Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A crowd on Monday went on the rampage at the Pancur Batu District Prosecutor's Office in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, following the death of a detainee who was allegedly prevented from receiving treatment for his illness because his family could not afford to pay a sum of money to prosecutors.

Members of the crowd, most of them relatives of the victim, vandalized the prosecutor's office, smashing a number of glass panes, searching for prosecutors, and chasing a number of them who were passing through the office.

The victim's relatives were enraged with the prosecutors because they were deemed responsible for the death of Rison Ginting, alias Icon, 30, who was found dead in his cell at the Pancur Batu District Prosecutor's Office on Sunday.

Relatives and a crowd of hundreds carried Rison's body to the prosecutor's office on Monday. He was being detained for a drug-related case. Before he died, he was reported to be ill and requiring medical attention.

A family member, Susi, said that two days before Rison passed away, he appeared sick in his detention cell, but did not receive treatment. She added that Rison's family had requested permission from one of prosecutors that he be taken to hospital. However, Susi explained that the family's request was rejected because the family was not able to meet the prosecutor's demands.

"The prosecutor demanded Rp 10 million (US$1,060), but we could only afford to give Rp 5 million. The prosecutor rejected that and returned the money we had given him," said Susi, adding that the prosecutor who demanded the money had the initials CS.

During the protest at the Pancur Batu District Prosecutor's Office, the victim's family searched for CS, but he was not found at the office. As the family members became angrier, one of them cut his own finger and wiped his blood on CS' name board.

When contacted for comment, the prosecutor's office head, Wuriadhi Paramita, said the prosecutor's office had expressed their apologies over the death of the victim inside the cell. Wuriadhi added that his office would investigate the case and question the prosecutor who allegedly demanded the sum of money from the victim's family.

"We will investigate the case. If we find any of our members guilty, we will take prompt and swift action," Wuriadhi said on Monday.

He added that his office had no authority to allow the victim out of the cell, as he was a detainee of the court who was being housed in the prosecutor's office detention cell.

"Prosecutors have no right to remove the body due to his status as a judge's detainee. Furthermore, the victim was scheduled to stand trial on Aug. 7," said Wuriadhi.

'Drunken' cop shoots teenager dead

Jakarta Post - August 5, 2012

Jakarta – A drunken police officer identified as Brig. Sahidin Jaenudin opened fire on crowds of teenagers and killed 18-year-old Agus bin Waryo in Karangwareng subdistrict, Cirebon, West Java early on Sunday morning.

Agus, a resident of Blender village in Karangwareng subdistrict, was with friends when the fatal accident occurred. Agus's friend, Eka Ramadhani, said that during Ramadhan they played musical instruments around the neighborhood to wake people for predawn meals.

"There was a little argument between youths from different villages. We were asked to go home," he said. When the group left for home, Brig. Sahidin from Karangsembung police district fired into the air and then aimed the second shot toward Agus' back, Eka said.

"The officer asked us to go home and we obeyed. But Agus was shot," he said. "I thought it was a firecracker. We heard the same noise again and then Agus collapsed behind me," said Agus's friend, Khalim.

Cirebon Regency Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hero H Bachtiar said Jaenudin claimed to have been under the influence of alcohol during the incident. The officer will likely be discharged and face legal consequences regarding his actions.

Poet turns down Bakrie Award

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2012

Indonesian poet Seno Gumira Ajidarma followed in the steps of several intellectuals by refusing to the 2012 Achmad Bakrie Award, which comes with Rp 250 million (US$26,250) of prize money.

Seno stated in his website on Friday that he received an official letter from the award organizer, the Freedom Institute, on June 12, announcing him the winner for his exceptional works in literature.

"I wrote on June 18 to the Freedom Institute, saying it was better that the award was given to someone else that deserves it, because I cannot accept it," Seno wrote in duniasukab.com, without further explanation.

Two years ago, noted poet Sitor Situmorang and social scientist Daoed Joesoef, also a former education and culture minister, refused to receive the award.

In June 2010, poet, journalist and cultural critic Goenawan Mohamad returned the same award he was presented in 2004, along with Rp 100 million in prize money plus interest.

In 2007, Catholic intellectual Rev. Franz Magnis-Suseno declined to receive the award due to the mudflow disaster. (yps)

West Papua

UK West Papuan tribal leader removed from Interpol list

BBC News - August 6, 2012

Danny Shaw – A tribal leader from an Indonesian province who was granted asylum in Britain has won his battle to be removed from an Interpol wanted list.

Benny Wenda, who lives in Oxford, had been issued with a red notice and was at risk of arrest and extradition. The Indonesian authorities said they wanted him to stand trial for murder and arson, offences he denied.

But Interpol decided the case against Mr Wenda, who campaigns for West Papua's independence, was "political". In a letter to Fair Trials International, which has campaigned on his behalf, the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files said it had deleted information about his case from its records.

"After re-examining all the information available to it... the Commission finally considered that the case against your client was predominantly political in nature," said the letter, from the Commission's Secretariat.

The British government accepted Mr Wenda's asylum application in 2002 after hearing allegations he had been persecuted by the Indonesian authorities.

Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said: "We are delighted that Interpol has now woken up to this abuse but safeguards are needed to stop other countries misusing Interpol and destroying lives and reputations in the process."

Benny Wenda's plight has highlighted the misuse of Interpol

The Guardian (UK) - August 6, 2012

Alex Tinsley – The case of Benny Wenda, leader of the West Papuan independence movement, is a perfect illustration of the need to reform Interpol and its abused red notice system.

In 2002, Benny escaped from prison in Indonesia where he had been threatened, harassed and prosecuted on trumped-up charges. The UK, recognising persecution, granted him asylum. Benny, who now lives in Oxford with his wife and five children, went on to establish himself as the leader in exile of the West Papuan cause.

Last year, Benny discovered that he was the subject of an Interpol red notice. The notice, issued at Indonesia's request, designated Benny as a wanted criminal and put him at risk of arrest throughout the world. Consequently, he could not risk travelling and had to decline invitations to speak about West Papua at international conferences. The notice also appeared on Interpol's website, complete with Benny's picture and allegations of violent crime, staining his reputation.

Benny came to Fair Trials International, to ask what we could do to help. Indonesia's angry response to the Guardian's coverage showed it was not going to drop the red notice. The UK government was unwilling to demand that Interpol remove it; safely taking proceedings in Indonesia was unrealistic; and there was no court Benny could turn to.

So we used the only avenue open to us and wrote to the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files, arguing that Indonesia was abusing the red notice system for political purposes. We have just learned that the Commission agreed with our view. Interpol accepted the conclusion and removed the red notice.

This result is welcome, but it begs the question: how was the world's largest policing organisation dragged into such a clearly political case, in breach of its cardinal rule of political neutrality? Some of Interpol's 190 member countries have appalling human rights records and are notoriously corrupt, yet it appears there is no effective system to stop these countries using Interpol's red notice system to persecute refugees and exiled political activists. Indeed, since last year's Guardian story, other victims of abusive red notices have approached us for help.

Preventing misuse of Interpol is not only important for people such as Benny, it is also critical to Interpol's own credibility and effectiveness. Last month, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe passed a resolution expressing concern about abuse of the Interpol red notice system by states whose judicial systems do not meet international standards. Opposing the motion was Russia, routinely condemned for its arbitrary criminal trials by the Council of Europe and declared a country of concern by the UK Foreign Office - and one of the biggest red notice users.

To protect its own standing, Interpol must weed out suspicious red notices before they find their way on to police databases the world over. Flaws in its current systems would be less worrying if affected individuals had access to a fair, transparent process to raise their complaints. Unfortunately, the commission we applied to in Benny's case falls short: sitting only twice a year, it operates behind closed doors with no hearings and does not give reasoned decisions. Interpol usually follows its views, but can ask it to "think again" if it disagrees.

Through dialogue with Interpol in recent months, we have learned a lot about how this important crime-fighting organisation works. Interpol states that it keeps its systems under regular review, and we are hopeful that, in light of cases such as Benny's, they will be persuaded to develop new safeguards to prevent countries using red notices to export persecution. Without these reforms, people like Benny, and Interpol's own reputation, will continue to suffer.

Human rights & justice

Kontras accuses police of torturing 17 over cop killing

Jakarta Globe - August 7, 2012

Viriya Paramita – A prominent human rights group accused police in East Nusa Tenggara on Monday or torturing 17 people suspected of killing a police officer.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the chain of events started in March, when Adj. Insp. Bernadus Djawa, from the West Sabu subdistrict police, disappeared in the village of Raymude.

West Sabu Police Chief Adj. Comr. Tomy Wila Huky and members of the local military command launched a search for the missing policeman, and enlisted the help of residents who knew the area.

At 7 p.m. on March 31, residents found Bernadus's lifeless body at the bottom of a ravine. But shortly after they reported the discovery, the police accused the residents of murdering Bernadus.

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said that 17 men were illegally taken into custody, forced to strip nude and placed in a cell measuring three by two- and-a-half meters. The men were then allegedly beaten with a blunt object and forced to drink their own urine.

"There was one officer from Kupang, notorious for his sadistic acts, who came to help with the investigation," Haris said.

"One cop from Kupang came to beat us up," said one of the men who was detained, 56-year-old farmer Saul Kanni. "Every time we were beaten, the other cops just laughed and clapped."

The East Nusa Tenggara Police have denied the allegations. "There was no misconduct on the part of our officers," East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Brig. Gen. Ricky Sihotang said on Monday.

Kontras said it was advocating on behalf of the victims and had brought the case to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Ombudsman Commission and the National Police Comission (Kompolnas).

"We didn't bring this case to National Police Headquarters because they have failed to follow up on so many cases," Haris said.

All 17 men were held at the West Sabu Police station for 12 days before being transferred to Kupang, the provincial capital. They were released on July 29 because of a lack of evidence.

"One day, one of the victims wanted to [urinate]. The police told him to take a bottle to collect the urine. After that, he was forced to drink it," Saul said. "Another time, the police also forced us to cut our hair, from our head and pubic area. The hair was mixed with kerosene and sand for us to drink." He said they were also frequently dunked in seawater

Haris said the police had violated the international convention on forced disappearances as well as a number of other covenants. "Indonesia has already signed the international convention against the use of violence but only the elite level of the police understand that," he said.

"Police officers at the lower levels often take shortcuts and force victims to confess to the police versions of the facts. There are some leaders who condone such violence. There has not been any action to stop it."

The incident is part of a growing list of allegations against police officers in the country.

AGO says no prosecutions on 1965 violations

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2012

Despite a recommendation from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to follow up on the 1965 rights violations, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) says it is unlikely any cases will be brought to court.

Deputy Attorney General Darmono said the 1965 human rights violations cases would instead be settled through reconciliation or out-of-court settlements. "Reconciliation is the preferred option as long as there is hard evidence," Darmono said late on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Concluding its four-year inquiry into the 1965 purge following the alleged abortive coup by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), Komnas HAM declared that gross human rights violations did take place. Komnas HAM demanded that the AGO begin an official investigation as a follow-up to the commission's inquiry.

Darmono argued that the 1965 rights violations could not be settled in an ad hoc human rights court as stipulated in Law No. 26/2000 on human rights courts.

"The [human rights] cases from Timor Leste and Tanjung Priok are exceptions," he added. "The 1965 rights violations are beyond [the scope of] the existing law," he said.

Freedom of information

KIP demands clarity from land agency over information disputes

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2012

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The National Land Agency (BPN) has been urged to impose Article 19 of Law No. 14/2008 on Public Information Openness, following an increase in the number of information disputes with the public.

The law stipulates public institutions to conduct consequence tests on information considered as classified by its internal regulation, said Central Information Commission (KIP) head Abdul Rahman Ma'mun.

Abdul said that the KIP was handling at least seven cases of information disputes between the community and the BPN. "Consequence tests are important for providing the public with the reasons why particular information has to be withheld from people," said Abdul.

Abdul pointed to the Agriculture Minister/BPN Head Regulation No. 3/1997 on the implementation of Government Regulation (PP) No. 24/1997 on land registration. The regulation stipulates that copies of land registration documents can only be given to the stakeholders or those whose names are mentioned in the ownership certificate of the land in question.

"There is a need to redefine who are considered as stakeholders," he said. "The BPN should not see the public information openness law as a threat but as a part of the solution. Clarity on land ownership can reduce the escalation of land conflict," Abdul said.

Abdul was in Yogyakarta to lead an adjudication court for a land information dispute between a local resident and the BPN Yogyakarta Provincial Office. Widarti was trying to access information regarding the chronology of how the land that she claimed as hers had now been changed to the ownership of another party.

At the trial, the head of the BPN Yogyakarta land dispute and conflict division, Bandang Priyoko, said that his office could not reveal the information to Widarti because she was not a stakeholder. He quoted the aforementioned Agriculture Minister/BPN Head Regulation as a reference. "We don't know why the regulation was made because we are just implementers," Bandang told the court.

The trial was adjourned, with the agenda of examining the documents considered as classified. The trial is expected to decide whether the documents can be categorized as classified.

While the KIP demanded more transparency on the land ruling, farmers in North Sumatra, under the Joint Secretariat of Land Reform, have demanded that police release 68 farmers who have been detained for their alleged involvement in a number of land conflicts within the last six months.

"Many farmers have been shot, arrested and assaulted by the police when they were in the middle of a land conflict with either state-owned companies or private companies," said Ahmadsyah, the organization's spokesman.

"This is proof that the police have treated the farmers unfairly and have defended those with more money," he said during a rally recently, which involved farmers, university students and activists.

Ahmadsyah said the farmers were caught and arrested without any strong evidence. The faith of some farmers, he continued, remained unknown. "Most of the farmers have been in detention for six months. As of today, we have never heard from them," he said.

In response to the protest, North Sumatra Police spokesman Comr. Heru Prakoso said that the police could not just release the farmers as there was a procedure to be followed.

Political parties & elections

MUI chief gives green light to vote for non-Muslim leaders

Jakarta Globe - August 7, 2012

The Indonesian Council of Ulema said on Tuesday that Muslims could vote for non-Muslim candidates in elections under certain conditions.

"If the [non-Muslim] candidate has been proven to be a just person, then [Muslims] can vote for a non-Muslim," Amidhan, head of the Islamic council known as MUI, told Antara state news agency. "Indonesia is a democratic nation, not an Islamic nation."

Amidhan said that if voters had to choose between a Muslim candidate with poor morals and a non-Muslim candidate, they should vote for the latter. "But only if there's evidence that the non-Muslim leader is a just person," he said.

Even though Muslims were not required to vote for a Muslim leader, he added, the tendency to choose a candidate with the same religion was normal. "Jewish people would [tend to] vote for a Jewish leader and Christians would vote for a Christian leader," he said.

As Jakarta gubernatorial candidates Joko Widodo and incumbent Fauzi Bowo continue their campaigns, religion has become a hot topic.

Joko, popularly known as Jokowi, is running on a ticket with Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is Christian. The pair earned the most votes in the first round of elections and will compete in the second round on Sept. 20.

Dangdut singer Rhoma Irama was recently summoned by the Jakarta Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) for allegedly campaigning against Jokowi and Ahok by preaching that Muslims would become enemies of God if they did not vote for a Muslim candidate.

Amidhan said Rhoma did not make a mistake in his statement because the dangdut singer had been speaking at a mosque. However, the MUI chief urged participants in the gubernatorial race to refrain from campaigning on issues of ethnicity, religion, race or societal groups.

Younger candidates needed for 2014: Analyst

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2012

Parties must open the door for alternative figures to run for president in 2014, according to one observer.

"Indonesia needs new figures who have extra energy, credibility and a broad perspective to help the nation survive a complicated situation," Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political analyst, Siti Zuhro, said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Siti said that older candidates would not be able to cope with new challenges and that the ideal age for a contender was around 50. "Of course, they should not be over 60 or 70," Siti said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Zuhro said that the public would not vote for parties that did not accommodate the aspirations of the people. Politicians who failed in previous elections should step aside and allow younger candidates a chance to run for the presidency, she said.

Islamic parties 'must' form coalition to survive in 2014

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2012

Jakarta – Analysts and politicians have agreed that the only way that Muslim-based political parties can keep their heads above water in the 2014 elections is to form a coalition.

The prospects for Muslim parties have been increasingly grim. According to an opinion poll conducted by the research department of Kompas daily that was released last week, support for major Muslim political parties was in the single digits.

In the survey, the most popular Muslim party was the Prosperous Justice Party's (PKS), which was backed by 3 percent of respondents, followed by the National Mandate Party's (PAN) at 1.8 percent, and the United Development Party (PPP) at 1 percent. The Muslim party that fared the worst, the National Awakening Party (PKB), was backed by 0.4 percent of respondents.

Another opinion poll released by the National Survey Institute (LSN) in June said that overall support for Islamic parties stood at 15.7 percent, down from 29.14 percent in the 2009 election and from 38.39 percent in 2004.

Political analyst Ray Rangkuti of the Indonesian Civil Society Circle (LIMA) said that the only way that unpopular Muslim parties could succeed in the presidential and legislative elections in 2014 was to form a single coalition to show that they could put aside partisan differences.

"Islamic parties have no choice but to form a coalition if they hope to have any influence beyond being mere names in 2014," Ray told The Jakarta Post.

Ray said that building a coalition would not be difficult. "The only thing dividing them are petty and insignificant squabbles. Otherwise, there are no conflicts in terms of theology, visions and missions between these parties," Ray said.

PPP lawmaker Reni Marlinawari said that the most important factor in determining the success of the coalition would be a leader with fresh and original ideas. "We need a leader with brand new ideas, who doesn't necessarily have to be young, but should be fresh in terms of thought and action," Reni said.

Senior PAN lawmaker Tjatur Sapto Edy said that a coalition might be formed across religious lines, as long as the leader was a pious person, regardless of their faith.

"We have no problems with having Christian at the helm. That can still work out," Tjatur said. "The great thing about the Indonesian people is their interfaith tolerance. We had Dutch Christians colonizing us for centuries, and yet it is still easy to find churches anywhere," he said.

Once reviled, Indonesia's Prabowo may become next president

Reuters - August 2, 2012

Raju Gopalakrishnan, Singapore – Just over 14 years ago, Prabowo Subianto was one of Indonesia's most reviled men, accused of kidnapping, human rights abuses and a coup attempt.

Now, the former general has emerged as the most popular candidate for president. If elected, he says he will not roll back the democratic reforms that Indonesia embraced after his then father-in-law Suharto was ousted from over three decades of autocratic rule.

"I think the people want strong, decisive leadership," Prabowo told Reuters in an interview in Singapore. But he added: "I don't think it is feasible to turn back the clock. Whatever I would like to do, I don't think it is feasible. I think we have to work harder to create consensus, work harder to get a mandate from the people."

Suharto was thrown out of office in May, 1998 as the country sank into an abyss of rioting and economic upheaval. Prabowo, a general from one of Indonesia's most prominent families, was accused of instigating the violence.

Incoming president B.J. Habibie said the second night after he was sworn in, Prabowo showed up at the presidential palace, armed and with a squad of special forces soldiers, and tried to stage a coup.

Dismissed from the army soon after, shunned by the Jakarta elite and in self-exile in Jordan for some years, Prabowo has in just over a decade managed a striking transformation.

While Indonesia has rebounded from the near-chaos of the late 1990s to be one of the world's fastest-growing economies, Prabowo is now a successful businessman and the popular head of a political party.

Opinion polls show him as the leading candidate for the 2014 presidential election, although he himself says a lot can happen before then.

Analysts say his often blunt views on the need for strong leadership and pro-poor and pro-farmer policies have gone down well with the people, for whom the events of 1998 do not matter that much anymore.

"I was a soldier," Prabowo said, describing that period. "As a soldier, one does not think too much about politics or political correctness or human communications. Maybe my communication was not good enough."

A 60-year-old with the square build of the special forces commander he once was, Prabowo said he is still refused a US visa because of the allegations he was involved in violence at that time. He is now divorced from Suharto's daughter, with whom he has a 28-year-old son.

Asked about the coup charges leveled by Habibie, who took over as Indonesia's president after Suharto, Prabowo said: "That is part of political jockeying, disinformation. I was just a straight soldier. I proved by my actions. Did I take over? Did I carry out a coup d'etat? History speaks for itself."

Asked if could have taken power if he wished, he said: "Yes of course. Why not?"

Prabowo, in Singapore to deliver a lecture on the future of Indonesia, separately told reporters: "Despite controlling nearly one half of Indonesia's combat units, I stepped down after being asked to step down by the political power.

"Because I am a constitutionalist. As an officer and a soldier, I swore an oath to serve the Republic of Indonesia. I kept my honor, I kept my oath."

An insular Indonesia?

With the no-nonsense style of a former general, Prabowo's possible ascent to power is being looked on nervously from several quarters. Investors worry he will bring in protectionist policies and political analysts say his past shows he can easily slip into strong-arm autocratic rule.

"If he won, concerns would arise about the durability of democratization," says Kevin O'Rourke, a Jakarta-based analyst. "He also advocates an economic agenda that calls for banning rice imports and banning gas exports. He is antagonistic towards investment and market forces."

Prabowo, the son of one of Indonesia's most respected economic planners, has said he is not against foreign investment. "We want foreign investment, but it must be win-win," he said. "It must be rational, it must be cognizant of local and environmental needs and it must be on a fair and level playing field."

In his speech, he said the country needed to avoid depletion of its energy and other resources, control population growth, improve governance and bring in structural changes in the economy to benefit the poor and the farmers, who form the majority of Indonesia's 240 million people.

The country was once Asia's only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) but left the group and is now a net importer, although it has vast natural gas reserves and has some of the world's largest coal deposits. Prabowo's focus was, however, on agriculture, and he advocated using bio-fuels to back up fossil fuel reserves.

"Sixty percent of our population live on agriculture and are allocated three percent of the national budget in 2012," he said. "This is not viable. This is not wise, this a formula for misery, for unrest. This will degrade social harmony. This is what we have to have the courage to address."

Prabowo is also feared by some of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority, who control much of the country's $1 trillion economy and were targeted in the 1998 mayhem that was orchestrated by thugs believed to be organized by special forces soldiers.

"I am very committed to a united Indonesia regardless of race, religion and background," he said in response to a question on his policy towards the ethnic Chinese. "My political party has a lot of members from many, many backgrounds and races. We have a lot of Chinese members but of course most of them are middle class and poor Chinese. We don't think about race in our party."

Not a socialist

But Prabowo said government should re-focus spending away from the cities and the elite.

He said he did not wish to criticise President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, with whom he graduated from Indonesia's military academy, but added that economic managers had blindly adopted Western economic policies in his tenure. Yudhoyono has served two terms as president and cannot run again.

Prabowo, who contested the vice-presidency in 2009 but was defeated by Yudhoyono and his running mate, said he was not a socialist but added that government could not take a hands-off stand.

"In Indonesia, we cannot have a laissez-faire approach to our problems. I am of the conviction that a government must intervene to protect the very poor and the very weak, to stimulate growth. "In sectors where the private sector is very strong, let the private sector carry on."

Ultimately, Prabowo said, what was needed was a strong government. "There are always leaders and people who will look for reasons not to try anything new. But the Indonesian leadership must have the will, the toughness, the character, the courage, to think and try to look for creative solutions.

"I was brought up with the motto 'who dares, wins' and I think it is time for the Indonesian elite to dare."

Women's rights

BPS to survey on violence against women in 2014

Jakarta Post - August 7, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) says it is planning a survey for 2014 to collect reliable data on violence against women in Indonesia.

The survey, whi9ch would begin as a pilot in 2013, would use the more reliable multi-country study methodology developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), BPS social resilience statistics chief M. Sairi Hasbullah said on Tuesday.

"We need to adopt a slight modification of the WHO multi-country study methodology to ensure the quality and comparability of the data," Sairi said at a workshop on domestic violence statistics held by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

The BPS plans to use blocks of 9,000 households defined by the 1999 census as a basis for aggregating data on a national level.

The survey will involve the BPS, Bappenas, the Women Empowerment and Child Protection and Health Ministries and several state universities and cover 24 provinces in Java, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Sumatra, Maluku and Papua.

The 2006 National Economic and Social Survey (Susenas) is currently the only BPS survey recording violent crimes against women in the country. (iwa)

No reliable data on violence against women

Jakarta Post - August 7, 2012

Jakarta – Few ASEAN countries have reliable statistical data on violence against women although the 2004 ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women underscored the need for reliable statistics both to assess the size of the problem and to monitor changes, a senior United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) official says.

UNFPA representative for Indonesia, Jose Ferraris, said on Monday that such statistics were important to inform and guide the development of national legislation, policies and programs that could prevent violence against women and protect survivors as well.

"Without timely and accurate indicators, it is impossible to track progress or provide information that compels policymakers to act toward the elimination of violence against women," he told a workshop on "Strengthening National Capacities to Collect Violence against Women Statistics in the ASEAN Region", jointly held by Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, ASEAN Secretariat and the UNFPA today.

The National Commission on Violence against Women recorded that 119,107 reported cases of violence against women took place in Indonesia in 2011.

The workshop aims to address the need for stakeholders, such as national health systems and planning offices, as well as those who work in women empowerment to more effectively integrate the collection, analysis and use of data on violence against women in national plans and programs.

During the workshop, participants from ASEAN's 10 member countries studied various statistical methodologies, in particular the World Health Organization's (WHO) multi-country study methodology, available for measuring violence against women.

Ferraris said the WHO methodology was the gold standard in measuring violence against women and which allowed multi-country comparisons to take place.

Labour & migrant workers

Government urged to end outsourcing

Jakarta Post - August 7, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor unions have threatened to stage a nationwide strike next month if the government does not act to end outsourcing practices.

The unions, including the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI), Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBI) and nine other labor union federations announced in a joint press conference on Monday that in addition to the planned strike, more than 1 million workers were expected to picket industrial areas in 14 municipalities and regencies in mid September.

"The strike will proceed peacefully but if the government refuses to listen to our demands, we will step up our efforts by occupying toll roads and other public facilities until the government enacts a moratorium on outsourcing practices, which contradict the Labor Law," KSPSI chairman, Andi Gani Nena Wea, said.

Andi said that workers could resort to the use of force if the government and employers insisting on violating the law against outsourcing.

A survey conducted by the alliance of the labor unions found that 15 million workers were employed under the outsourcing system – more than 50 percent of 33 millions workers employed in the formal sector.

Following a controversial compromise between employers and unions on the 2003 Labor Law, companies are increasingly switching to outsourcing for non-essential employees including those in the security, transportation and cleaning services to cut costs.

The flexibility of the outsourcing system allows employers to lay off a majority of their workforce before the Idul Fitri holiday and reinstate them after the holiday so as to avoid paying holiday allowances. "Dismissed workers are warned that if they report their dismissal to the government, they won't be hired again," said KSBI chairman Mudhofir.

Since the passage of the law, massive, and at times violent rallies against outsourcing have taken place in Jakarta and other major cities across the country.

As a result of public pressure in 2005, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered seven state universities to conduct an in-depth study on controversial issues of the new law, including provisions related to outsourcing. No action has been taken to follow up on the study's findings.

KSPI chairman Said Iqbal said workers also opposed the recent ministerial decree's 50-component decent wage criteria, arguing that majority of workers remain underpaid and poor.

"The government added only four components to the list of criteria because employers rejected the 86 components proposed by labor unions. With the new decree, most workers will not see any significant wage increase in January 2013.

"This is why we have demanded the government to instate a one-year moratorium on outsourcing and to bring employers, not their human resources managers, to discuss these central issues," he said.

Activists want lactation rooms in offices

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Working mothers in Indonesia are still facing barriers to exercising their rights to breastfeed their babies, as employers are somewhat reluctant to take up bold policies in promoting breastfeeding among their workers, an activist says.

The Indonesian Breastfeeding Mothers' Association (AIMI) chairwoman, Mia Sutanto, said on Thursday that by taking just a few simple steps, employers could actually provide breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, and maintain the productivity of their workers.

By setting up clean, comfortable and private lactation rooms, for example, employers can ensure that their workers can go back to work, while at the same time continuing to breastfeed their newborns, she said.

Research jointly conducted by AIMI and Save the Children shows that very few offices, both public and private, give mothers the support they need to breastfeed their babies.

Of the total 37 government offices surveyed, only 4, or 10.81 percent of offices provide breastfeeding rooms, while 8 offices, or 21.62 percent provide a room, but the space is not specially-designed for brestfeeding. Only one of the total 37 government offices had a written policy regarding lactating rooms.

The situation is much worse in private offices. Only 2, or 11.11 percent of the total 18 private offices surveyed in the study dedicate a special space for the use of nursing mothers.

Three, or 16.67 percent of the total surveyed offices have a space for nursing, but it is not specially designed to accommodate lactating mothers. None of the private offices have written policies on lactation rooms.

Nur Amalia, an NGO activist advocating health issues, has encountered many difficult situations each time her organization encouraged private companies to adopt breastfeeding-friendly policies.

"We have encouraged factories to give their workers a proper lactation room and a reasonable amount of break to either breastfeed their babies or to pump their breast milk. But they are not encouraged to do so, as most of them prefer to first optimize profits over broader health concerns," she said.

According to the 2010 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), the percentage of infants aged 0-6 months old who were exclusively breastfed was found to be only 15 percent, which was very low.

The Government Regulation (PP) No.33/2012 on exclusive breastfeeding, officially approved on March 1, aims to improve the breastfeeding practices in the country.

It regulates several issues, including: early initiation of breastfeeding; breastfeeding promotion; support at health care facilities, and the ethical promotion of formulas and other infant foods. Under the PP, both public and private work places, as well as public facilities are required to have lactation rooms available.

The PP is the implementing regulation of Law No.36/2009 on health which stipulates that unless there is a medical indication, every child has the right to exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth.

Article 200 of the 2009 law stipulates that anyone who commits a violation in preventing mother and child from exclusive breastfeeding can face one year in jail.

Minister tells employers to pay bonus on time

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar has asked all employers to pay the Idul Fitri bonus on time so that workers can celebrate the upcoming Islamic holiday with relatives in their hometowns.

The minister also instructed the heads of regional administrations to ensure that workers received their pay before the holiday.

According to Ministerial Decree No. 4/1994, paying religious allowances, including the Idul Fitri bonus, is compulsory for all companies, NGOs and foundations. The bonus should have been paid no later than seven days before the grand Islamic event.

The minister said he had already issued a circular asking all governors, regents and mayors to closely monitor the annual bonus' payment in accordance with the decree.

"Regional heads are instructed to assign labor inspectors to supervise the decree's implementation while a number of monitoring posts have been established in industrial areas to accept complaints from workers," he said on Friday, adding that no companies were expected to breach the ministerial decree.

The ministerial decree requires employers to pay a one-month salary in annual bonuses to workers who have worked at least 12 months consecutively and 50 percent of monthly wages to those working at least three months consecutively.

Asked about the urgency of the special bonus' payment, Muhaimin said that millions of low-wage workers in Jakarta and surrounding areas were expected to visit their hometowns in West, Central and East Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi to celebrate Idul Fitri with their families.

"Most workers hope to receive the annual bonus, because of their low monthly wage, to cover their trips home and any postponements will certainly cause public unrest that could disturb political stability in the capital."

He added that the annual exodus was a good tradition that had to be conserved to strengthen brotherhood among Muslims and the religious tolerance among religious communities.

Separately, the ministry's director general of industrial relations and social security affairs, Irianto Simbolon, said that only companies with financial difficulties as shown in their audits were exempted from the obligation.

Last year, as many as 84 small-and medium-scale enterprises requested that they be exempted from the obligation. "Several requests were rejected and the companies were required to pay the special bonus," he said.

Meanwhile, employers said they had no more problems with the annual religion allowance because it had been inserted into their companies' annual labor costs in January.

"The special bonus paid in observance of religious events is normative in its nature because of its possible social and political implications, and so far, no employers have raised objections to paying it," said Indonesian Employers' Association deputy chairman Djimanto.

Djimanto added the special bonus was no longer a major issue as it had been during the past few years.

Health & education

Breast-feeding boost sought in regulation

Antara News - August 1, 2012

A worrying decline in exclusive breast-feeding by new mothers underlines the need for the government to move quickly and enact a regulation that is meant to encourage and make breast-feeding easier, health activists say.

Tirta Prawita Sari, chairwoman of the Nutrition Conscious Society Foundation, said discussion of the regulation had been sidelined by the government after the untimely death for former Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih in May.

The regulation is urgently needed, she said, pointing to a decline in exclusive breast-feeding among mothers.

"In 2006, 64.1 percent of mothers provided exclusive breast-feeding to their babies up to 6 months of age. But that figure dropped to 62.2 percent in 2007 and in 2008 it dropped to 56.2 percent," Tirta said.

"We urge the government to enact the regulation, which provides working mothers compensation during the mandatory exclusive breast-feeding period, like a six-month maternal leave after giving birth."

Tirta said that as more women worked outside of the home, exclusive breast-feeding would continue to dwindle unless the government moved to ensure the rights of working mothers were protected.

Under the regulation, offices and public buildings will be obliged to provide a nursing room where mothers can breast-feed or pump milk as if in the privacy of their home.

The regulation would also oblige companies to provide certain concessions for female employees such as allowing them regular breaks to breast-feed or pump milk.

It would outlaw all advertisements for milk formula targeted at babies under the age of 1, to encourage parents to choose breast milk, which contains more nutrients and immune system-boosting properties than commercial formula brands.

According to the 2007 government-sponsored National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas), 13 percent of children under the age of 5 nationwide were malnourished, while 5.4 percent were undernourished, largely because they were not breast-fed.

Refugees & asylum seekers

Soldier in 'key role' in Java boat tragedy

Australian Associated Press - August 3, 2012

An army officer facing charges over one of Indonesia's worst asylum seeker boat disasters has been accused of playing a key part in organising the ill-fated venture.

Five soldiers were arrested in December after they were linked to an asylum seeker boat that capsized in rough monsoonal seas on its way to Australia within hours of leaving from a port in East Java. As many as 200 asylum seekers drowned when the overloaded boat sank on December 17. Just 49 people survived the disaster.

While members of the Indonesian military (TNI) have been implicated in people-smuggling cases in the past – including as recently as two weeks ago – their roles are commonly limited to acting as escorts.

But a military court hearing next week in Madiun, East Java, will hear allegations that at least one of the officers arrested over December's tragedy was heavily involved in arranging the doomed voyage.

Sergeant Ilmun Abdul Said is accused of helping to obtain the vessel from local fishermen and advising people smugglers on where to launch the boat.

The commander for Brawijaya Military Police, Colonel Budi Purwono, who oversaw the investigation, has said that Sergeant Said also recruited the other four officers to help send the boat to Christmas Island.

"These officers were being used by civilians to help send people over the ocean," Colonel Purwono said. Sergeant Said's brother was the key link in the chain between the people-smuggling syndicate and the TNI officers.

"After his talks with his brother, who told him that there were people who wanted to cross the ocean, then he asked around to see who was willing to help," Colonel Purwono said. "He [was] also helping them to get the boat and telling his brother which area on the coast it was possible to use."

The identities of those in charge of the syndicate have not been revealed, although at the time of the disaster, people-smuggling kingpin Sayed Abbas was linked to the venture.

Abbas is now detained in Indonesia, and the Australian government has made it clear in the past that it would like to extradite him to face people- smuggling charges.

The trial of Sergeant Said comes as another group of soldiers remain in custody after they were caught last month escorting a group of asylum seekers to the southeastern coast of Java – a popular disembarkation point for boats heading to Australia.

Sergeant Said could be jailed for up to 15 years if convicted of people smuggling. He also faces a number of other charges and dismissal from the army. The other four soldiers will face court at a later date.

Graft & corruption

SBY resists pressure to give KPK sole control of cop graft probe

Jakarta Post - August 7, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has refused to give in to mounting calls that he ask the National Police to allow the nation's top anti-graft body to solely investigate corruption within the force, which has allegedly involved police generals and has triggered a massive public reaction.

The President's spokesman, Julian Aldrin Pasha, said on Tuesday that the best way to settle this issue was by asking the police and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to meet and discuss the matter.

"The President's directives have been delivered to leaders of the police and the KPK via the Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto," Julian said when asked why the President had not ordered the police to hand over their investigation into the alleged graft to the KPK in compliance with the 2002 KPK Law.

The National Police have insisted on their own investigation into the case, even though the KPK had first launched a similar probe into the procurement that is worth almost Rp 200 billion (US$21.2 million). The National police's move prompted many to speculate that their insistence was part of a rear guard action to protect certain high-profile figures within the force.

However, Julian said that the police's insistence showed their "spirit to eradicate corruption." He also called on the country's top legal experts to come up with ideas on how best the issue could be settled.

Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin meanwhile said that the President had not given any decisive directives in the issue for a reason. "I think that currently it is not a situation whereby it is necessary for the President to make such an effort".

"Both the KPK and the police are open to settlements. Why should all problems be handled directly by the President?" added Amir, who is also a politician from Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

Amir said that both institutions had equal power to probe the case. "Please don't give the impression that the two bodies are in a standoff. These kinds of statements will not help," he said.

Djoko also denied the KPK and the police were at a standoff. "You [journalists] have given this impression. Please, we should focus on the fact that both institutions have agreed to charge the alleged actors in the case," he said.

Latest corruption case adds to growing suspicions over police wealth

Jakarta Globe - August 6, 2012

Rizky Amelia – The Corruption Eradication Commission's decision to name Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, the former head of the National Police's traffic division, a suspect was unprecedented in the antigraft body's eight-year history – but it was hardly a surprise.

If proven, the case will demonstrate deep corruption in the police force, perceived as one of the most graft-prone institutions in the country, according to a recent survey by Transparency International.

Boyamin Saiman, chairman of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI), said the lavish lifestyles of senior police officers was evidence of rampant corruption inside the force.

According to Djoko's 2010 asset declaration to the antigraft commission, known as the KPK, the two-star police general had Rp 5.6 billion ($594,000) in assets, including a property in a posh part of South Jakarta, Rp 500 million worth of jewelry and Rp 237 million in cash. KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said Djoko's bank accounts had been frozen by the KPK.

But Boyamin believed that Djoko had underdeclared his wealth. "We are reporting [to the KPK] the presence of a house and property reportedly belonging to [Djoko]," he told reporters before submitting MAKI's discovery to the KPK on Thursday.

Boyamin said Djoko reportedly owns a 5,000-square-meter property in Solo, Central Java. The property is the site of a palace, he said. "The appraisal for the land alone was Rp 25 billion, the building is worth Rp 10 billion and the furniture and antiques are worth Rp 5 billion," he said.

MAKI, he said, had obtained a tip from a Solo-based notary that confirmed the property belonged to Djoko. "The notary was involved in the purchase process [on Djoko's behalf] and transferred the land deed [to Djoko's name] at a BPN [National Land Agency] office in Solo," he said.

It is not known whether Djoko, who joined the police in 1984, owns a business. Djoko, who was previously the Bekasi and later North Jakarta police chief, became chief of the traffic division in September 2010, before being made head of the Police Academy in May last year.

It was during his time in charge of the traffic division that Djoko allegedly received Rp 2 billion in bribes in exchange for awarding tenders for driving simulators to two companies. The nationwide project is said to have cost Rp 197 billion.

Djoko under fire for backing police probe into traffic cop corruption

Jakarta Globe - August 6, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Farouk Arnaz, Rizky Amelia & Rangga Prakoso – Antigraft watchdogs attacked a cabinet minister on Sunday for saying the National Police should be allowed to investigate a bribery case involving the Rp 197 billion ($21 million) procurement of driving simulators despite the suspicion that senior officers played a role in the offense.

Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister of political, legal and security affairs, said that despite widespread conflict of interest allegations, the National Police would be allowed to conduct its own investigation alongside the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which has named two police generals as graft suspects.

"Just focus on the legal due process, not which [institution] has more authority. If so we will forget what the case is all about," he said on Saturday.

The minister, who has authority over the National Police but not the KPK, said the institutions reached an agreement last week to split the case between them, but many questioned the overlapping jurisdiction and legality of the National Police's involvement.

"We will monitor [the case] closely so that they remain transparent and within the legal corridor of existing laws and regulations," Djoko said. "We must all look back on what was agreed. I think the public clearly understand what was reached in the agreement."

The agreement came after the KPK charged the former head of the National Police's traffic division, Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, with allegedly receiving Rp 2 billion in bribe money from two companies awarded the lucrative tender. The KPK also charged Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo, the current deputy chief of the traffic division, as well as Adj. Sr. Comr. Teddy Rismawan and Comr. Legimo, who were in charge of the tender process.

Police reportedly prevented the KPK from seizing documents related to the project from the traffic division's office in East Jakarta, a standoff that ended only after an agreement between the two law enforcement bodies was reached.

The National Police Commission (Kompolnas), a state body charged with monitoring the police force, asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to instruct the National Police to drop the case.

"There has been a power struggle and the Kompolnas deemed that this was not good because much energy was being wasted on the conflict [between police and KPK] instead of the actual case," Kompolnas commissioner Edi Hasibuan said. "Kompolnas is advising the president to mediate between both institutions."

Indonesian Judiciary Monitor Society (Mappi) chairman Choky Ramadhan said the police would not investigate the case objectively and would likely try to protect other members of the force. "The president, as the direct superior of the National Police chief, can instruct the police to let the KPK handle the case," he said.

Indonesia Police Watch chairman Neta S. Pane suggested the president was reluctant to let the KPK handle the case alone, and might want to use it as a bargaining chip against the antigraft body.

Neta cited a recent KPK investigation into Anas Urbaningrum, chairman of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, and another case said to involve Yudhoyono campaign contributor Hartarti Murdaya. Neither have been charged for their alleged involvement in their respective cases.

"The KPK must be courageous [in defying the president]. With the authority it has, the KPK can investigate the driving simulator case alone," Neta said.

The National Police maintains that it is not taking over the case from the KPK, despite arresting three suspects before the antigraft body had the opportunity to question them. "Our questioning was completed, that is why we arrested them," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said.

If proven, the allegations would come as a further blow to the police force, which was perceived as one of the country's most corrupt institutions in a recent survey by Transparency International.

National Police Deputy Chief Comr. Gen. Nanan Sukarna said the police force was trying to reform itself. "It is hard to prevent corruption [inside the force] because it is about changing the mind-set," he said. "How can it be done if superiors keep asking for [bribes] from their subordinates. This is what I am aiming to change."

On the latest case, the providers of the simulators – Citra Mandiri Metalindo Abadi president director Budi Susanto and Sukotjo Bambang, the director of the project's subcontractor, Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia – have been drawn into the investigation in recent days.

The allegations broke after Sukotjo – who was serving three and a half years in jail for similar offenses – told investigators that Budi had allegedly paid Djoko Rp 2 billion for the contract to the Rp 197 billion project. Budi reportedly asked Sukotjo to deliver the money to Djoko, who was with the traffic division at the time.

Probe stalls as KPK-police standoff worsens

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2012

Sita W. Dewi – As the standoff between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police continues, the KPK's probe into graft surrounding the procurement of driving simulators implicating a police general is going nowhere.

Although the KPK has taken a host of documents into evidence, investigators face problems in questioning people in the case who have been named suspects by the police – who are running a separate investigation – and taken into custody at the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) detention center in Kelapa Dua, Bekasi, West Java.

The situation at KPK headquarters has been tense, following reports that unidentified groups tried to enter the container outside the headquarters serving as a makeshift evidence control room for the huge amount of documents seized in the case.

Reports also said that police officers have been allowed into the KPK compound to "guard" the evidence. Unusually, three police patrol cruisers have been seen parked outside KPK headquarters.

A KPK security official was quoted as saying by kompas.com that the police were apparently "spying" on the evidence confiscated by the KPK investigators from the National Police Traffic Corps headquarters last week.

Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar confirmed that the officers were dispatched to "improve" security at the KPK. "We have no plans to take the evidence back with us," Boy told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Concerned activists formed a human chain near the makeshift evidence control room on Sunday.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the commission had not intensified security at its headquarters to prevent unexpected moves from the police. "There have been no efforts to intensify security at the KPK headquarters," he told the Post on Sunday.

Although the Corruption Law allows the commission to supersede and halt corruption investigations launched by the Attorney General's Office or the National Police, the police have pressed ahead with their investigation, quickly detaining four of five suspects.

The police said that they would not hand over the three police officer suspects currently in detention to the KPK, despite a previous agreement to conduct a "joint investigation". "We will not hand over the three [police] suspects to the KPK," National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Sutarman said over the weekend.

Detectives from the National Police's criminal investigations directorate (Bareskrim) arrested four suspects in the case on Friday: the Traffic Corps' deputy chief, Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo; the officer in charge of the procurement, Adj. Sr. Comr. Teddy Rismawan; the procurement's fincancial officer, Comr. Legimo; and the head of the company that won the contract, Citra Mandiri Metalindo director Budi Susanto.

Didik, Teddy and Legimo have been detained at the Brimob's detention center, while Budi has been held at Bareskrim's detention center in Jakarta.

Former Traffic Corps chief Ins. Gen. Djoko Susilo, who has been removed from his position as the Police Academy governor, has been named a suspect in the case, although he has yet to be detained or questioned.

Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) chairman Neta S. Pane said on Sunday that the KPK's probe would depend on testimony from the four suspects currently held by the National Police. "The KPK has the authority to force the police to hand over the suspects. The KPK can arrest the National Police detective chief for obstructing its investigation," Neta said.

Police arrest, deactivate officers linked to vehicle simulator graft case

Jakarta Post - August 5, 2012

Jakarta – The National Police revealed on Saturday that they had arrested four suspects, including high-level police officials, allegedly linked to the scandal involving the of procurement of vehicle simulators worth Rp 198.7 billion (US$21.06 million) at the Traffic Corps.

Three suspects; National Police Traffic Corps deputy chief Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo, Adj. Sr. Cmr. Teddy Rusmawan, the head of the procurement project and Traffic Corps treasurer Comr. Legimo, have been detained at the Mobile Brigade detention center since Friday night.

The Police also deactivated the officers allegedly involved in the case, including former Traffic Corps chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, who was recently named as a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The Police also removed Djoko from his current position as the head of the National Police Academy in Semarang, Central Java. His post is now replaced by Brig. Gen. Bambang Musadiq.

The non-police suspect in the case, Budi Susanto, was detained at the National Police criminal investigation divisions' detention center. Budi was the head of PT Citra Mandiri Metalindo Abadi, the firm that won the procurement of vehicle simulators.

The Police also named Sukoco S. Bambang from PT Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia as a suspect in the case. Bambang has been detained at Kebon Waru penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, for his involvement in another case.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said that he would not hand everything over to the KPK and insisted on continuing the probe of the case despite public criticism. (riz/lfr)

Suryadharma should be held accountable in Koran graft: Deputy

Jakarta Globe - August 4, 2012

SP/Novianti Setuningsih – Nasaruddin Umar, the deputy minister for religious affairs, says Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali should be held accountable in the ongoing Koran procurement graft case because he should have known about the project.

"The minister should be held responsible for everything," Nasaruddin said after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) grilled him for eight hours about the case on Friday.

Nasaruddin was questioned in his capacity as the ministry's former director general for Islamic affairs. "He was questioned in regards to the Koran procurement case that is being investigated by the KPK," said Johan Budi, a spokesman for the antigraft commission.

The KPK is investigating graft allegations in two different procurement cases involving the ministry. The first case relates to the procurement of laboratory equipment for Islamic high schools in 2010. The other is the Koran procurement case from last year.

The KPK has already named Zulkarnaen Djabar, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII, overseeing religious affairs, a suspect for taking bribes to push through the procurement of the holy books.

Dendy Prasetya, the director of Perkasa Jaya Abadi Nusantara, the company that won the Rp 20 billion ($2.1 million) Koran procurement contract and the Rp 30 billion laboratory procurement project, was also named a suspect in the Koran.

Dendy is Zulkarnaen's son. Both allegedly received a total of Rp 4 billion in bribes from both projects. No one has been named a suspect in the lab equipment case, primarily because it is still under investigation.

Speaking at the House last month, Suryadharma said he knew nothing about the graft case and referred all questions to the antigraft investigators.

"We are currently carrying out an internal investigation, but we haven't decided whether to publish [the information], use it for internal reference or submit the findings to the KPK," the minister said.

"If we do find anything, they will only be provisional findings that will require further investigation. They won't be definitive, such as so-and-so is guilty."

Suryadharma also denied knowing anything about the distribution of free Korans to members of House Commission VIII. A Democratic Party legislator labeled the freebies "a new mode of operation for corruption at the legislature." "We're looking into whether there was a request from the House for the Korans," Suryadharma said.

Each of the 48 members of the commission are alleged to have received Rp 500 million worth of Korans to distribute to their constituents.

Benny K. Harman, the deputy chairman of House Commission VI, which oversees industry, trade, investment and state enterprises, denounced the gift as an "obvious act of graft." "To fight this graft, I ask that all legislators who received these Korans be questioned by the KPK," Benny said in July.

Zulkarnaen admitted to taking kickbacks in return for approving funding for the ministry's procurement project. His party, the Golkar Party, has removed him from the House Budget Committee.

Indonesia's graft convicts still getting off too easy

Jakarta Globe - August 4, 2012

Rizky Amelia& Markus Junianto Sihaloho – "Let's say you have someone who goes on trial for embezzling Rp 10 billion through corruption," says Uchok Sky Khadafi, coordinator of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra).

"The value of his assets seized by the state plus the legal fees he incurs will only be somewhere around Rp 5 billion. So once he gets out of prison in a few years, he can still live large."

This frequently played-out scenario, says Uchok, explains succinctly why the nation's fight against corruption is taking a heavy economic toll even as more and more people are convicted of graft.

Rimawan Pradiptyo, a financial crimes expert contracted by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to evaluate the cost of the antigraft campaign, sums up the situation with an eye-opening number.

Even after seizing graft offenders' assets and recovering stolen funds, the state is still running a Rp 67.7 trillion ($7.1 billion) deficit because of the sheer amount of money being embezzled, he says.

"The public is effectively being made to subsidize these corruptors' wealth," Rimawan says. "We need to consider both the explicit and implicit costs of corruption. It would be an extraordinarily large figure if we imposed it on corruptors as fines."

Impoverish the corrupt

That's precisely the idea of a proposal currently being considered for the KPK to adopt in its antigraft campaign.

Gandjar Laksana, a criminal law expert from the University of Indonesia and also a KPK consultant, says the aim is to "impoverish the corrupt" to provide a more potent deterrent against corruption than the prescribed prison sentences.

He says this is in keeping with Article 25(c) of the revised Anti- Corruption Law, which states that other punishment in addition to incarceration may be meted out to fully recover the value of the losses experienced by the state as a consequence of the corruption.

Bambang Widjojanto, a deputy chairman of the KPK, stresses the need to be able to calculate and recover the true cost of corruption to ensure that once graft offenders leave prison, they will not be able to enjoy their ill-gotten riches.

"Corruption is a crime of calculation. People who commit corruption are always calculating whether the amount of money they're getting is worth the potential risk that they run," he says.

He argues that there needs to be another form of punishment, outside of incarceration and fining, that a court can hand down to strip corruption offenders of their dirty money.

Bambang says the combined cost of corruption and for mounting antigraft investigations since the KPK's founding in 2003 is Rp 73 trillion. The amount recovered and seized through fines is just Rp 5.3 trillion.

"We're losing almost 92 percent of all the money. That's why the KPK needs a new way to calculate the true cost of corruption in detail," Bambang says.

Fears of opposition

Some legislators have sided with the antigraft body on this issue. Syarifuddin Sudding, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, agrees that new legislation is needed to prevent corruption convicts from enjoying the fruit of their crimes once they get out of prison.

"There need to be rules on impoverishing corruptors," he says. He adds that what makes the current system particularly egregious is the fact that because of their intact wealth, the ex-convicts command a high degree of respect and admiration once they rejoin society.

Sudding, from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), says he fears that any attempt to pass legislation to the detriment of the corrupt will meet with opposition from a small but politically influential and economically powerful elite. "But that's the choice that we must make," he says.

Saan Mustopa, a House Commission III member from the ruling Democratic Party, says his party will fully support a planned bill on corruption-asset recovery and any other legislation designed to crack down harder on graft offenders. "This bill is clearly necessary in order to restore to the state all the assets stolen through corruption," he says.

But Saan points out that the draft of the bill is still being drawn up by the government and has not yet been submitted to the House for deliberation.

Roll back graft

The draft bill was proposed by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the government's anti-money-laundering watchdog.

Uchok says that the sooner it is submitted to the House and passed, the more effectively authorities can fight corruption and roll back its spread across all layers of the government.

He also says that the bill should go one step further and mandate not just the seizure of ill-gotten wealth, but also the offenders' legitimately earned assets, in an effort to make an example out of them. "The rules that we have now still give graft offenders plenty of breathing room," he says.

He argues that this room needs to be narrowed down so that graft convicts will never be able to enjoy the proceeds of their crimes or be able to stash the money away out of the reach of law enforcement.

Police persist as SBY holds back

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang and Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Tensions between the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the National Police have flared up over the latter's investigation into the procurement of vehicle simulators as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono continued to remain aloof from the issue.

Ignoring calls to allow the KPK to lead the probe, the police insisted on continuing its own investigation into the scandal which many believe to be an effort to stymie the KPK.

"The President is following this issue from news reports. He has reiterated the need for all law-enforcement bodies to work together. However, the President will refrain from interfering because this is a legal matter," presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said on Friday.

He said the President has instructed Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto to ensure the National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo and the KPK leaders coordinate on the case.

Article 50 of the Law on the KPK mandates the police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to halt their investigations and hand over dossiers to the KPK should the antigraft body become involved in related investigations.

National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Sutarman, insisted that the police would proceed with investigating the graft-ridden procurement. The police's action was based on the 1981 Law on the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP), he said.

"None of articles in that law specifically stipulates that law enforcement institutions, the police in particular, should stop their investigations [for any reasons]. For this reason, we will continue to investigate the case unless there is a court ruling ordering us to desist," he said on Friday, adding that the KPK had breached a KPK-Police agreement on a joint investigation.

Sutarman cited the KPK's insistence on raiding the National Police Traffic Corps headquarters for evidence last Monday afternoon, despite an earlier agreement between leaders of the two institutions to wait for two days for the police to complete and present their findings before the KPK's leaders, as an example of the commission's unethical conduct.

"It was unethical for the KPK to conduct the raids without a warrant from the National Police chief [Timur Pradopo] as both sides had agreed to wait," Sutarman said.

Legal expert Hikmahanto Juwana said President Yudhoyono must order the National Police to stop its investigation and let the KPK continue. "The President must be decisive in this case. He has to ask the National Police to comply with the 2002 KPK Law and let the anti-graft body investigate the case thoroughly," Hikmahanto of the University of Indonesia (UI) said.

The tensions between the police and the KPK arose when the KPK announced earlier this week that it had launched a full-blown investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the 2011 procurement of driving simulators, worth a total of Rp 198.7 billion (US$21.06 million), by the National Police's Traffic Corps.

The situation deteriorated when members of the police traffic corps refused to let KPK investigators remove sealed documented evidence during a raid. The standoff lasted from Monday afternoon until Tuesday when KPK leaders, led by chairman Abraham Samad, met Timur on Tuesday afternoon.

The National Police have also been on the defensive after the KPK named Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, former chief of the National Police Traffic Corps, a suspect in the case for allegedly accepting a Rp 2 billion bribe.

The KPK has also named Police Traffic Corps' deputy chief Didik Purnomo and Adj. Sr. Comr. Teddy Rusmawan, the officer who was in charge of the graft- ridden procurement, as suspects, as well as the chiefs of firms that won the procurement contracts, namely Budi Santoso from PT Citra Mandiri Metalindo Abadi and Sukoco S. Bambang from PT Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia.

The Police have named individuals as suspects in their investigation. Democratic Party former treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, who is being detained by the KPK, is reported to also own a company which won a driving-simulator contract in 2010, an allegation that was quickly denied by his lawyer Elza Syarief.

Bad cop, bad cop: Has Indonesia's reform process failed?

Jakarta Globe - August 3, 2012

Farouk Arnaz, Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The naming of two police generals as suspects in a corruption case has once again revived the national debate about whether the 13-year reform process has helped improve accountability in the police force.

When the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named two active-duty police generals suspects in a graft case on Tuesday, activists hoped this was a sign the police were no longer above the law.

Poengky Indarti, executive director of the human rights group Imparsial, said on Thursday that internal reforms had not gone far enough to breed a new generation of police officers who were "professional, non-militaristic and not corrupt." "The reforms seem to have stalled along the way. They haven't been carried out to completion," she said.

She added this could be seen in continuing cases of police brutality against civilians, widespread allegations of graft, claims of complicity with illegal loggers, wrongful arrests, siding with religious hard-liners and torture allegations.

"At the moment, the concept of justice comes at a price," Poengky said. "The law only ever seems to be fully enforced against the little people, but loses its force when it comes to those in power."

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a legislator with House of Representatives Commission III, overseeing legal affairs, agreed that the reforms that began with the police's split from the military in 1999 had not yielded the desired results.

"Three months ago, National Police Chief [Gen. Timur Pradopo] stated his commitment to eradicating corruption," she said. This commitment, she went on, is clearly lacking as seen in the recent revelations of alleged police corruption in connection to a Rp 197 billion ($21 million) project to procure driving simulators.

The two police generals named as suspects this week were the former chief of the traffic police and the current deputy chief of the division.

This is not the first time police officers have been linked to bribes or markups. In one instance, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) flagged bank accounts of dozens of police officers reportedly containing hundreds of billions of rupiah. A number of retired police generals have been jailed or named suspects in corruption cases.

In 2008, former National Police Chief Gen. Rusdihardjo was sentenced to two years for corruption. Two years earlier, a former National Police chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung, received one and a half years in prison for accepting bribes in the BNI scandal. Another former chief of detectives, Susno Duaji, was sentenced to more than three years in another graft case.

Police officers refused to allow KPK officials investigating the current allegations to take away evidence seized from the traffic police headquarters for several hours.

Jamil Mubarok, coordinator of the Indonesian Transportation Society, said this essentially amounted to obstruction of justice on the part of the police – a criminal offense punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

"This should be a wake-up call for the need of a massive overhaul in the police force, which should be pushed by the president and the House," Jamil said. "We need to rethink the status of the police force, weed out the dirty personnel, empower the National Police Commission [an independent watchdog] and so on. "If we leave things as they are, it's possible that this will happen again."

Police stand round-the-clock watch over evidence at KPK office

Jakarta Globe - August 3, 2012

Novianti Setuningsih – On Tuesday, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators were locked inside of the National Police compound on when Police refused to let the KPK seize boxes of evidence in the graft-tainted purchase of driving simulators.

But the police eventually allowed the commission to leave, and the evidence in question is now under heavy and constant guard at the KPK building, with both police and KPK officers standing a 24 hour watch over the contentious boxes. The National Police have reportedly assigned their provost to watch over the evidence at the commission office.

"[Police] members have been here since the case appeared," said one KPK security member on Friday of the batik clad National Police marshals. He added that just one official of the KPK has the key to the heavily guarded boxes.

Bambang Widjojanto, deputy chairman of KPK, said on Thursday that the evidence belongs to the KPK. "We have the decision of the court issued on July 30." Bambang said. "The evidence that has been confiscated is under the authority of KPK."

Bambang added that the KPK is assessing the evidence to determine what they need to build their case. He also said that other legal institutions who wish to borrow the evidence should first send a letter to KPK.

"There should be request to use the evidence, then there's no problem," Bambang said. "But the most important thing is all the evidence is with the KPK; all sides are securing it."

The KPK named two police generals as suspects in the driving simulator graft case, including Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, the former director of National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) and current Police Academy governor, as well as Korlantas current deputy chief, Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo.

Djoko allegedly received Rp 2 billion ($212,000) in a kickbacks to award a contract to buy more than 1,200 driving simulators to metal company Citra mandiri Metalindo Abadi.

Cops want to 'contain' KPK probe

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The National Police are trying limit the damage from the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) investigation of a two-star police general by naming five suspects, including three police officers, in their own probe.

According to a police general who declined to be named, the KPK's probe of the scandal surrounding the police's procurement of vehicle simulators worth Rp 198.7 billion (US$21.06 million), might implicate another more senior general.

The police named the five as suspects to control what they might tell investigators about the senior general's involvement in the scandal, the source said. If the KPK's investigation was not "contained", the source said, it would "spiral out of control".

Separately, National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said that detectives had filed a notification with the Attorney General's Office (AGO) that they named five individuals as suspects in the graft case.

The three police suspects comprise National Police Traffic Corps deputy chief Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo; Adj. Sr. Cmr. Teddy Rusmawan, the officer who was in charge of the procurement; an officer identified only as LGM, Anang Iskandar told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, declining to discuss the timing of the move.

The chiefs of the firms that won the procurement contracts were also named suspects: Abadi, from PT Citra Mandiri Metalindo; and Budi Susanto and Sukoco S. Bambang, from PT Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia.

"They were officially named suspects on Aug. 1, when we also submitted their names to the AGO for further investigation," he said. "These five people are the most responsible for the procurement. Therefore, we have fulfilled our obligation to investigate the matter as well as to name the suspects," Anang said.

Detectives from the National Police would continue to look for additional suspects in the case and would investigate if Didik, Teddy, and LGM should be sanctioned or fired, according to Agung.

The spokesman, however, said that the KPK – and not the National Police – would investigate Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo for allegedly accepting a Rp 2 billion bribe kickback to award the contracts to PT Citra Mandiri Metalindo and PT Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia when he was chief of the Traffic Corps.

"We have agreed to cooperate with the KPK in this investigation. For this reason, we need not put him [Djoko Susilo] on our list, as the KPK has named him a suspect," Anang said.

Djoko Susilo, the current governor of the National Police Academy in Semarang, Central Java, was named a suspect in the case by the KPK on Monday, making him the first active duty police general to be so indicted.

Contacted separately, KPK chairman Abraham Samad said on Thursday that the commission had launched its investigation of the procurement before other law enforcement institutions.

"We launched the investigation earlier, so other institutions can help KPK make it more comprehensive," Abraham said. The commission has also named all five men as suspects in the case.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, who sits on the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing law and human rights, said that the National Police could not impartially investigate its officers.

"The police have always applied a double standard when it comes to law enforcement. They will dare to hunt legal violators anywhere but inside their own institution."

"It's best for the KPK to take control of the investigation, otherwise the whole investigation will result in nothing," Eva, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker said.

Lawmaker Didi Irawadi of the Democratic Party echoed Eva's comments, saying that the KPK had to be given sole control of the investigation to prevent the obstruction of justice. "The police can always help by providing documents needed by the KPK, but do not involve them in the core of the investigation," Didi said.

From grave digging to Koran procurement graft

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2012

Earlier this year, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali weathered public criticism when he said that Shia Islam could be considered as heretical because it deviated from mainstream Islamic teachings. He made a similar statement last year about the Ahmadiyah, which many regarded as justification for attacks against followers of the sect.

In March this year, Suryadharma made another outrageous comment that offended feminists and champions of women's rights by saying that women wearing skirts with hemlines above the knee could be charged with pornography.

Some observers feel the chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) has lowered the standards bar even further for an already tarnished ministry.

"Even though his [Suryadharma] predecessors were no better than him, they at least did not worsen religious conflicts within the community. I can't recall any previous religious affairs ministers making counterproductive statements in such a way as Suryadharma," Ismail Hasani of the Setara Institute said.

However two of Suryadharma's predecessors created problems of their own. Former religious affairs minister Maftuh Basyuni was responsible for the haj food fiasco in 2007, which saw 205,000 Indonesian pilgrims go without food in Mecca. His predecessor Said Agil Hussein Al Munawwar was jailed in 2006 for embezzling Rp 625 billion (US$66.25 million) from the Haj Trust Fund.

Said Agil also had a strange pre-occupation with "otherworldly" matters. He turned the ministry into a laughing stock in 2002 when he ordered the excavation of the ancient Batutulis historical site in Bogor, West Java, in the search for buried treasure.

Although he claimed that he received instructions for the excavation from then president Megawati Soekarnoputri, Said Agil was reported to have stumbled upon the idea in a dream. The excavation project soon prompted calls from the public for him to resign due to incompetence.

He was also chided for causing damage to the protected historical site and could have faced 10 years in jail under the law on protection of heritage sites. No legal action was taken against Said Agil for the damage he caused but four years later he was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzling the haj fund.

Many have called for similar treatment for Suryadharma. "It's about time for the current minister to be put in jail both for the misuse of haj funds and the graft-ridden Koran-procurement scandal. And we call on the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] to launch a probe of Suryadharma for his alleged role in both cases," Fajlurrahman Jurdi, chairman of the Muhammadiyah Students Association, told The Jakarta Post.

He said that unless Suryadharma was investigated on graft charges, his ministry would lose its moral authority.

"We will not follow the lead from a corrupt institution like the Religious Affairs Ministry nor its leader [Suryadharma]," the Muhammadiyah Student Association said in a statement made soon after Suryadharma expressed his disappointment over the absence of representatives from Muhammadiyah in a meeting to vote for the start of Ramadhan on July 19.

Fajlurrahman said the systemic corruption within the ministry, which included the misuse of the haj fund and the Rp 55 billion Koran-procurement scandal, would be impossible without the approval or knowledge of its most senior official.

The KPK has named lawmaker Zulkarnaen Djabar of the Golkar Party a suspect in the scandal, as well as his son Dendy Prasetya who is said to own PT Karya Sinergi Alam Indonesia (KSAI), the company that won the tender to be in charge of the procurement. Fajlurrahman alleged that the ministry installed Dendy as a puppet to take the blame and that the company actually belonged to businessman Hanggoro Santoso.

An individual identifying himself only as Listan and who claimed to act as Hanggoro's legal consultant, has confirmed the businessman did own the company and that the company had won the tender for Koran procurement three times between 2010 and 2011. He said that his client, however, refused to take responsibility for the scandal because "PT KSAI provided the service based on a request from the Religious Affairs Ministry".

"We don't know why Dendy has been named as owner of the company, nor do we know the source of such misleading information. We have never had any contacts with him. We don't even know who this person is. We therefore don't want Dendy's name associated with PT KSAI anymore," Listan told the Post.

Listan, however, said that Hanggoro had yet to contact the Religious Affairs Ministry or law enforcement agencies about the "illegal" use of his company's name. Hanggoro himself was unavailable for comment.

And now as the KPK moves to detain Zulkarnaen and after questioning a number of officials from the Religious Affairs Ministry, it appears that high-ranking officials in the ministry remain out of reach.

Poor governance, human resources lead to corruption

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2012

Sri Muwarni, a 57-year-old teacher from Surakarta, Central Java, saved every rupiah left over from her monthly salary in the hope of being able to pay for a trip to Mecca.

After years of saving with her now retired 63-year-old husband, she has finally collected Rp 25 million (US$2,650), and in November last year, she wired the money to a bank account set up by the Religious Affairs Ministry's haj division. The money is a down payment that Sri and her husband must make before they can secure a spot on the long waiting list of would-be pilgrims to Mecca.

"I have received a form advising that we are scheduled to depart in 2019. I know eight years is a long time for us to wait, but we are so happy that we have booked the seats for the pilgrimage. And I'm just grateful that we didn't have to sell any of our property to make the initial down payment like others had to do," Sri told The Jakarta Post.

Sri and her husband are among close to 2 million would-be pilgrims who have paid a down payment, which in total amounted to about Rp 50 trillion at the end of July, according to Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) data.

Earlier this year, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) revealed irregularities in the use of interest proceeds worth Rp 1.7 trillion of the massive haj fund accumulated from prospective pilgrims, which was worth Rp 32 trillion up to last year. The irregularities are just part of the heap of dirty laundry at the ministry revealed by the KPK in recent years.

Recently, the KPK uncovered graft surrounding the Rp 55 billion procurement of Korans and another involving the procurement of Rp 18 billion worth of computers for Madrasah Tsanawiyah (junior Islamic high schools) laboratories.

"All eyes are on the misuse of haj funds while it is the fund allocated for religious education programs, for Islamic education programs in particular, that is more prone to corruption," said ICW activist Firdaus Ilyas.

The ministry runs five divisions handling the affairs of Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Hindus and Buddhists, as well as managing religion- based courses in state schools and universities nationwide.

In addition to a division devoted to Islamic guidance, the ministry also has an Islamic education directorate given the high numbers of Muslim students studying at hundreds of madrassa, universities and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools).

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) estimates that Rp 1.23 trillion is allocated for the directorate of Islamic education per year.

A source familiar with the issue has accused two senior officials of the directorate, identified only as MA and AM, of misusing the budget last year for personal gain. Rp 4 billion of the fund was thought to be channeled to a boarding school in Babakan, West Java, which is apparently run by MA, and another Rp 40 billion for a calligraphy study center at a different boarding school, thought to be fictitious.

The directorate was also said to have earmarked Rp 4 trillion to build a college for Koranic studies in Babakan. The project, however, was not listed as a 2011 state budget item.

"The fund is said to have come from the budget earmarked to improve the condition of Islamic boarding schools in the country. In reality, such financial support rarely reaches pesantren, as you can see from the deteriorating condition of most schools," the source said.

Ministry data show that the country had 27,218 Islamic boarding schools in 2011. The ministry also said that there were 5,691 Koranic learning centers.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has also released a preliminary audit result of the ministry's 2011 budget, noting an almost 2,000 percent increase in funds allocated for the Islamic guidance division, from Rp 1.49 billion in 2010 to Rp 31.11 billion last year. Last year, the BPK also found unaccountable funds of Rp 15.62 billion from Rp 2.7 trillion the ministry set aside to support the Islamic education directorate.

According to the ICW, the ministry's poor financial management and the officials' incompetence have aggravated the corrupt culture within the institution. "Most of the ministry's personnel only have degrees in religious studies, which appears to be useless when it comes to managing the huge amount of money they receive annually."

The ministry has also endorsed a financial management system based on dakwah (preacherly approach) that ends up requiring subordinates to blindly trust their superiors. They can't do this because the Religious Affairs Ministry is not a religious institution; it is a government institution that requires professional management," Firdaus of the ICW said.

Firdaus suggested that the ministry employ staffers with economic and law backgrounds to be more professional.

Religious Affairs Ministry spokesman Zainuddin Daulay denied the suggestion that amateurs ran the ministry and claimed that it employed more than 1,700 professional accountants. He also denied all allegations of budget misuse, saying that "the Religious Affairs Ministry has always been transparent and clean", citing BKP's qualified opinion for its 2011 budget.

BPK chairman Hadi Purnomo recently said: "BPK's qualified opinion on a certain ministry's financial report doesn't mean that it is corruption free. People have misunderstood us," he said.

Activists hail KPK for move on national police

Jakarta Globe - August 2, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Farouk Arnaz – When the Corruption Eradication Commission named two active-duty police generals suspects in a graft case on Tuesday, activists hoped this was a sign the police were no longer above the law.

It is the first time the antigraft commission, known as the KPK, has taken this step with an active police general, despite its earlier tussles with Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, the National Police's former chief of detectives. For many people, the step was a long time coming, given the numerous reports that have come out over the years linking officers to corruption.

Antigraft activists and experts said the KPK's decision to go after the former director of the National Police's traffic division, Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, and Djoko's former deputy, Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo, could open the door to rooting out much bigger corruption inside the force.

Bambang Widodo Umar, an observer on police issues, said on Wednesday that markups and bribery inside the police had always been the norm. "This is an entry point to clean up the police. I hope the police leadership supports the KPK's investigation," he said.

Djoko and Didik have been named suspects in a project to procure driving simulators for the traffic police division. The project has been estimated by some to be worth Rp 198.7 billion ($21 million).

This is not the first time police officers have been linked to bribes or markups, but none of the them were ever charged and the cases disappeared. In one example, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) reportedly said dozens of police officers had hundreds of billions of rupiah in their bank accounts.

Despite deal, KPK widens cop probe

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2012

Rangga D. Fadillah and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is apparently walking away from an agreement forged on Tuesday to limit its corruption probe at the National Police Traffic Corps to investigation of its former commander.

The KPK might soon name other suspects in the case, which involves flaws in the procurement of driving simulators by the traffic police under Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, who was previously named a suspect in the probe, commission chairman Abraham Samad said on Wednesday.

"The investigation of the case is still underway. There's a possibility that we will name more suspects in the days to come," Abraham said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, KPK Deputy Chairman Bambang Widjojanto told reporters that investigators now had absolute control over the evidence placed under lock and key at Traffic Corps headquarters following a prolonged standoff between KPK investigators and detectives from the National Police criminal investigations division (Bareskrim) on Monday night.

The standoff ended when the leaders of the KPK and Bareskrim met with National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo on Tuesday, and agreed that the KPK would only investigate Djoko, while the police would investigate the Traffic Corps.

Bambang said that police detectives would be allowed to use the documents taken into evidence by the KPK, calling it a commonplace practice to share evidence between law enforcement agencies.

Timur, who oversees the traffic police and the criminal investigations division, previously said that his detectives needed the documents for their own investigation.

The police chief added that Bareskrim had named a senior Traffic Corps police officer as a suspect in the case, declining to elaborate, although others said the suspect was the current deputy commander of the traffic police, Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo.

The case involves a momentous first for the KPK, whose current leaders seem to have hit their stride after more than six months in office. Djoko, currently governor of the National Police Academy in Semarang, Central Java, is the first active duty police general to be named a suspect by the commission.

He has been charged with abusing his authority to enrich himself and others while causing state losses in the procurement of 700 two-wheel and 556 four-wheel vehicle simulators worth Rp 190 billion (US$20.14 million) in 2011.

Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana confirmed that the ministry had received letters from the KPK asking the immigration office to impose overseas travel bans on Djoko, Didik and Adj. Sr. Comr. Teddy Rusmawan, the officer in charge of the procurement project.

Contacted separately, criminologist Bambang Widodo Umar said that a joint investigation of the scandal by the KPK and the National Police violated the Corruption Law, which allows the commission to supersede and halt corruption investigations launched by the Attorney General's Office or the National Police.

"The National Police should eat the humble pie and let the KPK prosecute the case as regulated by the law," Bambang, a former police officer, said.

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung said the competition between the KPK and the police would not lead to a repeat of the 2009 so- called gecko vs crocodile standoff between the agencies prompted by a similar turf fight. "The two institutions have launched their own probes," he said.

Pramono said that there has been effort to interfere with the KPK's work. "The fact that the evidence was withheld for close to 24 hours shows that the police are not ready to lay down their arms," he said.

As KPK moves in on national police general, fears of a repeat of 2009

Jakarta Globe - August 1, 2012

Arientha Primanita, Rizky Amelia, Farouk Arnaz & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A senior government official guaranteed on Tuesday that there would be no retaliatory action from the police after investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission named a two-star police general a graft suspect.

The coordinating minister for legal and security affairs, Djoko Suyanto, said he would make sure there was no repeat of the ugly incidents of 2009 that saw two antigraft officials charged with abuse of power in what was seen as a tit-for-tat measure by the police.

"The KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] and the police must maintain synergy in upholding the law. That is the president's wish," he said. "We won't let the past happen again. We will monitor both institutions, they must not oppose one another or fight with one another."

KPK officials said on Tuesday that they had named the former director of the National Police's traffic division, Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, a suspect in a massive graft case. The news had politicians and analysts immediately worrying of a repeat of the events of 2009.

"KPK has since July 27 stepped up the investigation of the case with the investigation of the suspect D.S.," KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Tuesday. He said Djoko reportedly abused his authority in the procurement of simulators for driving tests, leading to state losses of "dozens of billions of rupiah."

According to the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), a nongovernmental organization, the procurement project was worth Rp 198.7 billion ($21 million).

KPK officials arrived at the traffic division's offices in Cawang, East Jakarta, at about 4 p.m. on Monday and the search continued until 5 a.m. on Tuesday.

Police prevented KPK investigators from leaving the offices with any of the confiscated documents. A heated exchange only subsided after senior KPK officials intervened and an agreement was reached between leaders of the two bodies. Activists and politicians were quick to urge the president to mediate, saying that Tuesday's tensions could easily escalate.

In 2009, the National Police charged two KPK commissioners in what was widely seen as a trumped up case that was retaliation for a corruption investigation into a three-star police general in a major bribery scandal. Police dropped all charges against the KPK commissioners after the KPK halted its investigation into the bribery scandal.

KPK chairman Abraham Samad went to National Police headquarters on Tuesday for a closed-door meeting with National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo.

Abraham signaled that the case against Djoko Susilo would be investigated jointly and suggested that a second police general had been charged. "We have reached an understanding. D.S. will continue to be investigated by the KPK while the police will handle the project manager, who has also been named a suspect," he said.

The officer in charge of the project was Djoko's former deputy, Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo. Djoko, who is now governor of the police academy, could face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.

National police deny KPK access to evidence in simulator graft case

Jakarta Globe - August 1, 2012

Rizky Amelia, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite – The National Police have inexplicably prevented antigraft investigators from gathering evidence related to corruption allegations in the Rp 197 billion ($21 million) procurement of driving simulators for the traffic police division, an official said on Tuesday.

Johan Budi, a spokesman for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said the refusal came on the same day that the KPK named Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, the former traffic chief, a suspect for allegedly taking a Rp 2 billion bribe in the project.

He said there had previously been an agreement between the KPK and police to store the evidence in a room at the traffic police headquarters in East Jakarta before trucking it away. "I don't know what reason the police have for not allowing us to take the evidence," Johan said.

He also said that as part of the prior agreement, several KPK investigators were assigned to stand guard over the evidence, along with police personnel.

"But I don't know whether they're in the same room or outside the building," Johan said, adding that the evidence was packed in cardboard boxes that were sealed and marked.

"Obviously we want to bring this evidence to our office so that we can study it in more detail. Our leaders are now talking with the police chief about releasing the evidence."

The police's move has drawn the ire of legislators and antigraft activists alike. Aboebakar Al Habsyi, a member of House of Representatives Commission III, overseeing legal affairs, said police should not cover for any officers implicated in the case. "There is no one who is immune to the law in this republic, and that includes law enforcement officials," he said.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, also on Commission III, accused the police of double standards and called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to admonish National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo.

Indonesia Corruption Watch also weighed in, calling on the police to be "objective, transparent, accountable and cooperative with the KPK."

Separately, Timur said his office would cooperate with the antigraft body, but he did not elaborate on what decision had been made about the seized evidence. KPK chairman Abraham Samad, who met with Timur on Tuesday, insisted the evidence would be taken away by his office.

Bold KPK raids police, names top cop suspect

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang and Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – In a series of historic firsts, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named an active-duty police general as a suspect in a graft investigation on Tuesday as investigators raided his former headquarters searching for evidence.

Such bold moves have long been desired by a public eager to see the KPK fight corruption with the same zeal as their peers in Hong Kong, who have not hesitated to investigate, prosecute and imprison corrupt cops.

The late-night raid was made on the National Police Traffic Corps headquarters in South Jakarta, where KPK investigators combed for documents that might implicate the former head of the corps, Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo.

Djoko, who is now head of the Police Academy in Semarang, Central Java, is the first active-duty police general to be named a graft suspect by the antigraft body.

"We want to remind people that the KPK doesn't favor anyone, including members of the police, in its efforts to eradicate corruption. We want to work with the National Police, even if allegations involve members of the police force," KPK chairman Abraham Samad said after a closed-door meeting with National Police chief, Gen. Timur Pradopo at National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.

Abraham added that the KPK and the National Police agreed to pursue a joint investigation of the case, with the KPK examining Djoko's role in the case and the police to probe officials involved in the procurement.

Abraham and one of his colleagues, Bambang Widjojanto, came to meet leaders of the National Police after several police officers had allegedly attempted to withhold evidence collected by KPK investigators at the Traffic Corps' headquarters.

According to Abraham, the police finally agreed to allow KPK officials to take the evidence for further verification, saying "the KPK will return any documents if the National Police need them".

Echoing Abraham, Timur said the National Police would always support the KPK. "The investigation, of course, will move on. We will respect the commitment we have made to the KPK," he said.

Irregularities in the project tender were first unveiled when PT Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia's president director, Bambang Sukotjo, was accused of bribing officials to win the procurement.

The Bandung District Court sentenced Bambang to three-and-a-half-years' in prison, to which the Bandung High Court added 46 months.

Bambang's trial led to a further investigation when he testified that PT Citra Mandiri Metalindo's director, Budi Santoso, had paid Rp 2 billion in kickbacks to Djoko as a reward for granting the project to Budi's company.

Separately, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said on Tuesday he had phoned Abraham and Timur to prevent a rift between the two law enforcement bodies. "I told both leaders to avoid situations like that in the future. And both of them agreed with me."

The minister was referring to the conflict between the KPK and the National Police a few years ago described as the "gecko vs crocodile"incident, with the tiny lizard referring to the KPK and its larger reptilian peer to the National Police.

The conflict was triggered by a move by the KPK to arrest a police general, to which police responded by launching criminal probes into two of the antigraft body's five leaders. "What happened in the past between the two law-enforcement bodies must not reoccur. Both institutions should be in synergy rather than fighting each other," Djoko said.

KPK vs National Police

May 2, 2009: KPK chairman Antasari Azhar is arrested for the murder of businessman Nasruddin Zulkarnaen.
May 16, 2009: Antasari testifies to police and prosecutors that four KPK deputies and officials received bribes from businessman Anggoro Widjojo.
June 30, 2009: National Police chief detective Comr. Sr. Susno Duadji accuses the KPK of tapping his mobile phone, which reportedly reveals him demanding Rp 10 billion from Boedi Sampoerna to assist with retrieving the businessman's savings from troubled Bank Century.
Sept. 9, 2009: The KPK announces it is investigating Susno's role in the Bank Century case.
Sept. 15, 2009: Police declare KPK deputies Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto suspects in the abuse of their power in imposing a travel ban on Anggoro.
Oct. 29, 2009: Police arrest Bibit and Chandra for abuse of power, later adding charges of extortion and bribery against businessmen they were investigating.
Nov. 10, 2009: Sr. Comr. Williardi Wizard, a key witness in Nasruddin's muder case, testifies that police officers pressured him to take part in a conspiracy to frame Antasari for murder.
Jan. 14, 2010: The KPK arrested Anggodo Widjojo, brother of Anggoro, who said in a wiretapped conversation that he tried to bribe Bibit and Chandra.
Aug. 31, 2010: The Corruption Court sentenced Anggodo Widjojo to four years' imprisonment for attempted bribery.
Jan. 24, 2011: Attorney General Basrief Arief issued a letter to officially stop the prosecution of Bibit and Chandra.
May 16, 2012: KPK Deputy Chairman Bambang Widjojanto said the KPK will have no hesitation in launching a probe of "fat" bank accounts of police generals.

Source: The Jakarta Post

[Bagus BT Saragih contributed reporting.]

Cops, KPK in all-night standoff in investigation of police general

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2012

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – Investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) usually need only a warrant to raid an office when looking for evidence in a graft investigation.

However, on Monday night, KPK commissioners Abraham Samad, Busyro Muqoddas and Bambang Widjojanto had to be called to the headquarters of the National Police Traffic Corps in South Jakarta to negotiate for the release of KPK investigators locked inside the building by irate officers.

The investigators were at the headquarters to collect evidence in their investigation of Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, former head of the Traffic Corps, who was recently named a suspect by the KPK in a multi-billion rupiah graft scandal involving the procurement of driving simulators.

The incident began on Monday afternoon, when 30 KPK investigators descended on the Traffic Corps' headquarters.

Initially, police officers on the scene did not interfere with the KPK. The situation, however, grew tense around 9.30 p.m., when detectives from the National Police's criminal investigations directorate (Bareskrim) allegedly impeded their peers from the KPK. About half an hour later, a KPK investigator contacted the commission's leaders to report.

"[KPK leaders] Abraham Samad, Busyro Muqqodas and Bambang Widjojanto, as well as National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Sutarman, arrived at Traffic Corps headquarters around midnight," KPK spokesman Johan Budi told reporters at a press conference.

"They discussed the situation because there was a 'misunderstanding'," Johan said, adding that the investigators were eventually given the go ahead to proceed with the raid.

However, a source on the scene who declined to be named said that an argument broke out and lasted until around 4 a.m., forcing the KPK commissioners and the investigators to have their pre-dawn meals for the Ramadhan fast inside the police compound.

"The KPK leaders, Pak Sutarman and a few Bareskrim detectives continued to have their discussion in a conference room on the third floor," the source said. "The KPK leaders told them that they needed the documents for investigation and wanted to take them."

According to the source, the two sides agreed that the KPK commissioners should meet with National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to settle the dispute. "While their leaders were negotiating, the investigators hung out inside the building with their KPK vests on. They were not allowed to take them off," the source said.

Around 5 a.m., the KPK team collected and sealed documents collected during the raid and locked them in a room that was then placed under guard by KPK investigators and National Police detectives.

The National Police have insisted that the documents not be taken into as evidence, claiming that their detectives have already launched their own investigation of the allegations.

Johan told reporters on Tuesday that the officers from the National Police had reneged on an agreement to allow the KPK team to take the documents with them.

"The reality on the ground is different. As of [around 5 p.m.] the documents were still locked in a room in the building, pending the meeting between KPK leaders and the National Police chief," he said.

At around 1:30 p.m. the KPK investigators returned to their headquarters and the National Police allowed the documents to leave the building in the evening.

At their joint press conference on Tuesday, Johan and National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar announced that Djoko, who currently serves as the Police Academy governor, was named a suspect in the graft case, which caused billions rupiah in state losses.

Djoko was alleged to have accepted Rp 2 billion in bribes to award the Rp 189 billion project to PT Citra Mandiri Metalindo, which later subcontracted the project to PT Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia.

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Punish groups using children in violent Islamist raids, KPAI says

Jakarta Globe - August 2, 2012

Dessy Sagita – The Indonesian Commission for Child Protection is urging the police to punish organizations that involve children and minors in their violent actions.

"These children are being used and therefore those who manipulate them should be severely punished," Maria Ulfa Ansor, chairwoman of the commission known as KPAI, said on Tuesday.

She referred to the involvement of children in violent raids against private businesses, saying that involving the children in those activities was criminal.

"These sweeps are crimes, and I am convinced that the children themselves have no understanding of what they were doing, but those who mobilized them should be punished," Maria said.

Police recently arrested 62 members of a hard-line Islamic organization, the Council of the Defenders of the Prophet, after they held a violent raid on Saturday on a cafe that had remained open during the Muslim fasting month. Those arrested included 41 children and minors. Only 21 were adults.

The teenagers were released without charge except for two minors who were directly involved in ransacking the bar and found carrying sharp weapons. These two could face up to six years in prison under the 1951 Emergency Law for carrying weapons and two and a half years for destroying private property.

The mob demanded that the business close for the entire fasting month. Some of them came with blades and blunt weapons, and they vandalized the venue and also set bottles of alcoholic beverages on fire.

"We have to provide guidance for these children so that they do not again join organizations that engage in violence," Maria said.

Freedom of religion & worship

Bogor regency seals off church over building permit

Jakarta Post - August 7, 2012

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – Bogor regency administration issued an order on Monday to seal the St. Johannes Catholic church, due to permit issues.

On Monday afternoon, officers from the Public Order Agency sealed the church after warning letters were ignored for a third time. The administration had demanded that the church obtain a building permit before holding services.

"I refused to sign the letter ordering closure. I will object to the agency, challenging the order," Father Albertus Simbol Gaib said. He said that since 2007, the church had submitted all documents necessary for the building permit, but the administration always rejected the application.

He said that the administration argued that residents did not want a church in the neighborhood. "It is not true! We have gathered signatures from 200 nearby residents who support construction of the church," he said. "There was never a follow-up any time we tried to obtain the permit."

The agency's head could not be contacted for comment. The church sealing is not the first case of its kind in Bogor, West Java.

Since 2010, members of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) have been barred from conducting regular church services because Bogor city administration revoked a building permit it had previously approved.

In reviewing the case, the Supreme Court last year ruled against Bogor administration, ordering it to reopen the church. However, Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto remains defiant.

The Indonesian Ombudsman's office also recommended that Bogor city administration revoke its 2011 decree annulling the church's construction permit.

For more than two years, members have had to conduct services on the pavement in front of the church. During services outside the church, they often face fierce harassment from groups of protesters.

In fear of radical groups, members of the beleaguered GKI Taman Yasmin Protestant church now hold clandestine services at the houses of congregation members. They have also conducted Sunday service in front of the State Palace, seeking support from the government.

In May, a proposal to end the GKI Yasmin saga came after the President's Advisory Council and the National Defense Council (Wantannas) brokered a month-long negotiation between the church and Bogor administration to build a mosque adjacent to the church.

Solve woes at home before aiding Rohingyas: Minority groups

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2012

Jakarta – Members of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin and the Congregation of Batak Protestant Churches (HKBP) Filadelfia stage a rally in front of the State Palace to show solidarity toward the plight of Muslim Rohingyas in southern Myanmar on Sunday.

The protesters called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to solve the violations of the rights of minority groups in the country before helping to solve the conflict.

Persecuted Christians in Indonesia say the government should resolve their problems here at home before intervening in the conflict involving the minority Muslim Rohingyas community in Myanmar.

The spokesman of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin in Bogor, West Java, Bona Sigalingging, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono needed to solve problems plaguing local religious minorities before he could win support for international initiatives for the Rohingya.

"The public won't have any doubts about Indonesia's capability as one of the biggest countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] to help solve the conflict, if the government manages to clean up its record on solving violations against minority groups, as has happened to our church," Bona said on Sunday.

On Saturday, Yudhoyono made an official statement supporting the actions of the Myanmarese government in dealing with the Rohingya saga. Yudhoyono said that Myanmar had done its best to handle long-standing tensions between ethnic Rakhines and Rohingyas.

Yudhoyono added that the government of Myanmar had done whatever was necessary to settle the conflict, diplomatically and through international forums such as ASEAN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the UN. The President also said that he had prepared a letter for Myanmar President Thein Sein expressing Indonesia's hopes for Myanmar's government to settle the ethnic issue.

Separately, Rev. Palti Panjaitan the leader of the HKBP Filadelfia Batak Protestant church in Bekasi, West Java, said members of his beleaguered congregation were disappointed that the President gave more attention to the plight of citizens of other countries than to helping citizens in Indonesia.

"It's as if your father takes care of other people's children but not his own," he said. Palti said that government's statements on the plight of the Rohingya issue was part of a public relations campaign designed to impress the international community.

In reality, according to Palti, the government has been hesitant to intervene in resolving the persecution of minority Christian groups in Indonesia. "It's a matter of whether the government wants to resolve the problem," Palti said. The plight that befell Rohingya was no different than what has happened to minority groups in Indonesia, he said.

Members of GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia rallied in front of the State Palace in Jakarta on Sunday to remind the government about the unresolved violations of the religious freedom of minority groups in the country.

Nothing has been done so far to follow up on the government-brokered deal between GKI Yasmin and the Bogor administration to end a long standoff between irate Muslim members of the local community who refused to allow the Christians to hold Sunday service in their church.

The congregation was authorized to operate its church if a mosque was built nearby. Members of GKI Yasmin, however, have continued to be barred from holding Sunday services.

Members of the HKBP Filadelfia have been subject to harassment from neighbors who closed their church in downtown Bekasi, West Java.

The Bekasi regency administration sealed off the church in 2010 after local residents objected to its construction. While the Bandung State Administrative Court ruled in favor of HKBP Filadelfia and ordered the church reopened, the local administration has yet to comply.

Separately, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali urged Muslims and Buddhists in the country to maintain good relationships, in spite of the conflict between the Muslim Rohingyas and the Buddhist Rakhines in Myanmar.

Suryadharma said during a speech at the Ekayana Arama Indonesian Buddhist Center that he hoped the persecution of the Rohingyas would not prompt local Muslims to hate Buddhists. "I just hope that what happened in Myanmar will not spread to Indonesia," he said as quoted by Antara.

Church construction faces protest in Makassar

Jakarta Globe - August 6, 2012

Rahmat – Hundreds of people in Makassar, South Sulawesi, demonstrated on Monday against the construction of a church at a housing complex.

The protesters from Tanjung Merdeka, Tamalate subdistrict, said they wanted to stop construction of the church because most residents in the area were Muslim.

"It's not proper to build other houses of worship [besides a mosque] in this location," said Daeng Sikki, who coordinated the protest, adding that the Tanjung Merdeka urban ward office had agreed to ban construction of the church.

The protesters were prevented by the police from visiting the contractor, so they went instead to speak with the housing developer.

Munkar Ronrong, general manager of the developer, Gowa Makassar Tourism Development, said the city's archdiocese foundation was responsible for the construction, not his company.

He promised the protesters he would conduct a mediation meeting with the foundation.

Ministry overseeing 'worsening' of religious life

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2012

Reportage – Following a series of religious violent incidents in recent years, the Religious Affairs Ministry has been criticized for not doing its job.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali is seen as gaffe-prone; his statements have blamed victims for inflaming hatred toward minorities. Suryadharma has also had to answer allegations of ministry officials embezzling funds in a Koran procurement project. Margareth S. Aritonang looks into how the ministry operates.

Founded in January 1946, only five months after the country's independence, the Religious Affairs Ministry has the mandate to promote the piety of subscribers to all faiths. President Sukarno signed a presidential decree to make this mandate official. The mandate places the ministry in charge of "improving the quality of religious life and religious education nationwide". The ministry is also given the mandate to manage the haj pilgrimage.

Among the ministry's primary tasks mandated by the decree is to promote religious harmony while also promoting good governance principles.

In recent years, the ministry appears to have failed to perform these tasks. Not only has the country seen a rising number of violent incidents against minority groups, the ministry has also been deemed as one of the most corrupt.

A recent survey by a Jakarta-based think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) affirmed the widely held assumption that religious intolerance was on the rise.

The survey found that 91.5 percent of a total of 2,220 respondents wanted their neighbors from different faiths to obtain approval from the local community before they could build a place of worship. Close to 70 percent of the respondents said they were against allowing people of different faiths to build places of worship in their neighborhoods.

Another survey conducted by the Setara Institute, a human rights watchdog, published earlier this year, said that violence did not only befall minority groups such as the Ahmadiyah or Shia sects of Islam, but was also directed at activists, students and publishing companies that actively promoted pluralism.

Setara recorded 129 cases of religious attacks in the country during the first half of this year, 39 of which were against Christians, 20 against private citizens and 12 against the Ahmadiyah, while others were committed against book publishers, pluralism activists and students.

Another survey by Setara conducted last year found that government officials were largely responsible religious violence incidents.

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

In the first half of 2012, Setara recorded that the government was responsible for 68 cases of religiously motivated violations, both by commission and omission. The watchdog also concluded that government officials were also responsible for encouraging religious intolerance, including Suryadharma, who was once quoted as saying that the Shia sect was a deviation from mainstream Islam.

"We have the impression that that religious life is worsening while Suryadharma is at the helm, his leadership tends to be political," Setara researcher Ismail Hasani told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview, referring to Suryadharma's position as chairman of the Islamic United Development Party (PPP).

The ministry rejected suggestions that Suryadharma alone was responsible for rising intolerance in the country. Muhammad Machasin, head of the ministry's research and development division, said that it was not appropriate to judge the performance of a ministry by the statements of its officials, even if those statements came from the man at the top.

"We have to make a distinction between an institution and its personnel. The ministry represents the state, while the minister as an individual will not in any way become a representation of the state. Besides, it's not easy for somebody to distance themselves from the faith he or she believes in," he said.

Others in the ministry blamed budget cuts in the ministry for rising religious intolerance. The ministry's spokesman, Zainuddin Daulay, said the lack of funding for interfaith programs was to blame for worsening religious tolerance in the country.

Zainuddin said that the ministry had earmarked only around Rp 20 billion (US$2.12 million) per year to finance programs promoting inter-faith dialogue.

"Almost 85 percent of the state budget is spent on funding religious education programs at thousands of religious schools nationwide. And even though religion-based education is also aimed at educating students to be tolerant of their neighbors from different faiths, we will only see the results in the next 25 years," he told the Post.

Zainuddin said that he was aware the ministry needed to devise more practical programs to promote interfaith dialogue. "We need more down-to- earth programs, but a limited budget appears to be the problem," Zainuddin said.

Zainuddin's statement did not match with the fact that the ministry has always been around the top of the list of ministries receiving the largest budgets. For 2012, the ministry received Rp 39.3 trillion from the state budget and is expected to receive Rp 38.6 trillion in 2013. In comparison, the Health Ministry is expected to receive Rp 30.92 trillion next year.

"The money given to us seems to be a lot, but it is not really that much because of the fact that we have so many programs to support, particularly religious education and haj pilgrimages," said Zainuddin. "The money each would-be pilgrim must pay, for example, would probably much higher if it wasn't for the state budget."

Data from the ministry shows that it provided funding for 3,934 Islamic education institutions last year, of which 3,882 institutions were for students at primary to senior high levels. The ministry also operates seven state colleges for Christianity studies, three for Hinduism studies and two for Buddhism studies.

In addition to controlling these religion-based educational institutions, the ministry also employs 230,766 members of staff in 509 regional branch offices, 5,382 Religious Affairs Offices (KUA) and in 4,527 offices for Muslim marriage registrations nationwide.

Data from the ministry said that 9,909 members of staff were hired to manage marital and inheritance affairs for Muslims.

The ministry is also responsible for the management of haj pilgrimages, which many have deemed as the source of corruption. Last February, in a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission VIII overseeing religion, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas said there were irregularities in the use of interest worth Rp 1.7 trillion from the management of haj funding.

Islam & religion

Beggars endure raids, find new ways to earn money

Jakarta Post - August 4, 2012

Jakarta – Something is missing from the city streets during the fasting month of Ramadhan this year.

Seasonal beggars that usually flock to the city's intersections are rarely seen due to the efforts of the Jakarta Administration, which has vowed to net at least 1,000 of what the government called "people with social and community problems" (PMKS). The administration has said during the holy month this year.

Officers from the Social Agency and the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) were seen guarding areas notorious for their high number of beggars, namely in Matraman, Pramuka, Cempaka Putih and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in East Jakarta; Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta; as well Fatmawati and Mampang Kuningan in South Jakarta.

A 2007 city bylaw on public order prohibits street beggars and street children, but their number was usually increasing during Ramadhan as some of them hailed from other towns to earn extra money. As the holy month is often defined as a month to fulfill God's merits, people race to do good deeds. It is during the month that people tend to give more to others and that wealth is often distributed by either money and or staple food to the poor.

Some beggars, however, are clever enough to dodge the law. By disguising as street sweepers in orange Sanitation Agency jumpsuits, for instance, the beggars swept the street and asked road travelers for donations. Agency head Eko Baruna denied that they were part of the agency, saying that the agency forbade such actions, arguing that they could be beggars and probably rented the clothes elsewhere, kompas.com reported on Thursday.

Some others simply avoid big intersections. Taxi driver Kodrat, 40, said although he was glad that the number of beggars during Ramadhan had significantly declined this year, as they often annoyed his customers, he said that seasonal beggars were still seen in quieter areas.

"Some [of the beggars] stand beside the windows and keep knocking until my passengers give them money," Kodrat said, adding that he rarely saw such beggars other than during Ramadhan.

He also said that he still spotted cart-dwellers here and there, especially near housing areas, away from the watchful eyes of officials conducting raids. They usually parked their carts by the roadside, waiting for people to either give them food or money.

Yanto, 40, is one of them. Along with other cart-dwellers Yanto, his wife and his two daughters lounged on cardboard spread over the sidewalk of a quiet neighborhood on Jl. Pulomas Raya, East Jakarta. His cart was parked next to him.

It is not that Yanto is homeless. After dark, he and his family go back to his house in Kayu Putih, East Jakarta, which he had rented since leaving Indramayu in 2004. The family has dressed up as cart-dwellers every Ramadhan since 2006 to earn more money.

"I can make more money by doing nothing but sitting here. I usually get Rp 10,000 [US$1.05] from scavenging, but I can get Rp 20,000 by simply staying here," he said. Moreover, people also give him food, especially when it is near the time to break the fast.

Joko, 42, a nearby resident said that the presence of the cart people was common every Ramadhan. "We don't like them here, sorry to say, as they are such an eyesore. But we don't have the heart to chase them away," he said.

Operating in housing complexes far from busier streets seems reassuring, but other beggars take more risk to operate on busy streets while not letting their guard down.

Even new beggars such as Susi, 27, know well how to avoid raids. For this Ramadhan, she has only just started cadging near a crossing bridge in Cililitan, East Jakarta. The Bekasi resident, however, said she had nothing to worry about. "I simply have to stay on guard. If fellow beggars are suddenly nowhere to be seen, there is probably a raid nearby and I have to quickly make my move." (aml)

Ramadhan just another month for sex workers

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2012

Agus Maryono, Banyumas – The Ramadhan fasting month is a holy month for Muslims, where people are encouraged to do more good deeds and refrain from consuming food, drink, or engaging in sexual activity. And this applies to sex workers as well.

"I fast. And I won't accept any customers during the day," Yuni (not her real name), 22, told The Jakarta Post on Friday. She said her job had nothing to do with her religious obligation.

"Fasting is a religious obligation that has to be obeyed, while my job is something that I have to do to survive," she went on. "A cleric once said that worldly and heavenly matters should be balanced, and that's what I am trying to do," said Yuni.

She added that during Ramadhan, she did not get as many customers as in regular months.

Another sex worker, Santi (not her real name), 25, said she became a sex worker due to the economic pressures she has as a single mom.

"Lebaran (Idul Fitri) is coming and I have children who always ask for new clothes and good food for Lebaran, just like in any other normal household. If I'm not working, then how can we celebrate Lebaran properly?" Santi said in a Cilacap detention center.

Santi was among the sex workers who were detained by public order officers during a raid on Thursday night.

She said she had divorced her unemployed husband, and now she was the breadwinner, and the backbone, of her family. "Who wants this kind of job? But [if I don't work] who will be responsible if my children die of hunger?" Santi said. (iwa)

In Indonesia, mosque cacophony under scrutiny

Deutsche Presse Agentur - August 1, 2012

Ahmad Pathoni – Diana Marsella lives next to a mosque in central Jakarta and the call to Islamic morning prayer jolts her out of her slumber every day before dawn.

"It's so loud that it will wake you from your deepest sleep," the 27-year- old computer programmer said of the scratchy announcements. "I wish they'd turn down the volume and use a better sound system."

Calls for Indonesian mosques to lower the volume of loudspeakers have mounted during the current Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when activity at Islamic places of worship increases.

In addition to calls to prayer, known as adhan, Indonesians use loudspeakers at mosques to amplify Koranic recitals and sermons. Discordant voices fill entire neighborhoods during any of the five prayer times, when all the local mosques blast the adhan at the same time.

Former vice president Jusuf Kalla, who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council, said he would organize training for mosque officials about acceptable noise levels. "We're not going to ban the use of loudspeakers at mosques, but the noise level must be regulated," he was quoted as saying in local media last week.

Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country but it has also sizeable religious minorities. The country is home to about 800,000 mosques.

Even the hard-line Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), a group known for attacking bars and other nightspots accused of flouting restrictions on opening hours during Ramadan in the past, believe mosques should keep it down so as not to disturb people, especially non-Muslim.

Koranic recitals are encouraged during Ramadan, when Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk and religious fervor is high.

"We're worried about possible negative perceptions," said Salim Alatas, the head of the FPI's Jakarta branch. "Unless one is exceptionally softly spoken, no loudspeaker is necessary, especially at night."

A businessman sees the increasing unease about the cacophony as an opportunity to introduce high fidelity sound to the places of worship. Harry Aprianto Kissowo's company produces loudspeakers, including a range of sound systems especially designed for mosques under the brand Al Karim.

"We want change the image of mosques as places with poor quality sound systems," Kissowo said. "Mosques can produce high-fidelity sound too. Calls to prayer can still be heard, and they can also be music to people's ears." Kissowo said his company had provided sound systems to the presidential palace and exported its products to the United States, Japan and Russia.

Guidelines on the use of loudspeakers were issued by Indonesian authorities decades ago, including a requirement for mosques to use only inside speakers for activities other than calls to prayer, but they are often ignored. In April, Vice President Boediono triggered a debate by saying that mosques need not be too loud, something that few officials dare to say openly.

"We are all aware that the adhan is a holy call for Muslims to perform their prayers," he said at the annual conference of the Indonesian Mosque Council. "But I, and probably others too, feel that the sounds of adhan that are heard faintly from a distance resonate more in our hearts that those that are too loud and too close to our ears."

Some Indonesians criticized his remarks, arguing mosque noise is part of daily life in a Muslim-majority country and that he should talk about more pressing issues like corruption.

Land & agrarian conflicts

Six police officers named suspects in Cinta Manis shooting

Jakarta Globe - August 7, 2012

Farouk Arnaz – Six mid-ranking police officers have been named suspects in an internal police investigation of the shooting of civilian protesters at the Cinta Manis sugar plantation in South Sumatra that left a teenager dead and two others wounded late last month.

The officers are being questioned by the National Police's internal affairs division at the site of the shooting in Ogan Ilir district, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Anwar said on Tuesday.

"Two [of the officers] are commissioners and the rest are adjutant commissioners," Boy said. "From Brimob [the Mobile Brigade], only the detachment chief [has been named a suspect]." The officers will go to trial at a police disciplinary tribunal in South Sumatra during the next week, he added.

The police have said that some 120 police officers were being questioned over the shooting on July 27 at the plantation, which has been the source of a land conflict for decades.

Three people from nearby Limbang Jaya village were shot in the clash with the Ogan Ilir Police and the South Sumatra Brimob.

The police say they were patrolling around the plantation before the incident, and when they entered the access road to Limbang Jaya II village, people started throwing stones at them.

The police said they fired warning shots into the air and sprayed tear gas but failed to disband the mob. Residents later found a 13-year-old boy dead with a gunshot wound. A 40-year-old blacksmith and a 48-year-old housewife were also shot and in critical condition.

The sugar plantation has been a source of tension since state-owned plantation company Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) VII forcefully evicted 22 villages in the district to set it up in 1982.

Rights activists say PTPN VII used security forces to pressure residents to give up their farms but failed to provide decent compensation for the land.

Komnas HAM suspects cops used live rounds in Ogan Ilir

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2012

Investigators "strongly suspect" that police officers fired live rounds into crowds of unarmed civilians while containing a land dispute with local residents in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, on July 27.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) announced on Sunday that its investigators despatched to the remote regency came to their conclusions after examining those injured in the mayhem.

"We strongly suspect that live rounds were used, judging by the shape of the injuries on Farida and Rusman," Komnas HAM deputy chairman Nur Kholis said on Sunday, referring to two victims. Nur Kholis called for a thorough investigation of conflicting accounts of the incident.

An investigative team despatched by the National Police claimed that officers in the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) on the scene fired shots only after they were threatened by residents, who have said that they posed no threat to the heavily armed police commandos in the special operations unit.

The investigation followed the death of Angga bin Dharmawan in clash between police and residents of Limbang Jaya I, II and III in Tanjung Batu district in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra.

The 12-year-old boy was reportedly shot in the head and died immediately, while four others were also injured by gunfire. The police say they have yet to find any bullet in the body of Angga.

"So far we have decided that the boy was wounded by a sharp object. We couldn't say he was shot because we have found no bullet projectile in his body," National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said recently.

The police said that based on questioning more than 120 Mobile Brigade officers involved in the Ogan Ilir violence, there was no police involvement in the boy's death.

Meanwhile, human rights watchdog groups condemned the shooting, deeming it a serious human rights violation.

"This incident was an attack on civilians, not a conflict between police and protestors. The fact that innocent women and children were injured indicates that authorities shot blindly and indiscriminately," Deddy Raith, from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

"That, along with the way they generally overreacted to events that occurred, is evidence of serious human rights violations," Deddy said.

Separately, the Commission for Missing Person and Victims of Violence (KontraS) said that it had gathered evidence that Angga was shot at a close range, and not at long range by a stray bullet, as police have suggested.

KontraS said in a statement that Angga was shot with live rounds at a range of 30 to 60 meters, while the police claim that the boy was 200 meters away from the clash. Given the conflicting accounts, KontraS urged Komnas HAM to determine if the police committed a human rights violations in Ogan Ilir.

"Since a human rights violation has occurred, it means that this issue should be resolved by institutions outside of the National Police," KontraS coordinator Haris Azhar said.

The attempts of residents in several villages in Ogan Ilir to reclaim disputed land managed by state-owned plantation company PTPN VII Cinta Manis has led to several outbursts of violence in recent years

Rights groups have urged the police to keep their distance and not to intervene in agrarian conflicts between local residents and state-owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara. (png)

Agrarian reform should favor farmers

Jakarta Post - August 3, 2012

National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman, Muhaimin Iskandar, wants the government to complete agrarian reform as soon as possible for the sake of farmers.

According to Muhaimin, who is also the manpower and transmigration minister, agrarian reform would settle conflicts between farmers and other parties and prevent such problems from recurring.

"Relentless conflict is caused by a lack of clarity on three factors: land regulation, the function of land and the social role of land," he said. "Agrarian reform in these three areas is absolutely needed," Muhaimin said as quoted by Antara news agency on Thursday.

He added that the 1960 Law on Agriculture was no longer relevant and should be revised in favor of farmers, because they constituted the majority of the country's population.

"The poor farmers in rural areas must be empowered," Muhaimin said, adding that the state would be able to solve complicated problems and social conflicts after agrarian reform was put in place.

Police told to stay away from agrarian conflict

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2012

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has urged the National Police to keep its distance from agrarian conflicts between local people and the state-owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara.

The involvement of police officers in these conflicts will worsen the situation, sometimes causing violence and often claiming lives, according to Walhi's activist Ahmad S.H. The latest incident in Limbung Jaya, South Sumatra, in which one person was killed and four others injured was a clear example.

"The police don't know anything about agrarian conflicts and they tend to defend only the wealthy side," he said at an event attended by victims of an agrarian conflict involving PTPN VII Cinta Manis and Ogan Ilir residents, including those from Limbung Jaya, Betung and Sri Bandung in South Sumatra.

A Limbung Jaya resident, Farida, 44, said she was shot in her arm while she rushed to the mosque from her house during the raid. While showing a bullet to reporters, Farida said she realized that she had been shot only after arriving home.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said the police investigative team had found cartridges near the location of the clash between residents and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers.

Walhi's South Sumatra branch director, Anwar Sadat, said the police, especially Brimob, had been treating the local residents badly since they started to fight for land allegedly taken by PTPN VII Cinta Manis.

Jakarta & urban life

Defiant Rhoma insists he did 'What Allah has commanded'

Jakarta Globe - August 7, 2012

Ronna Nirmala – Despite shedding a few tears, "king of dangdut" Rhoma Irama on Monday refused to apologize or express any regret for his religious slurs which were targeted at Jakarta vice gubernatorial candidate Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.

Rhoma, known for his religious-themed songs, was summoned by the Jakarta Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) on Monday to explain his sermon made last week at the Al Isra Mosque in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, where he attacked Basuki's religious background.

"Why should I apologize? I have done nothing wrong because I never said bad things about Jokowi-Ahok," Rhoma said, referring to gubernatorial candidate and Solo Mayor Joko Widodo and running mate Basuki by their nicknames.

"I never said that Jokowi is a Javanese and a Muslim or Ahok is a Chinese and a Christian," he said, adding that he was only quoting the Koran which he claimed instructed Muslims to only vote for Muslim leaders. "I must do what Allah has commanded."

That call would greatly favor incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo and running mate Nachrowi Ramli, who are both Muslims. There is evidence that contradicts Rhoma's claim of never explicitly attacking Jokowi or Ahok, though – a video of the sermon that was provided to Panwaslu.

"Joko Widodo has greater ambition and is using the governorship as a stepping stone. Eventually the one leading Jakarta will be Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese in ethnicity and a Christian," Rhoma said in the video, copies of which were shown to journalists. "If the capital of a Muslim country is led by a Christian, it would be an embarrassment."

Rhoma arrived at the Panwaslu office in Central Jakarta in a white Islamic garb, accompanied by a handful of fans who shouted praise to Allah as he entered the building. The artist was in tears as he explained why he asked Jakarta residents to vote for a Muslim leader.

"I was only reciting An-Nisa Surah verse 144, in which God says firmly that the faithful are banned from voting for a kafir [infidel] as their leader," Rhoma insisted before being questioned. "Muslims who vote for a non-Muslim leader become an enemy of God."

Ramdansyah, the Panwaslu Jakarta chairman, said his office had received the explanation it sought from Rhoma and that he was dismissed. "For nearly one hour, Rhoma clarified his sermon at the Al-Isra mosque. He has explained his view and according to Panwaslu this is enough," he said.

Ramdansyah said Panwaslu had not reached a conclusion as to whether a campaign violation had been committed. Panwaslu, Ramdansyah continued, is set to solicit information from the campaign teams of Fauzi and Jokowi today.

He said earlier that even if no campaign violation could be proven, it was still wrong of Rhoma to use a religious sermon to attack another individual, particularly if the attack was along religious and ethnic lines.

Jokowi and Ahok won 43 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting on July 11, ahead of Fauzi and Nachrowi, who received 34 percent.

Under the 2004 Law on Regional Governance, electoral campaigns may not insult other candidates or parties, especially by attacking their religion, ethnicity, race or group affiliation. Those restrictions are collectively known as Sara.

The law stipulates prison sentences of between three and 18 months and fines of between Rp 600,000 to Rp 6 million ($64 to $640) for violating the rule.

Golkar backs Fauzi in runoff as Jokowi courts top PKS leader

Jakarta Post - August 6, 2012

Jakarta – The Golkar Party officially joined the United Development Party (PPP) on Sunday in endorsing incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo and his running mate, Nachrowi Ramli, in the gubernatorial runoff on Sept. 20.

The secretary-general of Golkar's Jakarta branch, Muhammad MH, said that the decision was made during the party's regional leaders meeting held on Saturday. He said that the party agreed to endorse the incumbent governor based on Fauzi's experience in governing the city for the last four years.

"We need a leader who has been tested and proven. This election is not a test," Muhammad said, claiming that Golkar's support would be worth an additional 10 percent of the vote to Fauzi on Sept. 20. Golkar's candidate in the first round of voting on July 11, Alex Noerdin, secured 4 percent of vote.

The announcement came after Golkar national chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie said that the party would not endorse a candidate in the runoff and would instead give its support to "the people," as reported by kompas.com last week.

Hajriyanto Tohari, a member of Golkar's central executive board, said that the national party's decision to remain impartial in the runoff following Alex's defeat was in line with Jakarta's "rational" and "independent" voters.

Muhammad, however, said that Ical had given the party's local branch the go ahead to choose make an endorsement. "He [Ical] also agreed with our decision to support Fauzi," Muhammad said.

The PPP was the first party that lost on July 11 to back a candidate in the runoff, endorsing Fauzi on Thursday. PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali said experience shaped the party's decision.

In the election on July 11, Fauzi and Nachrowi were backed by the Democratic Party, the largest faction on the City Council, which holds 32 out of the 94 seats.

Fauzi's rivals in the runoff, Surakarta Mayor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and former East Belitung regent Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama are supported by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has 11 council seats, and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), which has six seats.

Jokowi met with leaders of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) on Sunday. The PKS, which holds 18 council seats, has remained undecided on its runoff endorsement.

"We were just talking about the first round election. We haven't discussed the [...] runoff in detail," PKS chairman Lutfi Hasan Ishaaq said on meeting Jokowi. "We'll support the person who is ready to accommodate the agenda of our losing candidate, Hidayat Nur Wahid."

Meanwhile, political analyst from think tank Charta Politika, Yunarto Wijaya, doubted that Fauzi's endorsements by Golkar and the PPP were based on their members' aspirations.

Yunarto said there were two scenarios behind the endorsements: It was an agreement forged party elites initiated by Fauzi or the Democratic Party to shore up their collective and individual prospects in the 2014 presidential election or it was what he called "political horse trading".

However, the endorsements would likely not have a big influence in the second round, as party affiliations have played a minimal role in this election, he said.

"They [voters] are affiliated with particular parties because they like their cultures or visions. But they vote for candidates who they like. They are not voting for the candidates' parties," he said.

These endorsements might backfire, he said, as Jokowi might benefit from being an underdog. "His image as the ganged-up and battered candidate as well as a non-elitist one may get stronger," he said. (han)

Religious tensions simmer in Jakarta campaign

Jakarta Globe - August 6, 2012

Ronna Nirmala – A chance encounter during the weekend between the two candidates in Jakarta's increasingly nasty gubernatorial election runoff did little to ease the tensions stoked by the religious baiting that has become the main issue in the campaign.

Joko Widodo, the Solo mayor who won the most votes in the first round of voting last month, and incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo crossed paths on Saturday night at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, where both were visiting a prominent Muslim leader, Habib Munzir.

"Yes, I did meet him. But it seems Fauzi was in a rush so we didn't get a chance to say anything. We just shook hands," Joko said.

What Joko wanted to discuss was the issue of racial and religious slurs. Since the start of Ramadan two weeks ago, clerics in many mosques have taken to loudspeakers to tell their congregations to vote for Muslims in next month's runoff vote.

In the most widely reported incident, Rhoma Irama, the dangdut singer who has made appearances with Fauzi during the campaign, told a crowd gathered in a mosque for Ramadan prayers that it was their duty to vote only for Muslims. The attacks are directed at Joko's running mate, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is Christian and ethnic Chinese.

One of Joko's political patrons, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chief adviser Taufik Kiemas, has been trying to arrange talks between the two campaigns to put an end to the use of religious slurs.

While Fauzi has not dismissed the idea of sitting down, he has made it clear that it's not his first priority. "We welcome [Joko's calls]. But I have to look after Jakarta while [Joko] is a mere gubernatorial candidate," he said on Friday.

And while Fauzi said "there is no place for divisive issues in this Pancasila-based country," referring to the country's ideology of pluralism, he added that "as clerics, what they are saying is not untrue."

The Jakarta Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) is looking into the remarks by Rhoma that brought this issue to wider attention. The so-called king of dangdut was delivering a sermon at the Al Isra Mosque in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, last Saturday when he attacked Basuki's religious background.

Rhoma, who failed to appear on Friday at the Panwaslu office to explain the remarks, claimed he had done nothing wrong because he had merely quoted a verse from the Koran that says Muslims should never choose an infidel to lead them, otherwise they would incur God's wrath.

"Was that wrong? I believe in the truth of the Koran and I was simply telling the truth," he said. "It is my duty to reveal the truth to the Muslim faithful."

Panwaslu officials met on Friday with representatives from Joko's campaign team to study the seven-minute video of Rhoma's sermon and determine whether it violated prohibitions on campaigning along ethnic and religious lines.

Ramdansyah, the Panwaslu chairman, said even if no campaign violation could be proven, it was wrong of Rhoma to use a religious sermon to attack someone, adding that it could constitute a criminal offense.

Fauzi has refused to comment directly on the remarks by Rhoma, who has appeared in several of the governor's campaign commercials. "We have our regulations and laws" was all he said.

Joko's campaign team is ready to move on. "We don't expect an apology from him over this matter, but it would show a great deal of character if he chose to give one," said Denny Iskandar, a campaign official.

Joko says he's still a fan of Rhoma. "I'm not joking. If you asked me to sing 10 songs by Rhoma, I could probably do it," he said. He said one of his favorite songs by Rhoma was "135 Juta" ("135 Million"), about diversity and pluralism.

The song, written in the 1980s when the country's population was about 135 million, is a tribute to the diversity of the nation. Its message of tolerance is a far cry from the religious divisiveness that has taken hold of the election campaign.

Jakarta election officials take down divisive political posters

Jakarta Globe - August 3, 2012

Lenny Tristia Tambun – Ahead of Jakarta's runoff gubernatorial election, election officials on Friday said they had found 75 offensive political banners around the capital.

Ramdansyah, head of the city's Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), said the banners could cause tension because they contained insensitive references to race, religion, ethnicity and societal groups, better known as SARA.

"So far I have only received preliminary reports from four areas: Central, North, East and South Jakarta," he said. "I haven't received reports yet from West Jakarta or the Thousand Islands district."

He said he had ordered Panwaslu to take down the banners but five could not be removed due to difficulties on site.

Fifty-one of the banners were found in North Jakarta, including 32 in Koja subdistrict and 19 in Tanjung Priok subdistrict. Panwaslu found 18 offensive banners in South Jakarta, two in East Jakarta and four in Central Jakarta.

Ramdansyah said Panwaslu was also following up on reports of equally offensive public sermons or speeches before the election on Sept. 20.

Fauzi launches populist programs as runoff nears

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2012

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – In the latest in a series of populist policies launched as his term in office comes to a close, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo began official distribution of cards for children in the free 12-year compulsory education program on Wednesday.

Fauzi symbolically handed "Kartu Gratis Wajib Belajar" (Free Compulsory Education Cards) to two elementary school students during a ceremony at State Vocational High School No. 13 in Rawa Belong, West Jakarta, on Wednesday morning.

In May, the administration decided to extend the current nine-year basic education program by a further three years. The Jakarta administration is ahead of the central government, which expects to implement the program nationwide in 2013.

Before this program launch, the city administration followed the central government's education policy, providing facilities to ensure every student completed junior high school, and waiving tuition fees at public schools.

Under the 12-year program, the city will fund facilities and operational costs at elementary, junior and senior high schools. The administration requested an additional Rp 675 billion (US$71.55 million) from the City Council for the 12-year education program in this year's Budget Revision.

The launch of the program has fueled speculation that Fauzi is trying to boost his popularity ahead of the September runoff. Fauzi dismissed the accusation, saying that the education card launch was nothing whatsoever to do with his reelection bid.

"This is part of a continual improvement program for the city in the education section. The launch is scheduled to coincide with the start of the new education year," the governor said at the ceremony.

This is not the first Fauzi-fueled populist extravaganza at the 11th hour of his term, which ends on Oct. 7.

In July, his administration launched a venture to provide free healthcare for the city's elderly, jumantik (voluntary larvae controllers) and religious leaders of long service.

In the same month, the city initiated free health services at all public hospitals in Jakarta for residents holding relief letters (SKTM). In the past, relief letters only entitled the holder to a 50 percent discount on hospital bills.

In June, Pulo Gebang bus terminal in East Jakarta began operations despite still being under construction. The new terminal was 80 percent completed when launched, with full completion schedule for December.

Fauzi faces Surakarta Mayor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who finished first in the July 11 election, in the runoff on Sept. 20. According to the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta), Jokowi won 1,847,157 votes or 42.6 percent in the votes cast, followed by Fauzi with 1,476,648 or 34.05 percent out of the total of 4,336,486 valid votes.

On Wednesday, People's Voters Education Network (JPRR) national coordinator Yusfitriadi said that Jokowi and Fauzi were both making campaign moves to win more voters ahead of the runoff. "Some of the moves are easily visible, while some others are hidden under cover," Yusfitriadi told The Jakarta Post.

Yusfitriadi said that all of the candidates moves were fair game as long as they didn't violate any regulations, and as long as they didn't play on religion or ethnicity issues.

In the runoff, candidates will be allowed to hold only small-scale campaign meetings and attend the broadcast debates between Sept. 14 and 16.

Film & television

TV stations scolded for Ramadhan programming

Jakarta Post - August 7, 2012

Jakarta – The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) has reprimanded five television stations for broadcasting programs deemed unsuitable for general audiences during Ramadhan.

KPI deputy chairperson Nina Mutmainah said on Monday that seven Ramadhan shows Waktunya Kita Sahur (It's Time for Pre-dawn Meal) and Ngabuburit on Trans TV, Kampung Sahur Bejo (Pre-dawn Meal at Bejo's Village) on RCTI, Sahur Bersama Srimulat (Pre-dawn Meal with Srimulat) on Indosiar, John Lenong on Trans7 and Sabar Tingkat 2 (Second Grade Patience) on SCTV and regular variety show, Inbox also on SCTV, violated the standard rules of broadcasting by showing physical and verbal abuse against people with disabilities and different sexual orientation.

The KPI also decided that the seven programs had violated the television rating system for showing programs unsuitable for minors despite Semua Umur (General) rating. In a press briefing on Monday, the KPI showed clips in which actors and comedians verbally harassed one another as well as trading sexually themed jokes.

"The shows are mostly broadcast during breaking of the fast and pre-dawn meals, which means that children could also watch them," Nina said during a joint press conference with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Communications and Information Ministry.

Nina said that just like last year, most of television stations had not responded to reprimands from the commission. "Only one television station has given us a call to talk about the reprimand. The six others have not given any response yet," she said.

Data from the KPI shows that 31 complaints were lodged against Ramadhan- themed shows. In the first two weeks of Ramadhan, KPI received a total of 165 complaints, an increase from 125 complaints over the same period last year.

Head of the MUI's information and communication division, Imam Suhardjo, said that viewers must take drastic measures to deal with vulgar Ramadhan shows. "It is time to boycott the shows that abuse Ramadhan's name with offensive content," Imam said.

He said that the MUI was also concerned by the selection of preachers hired by local television stations to deliver Ramadhan sermons. "Some of them told inaccurate religious stories and performed inappropriate dialogues and scenes," he said.

Imam said that Indosiar, for instance, aired a talk show featuring a preacher with controversial dang dut singer Inul Daratista, known for her "drilling" dance move.

Imam quoted a line from the preacher who commented on Inul's retirement from the music scene, saying that "It's your fault that you prefer to drill, instead of being drilled," the cleric said, insinuating sexual intercourse. MUI urged the KPI and the ministry to factor the violations into their next review of licenses for television stations.

Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said it would be hard for the ministry to just revoke licenses for the television stations. "I prefer holding dialogue between stakeholders to find a solution to this problem," he said.

Tifatul said that what mattered now was finding ways to prevent bad television programming. "We need to find the root cause of the problems and prioritize preventive actions," he said.

Media analyst Ignatius Haryanto said that viewers should demand better programming. "The key to changing programs is the public. The public need to be more critical in order to get better shows," he said. (cor)

TV station cited over 'vulgar' episode of cleric Ustad Solmed's show

Jakarta Globe - August 1, 2012

Indonesian television station Global TV was cited by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) after renowned Muslim preacher Sholahudin "Ustad Solmed" Mahmoed hosted a sexually-explicit late night talk show.

Ustad Solmed discussed Islam and marital sexual relations on the July 15 episode of "Akhirnya Aku Tahu" ("I Finally Understand"). The Islamic cleric allegedly discussed intimate details of the audience's sex lives during what the KPI has called a "vulgar" episode of the show.

"The sex-ridden discussion happened between Ustad Solmed and members of his audience. They discussed contraception, intimate relationships between husbands and wives, the engorgement of genitals, oral sex and other ways to have sex," the KPI said in a statement published on its website kpi.go.id Monday evening.

The show, which aired at 4 a.m., was rated "teen," a fact that has drawn ire from the KPI, who alleged that this program violated Indonesia's child protection laws.

"We classify this as a violation of child protection laws, norms of politeness, restrictions on sexual themes and the broadcast program's rating," the statement read.

The KPI urged Global TV to clean the show up and get its broadcasting in line with the commission's standards in a letter signed by KPI chairman Mochamad Riyanto on July 30.

The commission sought the opinion of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) before issuing the letter. "The MUI says the dialog was very vulgar and should never happen again," the KPI says, adding a letter from the MUI was attached to a warning sent to Global TV.

Economy & investment

Strong economic growth not accompanied by rising living standards

Kompas - August 7, 2012

Jakarta – In the midst of a global crisis, Indonesia's economic growth recorded a positive result. Economic growth for the second quarter of this year reached 6.4 percent compared with the same period last year.

Economic growth continued to be centred in Java Island contributing 57.5 percent. In cumulative terms, economic growth for the first semester of 2012 was an improvement on first semester economic growth for 2011, which was 6.3 percent.

"Although still centred in Java, regions outside Java also began to record significant economic growth, particularly in Sulawesi. Economic growth in Sulawesi for the second quarter reached 4.6 present compared with the previous quarter of only 4.5 percent. This improvement was cause by a growth in mining industry and agricultural products", said Central Statistics Agency (BPS) chairperson Suryamin during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday August 6.

Suryamin said that gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices for the second quarter of 2012 reached 2,050.10 trillion rupiah [US$ 215.25 billion]. The three sectors that recorded the highest growth (quarterly) were trade, hotels and restaurants, accounting for 5.2 percent, electricity, gas and drinking water, 4.6 percent, and construction 4.4 percent.

Meanwhile for annual growth, the transportation and communication sector grew by 10.1 percent, trade, hotel and restaurants 8.9 percent, and construction 7.3 percent.

GDP for the second quarter of 2012 was dominated by manufacturing, plantations, trade, hotels and restaurant sectors, each contributing 23.5 percent, 14.8 percent and 13.8 percent respectively. The structure of GDP according to spending for the second quarter of 2012 was dominated by household spending amounting to 53.5 percent.

In addition to this, GDP was also supported by gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and government expenditure, which provided a contribution of 32.9 percent and 9 percent respectively, along with exports at 24.3 percent and imports at 26.6 percent.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono welcomed the positive economic growth for the second quarter noting that this growth has occurred in the midst of a global economic crisis.

Anomaly

According to economic observer Salamuddin Daeng from the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ), Indonesia's economic growth can be categorised as an anomaly because it is not accompanied by improvements in living standards.

There are four reasons for this anomaly said Daeng. First, Indonesia's economy is driven by foreign debt, which continues to grow. "Indonesia's [foreign] debt has accumulated to 2.870 trillion rupiah [US$ 301.35 billion]. Debt has become the government's principle source of income and is the driving force of economic growth", he explained.

Second, economic growth is driven by increased consumer spending based on the rising cost of basic goods and food, which is sustained by a growth in credit, particularly consumer credit.

The third factor is economic growth is driven by raw material exports such as minerals, oil and gas and plantation and forestry products, so there is little creation of added value and employment opportunities. Finally, economic growth is driven by foreign investment resulting in the country's natural resources increasingly being controlled by foreigners.

Economic observer A. Tony Prasetiantono from Gadja Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta said that the domestic sector is sustaining national economic growth. "The transmission of the global crisis through a decline in exports and a trade account deficit will only be felt in the third and fourth quarters of this year. Moreover the contribution of exports to GDP is not significant", said Prasetiantono.

A similar view was conveyed by economist Mirza Adityaswara. A number of domestic sectors are growing because they are driven by low interest rates, which are apparent from a growth in credit of 26-28 percent (annually), which is simultaneously driven by low fuel prices (BBM), which are still subsidised by the government.

"So from this, high [economic] growth is being experienced by sectors orientated towards domestic [markets], such as trade, manufacturing, the automotive industry, transportation, communication and construction", said Adityaswara, adding that the consequence of high growth in sectors orientated towards the domestic market is a tendency for the trade account deficit to steadily rise.

According to Prasetiantono, faster and more government spending has also been enough to assist economic growth. In concert with this, keeping inflation below 5 percent has helped slightly although this will have an effect, namely energy subsidies will continue to increase, which is not in fact a healthy trend. (ENY/BEN/ATO/MAS)

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski.]

Trade data shows 'structural problem' in nation's economy

Jakarta Post - August 2, 2012

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Indonesia booked a trade deficit for a third consecutive month in June on higher domestic demand for capital goods and raw materials, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports.

The deficit – which at US$1.33 billion was the widest in five years, according to the BPS – indicated that the nation's economy was expanding beyond its production capacity and would likely adversely affect overall economic growth by year end, analysts said.

Exports reached $15.36 billion in June, down 16.4 percent compared to the same period last year, while imports stood at $16.69 billion, up 10.71 percent.

The total value of exports for the first half of 2012 stood at $96.88 billion, down 1.76 percent from last year, while imports were up 15.35 percent to $96.41 billion.

Aviliani, an economist at the Institute for Economics and Financial Development and an independent commissioner for Bank BRI, said that imports have been driven by business expansion and new investments, which triggered increased demand for capital goods, raw materials and intermediary goods.

However, Aviliani said, the expansions were predominantly aimed at producing goods for domestic consumption, not export.

Contacted separately, Latif Adam of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the heavy reliance of Indonesian manufacturers on imported raw materials was a direct result of underdeveloped upstream industries.

The government had to overcome "structural problems" and eliminate basic impediments in infrastructure and bureaucracy to attract more investment in strategic sectors, particularly steel and chemical production, according to Latif.

He said that the impediments made Indonesia, the largest market in Southeast Asia, less attractive. "Investors have chosen other ASEAN nations, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, as the location for upstream industries and machinery."

Bank Danamon chief economist Anton Gunawan said declining global commodity prices contributed to the deficit, calling the BPS' latest trade report "worse than the consensus" opinion.

Anton said the value of exports to most of the nation's principal export destinations declined in June, with the largest decrease showing in its trade with China, which was down 15 percent from May.

"The main export commodities have seen a sharp decline, particularly in the mining sector. Coal was down 13.4 percent month-to-month while raw minerals reported a bigger decline of 54.6 percent."

The introduction of a 20 percent export tax on metal ore in May also played a big part in the slump of the raw mineral exports, Anton said. "It is then up to the government to cover the loss in the raw minerals exports by reviving exports of the processed good," he said.

Robert Prior-Wandesforde, director of Asian economics at Credit Suisse, told Bloomberg that the nation's rapidly rising trade deficit was symptomatic of an economy growing beyond its productive potential.

"Indonesia's rapidly deteriorating external accounts doesn't bode well for the rupiah, and our foreign exchange analysts expect it to continue underperforming other Asian currencies in the months ahead," he said.

Indonesia suffered a negative trade balance for the first time in almost two years in April, reporting a $641.1 million in deficit, which was followed by a $485.9 million deficit in May. The rupiah fell 0.3 percent to 9,466 per US dollar as of 3:36 p.m. in Jakarta, its biggest drop since July 12, data recorded by Bloomberg shows.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said in an emailed statement that it would be difficult for exports to rebound amid the current global economic crisis. However, Gita said he was optimistic that the nation's trade balance show a net surplus by year end.

Analysis & opinion

Indonesia a failed state? Fate of the Ahmadis shows it could be

Jakarta Globe - August 4, 2012

Ahmad Najib Burhani – In June, the Fund for Peace issued a failed-states index. Of the 178 countries surveyed in this index, Indonesia was listed in the 63rd position, with a score of 80.6. What does that mean? Although Indonesia cannot technically be considered a failed state, its position in the index was in the "very high warning" category. That means that the country is relatively close to becoming a failed state.

One important factor that is used to determine Indonesia's score in this index was what was called group grievance. Tension and violence in the state, as well as the failure of the country to provide adequate security for its people, played a significant role in ensuring Indonesia ended up where it did in the index.

The index talks more about the majority of populations in certain countries and sometimes hides the fact that a number of minority groups in certain countries experience constant persecution. The case of Indonesia can be used as an example. Although the majority of the population in this country is satisfied with the security they receive and feel, religious minorities like Ahmadi Muslims find themselves living in constant fear. Discrimination and persecution have been experienced at very high levels by this community throughout the last decade.

Actually, resistance and opposition to the Ahmadiyah has been occurring in Indonesia since the 1920s. Historically, the opposition was not only voiced by conservative organizations and persons, but also by moderate Muslim organizations including Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama. In 1929, Muhammadiyah issued a fatwa declaring that whoever believes the existence of a prophet after the Prophet Muhammad is a kafir (infidel). In 1938, NU demanded that the Majlis Islam A'laa Indonesia (MIAI – Supreme Council of Muslims of Indonesia) expel the Ahmadiyah group from this institution, otherwise NU would not be admitted to the MIAI.

One thing must be noted, however. Though there has always been opposition to the Ahmadiyah's presence in Indonesia, violent attacks and persecution against it did not always exist. It is true that in the 1950s Ahmadis were hunted and killed, but it wasn't done by the Indonesian government or other Muslim groups. Attacks were carried out by the Tentara Islam Indonesia rebel group. Moreover, when Media Dakwah, the official magazine of the Dewan Da'wah Islamiyah Indonesia, published a blasphemous picture of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (the founder of the Ahmadiyah Muslim community) in its October 1988 edition, the Ahmadiyah filed and won a lawsuit against Media Dakwah.

There was a shift in the resistance and opposition to the Ahmadiyah after 1998. It became more intense and the level of violence climbed steadily.

At the discursive level, besides old "guards of orthodoxy" like the Persatuan Islam, DDII and MUI (Indonesian Council of Ulema), there are other groups, such as Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and the Islamic People's Forum (FUI), that vigorously oppose the Ahmadiyah.

Opposition by force has been committed mostly by a number of vigilante groups established with the main objective to attack Ahmadiyah. Among them are Garis (Muslim Reform Movement) in Cianjur, Gapas (Anti-Apostasy and Deviant Sects Movement) in Cirebon, Geram (Anti-Ahmadiyah Peoples Movement) in Garut and Gerah (Anti-Ahmadiyah Movement) in Kuningan. These groups, all based in West Java, are added to older, established vigilante groups that fiercely oppose Ahmadiyah such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

Other shifts in the opposition to Ahmadiyah that appear after 1998 is the attitude of the government, particularly the current regime under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It seems that the government does not have the power to give security to its people and prevent violent attacks against the Ahmadiyah community. There are a number of cases related to Ahmadiyah that can be used to underscore the absence of the state in protecting its people, but two of the most serious ones took place in Mataram on Lombok, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara, and the Cikeusik subdistrict of Pandeglang, in Banten province.

Over a hundred Ahmadis have been living in the Transito building in Mataram since 2006, after vigilante groups destroyed their homes, looted their property and then displaced them from their villages. Some of them have been deprived access to education and health care. Most of the time, they have been treated like refugees. Almost none of the attackers who destroyed their houses have been brought to justice.

What is more surprising is the solution proposed by the local government. Rather than taking some sort of action, the local government asked Ahmadis to seek asylum in other countries. There was also the suggestion that they move to an isolated island about 40 kilometers from Lombok.

In the Umbulan village of Cikeusik, three Ahmadis were killed during the attack on an Ahmadiyah mission house on Feb. 6, 2011. The killers were sentenced to between three and six months. One of the injured victims, Deden Sudjana, was given a six-month jail sentence for provoking the attack.

So is Indonesia a failed state? In the most general terms, Indonesia cannot be put in that category. However, in the context of protecting the rights of minority religious groups like the Ahmadiyah, it is a different story.

The protection of minority groups is part of the essence of democracy. Failure to do this is an indication that the democracy currently employed in this country is superficial at best.

[Ahmad Najib Burhani is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).]

Vanishing trust in the police

Jakarta Post Editorial - August 2, 2012

The drama of the last two days at the National Police Headquarters, involving anti graft officers spending the night and having their pre-dawn meals there, before commencing fasting, has affirmed both the obvious and the oblivious: the obvious near-zero public distrust in the police and obliviousness of the police force to this fact.

Officers of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) came on Monday to the headquarters of the police traffic corps in South Jakarta to gather evidence of suspected fraud in a multibillion rupiah graft scandal involving the procurement of driving simulators. Protracted resistance on the part of the police finally led to the anti graft fighters being "held hostage" by police in the compound from Monday afternoon to Tuesday night. Only then were the KPK officers able to take the collected documents out of police headquarters.

The events were played down as a "miscommunication" between the leaders of both sides. The officers parted on gentlemanly terms, having shared a pre- dawn meal and dawn prayers together. But what transpired was not lost on the public.

The KPK had immediately named Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo as suspect, charged with enriching himself and others while causing state losses in the procurement of 700 two-wheel and 556 four-wheel vehicle simulators worth Rp 190 billion (US$20.12 million) last year – many of them that reportedly had yet to be used in police stations across the country.

That the police attempted to drive out the KPK on the grounds that they had launched their own investigations into the case was laughable, especially in the face of so many instances that have revealed the low credibility of the police. The earlier police investigation into the above case had merely led to issuing one of their own with a light penalty, which was only to be expected.

What the police may forget, or pretend to forget, is that the public is still awaiting the follow-up into investigations of corruption within the entire force. A high profile revelation was made following the KPK's 2009 investigation of National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, who was revealed to have demanded billions from a businessman seeking his help. Susno boasted he had evidence of corruption involving several high ranking officers and over the years the public saw no progress into what the KPK said was "ongoing investigations" into the "fat" bank accounts of police generals – until Tuesday.

Any skepticism against the KPK must take into account the improbable challenges it faces in probing the powerful. This is why an earlier Facebook movement called "Coins for the KPK" emerged when lawmakers refused their proposal for a new building, and why the "Gecko versus the Crocodile" movement was so widespread, symbolizing support for KPK officers that were called "geckos' by Susno, "the crocodile" whom the officers were investigating.

KPK chairman Abraham Samad has dismissed suggestions that this episode is "Gecko versus Crocodile Part II". But of course the crocodile in police uniform looms large in public memory, as people wholly support the fight against corruption, more so in the institutions entrusted to uphold the law.

Separating the police from the military back in 1999 was the first source of hope for a police force that served the public. Now we are left in dismay that the reformasi and all the international goodwill to improve the police force has led it to serve itself.

Indonesia's collective amnesia

Jakarta Post - August 1, 2012

Endy Bayuni, Jakarta – Last week, the National Commission on Human Rights, an independent state body, released its findings from a four-year investigation into the 1965 purge of suspected communists.

The commission concludes that the Army-led campaign amounted to a gross violation of human rights. It urged the government to prosecute the perpetrators and compensate victims and survivors. It also called upon President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to issue a public apology.

But the report failed to generate much public interest, if the reaction of the country's major newspapers is any indication. They either ignored the story or buried it in the inside pages – which made for a jarring contrast to the hysterical headlines devoted to shooting in faraway Denver recently. But then the mainstream media have always been complicit in the conspiracy of silence over the killings, whether knowingly or out of ignorance.

The killing campaign in 1965 and 1966 was unleashed after an abortive coup against president Sukarno in October 1965 that the Army blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Although the massacre happened on Sukarno's watch, he had by then become a lame-duck president.

The report instead put the blame squarely on the Command for the Restoration of Security and Order led by Gen. Soeharto, who went on to become president in 1967. The commission's recommendation only says that those most responsible should be prosecuted, though it gives no specific names.

In spite of its massive scale, the killing campaign has been shrouded in mystery. No one – the Human Rights Commission included – has ever been able to put a figure on how many were killed. Estimates range from a conservative 200,000 to as many as 3 million, a figure once boastingly cited by Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, who headed the military campaign at the time as chief of the Army's Special Forces.

The Soeharto regime banned any discussion of the entire episode, including the massacre and the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power. For more than three decades, only the military's version of history was allowed to circulate. The veil of silence was lifted only some years after Soeharto stepped down in 1998.

Official history books today still treat the episode as an attempt by the PKI, then the world's largest communist party in a non-communist state, to grab power. They make no mention of the ensuing massacre of party members, their sympathizers and relatives, and even many innocent bystanders, or the harsh treatments meted out to the survivors in the aftermath of the killings.

The report, the most detailed study ever carried out on the massacre, lists the types of crimes committed, including murder, slavery, forced disappearances, limits to physical freedom, torture, rape, persecution and forced prostitution. It also says the killing was widespread across most major islands in the archipelago, and not confined to Java, Sumatra and Bali, as had been widely believed. The study also identified at least 17 mass graves where the victims were buried.

Although Indonesians who went through the period are aware of the killings, most have turned a blind eye, and many have even managed to erase them from memory. They accepted the official version that the military had saved Indonesia from communism, and, by logical conclusion, that Soeharto and his military cohorts were the heroes of the day.

Time will tell how far the report will go to break these long years of the conspiracy of silence about the killings, and whether it will succeed in jolting the nation out of its collective amnesia. The report also calls for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to look into the tragedy.

Scholars attempting to study the killings say that many of the perpetrators and the surviving victims have refused to be interviewed for events that they said were too traumatic to recount. A few, however, have been brave enough to break their silence, as captured in the film documentary "40 Years of Silence – An Indonesian Tragedy".

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for whom the report was prepared, responded positively by ordering the office of the attorney general to look into the recommendations, including considering the prosecution of those most responsible for the killings. His office has also said that the President is considering an official apology on behalf of the state for all the human rights violations committed against its own citizens.

All the key players in the killing campaign, however, are dead: Soeharto died in 2008, his deputy Adm. Sudomo this past April, and Sarwo Edhie, in 1989. It will be interesting to see how far the Indonesian Military, or Yudhoyono for that matter, are prepared to see their seniors tried in absentia or be dragged through the dirt in the event that the truth and reconciliation commission is formed. Yudhoyono, a military general himself, is the son-in-law of Sarwo Edhie.

Many human rights activists have their doubts. They note that a report by the same commission about the mass rape of Chinese-Indonesians during rioting in 1998 never received any follow-up from the office of the attorney general.

The release of the report was hailed as a milestone by a handful of victims and survivors who had been seeking justice all these years. For most Indonesians, it was a non-event.

In one of the rare public reactions to the report, Priyo Budi Santoso, a senior politician from the Golkar Party, said that wallowing in the past was unproductive for the nation.

"It is better if we move forward," said Priyo, whose party provided the political machine that sustained Soeharto in power for more than three decades. Tragically, he probably spoke for most of the people in this country.

Anyone wondering why the systemic culture of impunity, and with it the culture of violence, are so notoriously strong in Indonesia, may have found the answer this week. They are deeply embedded, along with the nation's collective amnesia.

[The writer is senior editor of The Jakarta Post. This article first appeared in the Transitions section of Foreign Policy magazine's website transitions.foreignpolicy.com.]

Indonesian commission urges trials of military rights abusers

Direct Action - August 1, 2012

James Balowski, Jakarta – After a three-year investigation and testimonies from 349 witnesses, Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has declared that the systematic prosecution of alleged members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) when former president Suharto and the military seized power in 1965 constituted gross human rights violations. It urged that the military officers involved be brought to trial.

Speaking at a press conference on July 23, Nur Kholis, the head of the investigative team into what is officially described as a coup attempt by the PKI, said that state officials under the Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Kopkamtib) who served from 1965 to 1967 and between 1977 and 1978 should be tried for crimes including murder, extermination, slavery, eviction or forced eviction, deprivation of freedom, torture and mass rape. Kholis said that his team had handed over the 850-page report to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and "hoped that the AGO would follow up the report".

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 was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

Anti-communist purge

On the night of September 30, 1965, a group of middle-ranking military officers kidnapped and killed six generals they accused of organising a coup against Indonesia's leftist President Sukarno. Blaming the incident on the PKI provided the pretext for sections of the military, led by Major General Suharto, to mount a bloody counter-revolution in which as many as 1 million communists and left-wing sympathisers were killed. Hundreds of thousands of others were imprisoned for years without trial.

According to newspaper reports at the time, Western governments, particularly the US, were delighted with the turn of events in Indonesia, with a cable by Secretary of State Dean Rusk expressing support for the "campaign against the communists" and assuring Suharto that the "US government [is] generally sympathetic with, and admiring of, what the army is doing". The US also supplied Suharto's forces with money and weapons to conduct the anti-communist purge as the CIA ticked off names from a list of key party leaders and figures which it had provided to Suharto several months before.

Formal apology

Nur Kholis said that the team demanded that the government issue a formal apology to victims and their families. The apology should be followed by rehabilitation, reparation and compensation. The Institute for the Study of the 1965-1966 Massacres (YPKP) said that while Suharto was the person most responsible for the crimes, the fact that he had died should not deter the AGO from investigating the case, noting that many other perpetrators remained alive. Although Kholis declined to provide names, YPKP chairperson Bedjo Untung told Kompas newspaper that in legal terms it was very clear who was responsible. The release documents of prisoners incarcerated over the 1965 affair, he said, cite the names of Indonesian military commanders from the subdistrict (koramil), district (kodim) and regional (kodam) military commands.

Former PKI members and others accused of involvement in the alleged coup suffered decades of stigmatisation and discrimination. People linked to the PKI were not allowed to become civil servants, military or police officers, teachers, preachers or legislators. Their IDs were labelled with "ET" (ex- political prisoner) making them vulnerable to harassment and extortion by government officials; finding work was nearly impossible because they had to produce a letter stating they had no affiliation with communism.

Following a landmark Constitutional Court ruling in 2004, former PKI members were allowed to contest elections, and in 2006 the government deleted the ET label on IDs. However, a 1966 decree on the dissolution of the PKI and prohibitions on Marxist, Leninist and communist teachings remain in force. Public events related to 1965 and the PKI are routinely harassed and attacked with impunity by the police and military-backed Islamic thugs.

Mysterious shootings

Komnas HAM also released the findings of an investigation into a spate of killings in the early 1980s of hundreds of petty criminals throughout the country. The report said that the military and the police, with their territorial commands, were most responsible.

Speaking at a press conference on July 24, Komnas HAM commissioner Yoseph Adi Prasetyo said they had found proof of crimes against humanity. "The team found evidence of gross violations of human rights in the mysterious shootings that took place between 1982 and 1985. This campaign was carried out by state security personnel and was widespread across the country", Prasetyo said. "The killings followed certain patterns, such as the thumbs of the victims being tied together behind their backs, the bodies were wrapped in sacks and Rp10,000 [US$1.06] was left on top of the bodies for funeral costs."

The so-called petrus or mysterious shootings started in August 1982 under the command of Kopkamtib chief Admiral Soedomo, who died in June this year. Code named "Operation Sickle", the operation targeted repeat offenders, local gangs, unemployed youths and others considered sources of violent crime. Some were targeted simply because they had tattoos, considered the mark of criminals. In March 1983, General Benny Moerdani who died in August 2004, replaced Soedomo as Kopkamtib commander and took over the operation.

In its report, Komnas HAM said that the military and police drew up lists of targeted individuals, which were then distributed to community leaders. Some were kidnapped and detained at military facilities and others were executed in front of their families. The commission said that corpses were found across Java and Sumatra, including Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bantul, Semarang, Medan, Palembang, Magelang, Solo, Cilacap, Malang and Mojokerto, with the possibility that killings also occurred in Bandung, Makassar, Pontianak, Banyuwangi and Bali.

In his 1988 autobiography, Suharto acknowledged that he sanctioned the killings, referring to them as "shock therapy". No official figures were ever reported for the number killed.

Waiting for justice

Despite the landmark ruling, the AGO was quick to pour cold water on any possible follow-up. Attorney General Basrief Arief – whose appointment last year was slammed by anti-corruption and rights activists as supporting the status quo – said he welcomed the investigation, but warned that reviving a case that happened nearly 50 years ago was no simple matter. Arief said he would "wait and see" before conducting his own investigation. "It is [Komnas HAM's] job to conduct an investigation. Once it is over, of course, they will hand it over to us", he told the July 25 Jakarta Globe. Komnas HAM has only investigative powers and must rely on the police and AGO to prosecute cases.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) questioned the AGO's commitment to investigating past human rights crimes, particularly those that occurred under Suharto's New Order dictatorship. "There are five cases of gross human rights violation which never got investigated [by the AGO]", Kontras anti-impunity division chief Yati Andriani told the Globe.

Last month, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) released a report in which it said the handling of human rights cases had stagnated. "In general, there have been no significant developments related to past cases of human rights abuses", said Elsam executive director Indriaswati D. Saptaningrum. "None of the cases investigated by Komnas HAM, such as the Trisakti shootings, Semanggi I and II, the May 1998 riots, Talangsari 1989 and the 1997-98 missing person cases, were brought to an ad hoc human rights court."

Presidential apology

In April it was announced that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would make an apology to families and victims of past human rights abuses, including those who perished in 1965, the Tanjung Priok massacre in 1984 and the May riots. Presidential Advisory Council member Albert Hasibuan said on April 25 that the council was preparing a draft speech for Yudhoyono and that the council was devising a mechanism to compensate victims. Hasibuan said that Yudhoyono would make the apology before his term ended in 2014 because he wanted the gesture to be his "legacy".

Victims and their families expressed scepticism. Sixty-year-old Maria Catarina Sumarsih, the mother of a student killed in the 1998 shooting of student protesters in Semanggi, said that saying "sorry" was not enough and that the government must first acknowledge the gross human rights violations that happened in the past. "What concerns us is that no concrete actions will be taken as a follow-up to the public apology", she told the Post on April 26.

A previous apology was made by former president B.J. Habibie, who also called for a thorough investigation of past rights abuses. However, no action was taken. President Abdurrahman Wahid made a similar gesture and agreed to rehabilitate the victims of rights abuses, although, again, without serious follow-up.

Empty promises

Yudhoyono – whose now deceased father-in-law, Lieutenant General Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, was the commander of the army's special forces RPKAD (now Kopassus) that spearheaded the campaign of mass murder and terror in 1965 and once boasted that 2 million were killed "and we did a good job" – has ordered the AGO to follow up the report.

"What Komnas HAM has reported will be studied by the attorney general, who is expected to report to me and other relevant parties. We want a good, just, factual, smart and constructive settlement", Yudhoyono told a press conference on July 25. Speaking afterwards, Arief said he would "probe" the Komnas HAM findings and promised to share the results with the public. "We call this kind of probe a 'pre-prosecution'. The investigation will decide whether or not there will be enough evidence [to bring the case to court]", Basrief explained.

But if Yudhoyono's previous pledges are anything to go by, his statement is little more than empty rhetoric.

Shortly after being elected president in 2004, Yudhoyono promised the public that he would personally ensure a thorough investigation into the murder of Indonesia's foremost human rights activist, Munir, who was poisoned on a Garuda airlines flight to Amsterdam in September 2004. He even described the murder as a "test case for the nation" and established an officially sanctioned fact-finding team. In its final report submitted to Yudhoyono in June 2005, the team found evidence that Munir's death was a "well-planned conspiracy" and named a number of Garuda executives and State Intelligence Agency officials who should be investigated. A former Garuda pilot and Garuda executive were sentenced over the case, but those behind the murder have never been brought to justice.

In September 2009 the House of Representatives made a number of recommendations to Yudhoyono on the abduction and disappearance of 13 activists in 1997-98 by the army's Kopassus. These included that the president establish an ad hoc human rights court, that the president along with all government institutions and related parties attempt to find activists declared missing by Komnas HAM, that the government rehabilitate and provide compensation to the families of the victims and that the government immediately ratify the United Nations Convention Against Forced Disappearances. Three years on, Yudhoyono has yet to respond to, let alone act on, any of these recommendations.