said, and added that the KPK would soon summon Dedi for questioning.

Three witnesses in the case; Ciriajasa Cipta Mandiri director Aman Santoso, Yodha Karya director Yudi Wahyono and CV Rifa Media director Lisa Lukitawati; have also been banned from traveling abroad.

Dedi had allegedly misused his authority as a public official in connection with the procurement process in the construction project of the Hambalang sports center.

Last week, the KPK upgraded the status of the Hambalang probe from an inquiry into a fully-fledged investigation after investigators said they had found enough evidence to prove that graft occurred during the construction project. Johan said that the state had allegedly lost billions of rupiah due to fraudulent practices surrounding the construction project.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) is pushing for the KPK to expand its list of suspects in the Hambalang case. ICW law researcher Tama Langkun said on Friday that Dedi was not the person that called the shots in the case, and that the KPK should be ready to include higher-level suspects in its investigation.

"Borrowing the ladder analogy used by BW [KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto], then the KPK has to move on to a higher rung of the ladder," Tama said on Friday, as quoted by kompas.com.

On Thursday, Bambang had described Dedi's position in the Hambalang case as being on the "first rung of the ladder", meaning that he was a low-level suspect. "What Bambang has said is very good. [Identifying ministry members like Dedi as suspects] is a great way of looking for higher-ranked suspects," Democratic Party lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Bambang also said that his office was ready to process high-level figures like Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and Andi Mallarangeng.

Former Democratic Party treasurer, Muhammad Nazaruddin, who was convicted in another graft scandal, has accused Anas of playing a major role in the Hambalang project, which was launched by the Youth and Sports Ministry in 2010.

Meanwhile, House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie has voiced support for the KPK's efforts to raid offices it believes are connected to the Hambalang case. One of these offices is the Youth and Sports Ministry, which the KPK raided on Thursday. (png)

Terrorism & religious extremism

Police revive Jemaah Islamiyah fears after Central Sulawesi arrests

Jakarta Globe - July 23, 2012

Farouk Arnaz – A document released by the police's elite counterterrorism force, Densus 88, alleges that two suspected would-be suicide bombers arrested early this month in Poso, Central Sulawesi, were members of the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.

One of the suspected militants, Qhoribul Mujib, is thought to have joined the terrorist network in 2004, recruited by alleged JI leader Abu Rusdan.

"In mid-2004, Mujib joined Jemaah Islamiyah at Mahad Mujahid [boarding school] in Kudus, Central Java, which was led by Abu Rusdan," the document says. Mujib was born in Jepara, Central Java, on Aug. 20, 1986, and was taught about jihad by Rusdan, the document says.

"Mujib was lectured to about the concept of jihad and was taught that judges, prosecutors, police officers and soldiers are infidels and enemies of Islam," it adds.

Some analysts believe that JI has been in full retreat in recent years, many of its leaders and members killed or captured in police raids, but the Densus 88 document shows that the network remains a threat and is continuing to recruit members and train them to carry out attacks on targets in the country.

The document also confirms the International Crisis Group's latest report, which suggested that groups that were scattered by counterterrorism efforts were using old networks to regroup.

According to some reports, Abu Rusdan became the caretaker leader of JI in 2002, after the arrest of the group's alleged spiritual leader, radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Rusdan was arrested in April 2003 for hiding Ali Ghufron, one of the key suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings who was later executed for his role in the attacks. Rusdan was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for helping Ghufron but his alleged position as JI leader was never proven in court.

Mujib was arrested at a Poso market on July 12 along with another alleged would-be suicide bomber, Naim.

Naim, the Densus 88 document says, was born on March 23, 1985, and is a member of Jamaah Anshoru Tauhid, a group founded by Bashir and this February identified as a terrorist network by the US State Department.

The document also suggests that Naim is wanted for the fatal shooting of two police officers at a BCA bank in Palu, Central Sulawesi, last year. Naim participated in two military training camps at Mount Biru and in the Malino mountain range near Poso. Both camps are said to be run by Santoso, a wanted terror suspect.

The document also suggests that Densus 88 has no information on where the pair intended to strike. Both men were arrested at the main market in Poso.

Naim is from Gebangrejo in Poso, which was previously considered a Jemaah Islamiyah stronghold. Mujib was last living in Kilo village, also in Poso.

NGOs call on government to do more in Indonesia's fight against terror

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Ulma Haryanto – The government needs to do more to combat religious violence and improve prison management to better combat terrorism, the International Crisis Group said in its latest report released on Monday.

Titled "How Indonesian Extremists Regroup," the report looked into new alliances and networks in recent years since the break-up of a paramilitary training camp in Aceh by the country's counterterrorism unit in early 2010.

"Indonesian police have been good, but they have also been lucky that the capacity of these extremists has been so low," Jim Della-Giacoma, the ICG's Southeast Asia project director, said in a statement. The report mentioned at least 12 plots, which it said had been hatched since the camp was broken up.

"Fortunately for Indonesia, most of these would-be terrorists have been singularly inept," ICG senior adviser Sidney Jones said. "But there are signs that at least some are learning lessons from their mistakes and becoming more strategic in their thinking. The danger is not over."

One of the lessons that jihadi movements learned, according to the report, was to invest more time in dakwah, or religious outreach, and that they needed hard-line pro-Shariah advocacy groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) as a base for community support.

"The failure of the government to acknowledge, let alone address, the menace these groups pose to Indonesia's social fabric is an invitation to more violence in the future," the report said.

The ICG also warned of growing extremism in places with high intolerance and religious violence but weak law enforcement, such as West Java. "It's a place where the police have not been as active as they should be in arresting thugs who commit crimes of vandalism, assault and incitement against minorities in the name of anti-vice, anti-apostasy or anti- Christianization campaigns," Jones said.

"Allowing this kind of violence to go unpunished encourages extremism and allows it to grow."

The ICG recommends maximum sentences for vandalism, assault and threats of violence, as well as clear instructions to all officials, including government employees and police, to avoid interactions with groups or members of groups with a known history of such activity.

The government also needs to work on strategies to reduce the influence of extremist clerics, including stricter control of hate speech, incitement and prohibition for institutions receiving government funding to host such teachings, it said.

Prisons also became an area of concern since they are the location for "cross-organizational interaction."

The late Hilman Djayakusumah, a drug dealer who was shot to death in a police raid in Bali in March, was recruited by Imam Samudera in 2004 when both were inmates in the island's Kerobokan prison. Hilman was allegedly plotting a third Bali bombing together with four others, of which two were also former inmates at Kerobokan in 2004.

Lax monitoring of prison visits to jihadis have also been used by their friends and relatives to share information, keep networks together and even recruit new sympathizers, according to the report.

"The penitentiary directorate of the government has so far failed to enforce a universal policy on its prisons regarding terrorist convicts," Agus Nahrowi, program manager at Search for Common Ground, told the Globe.

The international NGO runs programs for terrorist convicts in several prisons in the country. "In Cipinang [in East Jakarta], for instance, terrorist convicts are put in separate cells, but in other places they can mix with other criminals," Agus said.

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Dialogue about regulating during Ramadan continues

Antara News - July 22, 2012

An Islamic organization and the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) have both gone on record to say that fringe organizations should not conduct operations to "fight against vices" during Ramadan.

In previous years, several hard-line (or what are often called "mass") organizations often took the law into their own hands by raiding and vandalizing night clubs, massage parlors and other entertainment centers during the holy month.

According to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), one of the biggest Islamic organizations in Indonesia, imposing such regulatory force during Ramadan is solely the responsibility of police.

"There is no merit in Muslims taking over the task from the police. What we can do is make suggestions and assist police," said Miftachul Akhyar, a chairman of for NU in East Java, on Saturday.

Akhyar, who is the leader of Miftachussunnah Islamic Boarding School (or Pesantren), said that operations against such entertainment centers by Islamic organizations would give the impression that Muslims are interfering in the affairs of law enforcers.

"NU will not accept these raids as 'mistakes'; we will have to see things in the right context. It is not impossible for other parties to use these operations to create provocations in an effort to corner Islam," Akhyar said.

For their part, IPW said that the National Police must have the courage to take firm action against what they called "fringe organizations" that conducted vigilante operations against night-life venues operating during Ramadan.

"But police must also have the will to act upon and arrest owners of night spots that operate during the fasting month," said Neta S Pane, the presidium chairman of IPW.

"IPW avails itself to remind police that vigilante justice, demonstrations and protests conducted at night are against the law. Therefore, the National Police must have the guts to field its mobile brigade and anti- riot forces to stop mass organizations from conducting such sweepings," said Neta.

Furthermore, Neta said that if mass organizations turn anarchic, police should be willing to use rubber bullets; Neta cited past police actions where officers fired rubber bullets to disperse student rallies.

"IPW also asks regional governments to be consistent with and willing to assist police in overcoming potential conflicts and security threats during the fasting month," Neta stressed.

"Based on the IPW monitoring, about 70 percent of the night spots continue to operate during the fasting month. Although these watering holes are seemingly closed from the front, they still continue back-end operations," Neta said.

FBR sparks fresh conflict as revenge attack hits wrong gang

Jakarta Globe - July 19, 2012

Bayu Marhaenjati – The Betawi Brotherhood Forum on Tuesday attempted to launch an attack on the rival Pancasila Youth group – but unwittingly vandalized property belonging to a third group instead.

West Jakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Suntana said on Wednesday that 15 members of the forum, known as the FBR, had been arrested. Among them was a man identified as L., who police say is an FBR leader from the Tambora area.

Suntana said L. ordered his members to attack the Pancasila Youth (PP), which the FBR leader suspected had vandalized his food stall.

L. on Tuesday evening rallied 50 FBR members armed with machetes and swords. The group then rode on motorcycles, seeking out PP members and targeting their observation posts. The mob attacked one post in Penjagalan, West Jakarta, not realizing that it belonged to the Betawi Communications Forum (Forkabi), another group that has also had disagreements with the FBR.

"[FBR] vandalized and set fire to a Forkabi post. They thought it was PP's," Suntana explained, adding that the FBR also vandalized two food stalls, the owners of which are unclear. "Fifteen FBR members who were involved in the act have been arrested. We also confiscated swords, machetes and other sharp weapons," the officer said.

Police have been trying to quell steadily rising tensions between the FBR and the PP following the murder of 36-year-old Muhidin, an FBR member, in Ciputat, Tangerang, last month.

There have been reports that the FBR has been involved in a series of retaliatory attacks on people believed to be connected to PP following Muhidin's murder. Clashes between PP and the FBR are common and often involve control of turf and illegal parking areas.

It is likely that Tuesday's incident will further escalate tensions between the FBR and the PP, as well as create fresh strains between the FBR and the Forkabi.

'The state should not be defeated by thugs': Tifatul

Jakarta Globe - July 19, 2012

Ismira Lutfia – Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said on Wednesday that the government should not be defeated by groups that resort to violence. "The state should not be defeated by thugs," Tifatul told Jakarta Globe.

Tifatul said his plea should apply to what he called radical organizations, including the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), who he accused of resorting to threats of force while wearing Islamic garb.

"It is alright as long as they do not disturb the public; but if they violate the law, they should be charged," Tifatul said, adding that although Islam is the religion practiced by the majority in Indonesia, followers should show tolerance toward minority groups.

With the start of Ramadan this week, the FPI has threatened to raid nightclubs, massage parlors and shops that sell alcoholic beverages.

Tifatul said that given the situation, the police should pro-actively regulate such establishments before FPI institutes their own "street justice."

"Law enforcement should take action against brothels, or [people] who are drunk in public... because that is illegal. Otherwise, the [FPI] will do it their own way."

Indonesia's FPI speaks out against excessive loudspeaker use during Ramadan

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Bayu Marhaenjati – In a move few could have predicted, Indonesia's hard- line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) threw their support on Wednesday behind calls to curb the excessive use of loud speakers by mosques during Ramadan.

"It is indeed better that mosques adjust their loud speakers when reciting the Koran, so as not to disturb other people, especially if the reciters can't recite fluently or don't understand what they are reading, lest there be negative comments from others," the head of the Jakarta office of the FPI, Habib Salim bin Umar Alatas, told beritasatu.com on Wednesday.

Central Kalimantan's deputy governor Achmad Diran asked local mosques on Wednesday to refrain from blasting their speakers sporadically throughout the day. The call to prayer – or azan – is commonly broadcast over a mosque's loudspeakers five times a day. But during Ramadan, many mosques broadcast Koran recitations and the azan repeatedly throughout the day.

"Don't use loud speakers when reciting the Koran. Take pity on people of different faiths who want to rest," Achmad said during an event in Palangkaraya on Wednesday.

The Jakarta branch of the FPI – usually known for inciting angry protests against "immoral" culture – surprisingly agreed. "If they recite well and understand what they read, then [using loud speakers] should be okay; it might even inspire remorse to those who hear it. But please don't be too loud, and do it only during the day not at night," Salim said.

During evening hours, Muslims should recite the Koran at home instead of airing the speech through loudspeakers, Salim said. He said Muslims should respect people of different faiths and take care to not disturb others when performing their religious obligations. "The point is don't disturb [others]. Muslims should respect others," Salim said.

Devout Muslims in Indonesia take care to focus on religious activities during the fasting month of Ramadan. Good deeds like recitation of the Koran, fasting and visiting the mosque for evening prayers ("tarawih") take on a special significance during Ramadan, when pious acts are given more weight than during other months in the year.

Juvenile gets 3.5 years for machete killing of FPI member

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Vento Saudale, Bogor – A 17-year-old suspect who said he killed a member of a hard-line Islamic group known for its violent actions in self-defense was sentenced on Tuesday to three and a half years in prison.

The Bogor District Court had planned to read the verdict during a closed session but about 100 members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) clashed with 450 police officers and forced their way into the courtroom.

The presiding judge, Syakilla, said the defendant, who was not named because of his age, was guilty of killing Mustofa, an FPI member, with a machete in South Bogor on May 7.

In making their ruling, the judges dismissed the defendant's claim that he had acted in self-defense after Mustofa and other FPI members attacked him and some friends. "The defendant is guilty of violating Article 351, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code on aggravated assault that results in the loss of life," Syakilla said.

That charge carries a maximum of seven years in prison, but the court cut that in half because of the defendant's age.

FPI members became involved in clashes with the police after they were told they would not be allowed into the courtroom for the session. "We just want to monitor the proceedings and ensure they are fair and honest," said FPI lawyer Ichwan Tuankotta.

After forcing their way into the courtroom, the FPI members protested the sentence, shouting and disrupting the proceedings. Several of the FPI members attempted to reach the defendant but were blocked by police officers, who then cleared the courtroom before the proceedings continued.

"So this is Indonesia's rule of law?" said Ali Gufron, the head of the FPI in Bogor. "A murderer is protected and we can't get any fair treatment from the law."

Ichwan said the defendant should have been tried under Islamic law, which carries a mandatory death sentence for convicted murderers. Shariah is not applied in the country.

The defendant's lawyer, Eko Perdana, said his client had still not decided if he would appeal the sentence. "We will consult with his family on whether or not we want to appeal the sentence," he said.

Freedom of religion & worship

Government needs to take stern action to stop violence against minorities

Jakarta Post - July 19, 2012

Jakarta – The government needs to show its authority and power in their actions toward religious violence carried out by radical organizations, otherwise minority groups will remain the victims of repeated hostility.

A number of activists who promote pluralism have called on the government to adopt tough measures against radical groups.

Ulil Abshar Abdalla, Muslim scholar and Democratic Party leader, said the government was not stern enough in dealing with intolerant groups. This had made those groups think their actions were justified, he said.

"I am a Democratic Party member, but I am disappointed in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration in dealing with cases of violence against minority groups," Ulil said during the opening of the Abdurrahman Wahid Center at the University of Indonesia in Depok on Wednesday.

The opening was attended by the family members of Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur. Also present at the event were religious leaders and academics who held a discussion regarding the worsening of the nation's condition in relation to religious tolerance.

The inauguration of the center was held in the wake of recent violence against minority groups. On Friday, locals attacked a residential area, where around 500 Ahmadis resided in Mukhsin's village in Cisalada, Bogor, West Java. The attack was one of many hostilities recently targeting religious minority groups.

A survey by human rights watchdog Setara Institute shows that 244 cases of violence, mostly against minority groups such as Ahmadiyah, Shiites and Christians occurred in Indonesia in 2011. This year alone, there were 129 cases of violence against minority groups.

The Communion of Indonesian Churches (PGI) theological commission coordinator Albertus Patty said the repeated incidents indicated the government's weakness. "When people said that we're becoming a failed state, it was not a cheap joke," he said.

He also criticized lawmakers within the House of Representatives (DPR) for not taking action to stop the violence. Albertus claimed the authority had corrupted the Constitution, as it did not follow court rulings in cases such as the establishment of churches in Bogor and Bekasi, West Java.

The Christians in Bogor and Bekasi have the legal basis for the establishment of the churches, but the administration offers no protection to the worshippers from attacks by radical groups.

Another example is the prosecution of Shiite cleric Tajul Muluk. Instead of protecting the minority group, the government criminalized the victim. The Sampang district court in Madura found Tajul Muluk guilty of blasphemy against Islam, and imposed a sentence. Tajul Muluk was a victim of violence, whose house and Islamic boarding school was burned down by an angry mob in December last year.

Yenny Wahid, the daughter of Gus Dur, deplored the verdict against Tajul Muluk, expressing that Tajul was the real victim. "Shiite and Sunni have had different principles for centuries, and we cannot imprison somebody based on the fact that his faith does not follow the majority," she said.

Yenny said that the government should protect the religious freedom of all citizens, despite their different faiths or religions. "They [Shiite and Ahmadis] are good citizens who pay taxes. They deserve equal rights," she said.

Meanwhile, Ulil said that the government was always afraid of taking stern action because religious issues were sensitive. "I do not see that the government has any willingness to be brave enough now," he said.

Albertus predicted that if violent actions toward religious minority groups continues and the government did not take clear and decisive action in response, the country could split up. (cor)

Police blame 'introvert' Ahmadis for inciting violent persecution

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Arientha Primanita – Police blamed Bogor's Ahmadiyah community on Tuesday for inciting violence against them by being "introverted" and not being involved in social activities.

The comments came a day after police said they would not name suspects after a mob attacked Ahmadis in Bogor on Friday – an act the police called "self-defense."

"The Ahmadiyah should open up to their surroundings and other community members. Stop being introverted so that people don't get suspicious," National Police chief Timur Pradopo said.

But Timur still backtracked slightly on his statement by adding that West Java Police would investigate Friday's attack in Cisalada village in Bogor and that the public should understand that people cannot solve problems by using violence and breaking the law.

"Basically, any violation of the law has to be processed. It's as simple as that," he said. On the attack, he told people to "just wait for the result."

A mob of Sunni Muslims attacked the Ahmadis' houses while a group of foreigners, including two journalists, visited the area. The Ahmadiyah eventually got together to protect their community from attack and both sides clashed.

Ahmadi community leaders apologized for the incident in signed statements, which at least one signatory said he was forced to make by police.

"The district police chief and military commander told me what I had to write, that it was my fault for not reporting the foreign journalists to the subdistrict head," Mubarik Ahmad said on Sunday.

The Ahmadiyah community have long been victims of violence in Indonesia, where mainstream Muslims view the sect as a "deviant" form of Islam. Indonesia recognizes six religions, but the Ahmadi version of Islam is not one of them.

Islam & religion

During Ramadan, an uneasy mix of faith and commerce

Jakarta Globe - July 22, 2012

As the call to prayer sounded over Jakarta on Thursday night, there was a greater urgency than usual to the traffic as the faithful hurried home to prepare for the first day of the fasting month. Others were rushing for another reason – to eat with family already fasting. The start of Ramadan was declared either Friday or Saturday by different groups.

From the beginning, the Islamic holy month in Jakarta was celebrated in diverse ways.

In Indonesia, 90 percent of the population identifies as Muslim, with the majority adhering to the Sunni faith. But there is diversity within this unity, with some practicing syncretic mystical beliefs, others following the lead of religious organizations like the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama and modernist Muhammadiyah, and some even leaning toward atheism, identifying as Muslims no further than on their national identity cards.

Despite the diversity of practice and belief, the law requires all businesses to observe Ramadan in the same way, or at least by the same rules. Regional bylaws regulating the operation of entertainment venues during the holy month apply equally to Muslims and non-Muslims, and are expected to be strictly enforced this year by the police.

But even this is not enough for some hard-line groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), whose members have been known to take it upon themselves to ensure that all businesses observe the holy month.

Last weekend, FPI members raided nightlife venues in North Sumatra, South Sulawesi and West Java, confiscating bottles of alcohol and threatening further violence if the venues remained open during Ramadan. National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo responded by issuing an order for mass organizations to refrain from conducting raids during the fasting month.

Salim Umar Al Attas, the chairman of the FPI's Jakarta chapter, said that his group would be keeping a close eye on police efforts to enforce the bylaws in the capital.

"If the police ban us from conducting raids, they should deploy members from all levels to work [on enforcement]," Salim said. "The month of Ramadan should not be disrupted by the fact that some places of sin remain open."

Closed for Ramadan?

In Jakarta, most food and beverage businesses are permitted to maintain regular opening hours during Ramadan, though many are careful not to offend those who are fasting, for example by drawing curtains to conceal food and diners from view.

Some entertainment venues, such as karaoke clubs and live music spots, are required to close for a number of days during the holy month and the Idul Fitri holiday that follows. Other venues, including nightclubs, discotheques, bars, saunas, massage parlors and some gambling centers, are required to stay closed for the full month. Alcohol may not be served, except at approved hotels, though in past years many venues have continued to serve it discreetly.

At Cafe Batavia, a well-known tourist spot in Jakarta's Kota Tua (Old City) in North Jakarta, business will run as usual, with some concessions made for Ramadan.

"We will remain open during Ramadan, while of course abiding by the regional regulations," said the cafe's finance control officer Wahyudi on Tuesday. "[But] we will not serve alcohol, there will be none of that." Wahyudi did not confirm whether the venue would cover its windows during the day when people outside were fasting.

"Our [dining] area cannot be seen from the outside, and besides, there are partitions," he said. "The point is, we plan to follow the regulations." South Jakarta nightclub Blowfish intends to remain open, despite falling under one of the banned business categories for the fasting month.

"We will remain open. But the DJ music will be interspersed with live music," said Novi, a receptionist for the nightclub. "Usually we follow the regional regulations," she added. "But as for whether we will sell alcohol or not, I'm not yet sure."

Mixed messages

Arie Budhiman, head of the Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency, said that authorities would do their utmost this year to ensure that businesses abided by the regional bylaws.

"[Banned businesses will] be given sanctions if they open at the beginning of Ramadan, operate during Ramadan, abuse the operating hours, [or] abuse religious and moral norms," Arie said.

But with confused messages coming from different members of the police, it is unclear which authorities will be taking responsibility for enforcing the regulations while ensuring the security of businesses that abide by them.

Earlier in the week, National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo raised eyebrows with comments regarding "public participation" in maintaining law and order. "The main point is, it isn't necessarily the police who [act]. We will prioritize public participation. If it is Ramadan, ulema should act," Timur said, referring to Islamic scholars.

In contrast, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said that people should not take the law into their own hands and instead report any violations to the police.

"Raiding venues is not right, according to the law," Boy said. "If [radical groups] still do it, there will be strict action. We don't mind public participation, but it should be coordinated with us."

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto confirmed the commitment to stopping vigilante violence against businesses in the capital, but still put the onus on business owners to protect themselves by obeying the law.

"If everything is done according to the rules, I'm sure there will not be any anarchic acts," Rikwanto said. "But we will act swiftly against any actions that break the law, or those people who resort to anarchy."

Rikwanto added that there would be no special protection for venues at risk of being raided, and that police patrols would continue to operate normally. "The police will maintain normal procedures with normal patrols," he said.

Respecting difference

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, called on people of all religions to work together for a peaceful Ramadan.

"Our society must understand that not everyone observes [Ramadan], there are also non-Muslims," Bonar said. "We must respect one another, we mustn't force people to follow the will of the majority, because that is a form of coercion."

He added that as a time of introspection and tolerance, the holy month should serve as a reminder of the common struggle among Indonesians of all faiths for peace and religious harmony. "We should take advantage of the opportunity for communication and understanding between different religious groups," he said.

Sex & pornography

As Peterpan's ariel leaves prison, some ask why he was ever there

Jakarta Globe - July 23, 2012

Rangga Prakoso & Heru Andriyanto – With pop star Nazril "Ariel" Irham's release on parole after serving two years of his three-and-a-half-year sentence over leaked sex videos, legal activists continue to insist the case should never have gone to trial.

Ariel, the lead singer of the band Peterpan was released from Bandung's Kebon Waru Penitentiary on Monday at 9:15 a.m., and will have to undergo regular counseling as a condition of his probation.

His lawyer, Otto Cornelis Kaligis, said on Saturday that Ariel was the victim in the case because he was not responsible for leaking the videos online. "Ariel wasn't the one who distributed them," Otto said. "That happened without his knowledge. This case never deserved to go to court."

Ariel was arrested in June 2010 for posting several sex videos online. Some featured him with his girlfriend, model and TV presenter Luna Maya, while others featured him and Cut Tari, another model and presenter who was married.

He was convicted in January 2011 under the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law for distributing pornography, despite prosecutors failing to prove he was the one who posted the videos online. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, including time already served, and fined Rp 250 million ($26,000).

The videos were stolen from Ariel's computer by a former Peterpan employee, Reza Rizaldy. Reza gave the videos to his cousin, who uploaded them to the Internet. Reza was sentenced to two years, while the cousin was not charged.

Kaligis said that because Ariel was convicted only of filming the videos, he should not have been charged under the ITE Law. "Those incidents [filming] occurred in 2006, while the ITE Law was passed in 2008. It shouldn't have been applied retroactively," he said.

Adrianus Meliala, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia, said the police's case against Ariel was so weak that they failed to find any articles in the Criminal Code to charge him with. He said the only reason Ariel finally went on trial was because "the case was so widely reported by the media that the police couldn't drop it."

The police had initially sought to bring a charge of adultery, which is a criminal offense, but could not because Cut Tari's husband, Johannes Yusuf Subrata, chose not to press charges.

Adrianus said none of the other sex-related articles under the Criminal Code could be brought to bear, given that the videos portrayed consensual sex acts, thus forcing police to turn to the ITE Law.

The two women were also briefly threatened with similar charges, but Kaligis said the case against them had been quietly dropped a long time ago.

However, high-profile lawyer Farhat Abbas has called on police and prosecutors to charge Luna and bring her to trial. "The law must be upheld otherwise this will be a matter of discrimination," he said on Sunday. "In fact, Ariel and Luna should have been tried at the same time."

Peterpan's Ariel is finally, sort of, free

Jakarta Globe - July 23, 2012

Bandung – Two and a half years since homemade sex videos with his celebrity girlfriends became one of the biggest controversies in the conservative Indonesian society, Nazril "Ariel" Irham is once again a free man.

Well, sort of. The front man of the local band Peterpan will be on probation for the next year under strict conditions.

Ariel, convicted for distributing pornographic materials under Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transactions Law, has only served two-thirds of his three-and-a-half-year prison sentence, but he walked out of Kebonwaru Prison in Bandung on Monday with a decree from the Justice and Human Rights Ministry allowing his conditional release.

"Until the end of the period, Ariel will be counseled and supervised by officers from Bapas [a local counseling agency]," Kebonwaru Prison chief Joko Pitoyo said.

"If he violates the conditions of his probation, he will have to serve out the rest of his prison term," he added, saying the conditions included not engaging in any acts that may cause public disorder.

Ariel left the Kebonwaru Prison with drug convict Asep Djamaludin, who is also on conditional release, according to Joko. They were immediately escorted to the Bandung Prosecutors Office to report, and then to the Bapas office to register for counseling sessions.

Joko added that Ariel would have to regularly report to the counseling agency and have to secure permits from it if he wanted to leave Bandung.

Before the conditional release, Ariel received a two-month sentence reduction during Independence Day last year and another one month reduction in last year's Idul Fitri.

Ariel was arrested in June 2010 after videos of his sexual liaisons with two women, identified as fellow celebrities Luna Maya and Cut Tari, began circulating on the Internet.

He was convicted the following January, under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, despite insisting the videos were leaked without his knowledge by a former Peterpan employee, Reza Rizaldy.

Reza gave the videos to his cousin, who uploaded them to the Internet. Reza was sentenced to two years, while the cousin was not charged. (Antara/JG)

Nation to be 'free of porn' for Ramadhan

Jakarta Post - July 19, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The government will crack down – again – on pornographic websites to support the nation's Muslims when Ramadhan starts on Friday, a minister has said.

"As this is the Ramadhan fasting month, we need to strengthen our efforts," Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring told reporters at a press conference at the ministry on Wednesday.

Tifatul, known for his antics such as claiming he was "forced" to shake the hand of US First Lady Michelle Obama during a visit to Jakarta, said that the crackdown would focus on local Internet service providers (ISP).

The minister, a politician from the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said that officials would remain vigilant in their work to limit access to pornography in Indonesia, fasting month or not.

"During our tests, we found a small number of sites that had previously not been detected. In general, we have shut down most of them. We will also be on high alert beyond the end of the Ramadhan fasting month," Tifatul said.

The Communications and Information Ministry previously reported that more than 2 million porn sites could be accessed inside Indonesia and that 1 million sites, most of which were run by overseas providers, had been blocked on orders from the ministry as of early this month.

Twelve major local ISPs each reported 2.5 million attempts to access sites with pornographic content every month, according to the ministry, which claimed it had also received "100 million" public complaints on Internet pornography. The number of complaints received by the ministry was up from the 835 complaints it reported receiving in 2011.

According to a report released by Google in February, Indonesia had the third-largest number of Internet users looking for pornography online, behind China and Turkey.

The ministry said that pornography topped its list of "negative" online content, along with illegally shared songs of Indonesian artists, gambling, bogus investment schemes and drug sales.

Tifatul's statements follow President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's creation of the Anti-Pornography Task Force in May, which was required to implement the 2008 Pornography Law. Last week, the government set up a joint ministerial team to step up efforts to stop online gambling.

The director general for informatics applications at the ministry, Ashwin Sasongko, said that the public had an important role to play in the anti- pornography campaign, given the ministry's limited resources. "We urge people to restrain themselves from trying to access any of those porn sites, because no matter what, they will always be available," Ashwin said.

Ashwin said that the crackdown was launched for the benefit of Muslims, who were expected to refrain from sexual intercourse during daylight hours during Ramadhan, among other things.

"We are responsible for protecting the younger generation from consuming destructive pornographic content on the internet," Ashwin said. "This is really important especially ahead of Ramadhan. We hope that Muslims can fast peacefully," Ashwin added.

The story so far

Oct. 2008: House endorses Pornography Law.
July 2010: Communications and Information Technology Ministry starts blocking porn websites and orders local ISPs to assist nine days later.
Jan. 2011: Minister Tifatul Sembiring sets deadline for Research in Motion (RIM) to ban local users from accessing pornography using the Canadian firm's BlackBerry smartphones.
Feb. 2012: Ministry says it has blocked nearly 1 million pornographic websites.
March 2012: President sets up Anti-Pornography Task Force.

Ariel case now a book

Jakarta Post - July 19, 2012

Arya Dipa, Bandung – The pornography case involving Bandung-based pop band Peterpan frontman Nazriel Irham, better known as Ariel, seems to have drawn not only strong media interest, but also the personal interest of the judges in his case.

Syahrul Machfud, a member of the panel of judges in the case, has launched a book entitled Implementation of the Pornographic Law on Ariel Peterpan's Case to give new insight regarding the details of Ariel's trial process to the public. The 300-page book contains details of the entire trial process.

"I hope the book will serve as jurisprudence for judges and legal practitioners in a criminal case," Syahrul said at the Bandung District Court on Tuesday. Syahrul, who graduated from Yogyakarta Islamic University in 1986, said that the decision to write the book with two fellow judges, Singgih Budi Prakoso and Agus Suwargi, was a breakthrough in Indonesia.

The panel of judges, he said, dared to break out of their comfort zone and in arranging legal consideration to prove an act of crime. "Usually, the judge's decision is based only on the prosecutor's indictment, but for Ariel's case, the judges ruled the case based on facts proven in court. That's a progressive decision," said Syahrul.

Ariel was sentenced to three-and-a-half years and fined Rp 250 million (US$26,500) by the Bandung District Court in January 2011, for being involved in pornography. He will complete two-thirds of his sentence, thus enabling him to be released on parole as of July 23.

For the first edition, the Graha Ilmu publishing house in Yogyakarta printed 3,000 copies of the book. "The entire court process, from the beginning to the appeal level as well as the judges' dynamic thoughts, are available in the book," Syahrul said.

He denied that the book was being launched to coincide with Ariel's conditional release. "It has nothing to do with Ariel's release. I didn't know when he would be released," he added.

Ariel's efforts to file an appeal with the West Java High Court and Supreme Court proved futile. Ariel has been detained by police since June 22, 2010, and has served around 25 months of his term. Prosecutors, said Syahrul, had only indicted Ariel based on his act of assisting the spread of pornography.

"But, the trial is based on facts. We were convinced that Ariel was the person who made the video which had reached the hands of others. But this was excluded in the indictment," he said.

Tifatul to clamp down on porn sites during Ramadan

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Indonesia's Communication and Information Ministry plans to up efforts to scrub pornographic websites from the nation's Internet in time for Ramadan, Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said on Wednesday.

"We'll intensify [efforts to] block porn websites," Tifatul said. "At least 1 million negative websites have been blocked [so far], most of them foreign."

The ministry, under Tifatul's watch, have focused their efforts on blocking access to pornographic websites in Indonesia. The minister said that the measures were being taken in accordance with Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transaction Law and Telecommunication Law – which aim to block "negative content" from local computers.

Under the laws negative content includes pornography, defamatory speech and malicious viruses like malware and adware. "We have to ensure people that porn content should be blocked," Tifatul said.

In spite of the ministry's efforts, pornography can still be accessed online from within the country. Tifatul said that there are currently 2 billion pornographic websites online, making the job far too big for the ministry's Internet censors to handle alone, Tifatul said, adding that citizens should report any pornographic content they happen to stumble upon to the ministry.

"We can not check one by one," he said. "So we hope people will actively report to the Communication and Information minister if they find a link to negative website."

Agriculture & food security

Imported hybrid seeds put local varieties in danger

Jakarta Post - July 20, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Excessive use of imported hybrid seeds in local farming to boost rice production will affect local plant varieties and eventually lead them to extinction, experts have warned.

The government has targeted a 10 million ton rice surplus by 2014. To that end, it has introduced imported hybrid rice.

According to Said Abdullah of the People's Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP), such program would only disadvantage farmers and harm crops. Said emphasized that imported hybrids have lower productivity than local varieties and are more susceptible to Brown Planthoppers, a pest locally known as "wereng", and other diseases.

"The excessive use of imported hybrids will endanger food crops, particularly indigenous ones. Eventually, they will become extinct as nobody will grow them," he said.

Under the Direct Rice Seeds Aid Program in the period of 2007-2012, the government spent Rp 5.7 trillion (US$604.2 million) to subsidize the importation of hybrid seeds with the aim of boosting production.

The program, in fact, has disadvantaged local farmers as the genetically- engineered seeds are imported from countries with extremely different agroecology conditions and are susceptible to local pests.

The ETC Group, an international agency monitoring biodiversity, agriculture and human rights, revealed in 2007 that at least 67 percent of seed markets with a total trade value of $14.78 million are controlled by only 10 transnational companies. In Indonesia, these transnational companies control seed markets.

In 2008, at least 71 percent of corn seeds, 40 percent of rice seeds and 70 percent of holticulture plant seeds were controlled by the companies.

Masroni, a 40-year-old farmer from Kalensari village in Widasari, Indramayu, West Java, once used the hybrid seeds. After realizing their shortcomings, switched back to local varieties, such as Ciherang. "It produces a far better harvest compared to the imports," said Masroni.

Dwi Andreas Santosa, a lecturer from Bogor Institute of Agriculture said that using such seeds would mean increased costs to farmers. "Genetically- engineered seeds boost crop yields in the first harvest; but, productivity tends to decline," he told The Jakarta Post. Using local varieties would be much more effective to boost crop productivity, he added.

It is not easy for local farmers to promote use of "hybrid seeds" they developed from local varieties. Law No. 12/1992 on Crop Cultivation Systems stipulates that any developer can release seeds to market only after certification from the government requiring multilocation seed tests.

[missing text] sible for local farmers to release the seeds to the market," said Said, adding that the Indonesian Farmer Seed Bank Association, newly established organization of seed breeders, would soon submit a judicial review on the 1992 law to the Constitution Court.

Land disputes & evictions

Polri called to investigate rally shooting

Jakarta Post - July 21, 2012

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) called on the National Police to start an investigation into the death of a protester, shot during a protest over gold mining plans in Balaesang Tanjung, Donggala, Central Sulawesi.

Komnas HAM deputy chairman Ridha Saleh suspected that the victim was shot, by the police, with live ammunition.

Residents staged a rally on Wednesday, protesting over plans by PT Cahaya Manunggal Abadi (CMA). The protests turned into a brawl as local residents fought with police officers. The incident claimed the life of Masdudin, 45, while others were reportedly injured.

"I have seen the wound. He was shot in the back with real bullet, not a rubber one," said Ridha during his visit to Bhayangkara Polda Hospital in Palu. "Polri should immediately investigate this case. The local police have gone over the line," he added.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Dewa Parsana previously denied the use of real bullets to suppress the protesters. "We fired warning shots, but we did not use live ammunition. We used rubber bullets," Dewa said.

Five injured during Central Sulawesi protest

Jakarta Post - July 19, 2012

Protests over a gold mining plan in Balaesang Tanjung, Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi, turned into a brawl as local residents fought with police officers on Wednesday.

Residents have staged rallies in the last few days in an effort to reject the gold mining plan, carried out by PT Cahaya Manunggal Abadi (CMA), saying that the mining activities might threaten plantation areas.

"Residents were gathering [in Kamonji village] to stage a protest when police suddenly appeared and started to shoot at them. The residents tried to counter the sudden attack," said M Nurdin, an activist from an organization called the Anti Balaesang Tanjung Mining People.

Police officers were deployed to suppress the protest, while the residents used stones and traditional weapons. Five protesters were reportedly shot and wounded during the incident. A resident, named Sandra, was taken to the hospital and was in critical condition after she was shot in the chest.

East Kalimantan villagers fight military land grab

Jakarta Globe - July 18, 2012

Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan – A land dispute in East Kalimantan saw hundreds of families gather outside the local government office in South Balikpapan on Tuesday to protest plans to turn their land over to the Air Force.

About 500 households from Damai in South Balikpapan rallied in front of the Provincial Representatives Council (DPD) building to demand the city government issue them a permit to use the land, which they say they have lived on for 40 years.

"We've been living on the land since 1972. The land is owned by the state, so we are asking the city administration to issue the [permit]," said Suroso, a representative of the group. Children and housewives took part in the demonstration, banging pots and pans together in a noisy display meant to bring attention to their cause.

The Air Force claims the land as an asset given to it under the Suharto regime despite not producing proof of ownership.

Suroso said the community had sought help from the city and the DPD since 2010. Three hearings have been held with regional legislators regarding the disputed land, but so far no solution has been reached.

The city, Suroso said, should not hesitate in its efforts to settle the dispute because the National Land Agency (BPN) had previously said the 30- hectare area belonged to the state, meaning anyone had the right to apply for a permit.

"What the people are up against is the military, which is playing the political game instead of focusing on the rule of law," he said. "Land rights is the BPN's domain and the BPN has said the land is owned by the state. Now, if it's state land, anyone can apply for [a permit] and that includes the citizens, military or whoever. The decision lies in the hands of the city administration and the BPN to decide whom to give the [permit] to."

Zulkifli, a Balikpapan city official, said the administration had tried to solve the conflict with the military, but it was difficult reaching an agreement. The case, he continued, had been referred to the Defense Ministry and Finance Ministry.

The two ministries "advised us to hold a mediation session to trace the origin of the land or to take legal action," Zulkifli said. Balikpapan provincial legislative council chairman Andi Burhanuddin Solong said he hoped the case would be settled by the end of the year.

Jakarta & urban life

A tough life for kids on Jakarta's streets

Jakarta Globe - July 24, 2012

Kamana Shrestha – In a tiny alleyway, the sound of laughter fills the air. Then you see them: a trail of children running behind a tall Dutch man. The sound of slippers hitting the concrete pavement mixes with the kids' giggles as they try to keep up with the man's big steps. They are intrigued by his blonde hair and blue eyes, surprised that a bule, or foreigner, would come around to their neck of the woods.

A boy in a bright green T-shirt is among those gathered around the man. He shouts out, "Hey mister, this is where I live. Do you see?" A girl with pigtails and no front teeth reaches for the man's pinky and tugs at it. "My best friend lives here," she says, pointing to a mint green door with most of the paint chipped off.

These kids are among the more than 20,000 street children living in Jakarta. This group belongs to one of several slums in the north. They reside in tenements or beneath overpasses, behind mountains of garbage piled up in dumpster fields, near railroad tracks or by Kalibaru harbor. In one slum, the stench of fish drying in the sun is overwhelming. There is also trash, rotting food, swarms of flies and dust clouds that rise from the dry fields where the children play football in sandals or in bare feet.

Most families that live in the slums are deeply impoverished, surviving on less than $1 a day; parents thus put their children to work to support their emaciated incomes. For these boys and girls, choices are scarce. Many will never receive an education. Most will live in the slums their whole lives. Some will die young, succumbing to disease or malnutrition.

For a very lucky few, though, there is hope. It comes in the form of nonprofit organizations such as the Indonesian Street Children Organization. For more than a decade, ISCO has gone into neglected slum communities and tried to educate not only the children but also the parents about sexual health, maternal health and family planning. It also advocates for children's protection. It operates with limited resources, relying on volunteers like the Dutch man, Godard Strengers, to carry out its programs in neighborhoods often ridden with substance abuse and crime.

"The parents don't care about education in the slums because in the past they didn't go to school themselves," said Meriah Tinambunan, ISCO's executive director. "They cannot read, and the main problem is that they think education is not important for the future of their children."

That is a mind-set ISCO works every day to try to change. Founded in 1999 and based in Jakarta, ISCO aims to improve the street children's quality of life through free and equal opportunity education for every child and supportive health and nutrition services. Its vision is simple – fight poverty by educating future generations.

It hopes to eradicate child labor by giving these children options and a chance to have more than what their parents ended up with: a life of strenuous physical labor that leaves them with severe health problems and never enough money to support their families.

Some men work as taxi drivers, scavengers and fisherman. For the women, it's work in the market, sell handcrafts or wash clothes. For other women, however, the way they choose to feed their families is through prostitution. Many of these mothers make a measly Rp 5,000 (53 cents) per customer. Since they often don't use protection, these women who often already have a slew of children find themselves pregnant again without knowing who the father is, according to ISCO.

But for them, it's nothing alarming. In fact, they think of their way of life as "normal," Meriah said, and approach it with the mentality that they just need to get through the day. About 10 percent of ISCO's children come from homes where the mothers work as prostitutes.

ISCO provides scholarships and free education to more than 2,307 children in 28 of its activity centers in Greater Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan. The nonprofit supports 1,218 children in 16 activity centers in Jakarta. The rest of the children attend eight centers in Surabaya and four in Medan. The sponsored children are between the ages of 5 and 17 and remain with ISCO until they graduate high school. ISCO limits the number of children they support to no more than two children per household.

How they pick the kids to sponsor is determined through regular house visits they have with the families in the various slums. The project officers, who usually live in the slums they are assigned to, go on these visits and assess if a family is eligible or not. Choosing can be difficult, but they look for crucial things, like how many children the family has, whether they own "luxury" items such as a television or a DVD player and how much money the parents make.

In Penjaringan, Irma, an assistant project officer, makes 25 to 30 house visits a day. She also checks up on families already in the ISCO program, like Lucy's family.

Lucy, 9, lives with her parents and two younger siblings. The tiny girl is wearing a baby blue T-shirt with the word "princess" on it and sitting next to her mother, who is trying to breastfeed her agitated 10-month-old. Lucy is fighting blood cancer. She's had four rounds of chemotherapy, which ISCO paid for, but still has a long way to go. "I enjoy fairy tales," the frail child says. "They make me happy."

Lucy is having one of her "good days." Her spirit seems to be high, and she shyly smiles when talking with Irma. "I'm doing good today. I feel well," she says softly.

Besides the project officers, volunteers are also integral to ISCO. Most of them are recruited internationally to teach English at the activity centers. Strengers is one of ISCO's newest volunteers; he works with children in Karibaru. The children call him "Gogo" and eagerly wait for recess, when they all burst out of the activity center and onto the dirt fields where he plays football with them.

"It's so sweet to see them excited. I feel like I am already bonded with the children," said Strengers, who will teach at the center for six weeks. Besides generating interest in recreation, the volunteers also motivate the children to come every day to classes at the center.

"If we have a volunteer at the activity center, the attendance will be very good because these children are curious about this foreigner who has come to teach them," Meriah said.

In turn, the parents want to send their children to the centers after seeing a positive change in them. "When we first meet the children, their faces are dirty and they look tired and lost," Meriah said. "But after three months in the ISCO program, you really see the change in them. Their faces are brighter, they look happier, they want to talk more."

Despite the challenge, change, however slow, is possible. "It's a hard mind-set to change, but we do see a difference from 10 years ago when we just started," Meriah said. "The parents didn't even care a little bit about the children's education, but now it's getting better."

In the decade it has existed, ISCO has had one child graduate from university after being in its program. This year, two more were accepted into college, with full scholarships. "Sometimes I can't believe how far some these children have come and surpassed the expectations of their parents," Meriah said. "It's truly one of the best things to witness."

For the children, it starts with the couple of hours at the activity center and a little bit of encouragement. Caroline, a volunteer from Taiwan, stands in front her students and points to each word on the whiteboard. "Come on guys, show me what you have learned," she said.

Bright-eyed and eager, they begin. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

Parties undecided on Fauzi or Jokowi

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2012

Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – None of the political parties that failed to secure spots in the runoff for Jakarta's gubernatorial election have indicated whether they will support incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo or Surakarta Mayor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo come Sept. 20.

The United Development Party (PPP), which was scheduled to name which candidates it would support in the runoff on Sunday afternoon, canceled its announcement at the last minute. PPP secretary-general M. Romahurmuziy attributed the cancelation to a lack of consensus.

"Internally, we are still divided into two groups. The one that still bases its decisions on cultural issues tends to support Fauzi. The other, which bases its decision on tactical considerations, tends to support Jokowi," Romahurmuziy said.

Romahurmuziy added that it would be easier for the PPP to back Jokowi if politics were the only concern, as he had fallen only 8 percent short of the minimum 50 percent of the vote needed to win in the first round of voting on July 11, well ahead of Fauzi.

"However, we want this to be a solid decision – real support that can also be useful for the 2014 legislative election," Romahurmuziy said.

Meanwhile, officials from the Golkar Party and the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) were also ambivalent as to who would receive their support in the runoff. The PPP and Golkar supported Alex Noerdin on the first ballot, while the PKS supported Hidayat Nur Wahid.

According to the Jakarta General Elections Commission's (KPU Jakarta) final tally, Jokowi received 1,847,157 votes on July 11, followed by Fauzi with 1,476,648. Unlike regional elections in other provinces that have a lower victory threshold, no candidate in Jakarta governor's race received a majority of the vote, requiring a runoff.

Only 4.4 million of the more than 6.9 million people on the registered voter list came out to the 15,059 polling stations across the city's five municipalities and Thousand Islands regency on election day.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) said that the unsuccessful parties were likely to make their endorsements, if any, within the next two weeks.

Three factors would drive the endorsements, Burhanuddin said: who was likely to win in September, who had the political momentum and whether parties would consider the ethnicity of the candidates.

Jokowi would likely benefit from parties looking to ride on the coattails of the front runner, while Fauzi would likely benefit if parties considered ethnicity, Burhanuddin said.

Jokowi is Javanese, while Fauzi is a Betawi, or an ethnic Jakartan, who tend to support Betawi candidates. However, Burhanuddin said that party supporters were unlikely to accept the endorsements without question.

"It could be seen in the first round, that even in PKS, not all PKS supporters voted for Hidayat. The gubernatorial election does not only rely solely on the political machine," Burhanuddin said.

Although Sept. 20 is still months away, the run up to the runoff is well under way. Candidates are likely to be fixtures at Ramadhan-related activities, from sahur (pre-dawn meals) to iftar (fast-breaking meals) to tarawih (mass prayers).

Meanwhile, those who complained that they could not vote since they were not listed in the voter roll on July 11 should take heart. The KPU Jakarta said that all eligible but unregistered residents will be able to exercise the franchise in the runoff.

Earlier, the campaigns also reported the presence of thousands of ineligible voters, referred to as "ghost voters", in the list of 6,983,692 voters that had been announced in early June.

It's official: Fauzi, Jokowi face showdown in September runoff

Jakarta Post - July 20, 2012

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – Election officials have confirmed that Surakarta Mayor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and incumbent Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo were top finishers in the Jakarta gubernatorial election on July 11 and will face each other in a runoff election on Sept. 20.

In announcing the final vote tabulations on Thursday, the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) said none of the six candidates running for governor had achieved the 50 percent of the vote required to win the election on the first ballot.

"According to existing law, a runoff will be held if none of the candidates won more than 50 percent of the vote," Sumarno, the KPU Jakarta's election and vote tabulation chief, told reporters.

Representatives from all six campaigns on hand for the announcement said they accepted the commission's final vote count. Sumarno said that the commission would meet on Friday to further discuss the runoff.

According to the KPU Jakarta's final count, Jokowi received 1,847,157 votes in the election, followed by Fauzi with 1,476,648. Only 4.4 million of the more than 6.9 million people on the commission's list of registered voters came out to the 15,059 polling stations across the city's five municipalities and Thousand Islands regency on July 11. However, more than 2.5 million people listed on the voter roll chose to stay home.

Sumarno said that the commission would develop a new list of registered voters for the runoff based on the one used in the first round. "We encourage eligible voters to register themselves if they have not been listed on the roll."

All Jakarta residents who are married or will be at least 17 by the runoff election are eligible to vote.

Jokowi, whose strong finish on July 11 has made him the front runner in the run up to the runoff. His campaign filed a report with the Jakarta Police on Thursday, alleging negative campaigning against Jokowi.

"We are filing a criminal report against the perpetrator of the black campaign that has tainted Jokowi and his running mate, Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama," Habiburokhman, a campaign representative said.

Campaign workers had found pamphlets and read postings and messages on Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger that denigrated Ahok's Chinese heritage. "The libelous messages were targeted against Jokowi and Ahok. Espousing hatred based on race and ethnicity is against the law," he said.

Habiburokhman was referring to the four so-called SARA topics – suku (ethnicity), agama (religion), ras (race) and antargolongan (intergroup relations) – which were taboo during the New Order.

Fauzi's campaign spokesman said it was not involved. "Anything related to negative issues always comes to us. We are against the divisive SARA issues," spokesman Kahfi Siregar said.

Siti Zuhro, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that ethnic and religious biases were still quite strong in the capital. "They are not as strong as it used to be, but they're still there."

More than 35.5 percent of the 10.1 million people in the capital are Javanese, as is Jokowi, while 27.65 percent are Betawi, or native Jakartan, as is Fauzi.

The city's other major ethnic groups are Sundanese, accounting for 15.27 percent; Chinese, accounting for 5.53 percent; Batak, accounting for 3.61 percent and Minangkabau, accounting for 3.18 percent.

Muslims make up 85 percent of the population, followed by Christians at 10.7 percent, Buddhists at 3.3 percent, and Hindus at 0.2 percent.

Armed forces & defense

Human rights activist says he was fired for criticizing government

Jakarta Globe - July 20, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A human rights activist says he was fired from his position as a lecturer at a Defense Ministry-owned university after criticizing the government's decision to purchase Sukhoi fighter jets and Leopard tanks.

Al Araf, a director at Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), said he was abruptly dismissed from the Indonesian Defense University in Central Jakarta.

"The decision by the campus to ban me from teaching, I suspect, has to do with my criticism of the purchases," he said on Thursday. "When I asked [the university] about the decision they just said it was a direct order from the leader."

The Air Force has been on a spending spree, especially with the purchase of next-generation Sukhoi planes. It already operates 10 Sukhoi Su-27s and four Sukhoi Su-30MK2 jets, and recently announced an order for six more of the Su-30MK2s.

But activists, including Al Araf, have asked why the government has allocated $470 million for the six planes when, at $54.8 million each, the total price would be $328.8 million.

Defense officials have also said the country will buy 100 Leopard tanks from Germany after failing to purchase them from the Netherlands. The deal is worth $280 million. Politicians and activists have criticized the purchase, saying the country's geography requires slimmer, more agile tanks.

Al Araf's reported dismissal from the university quickly drew criticism from the House of Representatives. Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Mahfudz Siddiq called the university's move "excessive." Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Tjahjo Kumolo said the incident pointed to a worrying lack of democracy in the university.

"An intellectual [like Al Araf] stated his opinion based on a reasonable argument," he said. "If we allow this to happen, sooner or later a lawmaker could also be stripped of his rights to express an opinion."

While education and healthcare suffer, TNI's budget soars

Jakarta Post - July 18, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – While most people have limited access to quality education and health services, the government plans to allocate a large portion of next year's budget to military spending. The move has drawn criticism of the way the government manages the state budget.

According to the Cabinet Secretariat website, the government has drafted the 2013 state budget, which reveals that the Defense Ministry gets the lion's share of funds, followed by the Public Works Ministry, the Education and Culture Ministry, the National Police, the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Health Ministry.

Citing a draft by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), the Cabinet Secretariat says the government will allocate Rp 76.538 trillion (US$8.11 billion) of next year's state budget to the Defense Ministry, much greater than the Rp 30.915 trillion allocated for the Health Ministry.

"The government should have prioritized programs that directly affect the people, such as education and health, especially because under prevailing laws, the government must allocate 20 percent and 5 percent of the state budget to education and health, respectively. I don't think there are any laws that require the government to allocate certain a percentage of the budget to the Defense Ministry," Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) coordinator Ucok Sky Khadafi said on Tuesday.

Ucok welcomed the government's intention to raise the budget for defense from this year's Rp 72.5 trillion, saying that such an increase would be necessary to support the ministry's attempt to modernize primary weaponry systems. However, he said it should not exceed the amounts needed for education and health.

Echoing Ucok, Al Araf of human rights watchdog Imparsial has decried the government's decision to increase the military's defense budget while other countries had reduced theirs due to the financial crisis.

"For me it just doesn't make sense, particularly as the allocation exceeds the government's support for essential programs, such as education. I'm not saying that the military is not important, but we must realize which one is the most urgent," he said.

He thus called on the government to gradually increase the budget for the military according to the urgent needs within the institution. The welfare of soldiers needed to be prioritized, not weaponry, he added.

"Armed conflicts among countries are unlikely to occur in the near future as the international community has developed a culture of diplomacy. Therefore, I don't think there is any urgency to modernize our weaponry systems," he said.

Separately, Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Hartind Asrin said that the high budget allocated to his ministry was due to an urgency to procure more weaponry and for its maintenance, as well as to improve the wealth of military personnel.

"We are planning to procure more weaponry to support our Army, Navy and Air Force, as has been included in our Administration's Strategic Plan [Renstra] for 2010 to 2014. We, for example, plan to procure fighter jets for the Air Force, submarines for the Navy and tanks and armored personnel carriers for the Army next year through multi-year programs," Hartind said.

He added that the ministry would also focus on improving the welfare of military personnel, especially those based in border areas.

"We plan to increase the remuneration of military personnel to meet 40 percent of the welfare target next year, from this year's 34 percent, and will gradually increase it to 100 percent," he said.

Foreign affairs & trade

Australia and Indonesia deepen commitment to work together

Jakarta Globe - July 17, 2012

Ismira Lutfia – Australia has praised Indonesia for its efforts in combating people-smuggling and curbing illegal entry to Australia as both countries vow to boost their cooperation in economic and security issues.

Speaking after meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr told a joint news conference that Indonesia deserved credit in combating people-smuggling, rejecting earlier criticism from observers in Australia that Indonesia was not serious in fighting the problem.

"It confirms that there's no relationship more important to Australia than that which we enjoy with Indonesia," he said. Marty, meanwhile, said Indonesia has been trying to do its part in tackling people smuggling problems, and worked together with Australian authorities to stop people from coming to Australia.

However, the minister also said that regional cooperation through the so- called Bali Process was needed to fundamentally solve the issue. "The Bali process is one that has stood the test of time. Of course there is room for enhancement, but the basic approach is a sound one," Marty said.

The Bali Process is a framework for dealing with asylum-seekers involving more than 40 nations.

Boatpeople are a growing and sensitive issue in Australian politics, with the opposition coalition using it to corner Prime Minister Julia Gillard's administration as hundreds of people have died in series of accidents when boats full of asylum-seekers capsized while approaching Australia.

The ministers also discussed Indonesian fishermen and minors held by Australia for allegedly helping bring asylum-seekers to Australian shores, with Marty saying that both countries had a better understanding about the issue.

"We also focused on the search and rescue issue and we will work with Basarnas [Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency] to strengthen its ability to communicate better on vessels while we explore and exchange programs of search and rescue specialists," Carr said.

The Australian minister also welcomed comments from a high-ranking Indonesian Navy officer who said earlier in the day that patrols in the Sunda Strait were crucial to disrupting people-smuggling operations.

The strait, between Java and Sumatra, has become the main thoroughfare for boats dispatched by people-smugglers. It was the route used by the string of vessels that have prompted rescue operations in recent weeks.

"The Indonesian Navy is having coordinated patrols with the Australian Navy," Indonesian Navy spokesman Admiral Untung Suropati told the Australian Associated Press on Monday. "Coordinated patrols in the Sunda Strait, I think, [are] very crucial in handling people-smuggling."

Carr said broader maritime cooperation was welcome. "But we can't dump this problem on Indonesia," he said.

He also ramped up his attack on opposition leader Tony Abbott's plan to send asylum-seeker boats back to Indonesia. "Tony Abbott is badly mistaken and naive if he thinks he can suddenly wave a magic wand and say the relationship is now a thousand times more robust and in that context I can start sending boats back," Carr said.

Last week, he warned that a victory by Abbott's coalition in the next election would create a diplomatic disaster in relations between Australia and Indonesia.

Marty also appeared to voice opposition to the coalition strategy, saying the response to the asylum-seeker problem should be one that was "mutually compatible." "The perpetrators behind people-smuggling, they find the conditions in Indonesia conducive to continue their operations," he said.

Hazardous taints foul food exports

Jakarta Post - July 17, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Indonesia's food exports are suffering as foreign nations are declining to admit locally produced goods that they say contain tainted ingredients, a top food safety official says.

Many Indonesian food products have failed to gain access to foreign markets for not complying with their higher standards, Suratmono, the National Drug and Food Monitoring Agency's (BPOM) food certification and inspection chief, said on Monday.

"Some of our exported food products were not allowed to enter foreign markets as they were tainted with hazardous substances," he told reporters at a press conference.

Suratmono said some of the products, such as sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), were denied entry for containing hazardous substances or excessive added preservatives. Several locally made brands of sweet soy sauce contained levels of sulfites that were already above the legal limits in other nations, the BPOM said.

Other products were tainted with hazardous substances such as aflatoxin, a naturally occurring toxin produced by mold, which has been found in peanut sauce used to make pecel, a blanched vegetable salad.

Meanwhile, Rhodamin B, a florescent dye, has been found in fried rice spices and bottled chilli sauce intended for export, and cyanide acid has been recorded in locally made crispy chips.

Citing a 1988 Health Minister regulation, Suratmono said that sulfites were an approved additive in the food manufacturing process. "It's quite surprising us to see that some countries have imposed a ban on our locally-produced sweet soy sauce, saying that the products contain sulfites exceeding the maximum amount allowed," he said.

Sulfites are commonly used as preservatives and to prevent discoloration during the manufacturing process. Consuming foods with sulfites is said to be safe, although excessive sulfite consumption might trigger allergies.

The BPOM found that sulfites were likely added during the production of the palm sugar used to make the soy sauce. "Farmers producing palm sugar have used a high amount of sulfites to preserve the sap they tap from palm trees to prevent it from either browning or fermenting," Suratmono said.

Poor raw materials have also added to the burden of the nation's food manufacturers. During a regular food monitoring program between 2009 and 2010, the BPOM found that 14 percent of the products that were sampled from local markets contained either hazardous substances or excessive additives.

Separately, the chief of the BPOM's food product distribution, production and inspection sub-directorate, Chairun Nissa, said that the agency has stepped up work to ensure that local food manufactures used only the best quality raw materials.

Some sweet soy sauce companies, she said, had more stringent requirements for their raw material suppliers, including palm sugar suppliers. "Sulfites are legal. The presence of sulfites in foods is allowed; however, excessive use of sulfites can be harmful to health. So, they have educated farmers to avoid using sulfites excessively.

Separately, Franky Sibarani of the Indonesian Association of Food and Beverage Producers (GAPMMI) blamed farmers and said that more education was needed. "Frankly speaking, tainted raw materials have only caused minor problem in our business. Yet, we need to make efforts in resolving these problems. No change will happen without their farming behavior changing," Franky told The Jakarta Post.

Despite rejection from several countries on Indonesia's food products, the BPOM has been struggling to prevent illegal food imports, including expired packaged food. Last year, the agency revealed that illegal products worth Rp 3.31 trillion had caused massive losses for local food and beverage makers.

List of tainted food: Sweet soy sauce, frozen peanut 'pecel' sauce, instant spices, bottled chili sauce, crispy chips.

Mining & energy

Electricity shortage hits Indonesia's ore ban plan

Bloomberg - July 24, 2012

Yoga Rusmana & Fitri Wulandari – A shortage of electricity in Indonesia may hamper President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's plan to ban all raw-ore exports by 2014 as he seeks to increase revenue by forcing companies to refine locally.

More than 1 gigawatt of additional capacity may be needed to power the smelters required for the world's biggest nickel producer and largest exporter of tin to process its ore, according to Xavier Jean, the Singapore-based associate director of corporate ratings at Standard and Poor's.

It may take longer than three years to build a plant capable of producing that much power, according to Nur Pamudji, president director of state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

Asia's second-biggest copper producer after China banned shipments of some metals on May 6, and the prohibition takes effect on all raw ore in 2014. The curb, combined with an export tax, is aimed at increasing revenue from higher-value processing. Japan, the second-biggest global buyer of nickel, has threatened to complain to the World Trade Organization about the restrictions.

"Project management complexity will increase substantially, as not only do companies need to manage the construction of large smelters but they also need to manage the construction of the associated power generation units," Jean wrote in an e-mail this month. "The risk of delays is high, and that could force the government to pragmatically delay or tone down some of the recent regulations applied to the sector regarding the export of unprocessed ores."

Indonesia banned exports of 32 types of unprocessed metals, waiving the restriction for companies operating under mining business licenses that are planning to build local refineries. Those shipments are subject to a 20 percent tax. The country relied on mining for about 12 percent of its gross domestic product last year, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

The government also ordered miners to register for an export permit that is valid for three months, which includes a sales quota. Indonesia has issued 31 permits out of 68 registered exporters, including Aneka Tambang, the country's second-largest nickel producer, and local units of Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining.

PLN sees Java as the most suitable place to build the smelters, as proximity to power stations is vital, Pamudji said.

"It would be better if the smelters are built on Java island, where the supply is sufficient for the next several years," Pamudji said at a meeting between mining companies and the chamber of commerce on June 28. "Building new power plants with technology suitable for smelters will be very expensive."

The Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) puts the potential consumption at 1.5 gigawatts for at least 40 plants. One gigawatt can supply 769,230 households at 1,300 watts per house.

The Java-Bali power system has a storage capacity of 29 gigawatts, while peak usage is only 20 gigawatts, Pamudji said at the time. Miners and the government are seeking to build the smelters near mines in Kalimantan, on Indonesia's part of Borneo Island, or Sulawesi. PLN has committed to supplying power for smelters in other islands including Sumatra and Sulawesi, Thamrin Sihite, director general of minerals and coal at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said on July 17.

As much as 74 percent of Indonesia's population was connected with electricity as of March, according to data from PLN. That is lower than the electrification ratio of Southeast Asian neighbors such as Thailand's 99.3 percent and Vietnam's 97.6 percent.

"If the smelters were built gradually, electricity supply could be sufficient," Pradi Wigianto, a Jakarta-based energy and power system consultant at Frost & Sullivan, said in an e-mail. "Electricity supply in Java Island would be able to meet demand for gradual development of smelters this year because of improved infrastructure."

Regions outside Java will be able to meet demand in the next two to three years if smelters are willing to pay higher electricity tariffs because costs to build plants and produce electricity are higher than in Java, Wigianto said.

"What the government probably has in mind, in my view, is to partially shift the burden of power infrastructure spending to the mining sector," Jean said. "The government probably expects miners to build large capacities in excess of their needs that can be reallocated to other sectors of the economy and to households through sales to the grid."

The government has received 154 proposals since the rule took effect in May, up from 24 before the regulation.

Among the companies planning to build processing plants before the May implementation are nine iron-ore smelting projects including MJIS in South Kalimantan and Jogja Magasa Mining in Yogyakarta, Panggah Susanto, director general of manufacturing industry at the Industry Ministry, said on July 17.

Finance & banking

Ownership caps may expose BI to 'lobbying', political dealing

Jakarta Post - July 20, 2012

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's move to limit bank ownership is not likely deter foreign investors, although the move will expose it to lobbying and political pressure to grant exemptions, analysts say.

The central bank announced on Wednesday a 40 percent ownership limit in local banks, but sound banks are allowed to have ownership more than the maximum level if they meet requirements set out by the central bank.

"BI's discretion to make exceptions to the rule is the most important part of the regulation, as it gives BI flexibility and thus exposes BI to a lot of lobbying to ensure a bank is deemed to have a good corporate governance," Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia senior economist Fauzi Ichsan said in Jakarta Thursday.

"When the idea of ownership caps was first introduced, it was foreign investors who were concerned. Now that the BI decree has been released, the big local conglomerates are likely to worry more if their banks are considered to have poor governance," Fauzi added.

According to the new regulation, existing banks with a health and good corporate governance level below 2, as defined by BI, will also be required to divest their stakes and comply with the regulation starting 2014.

BI officials declined to disclose which banks received low health and good corporate governance ratings, giving no clues as to which banks would likely be affected by the regulation.

The nation's top 10 banks, which account for 63 percent of the assets in the banking system, are predominantly owned by highly-rated state or foreign institutions, and have reasonable financial profiles and a corporate governance framework in place, Fitch Ratings said in a statement released on Thursday.

"The risk of failing to maintain BI's criteria may be more pronounced for small to medium-sized banks facing undue business pressure. This is notably because of a concentrated shareholding structure, especially for family- owned firms, which has been cited as one factor behind bank failures in Indonesia in the past," Fitch added.

The regulations was issued to promote good corporate governance to avoid a repeat of the 1997 financial crisis, which was attributed in part to undue influence from controlling owners.

The rules are also aimed at reducing the regulatory burden and consolidating the 120 commercial banks that comprise the nation's banking sector ahead of the ASEAN economic integration in 2015.

"Certainly after the new rules, foreign investor access to bank ownership in Indonesia is no longer as unfettered as before. But as long as Bank Indonesia enforces the regulations in a sensible way, things will be okay," Ambreesh Srivastava, Fitch's senior director, said.

Southeast Asia's largest lender, the DBS Holdings Group, will be the first to come up against the new regulation, as it aims to takeover Indonesia's sixth largest lender, PT Bank Danamon (BDMN), in a US$7.2 billion transaction.

On paper, DBS was fully qualified to acquire control of Danamon, judging from the parameters outlined in the new rules, Srivastava said.

"But I think there will be some political factors and a quid-pro-quo in the behind-the scene negotiations between Bank Indonesia and DBS." (vin)

Indonesia bankers among the best paid

Jakarta Post - July 20, 2012

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – The chiefs of local commercial banks are the highest paid among their peers in four Southeast Asian nations surveyed, according to the central bank.

Top local bankers earned an average of Rp 12 billion (US$1.27 million) a year, including salary, pension and benefits, Mulya Effendi Siregar, Bank Indonesia's banking research and regulation chief, said in Jakarta on Thursday.

The Indonesian executives were doing much better than top bankers in Malaysia, who earned an annual average of Rp 5.6 billion; Thailand, who earned Rp 2 billion; or the Philippines, who earned Rp 1.1 billion, according to Bank Indonesia.

Mulya said the central bank was worried that the local banks' high remuneration had contributed to inefficiency in the local banks.

Greed and what has euphemistically been referred to as poor oversight in the banking sector have prompted governments and people throughout the world to consider restrictions on compensation for bankers since the 2008 financial meltdown and ensuing global slowdown.

Bank Indonesia previously said that the efficiency rate or ratio of operating spending to operating revenues of local banks was 80 percent, the worst in ASEAN. The rate of banks in Singapore and Malaysia ranged between 40 and 50 percent, it said.

"Efficiencies must be made to cut costs. If ASEAN can do it, why can't we?" Mulya told bankers at the National Banking Association Institute's (Perbanas) "Banking Efficiency Awards" ceremony on Wednesday.

The biggest operational line item for local banks was employee salaries, Mulya said. "If salaries are broken down, we are the No. 3 largest spender on employee salaries – but for directors, we are the top spender."

The average annual salary for an employee of a local bank was Rp 193 million, compared to Rp 236 million in Malaysia and Rp 300 million in Thailand, the central bank said. However, salaries comprised the largest single part of overall overhead costs in Indonesia at 2.44 percent, compared to 1.81 percent in the Philippines, 1.74 percent in Malaysia and 1.34 percent in Thailand.

Mulya said that the central bank's efforts to bring down high costs would take the form of warnings and moral suasion. "We let them know about the conditions in other countries," Mulya said.

Indonesian banks are the most profitable in Southeast Asia, with average net interest margin of more than 5 percent, indicating higher lending rates charged to customers. Bankers have attributed the high margin to the high risk and high cost of servicing their clients here.

"There's a shortage in supply for banking executives, while the demand is high given the rapid growth in the country's banking industry. Not everybody can work in the financial sector," Bank Mandiri chief economist Destry Damayanti said.

"This is a structural issue. Moral suasion will have only a temporary impact. When banks begin to recruit again, the pressure will re-emerge," Destry told reporters on Thursday.

Perbanas chairman Sigit Pramono, questioned the central bank's data, although he conceded that it might be necessary to set up a benchmark for local banker salaries.

Indonesia announces new bank ownership rules

Agence France Presse - July 18, 2012

Indonesia's central bank Wednesday announced new regulations limiting bank ownership to 40 percent.

The new rules limit ownership of new acquisitions by financial institutions to 40 percent, non-financial institutions to 30 percent and families or individuals to 20 percent, said Mulya Effendi Siregar, an executive director at Bank Indonesia (BI), the country's central bank.

"The ownership of commercial bank shares will apply to foreign and domestic banks to improve the health of banks," he said.

The bank said on its website that under new rules, financial institutions can own more than 40 percent of a domestic commercial bank only under specific criteria and approval from BI.

BI said the rules went into effect on July 13, and that state-owned banks and banks undergoing recovery are exempt.

The bank said in April it would issue new ownership regulations after DBS Group of Singapore made a $7.3 billion bid to acquire Bank Danamon Indonesia, the nation's fifth-largest bank. BI declined to approve that deal, saying it would have to wait until new rules on foreign ownership are in place.

It was unclear immediately following the announcement whether the new rules would permit the takeover or not. The new rules replace regulations that allowed local and foreign investors to own up to 99 percent of Indonesian banks.

Analysis & opinion

Militarist party positioning itself in Indonesia

Direct Action - July 23, 2012

Jalalludin Ngoko – The political party Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) recently announced its 314-strong leadership structure. Gerindra is headed by Suharto era general and son-in-law Prabowo Subianto. Subianto was forced out of the army in 1999 after he was accused of masterminding the kidnapping and disappearance of student activists in 1997 and 1998. At that time, he was head of the Strategic Army Command and was endeavouring to save the Suharto dictatorship as it came up against increasing resistance from a student-led mass protest movement.

East Timorese human rights and solidarity activists have also accused Subianto of being responsible for massacres and torture in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation. Information from the East Timor Alter Network (ETAN) connects him with the 1983 Kraras and 1991 Santa Cruz massacres.

East Timor solidarity activist and historian Jill Jolliffe also cites the example of an East Timorese man, Domingos Santana Guterres. He tells how he was arrested by General Subianto, then a major, in July 1989 and tied up and thrown into a cell. He says he was kept in the cell alone for four days, deprived of food and water and forced to lie in his own excrement. He alleges that was tortured by soldiers under Subianto's command when he refused to confess to having guerrilla contacts. He was kicked, beaten, given electric shocks and made to stand naked in a barrel under torrential rain for hours. After each torture session, Indonesian military nurses treated his wounds to prepare him for the next bout.

Guterres said that on September 29 he was taken into Subianto's office, where the officer screamed that he would teach him a lesson. "For two hours he broke every conceivable thing over my body. He threw beer crates, a petrol lamp, beat me with sticks and punched and kicked me", he said. Subianto also threaded an electric wire between Guterres' bound hands and gave him electric shocks. "I was so swollen and bleeding afterwards, I was unrecognisable", he said.

It is not surprising that Gerindra was among the parties supporting the Indonesian ban on the screening of the film Balibo, on the preparation of the invasion of East Timor.

Subianto was accepted by Megawati Sukarnoputri as her vice-presidential running mate in the 2009 presidential elections, needing Gerindra's small parliamentary representation to make the 25% of parliamentary members required to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Megawati-Subianto lost to Yudhoyono. It has been reported that Megawati agreed to support Subianto as presidential candidate in 2014, although this has not been confirmed.

Since the beginning of 2012, Subianto has repeatedly announced that he is ready to be a presidential candidate in 2014. Several polls have put him as the most favoured candidate at the moment, although the results of these polls are highly suspect. In 2009, Gerindra scored 4.5% of the votes cast (probably around 40% of the potential voters didn't vote). However, the fact that all the candidates being discussed in elite circles are unpopular tycoons or failed politicians, and that, as well, the popular movement has provided no leadership and offers no challenge to the elite at the moment, his chances should not be underestimated.

Co-opting popular discontent

The announcement of Gerindra's new leadership was clearly timed to make best use of the tactical gain by Gerindra in the current elections of the governor of Jakarta. It should be noted that the party's leadership includes scores of retired generals, including Major General Chairawan, the former commander of Commando Group 4 Sandi Yudha Kopassus, which oversaw Tim Mawar, which organised the kidnapping and disappearance of activists. It also includes the current chairperson (serving two parties simultaneously) of the formerly progressive People's Democratic Party (PRD), Agus Jabo Priyono. The PRD chairperson's official position in Subianto's political machine is chairperson for mapping electoral potential.

Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) and Gerindra jointly nominated candidates for governor and vice-governor of the special region of Jakarta, which are important positions. They nominated Joko Widodo, currently mayor of the city of Solo in Java, and Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, alias Ahok, currently the head of a district in Sumatra. Widodo has become extremely popular in Solo, achieving more than 90% in the elections for his second term of office as a result of a brilliant image- building campaign based on presenting as the opposite of the stereotypical politician in Indonesia. He has organised some re-apportioning of the Solo budget to expand welfare measures while always posing in public as able to dialogue with the "common people", usually represented by small traders and peddlers. However, the rich-poor gap, poverty levels and the entry of big capital in Solo have continued unabated.

His running mate, Ahok, is a district head of similar reputation. Ahok has also been appointed by Subianto as part of the new Gerindra leadership. Gerindra is claiming some of the credit for the victory of the Widodo-Ahok team in the first round of the elections, held July 11, in which they beat the incumbent, Fauzi Bowo, supported by President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party. The second round will be held September 20.

Nationalist populism

The nationalist populism of Gerindra has drawn support from significant elements from activist circles as the anti-neoliberal rhetoric of the last has few years has evolved into a scapegoating of foreign capital that excludes attacking Indonesian capitalists. Subianto himself is a director of Karazanbasmunai, an oil and gas company in Kazakhstan, as well as a director of PT Tidar Kerinci Agung, president and CEO of PT Nusantara Energy and the president and CEO of PT Jaladri Nusantara.

This populist trend is being strengthened by the Widodo Jakarta gubernatorial campaign, with the potential for Widodo's popularity to rub off on Gerindra. It is a big question as regards Widodo's own democratic principles as to why he did not reject nomination by a figure with Subianto's record. At the same time, the various Indonesian left groups do not seem to have circulated critiques of these developments. Subianto may be in with a chance.

Religious affairs ministry and the start of Ramadhan

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2012

Khairil Azhar, Jakarta – "What is your conclusion? Do you agree with the edict that Ramadhan begins on Saturday, July 21, 2012?" asked Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, every time a leader of an Islamic organization was about to conclude his remarks on Thursday (July 19) night's "Sidang Isbat" orchestra.

And we could see that some religious leaders, after coming up with fine explanations, suddenly became startled and looked as though thy had no choice other than to agree with "the already cooked meal." So, what was the forum actually for?

How can we say it was democratic when personal freedom in religious affairs was interfered with by the state, favoring certain groups and disfavoring others? Why does the state not merely act as an impartial referee, since its intervention only sparks unnecessary destructive conflicts?

In this way, we can see that the Religious Affairs Ministry is no different to the colonial era's KantoorvoorInlandschezaken, the office established for local (primarily Muslim) affairs in 1918. Beneath its appearance as an umbrella for different religious beliefs, the office is actually a political institution with hidden (and now flaunted) repressive agendas.

In the colonial period, based on advice by Snouck Hurgronje that Muslims could be controlled by having their religious affairs "administered", the office drew up policies that were decided by the Governor General, the most-senior ranking political official.

The dissenting ulemas and their organizations were spied on and suppressed. Muslims who wanted to perform the haj pilgrimage were screened and their activities in Mecca and other places in Saudi Arabia were systematically restricted.

The main mission was simple: The existence of colonialism must be preserved at all costs. What does today's Religious Affairs Ministry actually serve? To answer that, we need to look at the big picture.

During the transition toward democracy, the pie had to be shared to ensure a coalition. So, the ministries, where money and policies are mostly managed, became the "prey". Every allying party received its "jatah" or share, based on their proportion after the general election.

Suryadharma, being the head of the Islamic United Development Party (PPP), was given the top post at the Religious Affairs Ministry. As long as he supports the dominant party and the president, his position will be secure, even he transforms the ministry into a "kingdom" inside a kingdom.

Publicly, therefore, he must maintain support for both his chairmanship of the PPP and his chief ministerial role at the ministry. Realizing that his party's electability depends primarily on the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) masses and other organizations which make up the majority, he will certainly be supportive of them. His own personal religious beliefs are of no consequence, as we understand him as a politician.

Engineering the "public's conscience" – being one of the best ways for every politician to mobilize support – is what we see every year at the Sidang Isbat, the general meeting to decide the beginning of Ramadhan and other religious rituals.

The public is forced to internalize what is right and wrong instead of allowing them to make decisions based on their own methods or ways. The "truth" is said to be only "one" and it is what everyone must acquire. To arrive at a different "truth" means to be prepared to be alienated, socially or politically.

In fact, we are talking about the teaching of a religion, which for dozens of centuries has been debated. It is also not related to the subsistence of millions of poor Indonesian Muslims who are living below accepted standards.

Why does the ministry not occupy itself, for example, with drafting and implementing regulations for religious affairs that are fair for all religious groups? Why is it not busy with eradicating its intermittent corruption practices?

Why do the officials and the religious leaders keep speaking about a version of truth when we clearly see that they are untruthful? Why is the public repeatedly tricked with a hallucinatory medicine that only relieves the pain temporarily, while the underlying disease is never solved?

At this time, we should also note that the use of the words demi persatuan (for unity) is very dangerous for democracy in Indonesia. The term "unity" gave us a tyrannical regime in the past. It was this notion – which nowadays is still used in the context of Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia (NKRI) – that caused tens of thousands, or possibly even millions, of lives to be sacrificed because of perceived difference or dissent.

The use of the word "unity" potentially annihilates the powerless "others" since it is here connotatively understood as (the necessity of) "uniformity" rather than a potentially altered social contract. It directly confronts, therefore, the very idea of democracy or liberty.

To Indonesian Muslims, this idea of "uniformity" was one of the main reasons why the Ahmadis lost their rights in the public sphere. They have been coerced into accepting what the majority believes and to relinquish their own teachings.

This time, after all, we should thank the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and other like-minded organizations for their courage in being different. Without having to negatively question their intentions, we should be glad that democracy is still alive despite the wounds inflicted by our "crafty" leaders.

[The writer is a researcher at the Paramadina Foundation and the Ciputat School for a Democratic Islam.]

Carr acts as caretaker to a relationship before its reckoning

Sydney Morning Herald - July 19, 2012

Michael Bachelard – In the space of a few minutes at the start of his visit to Indonesia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr, outlined two apparently contradictory ambitions.

The first was to "levitate" the relationship – to float it above the "occasional irritants" caused by the cross-border trade in refugees, drugs and cattle. The second ambition was far more earth-bound: five days in Indonesia was just the "hard slog" of making sure the relationship was "in good repair". "Nothing grand but a lot that is workmanlike," he said.

On that measure, in the course of perhaps the longest ever ministerial visit to Indonesia, he succeeded. He talked to diplomats and the local press without gaffes, he highlighted Australian aid, he met Australian businesses and Indonesian counter-terrorism agencies and he was well received when he addressed the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, the first Australian foreign affairs minister to do so.

But the confusion between levitation and drudgery sums up why the relationship with Indonesia (which Australian politicians agree is our most important) is so tricky.

The Australian government would like nothing better than to have it flying along without effort. But the ground-based realities of people smugglers and Australians on death row in Bali, trade spats and human rights in West Papua drag it constantly back to earth.

It does not help that this relationship has become part of the political scrimmage between Australia's government and the federal opposition, so that every nuance out of Jakarta is interpreted as a win or loss for one or other side in Canberra. (The conservative press claimed recently the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's, refusal to take questions at his bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was a snub to her. Actually, it was SBY's own aversion to media scrutiny.)

So, here's the reality: Indonesia, the democracy, is messy and so will our relationship be for the foreseeable future. Paul Keating performed feats of levitation, but only because he was dealing with one man, General Suharto, a dictator who did not concern himself with a domestic constituency until it overthrew him.

Now, when Yudhoyono grants clemency to Schapelle Corby, he pays a domestic political price. When Australia locks up Indonesian boys in immigration detention, the local media pursues their ministers on the subject, as they should. This is one of the dividends of democracy.

Another is a sometimes inchoate nationalism, which is sometimes directed against Australia, which, sometimes, is viewed as a paternalistic neighbour with a white-man's superiority complex.

This means on West Papua, for instance, that Australian diplomacy is hamstrung by the enduring suspicion that we really want to do another East Timor – to split it from Indonesia. Every statement, without exception, that Australian politicians make on that troubled province is therefore mild, and always includes the words "We respect Indonesia's sovereignty". We work hard at this relationship.

Indonesia houses our biggest embassy (which is about to be rebuilt to fit everyone) and we are its biggest aid donor, a fact Carr acknowledged by spending the first day of his first official trip not in Jakarta, but in a methadone clinic and then a muddy village in central Java. We are trying, despite the inconsistency of Indonesian institutions, to increase business ties.

Australia's "soft culture" influence is also growing. Junior MasterChef Australia is one of the most popular shows on Indonesian TV, joining on screen our other proud cultural exports, Beauty and the Geek Australia and Australia's Next Top Model.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, appeared genuine when he insisted that the relationship was "in a good way... in a very robust and a very healthy state".

On the horizon, though, is something much more worrying for Australia than yet another asylum boat.

Yudhoyono's term ends in 2014 and those lining up to replace him are likely to be less willing to take political risks to favour Australian interests. Whatever relationship we've built with him and his ministers will be worthless two years hence if the Indonesian people and parliament do not believe that we are well meaning and friendly towards them. This is the real measure against which Carr's visit should be judged.