Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – An airline employee at a ticket counter at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport reported a military officer to the police after being punched in the face on Monday because of a flight delay.

Airport police spokesman Insp. Agus Tri said that Riki Pandani, 20, an employee of Lion Air, who was on duty at the domestic flight terminal, claimed that he was punched in his right eye by a passenger identified as Sri Sugianto.

"We quickly followed up the report and summoned the passenger, who was later identified as Lt. Col. Sri Sugianto, a Surabaya-based Navy officer," he said.

The police spokesman said that the military officer had bought a Lion Air ticket on flight number 748, which was scheduled to depart for Surabaya at 8:20 but was delayed for two hours.

"The two-hour delay made the official angry and as he lost his patience. He approached the ticket counter and hit the ticket seller in the face," he said.

Agus Tri said that since the suspect was a military officer, the police had handed over the case to the Tangerang District Military Command (Kodim 0506) Garnizun for further handling.

Tangerang District Military Commander Lt. Col. Dani Wardana confirmed that the case had been taken over from the airport police.

"It is true that the suspect is a Surabaya-based Navy officer and we have directly handed him over to the Navy Military Police headquarters (Danpom) in North Jakarta," he said. (iwa)

West Papua

KNPB ask police to prove what charges were against Mako Tabuni

Bintang Papua - September 6, 2012

Jayapura – At a time when the media is busily reporting about plans for a dialogue between Papua and Jakarta, following the visit to Papua by the Presidential Consultative Council under the leadership of Dr Albert Hasibuan, the KNPB – National Committee for West Papua, has responded by saying that there are issues that need to be discussed before any dialogue can take place.

"Our way to solve the Papuan problem is for a referendum to be held and for the Papuan people to have the freedom run their own affairs in a state of their own," said KNPB spokesperson, Wim R. Medlama, who spoke with two other activists alongside. He said people should not be spending too much time talking about the dialogue, because "the support in favour of freedom is widespread, down to the very roots of Papuan society".

Another issue that he spoke about was the accusations that had been levelled against the late Mako Tabuni. After the arrest of Danny Kogoya for alleged terrorism and the acts of violence that have been happening in the city of Jayapura, led the KNPB to ask a number of questions. The police were directing their allegations these acts of terror against the late Mako Tabuni.

"We call on the police to reveal who these people are who have been involved in the series of shootings, and we would like to hear the evidence about this. And now the same charges are being levelled against Danny Kogoya, so we would really like to know what facts the police have in relation to all this," said Medlama.

He said that when Mako Tabuni was shot and killed, all the allegations about the shootings had been directed against the late Mako Tabuni, and then after the arrest of Danny Kogoya, all these allegations were directed against him. "So what we want to know is what are the facts that have been discovered about all these shootings?"

The KNPB also said that the police should say what ammunition they had discovered at the office of Danny Koyoga. The KNPB accused the police of making this up so as to be able to close down the democratic space for activists in Papua.

The KNPB also called on the police to reveal the truth about the shooting of the German citizen in Base-G, and about the burning of vehicles and their drivers in the Waena cemetery.

[Translated by Carmel Budiardjo.]

House forms committee on Papua

Jakarta Post - September 4, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense has established a working committee to focus on solutions to the ongoing violence in Papua.

Commission I chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said on Tuesday that the committee would comprise 27 lawmakers and be chaired by leaders of his commission.

"This committee aims to encourage the government to formulate comprehensive and peaceful programs in order to solve the problems in Papua," Mahfudz said.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician added that Commission I had identified several issues in Papua including a lack of trust by locals of the government, the politics of the history of the integration of Papua into Indonesia, the poor performance of the Special Unit of Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) and the regional administration, and increasing armed violence.

"Those problems are like a vicious circle, they could be a time bomb for the Republic of Indonesia," Mahfudz said. (iwa)

Police name six OPM members suspects

Jakarta Globe - September 4, 2012

Farouk Arnaz – Six out of 25 members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) who were arrested in a series of raids on Sunday and Monday have been named as suspects by the police, and remain in custody.

"Out of 25 persons that have been questioned by a Papua police detective, there are six who were positively named as suspects and detained," National police spokesman Brig.

Gen. Boy Rafly Amar said on Tuesday. "They are – DK (Daniel Kogoya), LS (Lambertus Siep), NJ (Nabi Jikwa), KJ (Krema Jikwa), TK (Tandius Kogoya) and SK (Sony Kosay) – who are strongly alleged to have attack and abused victims in Nafri."

Dani and his two friends were arrested in a hotel in Jayapura on Sunday night, while the other 22 were arrested in a separate raid in BTN Puskopad Atas Kampkey, Abepura on Monday. Four out of the 22 – Nabi, Krema, Lambertus and Tandius – have been long been wanted by police.

Police are alleging that the suspects in custody killed four people and wounded seven in an attack on Aug. 1 in Kamp Nafri, Abepura. The four who were murdered include a member of the military named Don Keraf and a driver named Sardi, as well as a man named Wisman and his wife Titin. They also allegedly attacked the construction site of a TV tower in Papua.

Clinton urges dialogue in Indonesia's Papua

Agence France Presse - September 4, 2012

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Monday on Indonesia to pursue dialogue and ensure autonomy for restive Papua but made it clear that the United States did not support independence.

Clinton, who rattled nerves in Indonesia last year by voicing concern over human rights, praised the government even as she urged more efforts to resolve the long-running conflict.

Papua – a vast, mineral-rich province that shares an island with Papua New Guinea – has a population ethnically different from most Indonesians. Jakarta annexed the former Dutch colony in 1969 and has since faced a low- level insurgency.

"We believe strongly that dialogue between Papuan representatives and the Indonesian government would help address concerns the Papuans have and assist in resolving conflicts peacefully," Clinton said in Jakarta.

"Of course we deplore violence of any sort in Papua and when it does occur there should be full and transparent investigations under the rule of law," she told a joint news conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

Clinton urged implementation of Indonesia's 2001 declaration of autonomy for the troubled region. Local activists charge that the autonomy has never been carried out and that their rights have not improved.

Clinton stressed: "We support the territorial integrity of Indonesia and that includes Papua and West Papua provinces."

"We think that there has been an enormous amount of good work done by the Indonesian government and we're going to continue to work with them and raise issues as that becomes necessary," she said.

Human rights groups have accused Indonesian authorities of arbitrary arrests and attacks on civilians in Papua, which is shut off to foreign media.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr similarly said Sunday that Canberra rejected Papua independence despite concerns over human rights, warning that separatist activism by Australians could "completely rupture" relations between the two countries.

US President Barack Obama's administration has been eager to build ties with Indonesia due to its vast size, embrace of democracy and moderate brand of Islam, but advocacy groups have warned not to ignore human rights.

Danny Koyoga and colleagues could face 15 years in prison

Bintang Papua - September 4, 2012

Jayapura – One of the leaders of the OPM, Danny Kogoya along with seven others were arrested on Sunday just before midnight, in a hotel in Entrop. He is likely to spend many years behind bars.

On the basis of investigations by the police of Koyoga and his friends, they will face charges under Article 170 of the Criminal Code for acts of violence. Koyoga could be sentenced to 15 years. The charges against him include the shooting of a German man in Wisata Coast Base G, North Jayapura – He is also likely to be charged under Article 338 in connection with a shooting incident in Nafri Kampung, district of Abepura, in August 2011 when four people were killed.

The spokesman for the Police Commissioner, Drs Johannes Nugroho, said the case against Koyoga is under investigation by a criminal unit of the police in Jayapura – 'Although there are no further suspects at the moment, the case could develop further after taking account of the testimony from other likely suspects.'

Furthermore, as a result of the gunfire which hit Koyoga, his right foot was amputated after being hit by gunfire as he was trying to escape following his arrest. Doctors at the hospital worked hard to save his life and one of the ways was by deciding to amputate his foot which had almost broken away from his leg.

"Without the amputation," the doctors said, "we could not have saved his life."

According to the secretary of Commission A of the DPRP, Julius Miagoni, the police claim that Koyoga was involved in a number of shooting incidents in Jayapura City. He went on to say that these were simply charges by the police without any clear evidence. He said that this was in violation of the principle of the presumption of innocence, according to which someone can only be said to be guilty on the basis of a definitive verdict in a court of law.

"Danny Koyoga has not yet been designated as a suspect yet the police are claiming that he was involved in a series of shooting incidents and violence in Jayapura."

Such things frequently happen, he said. When shooting incidents occur in Paniai, the police alleged that the group led by John Yogi was responsible. And when the incident occurs in Jayapura, it is said to be the work of Danny and his associates. And so on.

The most important thing is for the police to conduct investigations before making public pronouncements about what Danny Koyoga is guilty of, in accordance with the law. He said following the arrest of Danny Koyoga: 'We urge the police to handle the case according to the proper procedures and in accordance with humanitarian principles'.

'This habit of conducting acts of terror, threats, ill-treatment and other such things against citizens who have been arrested should be halted as soon as possible, said the member of Commission A.

[Translated by TAPOL.]

Ex-antiterror chief set to be new Papua police chief

Jakarta Globe - September 3, 2012

Farouk Arnaz – The former head of Indonesia's elite anti-terrorism unit is set to become the new Papua Police chief, according to a copy of the decision letter obtained by the Jakarta Globe.

Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian, 47, was head of Densus 88 from 2004 until last year, when he was appointed deputy chief of the recently formed National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT). Under his watch, Densus 88 was able to arrest or kill several key members of the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah, including Noordin M. Top and Azhari.

Tito is replacing Insp. Gen. Bigman Lumban Tobing, who critics say has failed to secure Papua, which has seen increasing violence since late last year. The decision letter was dated Sept. 3, 2012. The official handover ceremony is usually held one week after the decision letter is signed.

Rumors that Tito was being considered for the Papua post have been circulating since June in response to the escalating conflict in the restive region.

Indonesia Police Watch chairman Neta S. Pane has previously voiced opposition to the move, saying the police should choose someone who could consolidate the security apparatus in Papua and engage the citizenry in dialogue, not clamp down with increasingly harsh force.

"We strongly reject the efforts of the National Police to deploy Densus 88 in Papua because the problem in Papua is not terrorism but prolonged socioeconomic gaps," Neta said in June.

Police have said the violence in Papua was the work of the separatist Papua Free Organization (OPM). On Sunday, Papua Police successfully arrested 22 OPM members, including its leader Daniel Kogoya, who is said to have claimed responsibility for several spouts of violence and shooting incidents in the past year.

Densus 88, frequently criticized by human rights organization for its harsh treatment of terrorism suspects, has been involved in a number of crackdowns against separatists in Papua and Maluku, with officers saying their participation was justified because the nation's Law on Terrorism categorizes armed insurgence as an act of terrorism.

In August last year, counterterrorism officers were deployed in Papua after four people were killed in an ambush by suspected armed separatists in Nafri village, on the outskirts of Jayapura.

Last week, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ran a story on Papuans testifying that Densus 88, which is trained and supplied by the Australian government, was involved in the June killing of Mako Tabuni, then-chairman of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee (KNPB).

22 OPM members arrested in Papua raid

Jakarta Globe - September 3, 2012

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Papua Police on Sunday arrested 22 members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM), including its prominent leader Daniel Kogoya.

"Daniel Kogoya was arrested in a hotel in Jayapura with several of his friends," Johanes Nugroho Wicaksono, spokesman for the Papua police, said on Monday. "He is being treated at Bhayangkara hospital for wounds suffered after being shot while he was trying to escape."

Daniel has claimed responsibility for several spouts of violence and shootings that have occurred throughout Papua during the past year. He was arrested with two other members of the OPM, Sony Kosay and Petrus Kosay, after they tried to escape during an ambush.

"After Daniel and his cohorts were arrested, the police investigated further and discovered their hideout at BTN Kamkey Atas Abepura," Johanes added. "We arrested some of his followers there and confiscated two double-loop fire arms, three machetes, an ax, three bows and dozens of arrows."

A few of the men who were arrested had been on the police's most-wanted list for a long time, including Petrus Jikwa, Sonny Kosay, Yunus Hiluka, Benis Wanimbo, Hengky Nius Boma, Saleh Pagawak, Evri Tabuni, Sumy Tabuni, Lambertus Siep, Tandius Kogoya, Robinus Jikwa, Devison Wanimbo and Bobinus Karoba Lakis.

"There have been several violent episodes initiated by Daniel Kogoya and companions in the past, including a shooting in Nafri that killed two, a shooting of a military member at Skyline and the gunning-down of a German citizen at Base G beach," Johanes said.

"Daniel himself has claimed in the media to be responsible for the series of shootings, but the police will still need to investigate the cases."

Clinton urged to support the release of Indonesian political prisoners

Jakarta Post - September 2, 2012

Jakarta – A human rights watchdog has called on the United States' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to support the release of all Indonesian political prisoners who are being held for the peaceful expression of their political views.

New York-based Human Rights Watch maintained that Indonesia had incarcerated nearly 100 activists from Maluku and Papua for peacefully voicing their political views, holding demonstrations and/or raising separatist flags.

"The US should remind the Indonesian government that persecuting peaceful political activists is an injustice that violates international law," the group's Asia advocacy director, John Sifton, stated in a release obtained by The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The human rights watchdog expects Clinton to discuss the matter during her upcoming visit to Jakarta this Monday.

Moreover, the group said some prisoners, such as Filep Karma, 53, from Papua, and Ferdinand Waas, 64, from Maluku, had severe health problems but had so far received insufficient medical care. "Clinton should also call on Indonesian authorities to provide adequate health care for all prisoners," the watchdog stated.

Karma was sentenced to 15 years in jail for raising the outlawed Morning Star flag in Jayapura in 2004, while Waas, a former traditional village leader, was convicted for his alleged involvement in the South Maluku Republic (RMS) separatist flag-waving event in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2007.

Last year, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion that Indonesia was violating international law by detaining Karma, and called for his immediate release. (yps)

Australia rejects Papuan independence

Agence France Presse - September 2, 2012

Australia categorically rejected Papuan independence Sunday saying it could not lead to a viable nation and would "completely rupture" ties with Indonesia were Canberra to weigh in.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said public opinion in Australia was "in support of Indonesian sovereignty over the two Papuan provinces" and though Canberra pressed Jakarta on human rights in the region its own position was firm.

"Our opposition to Papuan secessionism is founded on pragmatism and principle," Carr told Sky News. "The position in international law is Indonesian sovereignty, and while we make representations as required about human rights issues there... we are unequivocal."

The issue was thrust into the spotlight last week when an Australian documentary crew raised questions about the involvement of Indonesian counter-terrorism police in the shooting of independence figure Mako Tabuni.

Canberra said it had appealed to Indonesia for a full and open inquiry into Tabuni's death and continued to press its neighbor on human rights in the restive province.

Carr on Sunday denied that Papuan independence was a matter of diplomatic concern between the nations but counseled Australians, particularly religious and trade union groups, against supporting the separatist movement.

"The cost of engaging at a serious level in that sort of activity would be a complete rupture in Australia-Indonesia relations," the foreign minister said.

"It would serve no good whatsoever because the nation that they would be seeking to create would not be viable, and were it to be created – and that is inconceivable – Australia would be picking up the bill."

Poorly armed separatist groups have for decades fought a low-level insurgency in resources-rich Papua, a Dutch colony annexed by Indonesia in 1969 and granted special autonomy in 2001.

Australian report sparks debate of Densus 88's role in Papua

Jakarta Globe - September 1, 2012

Ismira Lutfia & Ezra Sihite – Following an investigative report from Australian media alleging that the country's counterterrorism unit Special Detachment 88 killed a Papuan pro-independence activist, an analyst urged Indonesia to further probe the incident.

Adriana Elisabeth, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said on Friday that police must embark on a comprehensive and accountable investigation into recent cases of violence in Papua to maintain their credibility.

"They should not be silent on the media report. As the country's highest security authority, the police should be able to solve the series of violence in Papua, and come out with accountable results so that outsiders don't need to do their own investigation, which could be biased also," she said.

The counterterrorism squad, known as Densus 88, has been involved in a number of crackdowns against separatists in Papua and Maluku, with officers saying their participation was justified because the nation's Law on Terrorism categorizes armed insurgence as an act of terrorism.

In August last year, counterterrorism officers were deployed in conflict- riven Papua after four people were killed in an ambush by suspected armed separatists in Nafri village, on the outskirts of Jayapura.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday ran a story on Papuans testifying that Densus 88, which is trained and supplied by the Australian government, was involved in the June killing of Mako Tabuni, then-chairman of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee (KNPB).

The report has sparked debate in Australia, with the Greens, a party that is part of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's coalition government, saying Australia should look at ending anti-terrorism training for Indonesian troops if they are found to be involved in human rights abuses in West Papua.

Greens Senator Richard Di Natale told The Australian newspaper that he has been concerned for some time about a lack of accountability in Australia's funding and training of Indonesian forces.

And in an interview with ABC following the report's airing, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said an inquiry was needed into Tabuni's killing and the allegations surrounding Densus 88.

"We think the best way of clarifying the situation is for an inquiry, and we've never hesitated to raise human rights issues in the two Papuan provinces, and we'll continue to do it," Carr said during the interview.

"I've raised it myself with the Indonesian foreign minister, my counterpart, Marty Natalegawa, and Prime Minister Gillard has raised it with the president of Indonesia [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] as recently as June this year."

Mahfudz Siddiq, head of the Indonesian House of Representatives' Commission I, overseeing defense, security and international affairs, slammed Carr for having "double standards" in calling for the inquiry.

Mahfudz confirmed that Densus 88 was present in Papua, arguing that Tabuni's alleged acts of violence warranted "the presence of Detachment 88."

Mahfudz also chided Carr, saying Australian politicians never complained about Densus 88 killings of suspected Muslim terrorists.

"In my opinion, it is too far for Bob Carr to mention human rights training to Detachment 88. Did Australia give any comment when Islamic activists got killed or injured by Detachment 88 while the anti-terror squad was raiding a house?" Mahfudz said.

Tabuni was accused of orchestrating a number of shootings in Jayapura, Papua, including one against a German tourist. But ABC reporters disguised as tourists interviewed a number of Papuan activists and witnesses who were quoted as saying that Tabuni was framed and killed for his pro-independence stance.

Oktovianus Pekei, a Papuan priest in the district of Paniai, said suspected counterterrorism officers also raided people's homes in the district capital, Enarotali, during a standoff with members of the armed rebel movement, the Free Papua Organization (OPM) in November.

The National Police have refused to confirm whether Densus 88 officers were responsible for Tabuni's death.

Carr defended Australia's provision of counterterrorism training to Indonesian forces, with a caveat. "It is absolutely in Australia's interests that we have this relationship, but we don't train them in counterinsurgency – it's counterterrorism," he said.

"Part of that training is in human rights; just as we train our own armed forces and our own police to respect human rights, we've introduced that into the counterterrorism training we deliver for the Indonesians."

Aceh

Shariah police arrest five in Banda Aceh punk raid

Jakarta Globe - September 5, 2012

Aceh's Shariah Police continued their crackdown on punks on Tuesday, arresting five youths in a raid on an internet cafe in the provincial capital that had allegedly become a hangout for local punks, according to Antara News Reports.

The Shariah Police reportedly arrested three punks and two junior high school students in the raid, Antara reported. The youths were released after completing religious re-education classes.

Banda Aceh's deputy mayor denied reports that the youths had been arrested, explaining that they were only detained to be re-educated.

"We don't want Aceh's young generation to be a generation with no direction in their lives," Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal told the local news portal AcehKita.com.

The raid was conducted as part of a push to stamp out Western influences in the strict Islamic province. "This is one of the government's efforts to educate and direct the next generation to live in line with Eastern culture," Illiza told Antara.

So-called punks have become a hot button issue in Banda Aceh, where the youths, with their tattered clothes and rebellious attitudes, have caused unease among the city's conservative residents. Parents have asked the government to re-educate their children, according to Antara reports.

The local government responded by launching a Islamic education program to instill religious values in the punks.

Military ties

Trade open for military hardware

Melbourne Age - September 6, 2012

Michael Bachelard – Australia will begin work on selling military hardware to Indonesia as Defence Minister Stephen Smith says he has "no concerns" about alleged human rights abuses by Indonesian soldiers in the restive province of West Papua.

After a series of meetings over two days, Mr Smith and his Indonesian counterpart, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, signed a new "Defence Co-operation Agreement" with commitments about future exercises and, for the first time, a focus on the trade in defence equipment.

The move stems from Australia's recent decision to give Indonesia four C- 130 Hercules aircraft. Mr Smith has signalled he would be prepared to sell them six more, saying talks about opening up military trade were at an early stage, but would develop over the next 12 months.

The Indonesian army and police have been implicated in serious human rights abuses in West Papua, most recently during a riot by soldiers leading to the burning of a village near remote Wamena, and the killing by police of independence activist Mako Tabuni.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr recently called for a thorough and open inquiry into Mr Tabuni's death. But asked about West Papua, Mr Smith said it had been discussed only "in passing".

"I have no concerns about our enhanced defence co-operation, practical co- operation, whether it's through the defence co-operation agreement or our discussions about defence capability," he said.

Mr Smith said he respected Indonesia's policies towards its easternmost province, and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's recent statement that allegations of abuse would be investigated.

Mr Purnomo, standing beside Mr Smith, said the killing of Mr Tabuni had been legal and required no investigation. "Mako Tabuni was involved in several shootings... and [was shot] when the police tried to catch him," Mr Purnomo said.

"This, I think, is nothing to do with the human rights, because this is criminal. And it happened in a region of Indonesian territory. It was under the law, under the regulations... of Indonesia."

The sale of defence equipment to Indonesia became controversial after the Obama administration agreed to give Indonesia two F16 fighter jets, and sell it air-to-surface guided missiles valued at $25 million.

An Indonesian press release about the co-operation agreement with Australia said it was designed to "strengthen and develop the relationship and co- operation ... on the basis of mutual respect of each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, no meddling in each other's internal affairs, equality, mutual benefit and with a great respect for peace".

The comprehensive agreement aims to improve relations between Australian and Indonesian agencies, to counter terrorism, increase maritime security and facilitate disaster recovery.

Clinton defends Indonesia arms deal

Sydney Morning Herald - September 4, 2012

Michael Bachelard, Indonesia – Hillary Clinton has defended the Obama administration's decision to provide air-to-surface missiles to the Indonesian military despite its record of human rights abuses in West Papua.

Asked about the decision on Monday night, the US Secretary of State said, "Indonesia has a right to enhance its security," before congratulating the country on its role in combatting terrorism using tough law enforcement.

The comments come as Indonesia seems about to appoint a former head of the uncompromising counter-terrorism police agency, Detachment 88, to lead the police force in Papua.

Brigadier General Tito Karnavian will soon be appointed Papua police chief, according to a letter obtained by the Jakarta Globe newspaper, at a time when the work in the restive province of his former unit, Detachment 88, is coming under serious scrutiny.

General Karnavian, 47, led the Australian-funded and trained anti-terror police between 2004 and 2010, instituting a tough but successful crackdown on terrorist groups in Indonesia.

However, Detachment 88's work to suppress separatist strife in West Papua is considered much more controversial, particularly after allegations that the unit was involved in the recent, allegedly unprovoked, killing of independence activist Mako Tabuni.

The American government has recently promised to give Indonesia two F16 fighter jets, and sell it air-to-surface guided missiles valued at $25 million. The missiles are designed to hit targets including ships, vehicles and fuel storage facilities.

Ms Clinton nodded towards the concerns of activists over the Tabuni killing, saying: "We deplore violence of any sort in Papua and when it does occur there should be full and transparent investigations under the rule of law and make sure that the lessons are learned from that".

However, she added that the United States "believe that there has been an enormous amount of good work done by the Indonesian government".

Australian foreign minister Bob Carr recently called for a full and open inquiry into the Tabuni killing – earning a rebuke from a senior Indonesian parliamentarian. The Indonesian government has so far made no moves towards an inquiry. On the police version of events, Mr Tabuni was armed.

Air force welcomes delivery of four 'anti-guerrilla' fighter planes

Jakarta Globe - September 1, 2012

Ismira Lutfia – Four A-29 Super Tucano fighter planes arrived at East Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Base on Saturday in the first wave of new "counter-insurgency" turboprop fighters purchased as part of the Indonesian Military's (TNI) push to modernize its fleet.

The Super Tucano, a reliable fighter known for its counter-insurgency abilities and low price, will replace the Indonesian Air Force's grounded fleet of ageing OV-10 Broncos. The Indonesian government bought two packages of eight planes each from Brazilian planemaker Embraer for $143 million per package, Air Force deputy chief of staff Air Marshall Dede Rusamsi said.

A second delivery of four Super Tucanos are expected to arrive early next year. A second group of eight more planes will arrive some time after January 2013, he said.

The "anti-guerrilla" Super Tucano can be used for a broad range of missions, including surveillance, air-to-air combat and counter-insurgency actions, Dede said. The Air Force plans to use the planes for pilot training, he added.

The four planes left Embraer's factory in Brazil on Aug. 6 were co-piloted by eight Brazilian pilots. The pilots passed over Spain, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, India and Thailand before they entered Indonesia and landed in Medan. The entire trip took 54 hours and 35 minutes spread across 14 days, Dede said.

"Before being flown to Indonesia, the four airplanes had undergone [safety] checks, including document clarification, checks of plane components and interiors, as well as test flights involving expert personnel and test pilots from the Indonesian Air Force," Dede said.

Military officials welcomed the planes in a ceremony in East Jakarta on Saturday. They will then be flown to the Air Force's Abdulrachman Saleh base in Malang, where they will be based.

Each of Super Tucano weighs 5.4 tons and can carry up to 1,550 kilograms of weaponry. Embraer is the world's third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, behind America's Boeing and Europe's Airbus. In 2010, it sold 101 commercial aircraft and 145 executive jets. (BeritaSatu/Antara/JG)

Human rights & justice

Amnesty urges SBY to solve Munir's murder

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2012

The government's failure to bring to justice all parties responsible for the killing of prominent human rights activist Munir Said Thalib raises serious concerns about Indonesia's willingness to resolve the case and to combat persistent impunity in the country, a prominent international human rights group has said.

London-based Amnesty International recalled President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's statement in 2004, in which he said the resolution of Munir's murder would be a "test of our history". "Eight years after Munir's death, the Indonesian authorities – including the President – are failing in that test," Amnesty said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Munir was allegedly poisoned with arsenic on board a Garuda Indonesia plane flying from Jakarta to Amsterdam on Sept. 7, 2004. His remains were buried in Sisir cemetery in Batu, East Java.

A former Garuda Indonesia pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, was been sentenced to 20 years in jail in connection to the case, although observers allege he was not the main actor behind the murder.

According to the statement, Amnesty International Directors in 11 countries and territories – Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United States – have written to Indonesian government representatives in their countries, calling on the National Police chief and attorney general to establish a new, independent investigation into Munir's murder and to bring perpetrators at all levels to justice in accordance with international human rights standards.

"They further called on the Indonesian authorities to immediately make public a 2005 fact-finding report as a key step toward establishing the truth about Munir's killing," Amnesty said.

Munir's memory feeds fight for human rights in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - September 8, 2012

Ulma Haryanto – Friday marked the eight-year anniversary of the death of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, but his struggle lives on in a new generation of activists.

"He was the one who inspired me to join LBH Jakarta [Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation]," said Muhammad Isnur, 28.

Now in his fourth year at the foundation, Isnur said that Munir would always be a role model he looked up to while doing his work as a public defender at the advocacy organization.

"He's a true defender of humanity, a true activist," Isnur said. "Even after he finished his term at LBH Jakarta he continued defending the rights of others. I also took up some labor cases because I knew he had done the same."

Munir was killed on board a Garuda Indonesia flight from Singapore to Amsterdam after drinking a beverage that was spiked with arsenic.

Off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was convicted of Munir's murder in 2005. The conviction was invalidated in 2006 for insufficient evidence, before being reinstated in 2008.

To date, however, none of the suspected masterminds behind the murder have been jailed, with Muchdi Purwopranjono, the former national intelligence deputy chief, acquitted of murder charges.

"Before his death I already heard about Munir because he was a graduate of HMI [Islamic Students Association] and he was famous as someone who went through a drastic change from a hard-line militant to a humanist," Isnur said.

"We even had the same background. I was also raised in a fundamentalist environment. I went to Islamic boarding schools. "I re-read the Koran and found many passages that put forth the importance of being good to others."

Munir started his work in legal aid in 1989 at LBH Surabaya before being appointed secretary at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in 1996.

Rizka Argandianti Rachmah's knowledge of Munir came by chance. "It was at a human rights course I took in 2009 at Kontras," said the 23-year-old, referring to the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence.

Rizka, who said she only knew of Munir from the news, is now a program assistant at the Human Rights Working Group.

"I had just graduated from high school when he died, so I didn't know much about him," she added. "I joined the course [at Kontras] because as an Ahmadiyah follower, I wanted to know what my rights are and how to defend them."

Old case, new energy

Rizka and Isnur are among those who have participated in a Twitter campaign that was started last week by investigative journalist Dandhy Dwi Laksono.

"Replace your avatar with [Munir's] picture for eight days, so that this 8-year-old case can get new energy and not be forgotten," Dandhy wrote on his Twitter account last Sunday.

The campaign hopes to draw at least two million followers on the micro- blogging site by Friday, or about 10 percent of Twitter users in the country.

Deputy Justice Minister Denny Indrayana, celebrities Julia Perez and Glenn Fredly, and former Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Faisal Basri have all joined in.

"Young people need to know Munir, not just about him as a person but his works," Rizka said, a statement that was echoed by Kontras's Yati Andriyani.

"We still see rights violations today because those in the past went largely unpunished," she said. "Even now we can see those who are supposed to be responsible for rights violations vying for the political stage."

She was referring to retired Army generals Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto. Hailing from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), respectively, both are considered likely presidential candidates in 2014.

Wiranto and Prabowo were allegedly responsible of human rights violations by the military in the days surrounding the fall of Suharto in 1998. Rights activists have also held Wiranto responsible for the wave of violence in East Timor in 1999.

"These are all gross violations of human rights that do not have a statute of limitations," Yati said.

With some of the main actors getting older, unresolved cases might be lost to the younger generation, she warned. "By constantly reminding the government we are also preventing such cases from being repeated," she said.

With his case not fully resolved, Munir's supporters and closest friends have been relentless in reminding the government of their own promises to have the case investigated thoroughly. Some think that the government's inaction will allow the killing to fade from the public's memory.

Defending the defenders

Amnesty International says the lack of accountability in Munir's case contributes to an ongoing climate of fear among human rights defenders. It argues that defenders would be better protected if there was true accountability for the killing.

Despite commitments by the government to provide adequate protection, rights defenders continue to be threatened, intimidated and attacked for their work.

On July 20, dozens of activists from the organization of Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations in Papua, who were raising funds for sick political prisoners, were arrested by police in Jayapura – They were released a few hours later.

Another case occurred on July 13, when police in Maluku charged Oyang Orlando Petrus, a local community activist, with criminal defamation for his criticism of mining in southwest Maluku and its environmental impact.

Oyang had been stabbed by unknown assailants back in April, an attack for which no one has yet been brought to justice.

In May, Tantowi Anwari, an activist from the Association of Journalists for Diversity, was beaten and kicked by members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in Bekasi while covering the hard-line group's disruption of the HKBP Filadelfia church service. Despite filing a police report, the case remains open.

Most attacks against human rights defenders in the past, including torture, possible killings and kidnappings, remain unsolved, and those responsible have not been brought to justice, Amnesty said.

"Amnesty International calls on the Indonesian government to take effective steps to ensure that human rights violations committed against human rights defenders are promptly, effectively and impartially investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice in fair trials," the group said in a statement.

The organization also called on the government to support the passage of specific legislation aimed at providing better legal protection for human rights defenders, as is scheduled in the 2011-2014 National Human Rights Action Plan.

Black September

Kontras, which Munir set up in 1998, will also use the momentum to roll out a public awareness campaign on other rights violations that took place in past Septembers.

"We call it Black September, because besides Munir's death there are other unresolved cases of human rights violations that happened in that month," Yati said.

She cited the post-referendum upheaval in East Timor in 1999 that left more than 180,000 people dead from fighting, disease and starvation. Rights organizations held the Indonesia's military responsible for that incident.

In an incident in September 1984, the military opened fire on a group of Muslim demonstrators in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. The exact death toll from that incident remains unknown, but estimates run in the hundreds. "There was also the Semanggi II incident and the 1965 [coup]," Yati continued.

Not long after the one-year anniversary of the first Semanggi incident, in 1998, military officers again clashed with students killing at least four.

And last month the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) concluded that what happened to more than 500,000 people targeted in an anti-communist purge in 1965, and their families, was a severe human rights violation. Action has yet to take action.

"It seems that there has been a systematic intention from the government to deliberately 'forget' past human rights violations," Yati said. "This is why we have to keep reminding them, to let them know that we, the people, will never forget."

Questions remain on Munir, eight years on

Jakarta Globe - September 7, 2012

Ulin Yusron & Ulma Haryanto – A small girl ran around on Thursday as dozens of her adult counterparts staged a protest to commemorate those kidnapped and killed in a string of unresolved human rights abuse cases.

The 10-year-old girl ran to a nearby drinks vendor to quench her thirst as an afternoon sun dimmed its once unforgiving heat. Her name was Diva Suukyi and she bore an uncanny resemblance to the man on the poster mounted by the protesters – slain human rights and anticorruption activist Munir Said Thalib, who died eight years ago today.

Diva was aged just 2 when her father was killed on board a Garuda Indonesia flight from Singapore to Amsterdam after his drink was laced with poison. Munir's wife, Suciwati, recounted her daughter hearing the news. "Why was Daddy killed, Mommy?" Suciwati quoted her daughter as saying.

Suciwati was lost for words, and cried uncontrollably. As if Munir's courage was alive in Diva, the toddler embraced her mother, comforting her with her tiny hands. "Mommy don't cry. Don't be sad," the little girl said to her mother.

With his case still in limbo, Munir's supporters and closest friends are relentless in reminding the government and president of their own promise to have the case investigated thoroughly.

Supporters of the Committee of Action and Solidarity for Munir (Kasum) and the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) will hold a protest in front of the presidential palace and the Attorney General's Office today.

"We want to remind [the government] of its promise, that it would review Muchdi's court's ruling when it finds new evidence," Kasum coordinator Choirul Anam said in reference to Muchdi Purwopranjono, a former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy who was accused and acquitted of ordering Munir's killing.

"There are at least two new pieces of evidence that we're aware of that can be used to review the Supreme Court's ruling," Choirul said.

The activist group has doggedly used government processes to gain access to documents that could have a bearing on the case. The evidence includes an unproven claim by Muchdi that he was assigned by the BIN to Malaysia at the time of the murder.

"The latest ruling from the KIP [Public Information Commission] mentioned that there was no record that Muchdi had traveled to Malaysia between Sept. 6 and Sept. 12, 2004," Choirul said.

Muchdi was acquitted by the court because he denied having telephone contact with Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a Garuda pilot convicted of Munir's murder, just before Munir was killed.

"There is also a CDR [call data record] that there was communications between Pollycarpus and Muchdi, and this was admitted by both police and AGO. They said that they had such a record," Choirul said.

Activists say they will not relent in their campaign. Kontras, which Munir set up in 1998, will also use interest in the killing to conduct a public awareness campaign on other human rights violations that took place in September.

"We call it Black September, because aside from Munir's death there are still other unresolved cases of human rights violations that happened in the same month," Kontras official Yati Andriyani told the Jakarta Globe.

She mentioned the post-referendum upheaval in East Timor in September 1999 that left more than 180,000 people dead. Other incidents were the 1984 killing of Muslim demonstrators in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and the 1965 anti-communist purge. Munir was 38 when he died.

Eight years on, people remember Munir, demand new inquiry

Jakarta Post - September 7, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – As the nation observed the eighth anniversary of the murder of Munir Said Thalib, people urged the government to launch a new investigation into the killing of the human rights defender.

More people also appealed to the nation to recognize and respect Munir, the man who inspired many in his fight against human rights abuses committed by state apparatuses and vigilante groups.

Although many people don't have a personal connection to Munir, they have paid their highest respects to the human rights activist.

Fransiskus Lisbudi Setyantoko, a law student and activist at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta, said that the student executive board had collected support, through Facebook and Twitter, in its joint campaign against all forms of violence and intimidation committed by intelligence agents, state institutions and extremist groups.

"We coordinated among student executive boards to organize activities on our own campus to remember the human rights activist as well as to join with him and his spirit to speak up freely and to stop all forms of violence and intimidation," he told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

Fransiskus said fellow students at the university did not know Munir, but his murder case had on several occasions become a topic of discussion on Human Rights Day.

Rieke Dyah Pitaloka and Eva Kusuma Sundari, activists-cum-legislators with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), saw Munir and his murder as a reminder of numerous unresolved human rights abuses.

Eva called on the House of Representatives and the government to award Munir national hero status. "Munir deserves hero status for his meritorious efforts and dedication to the upholding of human rights in the country," she said.

Rieke concurred, saying Munir's struggle and his death have inspired people to fight for the resolution of several past human rights violations, mainly the 1965 anti-communist purges, human rights abuses under the military operation in Aceh and Papua, the riots in May 1998 and the 1997 and 1998 Trisakti and Semanggi tragedies.

She said she had been terrorized and intimidated several times but the pressure would never silence her. Rieke urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration to reopen Munir's murder case and to stop using terror and intimidation against the younger generation.

Munir died on Sept. 7, 2004, while he was on his way to begin a post- graduate program in the Hague. Investigations into the activist's death concluded that Munir was poisoned with arsenic on board the second leg of a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam. He was found dead aboard the aircraft.

A former Garuda Indonesia pilot, Polycarpus Budihari Prijanto, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the murder, but the main actor behind the murder remains a mystery. Though many suspected former senior intelligence official Muhdi PR of having a hand in Munir's death, he was acquitted of such charges.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said it would continue its campaign to raise the public awareness of human rights abuses while pursuing a through investigation into the murder case.

The secretary of the Committee of Actions and Solidarity for Munir (Kasum), Choirul Anam, said it organized a peaceful protest in front of the Presidential Palace on Thursday and in front of the Attorney General's Office on Friday, demanding the attorney general to appeal to the Supreme Court for a judicial review with novums, or new evidence.

"The novums have been in the hands of the police and the team of attorneys and it is a matter of political commitment whether the attorney general wants to file for judicial review or not," he said.

Secretary of the Democratic Party faction at the House, Saan Mustopa, declined to comment on the issue beyond saying the government was obliged to settle the unresolved case immediately.

Freedom of speech & expression

Yogyakarta Police reported to Ombudsman

Jakarta Post - September 6, 2012

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The Yogyakarta Police have been reported to the Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI) for their slow handling of the attack by a Muslim organization against Canadian author Irshad Manji's book discussion in Yogykarta on May 9.

Local civil society group Yogyakarta Women Network (JPY) filed the report at the ORI's Central Java-Yogyakarta representative office on Wednesday.

"Exactly 119 days after the report on the attack was filed, the Yogyakarta Police have not yet shown any stern action. Up to present, the perpetrators have not yet been revealed," Ika Ayu of JPY said after filing the report on Wednesday.

Ika said that as the organizer of the discussion, which was held at the Institute for Islamic and Social Studies (LKiS) office, her side had provided enough evidence and witnesses to help the police's investigation.

Although the witnesses could not clearly identify the perpetrators because of the helmets and headscarves they wore, Ika said it did not mean that the law could not be upheld.

"If the law fails to capture the perpetrators, then cases of violence will be repeatedly committed in Yogyakarta," she said. She added that it was for that exact reason that JPY asked the ORI to audit the performance of Yogyakarta Police in its handling of the case.

Siti Habibah, a witness from JPY, said that the police instead questioned her about her network's motivation to hold the discussion in the first place and asked her few questions related to the details of the incident. "There are indications of criminalizing the JPY," Damairia Pakpahan, another JPY activist, said.

The same suspicions were echoed by Tri Wahyu of the Yogyakarta Police Watch Network (JPP), saying that there had been indications of intentional delays in the police's handling of the case.

Quoting Article 31 (1) and (2) of National Police Chief Regulation (Perkap) No. 12/2009 on surveillance and control of a criminal case, he said that the police had only 120 days to solve a case categorized as "complicated" after an investigative warrant was issued.

"Up to now, no single suspect has been named," he said, expressing his support for JPY's efforts to have the ORI audit the Yogyakarta Police's performance.

JPY's lawyer Hamzal Wahyudin of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) said that if the Yogyakarta Police failed to handle the case, his client would file a report with the National Police Commission.

Acting chairman of the ORI's Central Java-Yogyakarta representative office, Budi Masthuri, said that from the document that his office received from JPY, he could say that the police's letter on the development of the investigation (SP2HP) into the case did not meet with the required standard.

He added that his office would send a letter to the Yogyakarta Police regarding the matter, asking for clarification. His office, he said, would also hear from the police's team tasked with investigating the case.

Separately, Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pujiastuti said the police were still looking into the case. "There were many perpetrators. We have not yet been able to identify any suspects," Anny said.

Political parties & elections

46 political parties registered for 2014 election

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2012

Jakarta – The General Election Commission (KPU) said on Friday that it had closed registrations for political parties wishing to contest the upcoming 2014 general election and announced the official list of 46 registered parties.

The commission opened registration on Aug. 10 and closed it on Sept. 7. Commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay said no more political parties were allowed to register with the poll body. "There are 46 political parties that have registered to participate in the 2014 general election," Hadar said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The parties include new political parties the Independent Peoples Union Party (SRI) and the National Democratis Party (Nasdem).

After closing the registration, Hadar said, the commission now would check whether or not the 46 parties had completed the 17 administrative documents requested by the commission. The verification process, he said, would run until Sept. 29. "Then, we will later announce which parties completed the administrative documents," he said.

After the administrative requirements were verified as complete, Hadar said, the commission would conduct a factual verification process, slated to wrap up by Jan. 6, he said. Political parties would be officially recognized as 2014 national election participants only after passing the factual verification process.

In 2009, the poll body cleared 34 political parties to participate in the national general election after verification of their registration documents. (riz/swd)

PKS to pick party head for 2014

Jakarta Globe - September 6, 2012

Ezra Sihite – The Prosperous Justice Party will likely nominate its chairman, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, as the party's candidate for the 2014 presidential election.

Syahfan Badri Sampurno, campaign chairman of the party known as PKS, said an internal survey showed Luthfi to be the party's strongest candidate. However, he added that PKS had also compiled a list of alternative candidates from within the party. "He is quite capable," Syahfan said on Wednesday.

He said it was only natural for PKS to now nominate its candidate for the election, still two years away, because other political parties were doing the same.

PKS secretary general Anis Matta said on Tuesday that there was a strong desire from party loyalists to nominate one of its own for the presidency. "In this case, surely Pak Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, as the party's chairman, has the biggest chance," Anis said.

The Golkar Party, which has nominated its chairman Aburizal Bakrie to stand as its presidential candidate, welcomed PKS's plan to nominate Luthfi.

"We welcome Pak Luthfi's nomination as the presidential candidate from PKS. Regarding the question of whether Golkar is worried about [the nomination], we're certainly not worried. It's not up to us to decide, but it's the people who will choose to whom they will pin their hopes," Golkar deputy secretary general Nurul Arifin said on Wednesday.

Nurul said PKS and Golkar commanded separate constituent bases, with the Islamic-based PKS attracting different voters than the nationalist and developmentalist Golkar Party. "We believe that hard work will lead to results," said Nurul.

Nurul said she hoped Golkar's electability at the local level and in the concurrent 2014 legislative elections would be bolstered by the party's presidential nominee.

Meanwhile, Syahganda Nainggolan, chairman of the Sabang Merauke Circle, a private think tank dealing with economics and politics, said Luthfi's nomination would add new dynamics to the presidential race.

Given the party's relatively small size, Syahganda called the nomination a "brave" move. At just 50 years old, Luthfi is considered by some to better represent younger generations of voters.'

Yogyakarta sultan pushed out of politics, but presidency beckons

Jakarta Globe - September 2, 2012

Robertus Wardi – Since being forced to leave the party, Yogyakarta's Sultan Hamengkubuwono X is now in a better position to "be approached by political parties" as their candidate for the 2014 presidential election, Idrus Marham, secretary general of the Golkar Party, said on Saturday.

As of Thursday, when the Law on the Special Status of Yogyakarta was adopted by the House of Representatives, the sultan was obliged to give up his membership in Golkar, though he was respected as an influential party figure for many years.

That standing down from party politics was built into the law as a compromise for continuing the tradition of he Yogyakarta sultan automatically appointed governor, rather than through a democratic election process.

But Idrus said that such a stipulation would not prevent the sultan from participating in the presidential election. By leaving Golkar, other parties would likely petition the sultan to serve as their presidential candidate, Idrus said, though he added that he believed the sultan would remain "Golkar at heart."

"The sultan's soul and spirit will continue to be Golkar-oriented," Idrus said. He added that other parties would still be interested in taking the sultan on as a presidential or vice presidential candidate "because the sultan is a statesman."

Within Golkar itself there is talk of the possibility of having the sultan become Aburizal Bakrie's running mate – a proposition that some political observers say would not be prestigious enough for a Javanese king.

Idrus denied that Golkar was actively pushing to enlist the sultan as Bakrie's running mate. Idrus said the party has yet to decide on a suitable candidate.

With the choice of Bakrie's running mate still in question, Golkar officials say they proceeding with plans to mount a strong presidential campaign. Those plans include winning a substantial amount of House of Representatives seats in the legislative elections to be held in April 2014.

Golkar deputy chairman Theo L. Sambuaga told the Suara Pembaruan daily that he had on Friday led a Golkar delegation that included Idrus to the General Elections Commission (KPU) office to register the party for the legislative elections.

Meanwhile, Golkar executive Hajriyanto Y. Thohari said the party was ready for the KPU to begin verifying its candidates. "The only question for us is whether the KPU is ready to do the extra work of going through every detail in such a short period of time," he said.

Golkar's re-registration was the result of a recent decision by the Constitutional Court that required all political parties – including those represented in the House – to register. The rule was not in place during previous elections.

Golkar has said it is "quite disappointed" with the decision but will comply with the ruling of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the country.

"I think the Constitutional Court wants to promote the principle of equality before the law to avoid discrimination, so everybody must follow it," Hajriyanto said. He added that logically, parties which are already represented in the House should not need to register again.

Golkar party first to seek KPU's stamp of electoral approval

Jakarta Globe - September 1, 2012

SP/Robertus Wardi & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Golkar Party on Friday became the first major party to register with the General Elections Commission following a ruling by the Constitutional Court requiring all parties, old and new, to be verified by the election body.

Article 8 of the Legislative Elections Law states that verification is mandatory for both political parties that did not meet the previous election's legislative threshold and for new parties as well.

Only nine parties, including Golkar, passed the legislative threshold of 2.5 percent in the last elections, in 2009.

However, the Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that verification would be required of all political parties – both existing parties that have or don't have seats in the House of Representatives as well as new parties.

It annulled Article 8 due to its application of different requirements for different political parties to take part in elections.

"It is not fair if political parties that participated in the 2009 elections do not need to be verified again for the 2014 elections if new political parties are obliged to do so," Judge Fadlil Sumadi said.

Golkar officials said after filing documents with the General Elections Commission (KPU) that the party was ready to be verified. "We have prepared all the documents and our regional branches will be ready to host KPU's visit," said Theo L. Sambuaga, Golkar's deputy chairman.

Another Golkar official, Hajriyanto Thohari, said the party was disappointed with the court ruling because it meant the party and the KPU would be burdened with extra work.

"The real question is whether the KPU is ready for the workload as there are so many parties to be verified," he said. "How can a party like Golkar need to be verified, whether it has enough branches, when we have members all over the country?"

Separately, the up-and-coming National Democrat (NasDem) Party welcomed the court's decision, saying it would reduce the number of parties taking part in the 2014 elections.

"I predict that there will be only 15 parties in the House. NasDem will be at number 10," said Ahmad Rofik, the party's secretary general.

Besides ruling that all parties need verification, the Constitutional Court also revised Article 208 of the law regarding the legislative threshold. While lawmakers believed that the article could be applied to legislative elections at all levels, the court deemed it would not be fair for regional elections.

The legislative threshold in the 2009 elections was set at 2.5 percent, while for the 2014 elections it is 3.5 percent of the total national votes. The Constitutional Court ruled that the 3.5 percent legislative threshold should be applied to national elections only.

The requirements to run in the 2014 elections are difficult to fulfill. Parties must have at least 1,000 members spread throughout the country's 33 provinces. They must have at least 30 registered members in each province, and it is also necessary for them to maintain permanent offices and members in 75 percent of all districts and half of all subdistricts.

Small political parties, including Yusril Ihza Mahendra's Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), filed a judicial review with the court in hopes that the court would annul the requirement for verification, making it easier for small parties to take part in elections. The court did not invalidate the verification process.

The faction head and deputy chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), Hazrul Azwar, said he was dismayed with the decision by the Constitutional Court.

Money-driven elections serve to perpetuate corruption: Experts

Jakarta Post - September 1, 2012

Jakarta – Political parties are facilitating corruption in the country, with most politicians practicing money politics to get themselves elected, according to political and financial observers.

They said the money-driven nature of electoral campaigns in the country had perpetuated a system where corruption was ubiquitous in politics.

Habibie Center researcher Sumarno estimated that an aspiring politicians needed approximately Rp 4 billion (US$419,508) to be elected to the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Danang Widoyoko said that politicians used this money to pay their way into office.

"A politician may want to pay a survey institution to make them look good, by twisting poll data to make it look as if they're the ones most likely to win," Danang said at a discussion in Jakarta on Friday.

Politicians who eye non-parliamentary positions, such as the heads of regional administrations, also needed money to win votes and be elected.

"Based on our research, what often happens in things like regional elections is that these politicians go to ID card brokers and spend billions on buying local votes," Sumarno said.

Politicians who don't go out of their way to buy votes are often still forced to pay for votes whether they want to or not.

"There are farming villages in which residents expect politicians to pay them. In these places, elections are carried out after planting and before harvest, which is a period when these people have no money. So they expect politicians to pay them," Sumarno said.

This money-based system apparently leads politicians of all stripes to compete for the highest amount of financial capital.

It also often results in political parties becoming corrupt. Those who have the money can afford to pay party elites to help them gain power, a process that creates political cartels. "Much worse, it creates a system of oligarchy and dynasty in politics, which is not democratic," Danang said.

This system is the main reason why Indonesia was ranked 100th in the 2011 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), far behind other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia, which ranked 5th, 44th and 60th respectively.

Earlier this year, Transparency International Indonesia (TII) stated that based on TII surveys conducted in many regions over the past three years, most politicians and political parties had been acting as rent seekers in executive and legislative bodies.

This has led to costly political campaigns and increasing party expenditures for legislative elections and local polls.

So far, 17 governors and hundreds of regents, mayors and councilors have been held up as suspects for manipulating general fund allocations from the state budget, non-budgetary funds and for issuing public policies to benefit their party cartels.

The cartel phenomenon emerges when political party elites function as rent seekers hunting for non-budgetary funds in ministerial portfolios, legislative budgets and state-owned enterprises to meet their financial requirements.

ICW research into public opinion similarly indicates that the nation views corruption as its most pressing problem, with legislature being the institution considered most corrupt.

But despite this national consensus on a diagnosis, a cure is nowhere in sight. Analysts said that little could be done to fight corruption aside from stronger crackdowns, better preventative regulations and bureaucratic reforms.

Didi Irawadi, a House Commission III lawmaker overseeing legal affairs and human rights, suggested that Indonesia should look to European countries as a cultural model for the nation to follow, specifically referring to Germany, which was ranked 14th in the 2011 CPI.

"We still have difficulties enforcing reforms, thanks to cultural problems in mindsets and work ethics," Didi said. (png)

Labour & migrant workers

Truck drivers protest fuel hike in Sumatra

Jakarta Post - September 7, 2012

Hundreds of coal truck drivers in South Sumatra are striking against a recent increase in non-subsidized fuel prices. The central government announced the increase, which includes diesel fuel used by trucks, on Sept. 1.

"The fuel price hike may lead to revenue loss. This might be the end of our business," Soni Arpan, the head of the Coal Transportation Association's branch in Lahat regency, said.

The drivers were demanding that the government allow them to buy subsidized diesel fuel, he said. Non-subsidized diesel is currently sold for Rp 10,900 (US$1.13) per liter, while subsidized diesel sells for Rp 4,500 per liter.

South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin said that the drivers could fill up with subsidized diesel at nine gas stations in the province, including those in Lahat, Muara Enim, Prabumulih and Palembang.

Hundreds of workers strike in Batam, call for increased pay

Jakarta Post - September 7, 2012

Fadli, Batam – Japan-based company PT Toyo Kanetsu Indonesia's plant in Batam, Riau Islands, has been forced to suspend operations after 400 of its workers, demanding an increase in their wages, began a strike on Thursday evening.

Apart from seeking a wage increase from Rp 1.5 million (US$156.51) to Rp 2.7 million per month, the workers also demanded their company, which has been established since 1976, scrap an outsourcing system.

The current strike, according to Djakfar, 55, one of protesting workers, was launched because the company still pays its workers below-standard wages even though they have demanded increases every year.

He said the company's wages were lower than comparable companies in Batam. For instance, he said, the company only paid its welders, both qualified and entry-level, Rp 8,000 per hour. In the area, he said, the standard hourly rate for welders was Rp 13,000.

Another worker, Mulyadi, said that he only earned Rp 1.5 million per month to feed his wife and two children. He said "Other similar companies in this area pay even new staff Rp 2.5 million per month."

"Every year, we've always held rallies demanding our employers increase our wages. I wish the company would treat its workers better," Djakfar said.

Meanwhile, Fadli, the chairman of the All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) branch at PT Toyo Kanetsu, said that the workers would continue their strike until their demands were met.

"We urge the company to eliminate the outsourcing system because it closes off the opportunity for temporary workers who have worked for years to become permanent staff," Fadli said.

Currently, workers and representatives from the company are meeting to discuss the demands. However, it would appear the talks have yet to reach an agreement.

Meanwhile, Batam Manpower Agency chief Zarefriadi said that he had no idea about the strike, and therefore, could not comment on it.

PT Toyo Kanetsu Indonesia produces various logistic products for the oil and gas industry such as pipes and fuel tanks.(riz)

Hong Kong no longer friendly for Indonesia migrant workers

Jakarta Post - September 4, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Hong Kong – Female migrant workers took to the streets of Hong Kong late last week to stage a protest in front of the Indonesian Consulate General building, calling on local authorities and labor recruitment agencies to respect their rights.

The workers called on the two sides to comply with the Indonesian regulation to reduce the recruitment fee by 50 percent, and to not cut their contracts before they expired.

The protesters, many of whom are domestic helpers, marched along the streets surrounding the consulate general compound, carrying signs which called on local authorities to give penalties to unscrupulous labor agencies, and to stop them imposing hefty recruitment fees.

The street protest was part of a campaign initiated by Indonesian migrant workers in the past three months to raise awareness of Ministerial Decree No. 98/2012, issued by the Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar in May 2012, which mandated the slashing of recruitment fees.

The Ministerial Decree stipulates that a migrant worker should only pay HK$13,436 (US$1,732), instead of the current HK$21,000, before they are allowed to work in Hong Kong.

Some of the protesters said they have been subjected to exploitation long before the decree was issued, and even after the regulation was issued, they had to allow HK$3,000 to be deducted from their montly salary for seven months to pay for the recruitment fee.

"In the first seven months of our employment, we receive no salary and can barely send one cent home, because our salary is given directly to our local agents," said Lastri, a woman migrant worker from Brebes, Central Java. Lastri said that a female domestic helper like her earns HK$3,740 per month.

Chairperson of the Alliance of Indonesian Migrant Workers (AIMW) in Hong Kong, Sringatin, said they were disappointed with the Hong Kong authorities for failing to punish unscrupulous labor agencies who did not follow the new regulation.

"The labor ministry in Hong Kong has been told about the decree, and said that it was a fair regulation, but they should have taken harsher action against labor agencies who force employers to unilaterally terminate their two-year labor contract only a month before it expires, in their attempts to have workers sign new contracts, and have their salaries cut in the next seven months," she said.

The ministerial decree stipulates that workers should not pay any recruitment fees when their contracts are renewed. Sringatin revealed that in compliance with Indonesia's regulation, labor exporters were required to pay HK$700 for medical check-ups, $150 for insurance, and HK$220 for psychological tests for workers before their departure.

Employers, meanwhile, were required to buy a $363 insurance scheme for their workers upon their arrival in Hong Kong. "These costs should not be passed on to workers," she said.

Employers and workers have been charged both by Indonesian and Hong Kong labor agencies to repay the whole cost. Sringatin said the double payment have been responsible for the worsening of labor conditions in Hong Kong, which has long been known as a haven for Indonesian migrant workers.

Separately, director general for Labor Placement and Protection at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry Reyna Usman, who was in Hong Kong over the weekend, said that she had already discussed the issue with the local authorities.

In a meeting with labor activists on Saturday, Reyna said she would ask labor recruitment agencies in Indonesia to send workers to government- managed training centers to undergo the required 200-hour training before their departure, in order to cut the recruitment fee. She said that Indonesian labor agencies and their Hong Kong counterparts should be willing to cut their profits to comply with the Indonesian regulation.

Reyna also said that while gradually reducing the number of informal workers sent abroad, the government has intensified its post-employment training program to prepare returning workers for running small business. "The government has decided to stop sending of informal workers by 2017, because the program is quite prone to human rights abuses," she said.

Environment & natural disasters

Indonesian lives risked on 'world's most polluted' river

Agence France Presse - September 7, 2012

Sukamaju – With dozens of bright green rice paddies, flocks of kites in the sky and children laughing nearby, at first glance the village of Sukamaju in western Java has all the charms of rural Indonesia.

But the idyllic setting is spoiled by a strong stench rising from the Citarum river that flows in the distance, thick with mounds of garbage and plastic bags dumped on its banks.

This immense aquatic rubbish bin winds 297 kilometers (185 miles) across the island of Java, cutting through the sprawling Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

Labelled "the most-polluted in the world" by a local commission of government agencies and NGOs charged with its clean-up, the river is the only source of water for 15 million Indonesians who live on its banks, despite the risks to health and crops.

In the village of Sukamaju, not far from the bustling West Java capital of Bandung, a well at a small village square serves as a public shower. Without any other water source in the village, it is connected directly to the canal.

Noor, a villager in her 40s, has had white patches on her arms for the past six months.

"When I first started itching, it was always after washing here. It's because of the contaminated water in the river. It's the factories' fault," she said. "I don't know what this disease is, but I don't have any money to see a doctor."

The Bandung Basin is the historic center of Indonesia's textile industry, where 1,500 factories in the region dump 280 tons of toxic waste each day into the Citarum.

In the irrigation canals of Sukamaju, between the rice paddies, the water for crops that runs through the fields is a puzzling deep red verging on black.

"This is because of the dyes from the factories. The color changes every two hours (depending on dyes being washed out), and that has a direct impact on the quality of the rice," complained Deni Riswandani, as he dissected a young sprig.

"There are no more grains in the pods. Production has been reduced 50 percent from the normal harvest," said Riswandani, who is trying to bring farmers together to lobby for financial compensation.

Health effects go unaddressed

At the edge of the plantation stands a massive grey building equipped with several chimneys and surrounded by barbed wire. On the coast, a valve connected to the factory dumps toxic residue at regular intervals right by the rice paddies.

"Normally, factories can't dispose waste into the water without treating it," Riswandani said. "In theory, there are very heavy penalties for doing this, but the government pretends there are regular checks. But on the ground nothing changes."

According to Windya Wardhani, head of the West Java provincial environment bureau: "We practice intensive control, and I think that gradually the factories will comply with the rules. But perhaps not every day," she said.

"There are heavy metals in the Citarum's water and sediment, probably because of the factories, since you don't find heavy metals in rubbish."

She said the river contained mercury, lead, zinc and chrome, which have been linked to cancer, organ damage and even death, affecting babies and children more severely.

Mercury and lead can cause joint disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and diseases of the kidneys, circulatory system and nervous system, studies show.

Residents have sought compensation for their damaged rice crops, while the health effects of the river have gone unaddressed, with no data yet gathered to measure the extent of the problem. The Indonesian Textiles Association asserts that the industry's contribution to the river's pollution is no more than 15 to 25 percent.

"It comes mostly from domestic waste and plastic. It is unfair to assume it's all us. It's easy to count the number of factories, but who's counting the number of people who live along the river and throw their waste in the water?" said Kevin Hartanto, head of the Bandung chapter of the textile association.

Cleaning up the Citarum river and its 22 streams has been classified a national priority by the Indonesian government, which in 2010 launched a huge 15-year project to rehabilitate the river.

Largely financed by the private sector, this "road map" involves dozens of NGOs, seven ministries and 12 local governments, amounting to a total of $3.5 billion. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will contribute $500 million.

According to Thomas Panella, an ADB water resources specialist, progress has so far been minimal. "At this point there has been little improvement because it's been a very short time [in which] to address the pollution issues," he said.

"We need to look at lessons of countries like France, the US and Korea that had incredibly polluted waterways in the first part of this century. You would think at that time it was not possible to address these things. You have to have a long-term vision."

Walhi scores big win over illegal permit

Jakarta Globe - September 6, 2012

Fidelis E. Satriastanti – Environmental activists have hailed a court decision demanding that the Aceh administration revoke an oil palm plantation permit in an ostensibly protected peat forest.

The Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said in a statement on Wednesday that the decision by the Medan State Administrative Court in neighboring North Sumatra province was a victory "for all the people of Aceh and those groups, national or foreign, concerned with saving the forests of the Tripa peat swamp."

The ruling, handed down last Thursday, calls on the Aceh administration to scrap the permit for a 1,600-hectare concession awarded to plantation firm Kallista Alam in the Tripa area, which was included inside a deforestation moratorium map published in May 2011.

The area was later dropped from the exclusion zone in a revised map published in November that year, but Kallista's permit was issued three months earlier, which Walhi and other environmental groups contended made it clearly illegal.

However, a suit filed by Walhi over the permit was thrown out in April this year by the Banda Aceh State Administrative Court, which claimed that it did not have the authority to rule on the case and suggested that Walhi try to reach an out-of-court agreement with Irwandi Yusuf, the Aceh governor at the time, and Kallista.

Teuku Muhammad Zulfikar, the Walhi Aceh executive director, lauded the Medan court's decision and expressed hope that it would set a precedent for more stringent enforcement of environmental laws.

"Walhi Aceh calls on the governor of Aceh to immediately follow up by revoking the plantation permit given to Kallista Alam in the Tripa peat forest," he said.

"We also hope that all the legal cases brought by the Environment Ministry and by civil society in relation to other companies still operating in the Tripa area will be processed thoroughly."

Mas Achmad Santosa, an environmental legal advocate and member of a presidentially appointed task force that has also weighed in on the Tripa controversy, greeted the Medan court's ruling as "a good sign" for the continued protection of the high-biodiversity area.

"I hope that now the Aceh administration will exercise better judgement in its decisions related to the protection of the environment, because now the world's eyes are on Aceh," he said. "Whatever happens there, the world will be quick to notice."

The Tripa forest, part of the rich Leuser Ecosystem, is home to the world's densest population of critically endangered Sumatran orangutans and one of the few places on earth where orangutans, Sumatran tigers and sun bears can still be found living side-by-side. Kallista has already cleared at least 30 hectares in its concession.

Nirarta Samadhi, chairman of the task force monitoring the implementation of the deforestation moratorium, also welcomed the decision and pointed out that his office had long recommended that Kallista's permit be revoked.

"This decision confirms that we were right about this," he said. "We're going to use this ruling to resume our talks with the new governor [Zaini Abdullah] so that hopefully the permit can be revoked immediately."

While still in office late last year, Irwandi insisted that he did nothing wrong when he signed the permit, claiming that the controversy was part of a smear campaign ahead of the gubernatorial election, which he duly lost this April.

NGOs slam forest concession reactivation

Jakarta Post - September 6, 2012

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Aceh's title as a "green" province may likely end with the reactivation of production forest concessions (HPH) in Aceh by the new administration of Zaini Abdullah and Munakir Manaf.

"The Forestry Ministry is currently lobbying the new Aceh administration to reactivate the HPH, which was earlier suspended during Irwandi Yusuf's administration," said Greenomics Indonesia coordinator Vanda Mutia Dewi.

According to Vanda, Greenomics recorded around 10 production forest concessions from the previous Aceh administration. Greenomics Indonesia has strongly criticized the planned reactivation of the 10 HPH permits in Aceh by the Forestry Ministry.

"We strongly criticize the plan to reactivate the HPH operation licenses, which were earlier imposed as a moratorium by previous governor Irwandi Yusuf," said Vanda.

Vanda urged the current Aceh Governor Zaini not to commit to a political compromise by agreeing to reactivate HPH operations in Aceh.

According to her, Zaini should continue the moratorium and seek an alternative to curb illegal logging effectively and ensure the supply of timber for development and the housing needs of people.

Vanda said Greenomics Indonesia had given several reasons why it had been firm in requiring the stoppage of HPH operations in Aceh, such as the 10 HPH permits covering 819,892 hectares, which were located within and around the Leuser ecosystem.

Besides that, nearly 300,000 hectares of the forest concession areas are in the form of protected forests and conservation areas.

"The 10 production forest concessions are located in 15 regencies and mayoralties that are ecologically at risk of natural disasters, such as floods and landslides," said Vanda.

Vanda urged Zaini to study the facts carefully and not mix particular political agendas to reactivate the HPH in Aceh.

The Aceh Indonesia Environmental Forum said that the planned issuance of HPH permits in Aceh was a step backward in efforts to save the environment, especially conservation forests in Aceh.

The Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) even deemed that the numerous logging moratorium programs in Aceh had not been fully implemented by the former administration and had become a burden for the new administration.

"The new administration should be extra careful in issuing HPH or mining permits again as they could damage the forests in Aceh," said Aceh Walhi coordinator Teuku Zulfikar.

Health & education

500 expectant mothers get HIV annually in Bali

Jakarta Globe - September 4, 2012

Made Arya Kencana, Denpasar – Around 500 pregnant women are infected with HIV in Bali each year, the Bali branch of AIDS Prevention Commission has learned.

"This is very disconcerting," said Dewa Nyoman Wirawan, head of the planning, monitoring and evaluation working group on Bali HIV/AIDS Commission I.

Wirawan said that the pregnant women are getting infected with the virus that causes AIDS because their husbands tend to have multiple sexual partners and transmit the disease to their wives. The mothers eventually transmit the disease to their babies, he said.

"Five hundred pregnant women are infected every year, and half of them transmit the disease to their babies. This means around 250 [babies] are infected every year," said Wirawan, who is also an epidemiologist at Udayana University.

He added that it's not easy to detect the transmission of the virus from mothers to babies. It is not usually detected until the affected children are 4 to 6 years old.

The common symptoms shown by infants infected with HIV are malnutrition and diarrhea. "The child continues to suffer diarrhea or is always coughing. If the doctors are suspicious, they will give the child an HIV test," he said.

Ketut Suarjaya, head of the Bali Health Agency, blamed ignorance on the use of condoms among people who exhibit high-risk behavior as the reason for the high number of cases.

The agency recorded 6,200 cases of viral transmission in Bali through June 2012. Seventy-four percent of those cases involved people in heterosexual relationships.

People between 20 and 29 years old make up 40 percent of the number of people living with HIV or AIDS in Bali. Across the country, Bali ranks fifth among cities with the highest number of HIV and AIDS cases after West Java, East Java, Papua. Jakarta came in second in the rate of prevalence, behind Papua.

To curb the high rate of transmission among heterosexuals, Bali is promoting the use of condoms as stipulated under Bali Bylaw No. 3/2006. "Unfortunately, the efforts have yet to do any good because they haven't gained the public's support," said Suarjaya.

Refugees & asylum seekers

Army sergeant allegedly paid to let asylum seeker boats head for Australia

Australian Associated Press - September 3, 2012

An Indonesian army officer was allegedly paid about $A80,000 for his part in sending six asylum seeker boats to Australia, including one that sank off Java in December, costing as many as 200 lives.

But the money paid to Sergeant Ilmun Abdul Said is just a fraction of that made by the people smuggler behind the ill-fated venture, who is believed to have pocketed more than $A2 million.

Sgt Said is facing court in Madiun, in East Java, for his role in organising a boat which sank on December 17 last year en route to Christmas Island with about 250 asylum seekers on board. Just 49 people survived the disaster.

Prosecutors allege Sgt Said was paid almost $A80,000 – a massive sum by Indonesian standards – over a number of months to help facilitate the passage of six asylum seeker boats to Christmas Island.

He has so far refused to reveal the identity of the people-smuggling kingpin who Indonesian authorities believe has made millions profiting from asylum seekers desperate to go to Australia. "He's been doing this since 2011. But he is covering for the bigger player," a source with the Madiun prosecutors office told AAP.

It is understood that Sgt Said may have been working for people-smuggling kingpin Sayed Abbas. Abbas is currently 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.

It is alleged Sgt Said distributed payments to other Indonesian Military (TNI) officers to ensure the operation's success.

He's also accused of obtaining the vessels to be used to make the perilous crossing to Christmas Island, paying local fishermen RP15,000 ($A500) for their rickety boats. "For each operation, he was paid RP130 million ($A13,000)," the source told AAP.

"Each sailing, for each of his colleagues, he gave RP15 million ($A1500). For the boat, each time he gave RP5 million ($A500). It's all paid once those people leave for Australia. He's been doing this five times before the last time. The sixth time was when the boat sunk and that's when he was caught."

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

However, it's alleged Sgt Said played a major role in organising passage of asylum seeker boats, including providing advice as to which ports they should depart from in order to avoid detection.

Graft & corruption

Golkar lawmaker detained in Koran scandal

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2012

Jakarta – After much anticipation, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) detained Golkar Party lawmaker Zulkarnaen Djabar on Friday for his alleged role in the Koran procurement scandal at the Religious Affairs Ministry.

The KPK detained Zulkarnaen after questioning him for nearly seven hours. KPK spokesman Johan Budi told reporters on Friday, "Zulkarnaen will be detained for 20 days to help broaden the investigation."

The commission named Zulkarnaen and his son Dendi Prasetya suspects in the scandal on June 29. The men were allegedly involved in corruption surrounding the ministry's procurement of Korans in 2011 and 2012 of computers in 2011.

Zulkarnaen, who sat on House Commission III overseeing religious affairs before he was removed due to the scandal, allegedly rigged procurements by ordering the ministry's directorate for Islamic community affairs to appoint specific companies to win the tenders.

Dendi is the owner of PT Karya Sinergi Alam Indonesia, which was involved in the multi-billion rupiah scandal.

"Investigators allege that Zulkarnaen and Dendi accepted at least Rp 10 billion [US$1.05 million] from companies that won the procurement tenders," Johan said. The amount of the bribe was larger than original estimates of Rp 4 billion ($424,000).

Johan said that the KPK also had confiscated buildings and blocked bank accounts belonging to Zukarnaen.

Zulkarnaen, who came out of questioning with a smile and a thumbs up for reporters, said that he did not know why he was named a suspect on the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment. "Lawmakers only make policy. We have nothing to do with the implementation."

Zulkarnaen also denied that he ordered contracts be awarded to Dendi's company. "How could my son's company win the projects if it did not bid in the tender," he said.

According to the KPK, while Dendi's company and a second firm, PT Perkasa, did not win the tenders, Dendi influenced ministry officials to award the contracts to specific companies.

Johan said that the KPK was not scheduled to summon Dendi again after he declined to be questioned on Aug. 24 after his leg was "broken" in an accident.

Zulkarnaen, meanwhile, said he would follow procedure and cooperate with the KPK while exercising his right to counsel.

Zulkarnaen's lawyer, Erman Umar, said that his client would follow the rules. "We would admit it if there was a violation. However, we have not reached the substantial matter of the case."

Erman challenged investigators to show proof that Zulkarnaen had accepted bribes. "The investigators said that they could not show [the evidence] yet," he said.

The lawyer said that the KPK should assume his client was innocent until proven guilty, considering the procurement was a central government project. "The government is the one who takes care of the procurement process, not lawmakers."

Fellow Golkar Party lawmaker Hajriyanto Thohari said that the party was concerned about Zulkarnaen's detention.

Hajriyanto said that recent graft cases implicating Golkar members would not hurt the party's chances in 2014. "The public can be fair and judge if a corruption case is an individual issue," he said. (cor)

Graft watchdog raises red flag on corruption court judges

Jakarta Post - September 5, 2012

Jakarta – A graft watchdog warned on Tuesday that the country's corruption court could face credibility issues, as at least 84 judges in 14 courts were found to be problematic.

In a report compiled by Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) in collaboration with 14 partners in 14 provinces, the watchdog found that in the first half of 2012, 70 percent of judges had issues in three areas: administration; quality; and integrity. "The data shows that we have serious issues with our judges, not only with ad hoc judges, but also professional ones," Donal Fariz of the ICW said on Tuesday.

In the report, the ICW recorded that most of the ad hoc judges had not submitted their wealth with the state officials wealth disclosure forms (LHKPN). Also, a majority of professional judges had not renewed their reports. ICW found a case in which the wealth of one professional judge increased ten times in eight years, while another judge was living large, as indicated by his penchant for luxury cars and golf.

One of the most worrying trends among the judges was their habit of acquitting graft defendants. In total, the country's corruption courts have acquitted 71 defendants since first being established in 2010. Surabaya topped the record with 26 acquittals, followed by Samarinda with 15 acquittals, Padang and Semarang ad hoc court with seven acquittals each and Bandung with five acquittals. One of the judges in Surabaya released five defendants in 2011 alone.

Donal said that judges who acquitted defendants or gave sentence reductions are those who have integrity problems. Data from ICW showed some judges came from various backgrounds, such as consultancy or banking, and that they lack the basic knowledge in law and court procedures. "Some judges don't have enough skills because they don't have law school or a legal background," he said.

The ICW also found that several judges showed indications that they could be involved in corruption themselves. At least 10 judges were alleged to have received bribes from graft defendants, the ICW report says. Collusion between judges and defendants usually takes place when the two sides negotiate sentences or choose "favorite" judges.

Most graft defendants only received between two to four years, way below the maximum 20-year jail term stipulated in the 2001 Corruption Law. "Those who choose their "favorite" judges usually deal with the heads of the ad hoc courts as they decide on the composition of judges," he said.

Judicial Commission spokesman Asep Rahmat Fajar said that the commission would use the ICW report as a basis for its close inspection of several corruption courts. "We will follow-up on the report, especially on the issue of integrity of the judges, and we will improve the skills of the judges with training so that the their quality is improved," he said.

Asep also said that that complaints against judges to the commission mostly concerned the violation of the code of conduct.

Meanwhile, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) would use the ICW report to help its own probe into corruption court judges. "We have received it and we will use it, but not as a complaint. This is only a survey result," he said. (cor)

Not 'a thank-you project' in Miranda scandal

Jakarta Post - September 4, 2012

Jakarta – Graft convict Nunun Nurbaeti testified at the trial of former central bank senior deputy governor Miranda S. Goeltom on Monday that the latter had asked her to serve as a go-between for her with members of the House of Representatives.

"Miranda asked me as a favor to arrange a meeting between her and the House members. The meeting took place at my house and it was arranged so that she could pass the fit-and-proper test," Nunun told the court.

Nunun said that Miranda had previously insisted in a phone call that she be given privileges during the screening by lawmakers. Nunun later arranged the meeting between Miranda and a number of lawmakers at her private residence in Cipete, South Jakarta.

It was during the meeting that Nunun overheard one of the lawmakers say something about a "thank-you" project. "This is not a 'thank-you' project, I heard one of them say. I just can't recall who said it," she said.

Nunun said that lawmakers at the meeting included Endin AJ Soefihara from the United Development Party (PPP) and Paskah Suzetta and Hamka Yamdu from the Golkar Party. All have denied the meeting ever took place.

The prosecutors have accused Miranda, together with Nunun, of distributing Rp 20.85 billion (US$2.2 million) in the form of Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) travelers' checks to lawmakers Hamka, Dudhie Makmun Murod of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Endin and Udju Djuhaeri of the Indonesian Military/National Police faction, in June 2004.

Nunun has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for her role in the case. In spite of her conviction, Nunun has denied that she served as a go-between in the scandal.

Nunun said she was not aware of what Miranda and the lawmakers discussed during the meeting at her home. "I did not follow the discussion and I only joined them after the meeting had ended," she said.

Nunun, who was a fugitive for several months in 2011 and claimed to suffer from memory loss, also told the court that she had forgotten most of the details of the meeting.

Later in the trial, another witness in the case, Ari Malangjudo, rebutted Nunun's claim, saying that she had instructed him to distribute Rp 20.85 billion in traveler's checks to lawmakers to support Miranda's bid to be Bank Indonesia senior deputy governor. Ari, a former executive of one of Nunun's companies, claimed that Nunun had instructed him to distribute envelopes to lawmakers on June 8, 2004. Nunun has denied she gave any such instruction.

During Monday's hearing, Nunun and Miranda, who both claim they are not close friends, appeared amiable toward each other. Judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court adjourned the trial until Thursday. (cor)

Police generals sacked for involvement in graft

Jakarta Post - September 4, 2012

Iman Mahditama, Jakarta – National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo dismissed Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo from his position as head of the National Police Academy and Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo from his position as deputy chief of the National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) for their alleged involvement in the driving simulator graft case.

"I can say that the dismissals were linked to the allegations, including those that are being handled by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Therefore, we have decided on their dismissal," Timur told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs and human rights.

Timur has tapped National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar to replace Djoko as the National Police Academy chief, after the latter was implicated in the graft case centering on the procurement of driving simulators for the Korlantas in 2011.

The KPK has named both Djoko and Didik as suspects in the case in early August. Both were suspended from their posts a few days later.

The antigraft body has also named the director of PT Inovasi Teknologi Indonesia, Sukotjo S Bambang, and the director of PT Cipta Mandiri Metalindo Abadi, Budi Santoso, suspects in its investigation into allegations of bid rigging and bribery in the Rp 200 billion (US$21.2 million) procurement project.

The National Police have insisted on conducting their own investigation into the case, even though the KPK had first launched a similar probe.

The National Police Criminal Investigation Directorate (Bareskrim) has named Didik, Budi Santoso and Sukotjo S. Bambang suspects in its investigation.

Bareskrim has also named Adj. Sr. Comr. Teddy Rusmawan, the head of the procurement project, and Korlantas treasurer Comr. Legimo as suspects. Bareskrim questioned Djoko twice as a witness in August.

Last week, five officers, who were expected to testify against Djoko failed to show up for questioning, arguing that their names and ranks were misspelled in their summons.

House Commission III chairman I Gede Pasek Suardika of the Democratic Party said that the dismissals could help the investigation into the graft case.

"We applaud this dismissal because it would be better if they [Djoko and Didik] were not be given any responsibilities, so they can focus on the case," Suardika told reporters, adding that the move should not be viewed only as a punishment.

The National Police also announced the rotation of several of its top officers.

Jakarta Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Suhardi Alius is to replace Anang as National Police spokesman, while Suhardi's post will be filled by Brig. Gen. Sudjarno, who currently serves as the National Police Internal Affairs unit chief.

Meanwhile, National Counter-terrorism Agency deputy chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian has been posted as the Papua Police chief, replacing Insp. Gen. Bigman Lumban Tobing, who was reassigned as an analyst at National Police headquarters.

Jakarta Police operational chief Sr. Comr. Agung Budi Maryoto will also be promoted to National Police's Traffic Corps deputy chief, replacing Brig. Gen. Didik Purnomo.

Ministry thumbs nose at KPK

Jakarta Post - September 3, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Living up to its reputation as one of the government's least honest ministries, the Religious Affairs Ministry has ignored the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) prompts to clean itself up.

KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas said the Religious Affairs Ministry has followed up on only four of the 48 recommendations given it by the commission.

"Our recommendations included suggestions on how the ministry had to reform some mechanisms that we consider rife with loopholes and have the potential to lead to corruption and other abuses," Busyro said on Sunday.

According to the KPK, most problematic were the ministry's management of haj pilgrimage funds and of human resources.

The commission issued similar recommendations to other ministries and government institutions in May as part of a preventive campaign. It gave two months for the ministries to follow up. The Religious Affairs Ministry posted minor progress, albeit after the deadline passed.

Busyro said that the commission would keep a close eye on the ministry, especially after it launched a probe into a high-profile bribery scandal linked to Koran procurements at the ministry. According to the commission, the Religious Affairs Ministry was the most corrupt institution of 22 government agencies it surveyed in 2011.

The ministry received 5.37 out of a possible 10 points, lagging behind the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, which received 5.44 points, and the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry, which received 5.52 points.

The KPK previously announced that it had discovered irregularities in the management of Rp 1.7 trillion (US$180.2 million) in interest payments from deposits submitted by haj pilgrims to the ministry.

Last year, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) reported Rp 15.62 billion in unaccountable funds out of Rp 2.7 trillion allocated to the ministry to support its Islamic education directorate.

Religious Affairs Minister Sur-yadharma Ali, who is also the chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), said that he had sought clarification from the commission concerning its recommendations, and that he would provide whatever the KPK needed to investigate the Koran procurement scandal.

The minister also said that he had sent a request for clarification to the KPK concerning the commission's recommendation. "I will not tolerate any kind of corruption within my ministry," Suryadharma said.

Suryadharma also claimed that the ministry had made significant improvements after the BPK issued an "unqualified" opinion of its finances in 2011.

Former KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin has been installed as the ministry's inspector general to reform the graft-riddled ministry. He joins Anggito Abimanyu, a reform-minded economist, who was recently named its director general for haj and umrah (minor haj) affairs.

"Pak Jasin's presence in the ministry will obviously improve internal monitoring efforts. It is very helpful for us, because the ministry's inspectorate has been very weak," Busyro said.

Separately, Religious Affairs Ministry spokesman Zainuddin Daulay said that he was not aware of the KPK recommendations. "I have been my position for the past one year and I don't know about the recommendations. But if there were any, I am confident that the secretary-general of the ministry would have followed up," he told the Post.

Jasin denied that the ministry had been unresponsive. "We are not idle. How can we be deemed ignorant while we are actually making improvements?" he said, adding that ministry had implemented 10 of 48 recommendations from the KPK.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Revenge against police motivates Solo attack

Jakarta Post - September 4, 2012

Jakarta – The National Police revealed on Monday that the terrorists who were arrested in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java, were motivated by revenge in their attacks against the city's police facilities after law enforcement officers had rounded up their fellow terrorists.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Monday that based on the documents found by the police on one of the suspects killed during the shootout late last week, it was clear that they were members of an extremist group that targeted the police.

"The message that was written on the documents also said that they sought revenge against the police for having detained their members," Boy said. Boy also said that the suspects were extremists who were bent on establishing a Sharia-based state.

"Based on the documents that we seized along with the pistol, ammunition and magazines found in the bag of suspect who was killed, it is clear that this group wants to implement Sharia law in this country," Boy told reporters on the sideline of a meeting between the National Police and the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs and human rights.

The police, however, found no evidence that the terror suspect had links to Jamaah Islamiyah, led by cleric Abu Bakar Ba'ashir.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo earlier said that three terror suspects arrested by the police's counterterrorism squad, Densus 88, last Friday in Surakarta, Central Java, had come from a new group.

The conclusion, according to Timur, was based on the ages of the three suspects, who were considered to be relatively young. The fact that they were captured at a location only 2 kilometers from Ba'ashir's Ngruki Islamic boarding school was just a coincidence, he said.

During the meeting with Timur, Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo highlighted a number of irregularities in the raid, which had previously been pointed out by civil society group Indonesia Police Watch (IPW).

IPW previously said that Densus 88 did not follow standard operating procedures that required its members to wear body armor to protect their torsos during the shootout, which later claimed the life of First Brig. Suherman. The watchdog group also said that the facts presented by the police also contained misleading information.

IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said that the police seized a Beretta pistol with "Property Philippines National Police" stamped on its side, which did not jibe with the information from the Surakarta Police, who previously announced that the weapon fired at the police in an earlier series of shooting incidents was a 9-millimeter FN.

"We are urging the intelligence community to work harder in solving the terrorist attacks against the police in Surakarta. The attacks have caused fear in the community," Bambang said.

He also urged the police to launch a joint investigation with police in the Philippines to find out how the Beretta pistol could end up in the hands of one of the suspects.

Timur said that the police never claimed that the weapon they seized from the suspect was different from the one used to attack the Surakarta police post. "We don't have a conclusive report from our investigation in the forensic laboratory," he added.

Timur also denied suggestions that the Densus 88 officer who died in the raid was being reckless. "We never meant to sacrifice our officer. In every shootout, we have to be prepared for a loss of life," Timur said.

Meanwhile, Wahyuddin, the director of the Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school, or pesantren, in Ngruki, Sukoharjo, Central Java, acknowledged on Monday that the two terror suspects who were shot and killed on the night of Aug. 31, were former students of the pesantren.

"After receiving information from the police, we looked at their data and it turned out that both of them attended school here [Al Mukmin]," said Wahyuddin.

The terror suspect with the initial F, was identified as Farhan Mujahid, 19 years old. He was born in Jakarta and attended elementary school in Nunukan, East Kalimantan.

In 2008, Farhan stopped his studies at the pesantren due to financial problems. His certificate was withheld by the pesantren because he failed to pay school fees for two years.

The other suspect, with the initial M, was identified as Mukhsin Tsani, also 19 years old. Mukhsin was also born in Jakarta and moved to the Al Mukmin Ngruki after finishing his junior high education in Jakarta. Mukhsin later graduated from the pesantren.

Similar to Farhan, Mukhsin did not pay his school fees for two years, which amounted to Rp 12 million (US$1,300). Consequently, during graduation, the pesantren withheld his certificate.

"They completed their studies in Ngruki but they did not fulfill the requirements, so they are called former students and not alumni," said Wahyuddin.

Wahyuddin stated the actions taken by Farhan and Mukhsin had nothing to do with teachings at the pesantren, saying that at a relatively young age, they might have been influenced by various media, such as the Internet as well as books outside the pesantren's curriculum.

"They were beyond our supervision after they left here, including when they claimed to have gained experience from conflict areas, such as the southern Philippines. We don't know about that," said Wahyuddin.

Regarding the incident involving both former students of the pesantren, Wahyuddin expressed his concern, saying that the series of incidents in the past two weeks had disturbed the concentration of teachers there.

"Every time there are such incidents, they are associated with Ustadz Abu [Abu Bakar Ba'asyir]. Whatever we do, the focus is on Ustadz Abu," said Wahyuddin, adding that his pesantren focused on deepening Islam. (nad)

[Kusumasari Ayuningtyas contributed to this story from Surakarta.]

Ulema should be certified to prevent radicalism: Sociologist

Jakarta Globe - September 3, 2012

A sociologist has proposed that the Ministry of Religious Affairs should issue certifications for Muslim clerics – also known as ulema – in order to curb the proliferation of radical sermons.

"Since lecturers and teachers must be certified, it could be possible to apply the same system to ulema in order to maintain their credibility," Nia Elvina, a sociologist from Nasional University, told Antara news agency on Monday.

Nia claimed that many ulema are former prisoners and thugs and thus have low credibility. She noted that Islam in Indonesia has seen a rise in radicalism, exemplified by several recent conflicts sparked by religious intolerance.

"The quality of their sermons is very low, as they are lacking certain knowledge necessary to interpret the teachings of Islam," she said, adding that misinformed sermons have the potential to set off social unrest. "Their role is often politicized and appeals to the interests of some fringe groups instead of the majority of Indonesian Muslims."

Roisul Hukama, a member of the Ulama of Nangkernang village, Karang Gayam, Sampang, was recently arrested and named as a suspect for provoking hundreds of people through a mosque's loudspeaker to attack dozens of Shiite students and teachers. Two died in the attack and many others were injured.

It was revealed later that Roisul – leader of a Sunni Muslim associated with the Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama – had a personal feud with his brother, Shiite leader Tajul Muluk, that wound up turning into a community-wide conflict.

Solo terrorist suspects part of new cell targeting Indonesian police

Jakarta Globe - September 1, 2012

The two teenagers killed in a police shootout in Solo, Central Java, on Friday are part of new terrorist group targeting police for cracking down on radical Islamic organizations in Indonesia, police said on Saturday.

"They were part of a new terrorist group taking revenge against the National Police because we've been at the forefront of efforts to uphold the law," Gen. Timur Pradopo told a press conference at the Solo Police headquarters. "[The] new group... has links to older terror networks in the area."

Farhan and Mukhsin were both fatally shot near a food stall during a police ambush Friday night. Officers were acting on a information gleaned from the computer of alleged terrorist hacker Maman Kurniawan.

The three men reportedly opened fire on officers with Indonesia's anti- terrorism squad Densus 88. Police returned fire, killing the two men. Second Brig. Suherman, a member of Densus 88, was also killed in the shootout, police said.

A third suspect, Bayu, was arrested at the scene. The three men were reportedly behind a spate of violent attacks on police stations in Solo that killed one officer in a drive-by shooting earlier this week.

Farhan was the stepson of convicted terrorist Abu Omar and a former disciple of convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Bashir's Al-Mukmin Ngruki Sukoharjo Islamic boarding school, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said on Saturday.

This new terrorist organization may have ties to Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), according to a text message sent by National Counterterrorism Agency chief Ansyaahd Mbai.

JAT was dubbed a terrorist organization by the United States earlier this year and has been linked to smaller new terrorist cells on the island of Java. The men were allegedly smuggling guns and ammunition from the Philippines, where Farhan reportedly spent years fighting a counter- insurgency in the south.

"He lived for a long time in the south Philippines and only returned here in 2010," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the teenagers resisted arrest when they were shot outside a shop in Ngruki village, considered a hotbed of militant activity. They were "not working alone", he said.

Detachment 88 has led a long and successful crackdown on militant groups over the last decade, claiming the scalps of some of the country's most notorious terrorist suspects blamed for major attacks.

The unit has faced criticism, however, for using excessive force and targeting separatists and pro-independence activists.

Muslim-majority Indonesia suffered a series of deadly attacks over the last decade by terror network Jemaah Islamiyah – blamed for the Bali bombings in 2002 that left 202 dead – but there has not been a major incident in recent years. (JG/AFP)

Freedom of religion & worship

Shiites' relocation not an option, says human rights watchdog

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2012

Jakarta – The Sampang administration's plan to either relocate Shiite refugees or move them to an uninhibited housing complex in the regency has been deemed irrelevant in solving the minority sect's problem, according to the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

"Relocation has never been a solution to their problem," the commission's coordinator, Haris Azhar, told The Jakarta Post Digital on Saturday.

Currently, 73 Shiite families are living in an indoor tennis court in Sampang, East Java. They were forced to move there after being attacked by Sunni Muslims three weeks ago. In the Sampang attack, two Shiites were killed and dozens of their houses were burned down.

According to Haris, the government would be mistreating citizens if it insisted on relocating the Shiites from their hometown. "Instead of relocating the refugees, the government must punish those responsible for prosecuting the Shia Muslims," he said.

The East Java Police have arrested three suspects of the attack, including Rois, the brother of incarcerated Sampang Shia leader Tajul Muluk, who has been jailed for blasphemy against Islam.

Besides Shia followers, other minority groups in the country, such as Ahmadiyah followers, are frequently targeted in attacks by hard-liners among the majority Sunni Muslims. Oftentimes, the government proposes to relocate the minority groups to solve the issue.

"If minority groups are continually harassed, then will the government relocate them all? It is the government's duty to protect them," said Haris. (riz/swd)

Suryadharma says he regrets Shia's rejection to be moved

Jakarta Globe - September 7, 2012

Amir Tejo, Surabaya – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said he regrets a Shia community's rejection to be moved away from Sampang, where a recent attack left two people dead. Suryadharma said the new location offered by the East Java governor is "better" than their current hometown.

"The idea is brilliant, very humane and without pressure," Suryadharma said after meeting with East Java Governor Soekarwo on Friday. "But unfortunately, there are people that don't want the problem to be solved. This is very unfortunate."

Suryadharma also said that the East Java provincial government has approached two Shia organizations, Ahlulbait Indonesia and the Association of Jemaah Ahlul Bait Indonesia (IJABI), who he said agreed to relocate the Shia refugees.

"But unfortunately Tajul Muluk, the cleric of the refugees' group, refused the moving idea," Suryadharma said. "Because their leader banned them, the follower refused government's offer."

Dozens of Shia students and teachers were attacked in the village of Karang Gayam, Sampang in East Java recently – seven were injured in addition to the two fatalities, and dozens of houses were also set on fire. In the aftermath of the attack, hundreds of Shiites are still living in the Sampang sport center.

Soekarwo proposed to move the refugees to a flat in Puspa Agro Jemundo complex in Sidoarjo, East Java; in a separate interview, East Java Deputy Governor Saifullah Yusuf said the government offered to move the Shiites because their current living conditions are very poor; some people have reportedly taken ill.

"We did not plan to relocate them," Saifullah said. "But we only considered better living for the refugees in comparison to the current shelter."

He said that there are 97 flats in Jemundo, with some 71 Shia families living as refugees.

"They will be only temporarily moved, not relocated," Saifullah added. "They will be returned when the condition in Karang Gayam and Bluuran is conducive. Meanwhile, the East Java government will rebuild the houses that have been targeted in the riots."

Shia group wants a dialogue, not sermon

Jakarta Post - September 7, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A Shia organization says it will accept an invitation to a transparent and neutral dialogue to resolve existing problems with majority Sunni Muslims.

"We have always been open to dialogue. I, for example, recently returned from a dialogue in Makassar," Jalaluddin Rahmat, the chairman of the consultative council of the Indonesian Ahlul Bait Association (IJABI) told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Jalaluddin, however, was critical of the government's point man on religious issues. "We can't trust Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali or his ministry because Suryadharma has declared us to be heretics."

Nor, Jalaluddin added, could the police be trusted as they have consistently backed Sunni Muslims.

"If the minister sincerely plans to facilitate a dialogue in Sampang, he must also invite academics, neutral religious figures and the media so that the process will be transparent and impartial," Jalaluddin said.

He was responding to Suryadharma's proposal for a dialogue in Sampang, East Java, to resolve the Sunni attacks on minority Shiites. On Wednesday, Suryadharma said that the ministry planned to hold the dialogue as "many things can happen after a dialogue, as in, for example, the experience where the Ahmadis [in Bogor] converted to the true Islam".

Jalaluddin, however, had a negative assessment of Suryadharma's proposal. "He [Suryadharma] was suggesting a monologue instead of a dialogue, because he already had an agenda to convert people through the dialogue," Jalaluddin said.

Jalaluddin was also critical of Suryadharma's view of the dialogue with the minority Ahmadhi sect in Bogor. "We must be free of pressure to concur with any agreement achieved through a dialogue. I think that the Ahmadis that Suryadharma referred to were under threat and forced to leave their faith," he added.

He asked the local administration in Sampang to lift its ban on the IJABI and allow its members to enter the area to help the Shiites who have been living in a local stadium after their homes were destroyed by rampaging Sunni Muslims.

Echoing Jalaluddin statements, academic Zainal Abidin Bagir said that a dialogue required a two-way interaction and not the one-way interaction suggested by Suryadharma.

"The minister is right that dialogue is the best solution to what has been going in Sampang. It is the best solution to all conflicts," Zainal, the chairman of the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS) at Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, said.

However, Zainal said, it was unclear if Suryadharma was suggesting a dialogue or a sermon, as he already recommended that the Shiites convert to Sunni Islam.

"Attempting to convert people is the outcome of a sermon, not a dialogue. Converting people is not the job of the minister. A dialogue will work if the participants, as well as facilitators, can get some distance from their faiths and are willing to accept each others' differences," Zainal said.

Meanwhile, Joan Elga Sarapung of the Yogyakarta-based interfaith organization DIAN/Interfidei, said that Suryadharma and other government officials had to be impartial in reconciling religious conflicts across the nation.

"Government officials, including Suryadharma, have failed to uphold justice when dealing with religious conflicts because they are biased," Joan Elga said. "They must know that they must serve all faith groups equally despite of their personal beliefs when running the country," she added.

Shia conversion is solution: Minister

Jakarta Post - September 6, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali says converting Shiite Muslims to the Sunni Islam followed by most Indonesians would be the best way to prevent violent outbreaks between the sects in Sampang, East Java.

"The best solution for what has been going on in there is dialogue. Many things can happen after a dialogue. We had an experience where the Ahmadis [...] converted to mainstream Islam after dialogue," the minister said on Wednesday on the sidelines of a meeting with lawmakers on House of Representatives' Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs.

Suryadharma was referring to the local religious leader in Ciaruteun village in Bogor, West Java, who persuaded 15 members of the minority Muslim Ahmadiyah sect in March 2011 to convert to the form of Islam practiced by most Indonesian Muslims.

The minister said that in first stage of the conversion process, minority Shiites, their majority Sunni neighbors and other stakeholders in Sampang could meet for a dialogue.

He declined calls made by moderate Muslim groups to make a determination whether Shia is heretical, claiming it was outside his remit as minister.

"I'm in no position to make the decision. I can't ask the MUI [Indonesian Ulema Council] of Sampang to retract their religious fatwa [edict] deeming Shia as heretical. As I have said earlier, dialogue will be the best way," Suryadharma said.

Contacted separately, Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar concurred with Suryadharma that the ministry was obliged to educate subscribers of faiths deemed deviant by "mainstream" religions to convert to the teachings of the six religions recognized by the governments.

"We never condemned Shiite Islam as heretical or prohibited it from being practiced here because Saudi Arabia, for example, has never banned its followers from going to that country for the haj pilgrimage," Nasaruddin said.

"I think there are around 11 different types of Shia Islam, and not all of them are heretical. It is the strands that veer off from mainstream Islam that we have to deal with," the deputy minister said, declining to elaborate if the Sampang Shiites were outside mainstream Islam.

Sunni Muslims attacked a Shiite community in Sampang on Aug. 26, forcing almost 300 people to seek refuge in the local forest before they were given refuge in a tennis stadium.

The violence followed an attack in December 2011, when a Shiite Muslim, Mochamad Kosim, 50, was hacked to death. Three other Shiites were injured and 37 families lost their homes in the attack.

Suryadharma dismissed speculation that the violence in Sampang resulted from a sibling rivalry between Shiite leader Tajul Muluk and his Sunni brother, Roisul Hukuma.

The minister said that the mother of the brothers, Umah, was severely injured in the attack and had asked that the government to relocate the Shiites to prevent more attacks.

"She told me that when I went to visit her a day after the attack. However, it is up to the community whether or not they want to leave the area. We will move them to somewhere safer if they make the decision. Nonetheless, they can stay in the neighborhood if they want to do so," he said.

East Java Governor Soekarwo previously dismissed schemes to relocate Shiite residents, although little action has been taken by provincial officials to safeguard them.

Critics said that Soekarwo's reluctance to take action to aid the Shiites was done to garner support from Sunni Muslims in the run up to the East Java gubernatorial election. Suryadharma and Nasaruddin declined to comment on potential connections to gubernatorial politics.

Selected controversial remarks, 2012

April 20, Presidential Palace

On the joint decree limiting Ahmadiyah: "There may have been something wrong in the region. We must promote discussion to settle these kinds of issues. But the Ahmadis must also obey the law."

March 28, House of Representatives

On fashion: "There must be a set of universal criteria to define something as pornographic, one of which will be when someone wears a skirt above the knee."

Jan. 26, House of Representatives

On Shia Islam: "The Shiite branch is an aberration of the main Islamic principles."

Jan. 18

On the GKJ Yasmin standoff: "If a meeting on the issue is canceled, you cannot say that the government lacks good intention to resolve the issue."

Government's miniscule budget for interfaith is getting even smaller

Jakarta Post - September 6, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Despite the increasing incidence of religious violence in the nation, the Religious Affairs Ministry does not appear to have any budget for promoting religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue in 2013.

Although the government allotted Rp 20 billion to the ministry to finance interfaith dialogues in 2012, no such allocation has been made in the proposed Rp 41.7 trillion (US$4.37 billion) budget for the ministry for 2013 that has been forwarded to the House of Representatives for deliberation by legislators.

The budget under consideration by lawmakers allocates funds for management; infrastructure; supervision; Islamic education; "guidance" for the Balinese Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian and Islamic communities; the haj pilgrimage for Muslims, and for "research and development".

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali told lawmakers on House Commission VIII overseeing religious affairs that the ministry expected to spend 79.67 percent of its budget to finance programs for Islamic education and 7 percent on programs for Islamic community guidance.

The remainder of the budget would be used for "contingency planning", he said. "We plan to allocate 51.07 percent for the salaries of government employees, 37.55 percent to finance priority programs, and only 6.24 percent to finance other programs that are not in our priority list," he said.

In addition to supporting the ministry's 4,457 local offices in 33 provinces, Suryadharma said that the ministry would improve access to madrasah aliyah, high-school level Islamic educational centers, and give financial support to religious-based universities.

A lack of support for interfaith dialogue apparently contradicts the ministry's pledge to promote religious tolerance to strengthen national unity and to protect people from religious-inspired terrorism and radicalism.

During a hearing on Wednesday at the House, Suryadharma was not questioned on the need for interfaith dialogue, although several lawmakers highlighted an urgency to improve relations between the adherents of different religions in the nation.

"There have been many conflicts that seem to have been stirred by religious hatred directed against several Christian churches, the Islamic sect Ahmadiyah, and the Shia community. Therefore, we urge the Religious Affairs Ministry to seriously promote harmony among different faiths, as well as the values of Pancasila," Commission VIII deputy chairman, Gondo Radityo Gambiro, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said, referring to the state ideology.

Lawmaker Asep Ahmad Maoshul Affandy of the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) suggested that the ministry allocate money for religious organizations that might help promote religious harmony in Indonesia, such as the nation's largest Muslim social groups, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.

"It's important for the ministry to consider giving funds to other, smaller mass organization because they will effectively deliver religious messages to the people at the grassroots level," he said.

Timur catches heat for 'lazy' resolution

Jakarta Globe - September 5, 2012

Ezra Sihite, Febriamy Hutapea & Ismira Lutfia – Officials and rights activists have lashed out at National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo for proposing that a beleaguered Shiite community in East Java be relocated from its home village to prevent future attacks against it.

Hajriyanto Thohari, a deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), said on Tuesday that Timur's call, made a day earlier at a hearing before the House of Representatives, was both discriminatory and dangerous.

"How could it be that in a country based on the tolerant and egalitarian principles of Pancasila that such a discriminatory relocation program could be proposed?" he said in a text message.

"The idea of relocating a minority group does not bode well for the future of national integration in Indonesia. This proposal could result in blatant marginalization and would be very harmful to the minority groups involved."

The small Shiite community from Nangkrenang village in Sampang district, Madura Island, was attacked on Aug. 26 by a mob of around 500 Sunni Muslims.

Two Shiites were killed, while dozens were injured, including seven who remain in critical condition, according to the latest reports. The attackers also set dozens of houses on fire, forcing the Shiites to take refuge at a sports stadium where some 400 men, women and children remain.

Another 70 Shiites from the village are unaccounted for or missing since the attack, rights activists say.

The police have been criticized for failing to prevent the attack despite knowing about it well in advance, as well as for writing off the incident as a family feud rather than a case of sectarian violence.

Lazy way out

Responding to legislators' demands for a quick resolution to the case, Timur said on Monday that relocation of the victims was "the easiest way out."

"If these people no longer have any communication with others in the area, and if their continued proximity results in more problems like this, then the easiest way out is to move them," he said.

Hajriyanto said that instead of proposing to relocate the victims, the police should be enforcing the law by protecting minority groups like the Shiites.

He criticized the force for still not being familiar with the concept of national integration, an idea that does not recognize the dichotomy between majority and minority groups in society.

Zainal Abidin, a deputy director at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), also took issue with Timur's proposal, blasting it as an indication of the state's "laziness" in addressing the issue at the heart of the violence.

"The government often tries to take the lazy way out of various problems by relocating the victims, including in the Sampang case," he said.

He argued that moving the victims – a measure also proposed for several churches across West Java facing opposition from hard-line Islamic groups and local authorities – would do nothing to tackle the underlying problems and could give rise to further conflicts.

"This type of response constitutes a state-sponsored crime, in which the government is allowing the violence to happen and doing nothing to stop it," Zainal said.

Loaded edict

Alhulbait Indonesia (ABI), a Shiite organization, agreed that the police chief's statement was symptomatic of the institutionalized discrimination against the group.

Husein Shahab, an ABI spokesman, argued that the recent history of animosity could be traced back to the publication of an edict by the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) branding the Shiites as heretics.

"The violence against the Shiites was triggered by the MUI's edict. That edict has become the ammunition for certain groups to attack the Shiites," he said.

Saan Mustopha, a Democratic Party legislator, also balked at the suggestion of moving the Shiite community, saying a relocation should be the last resort.

"Only if all other solutions fail should we even start considering relocating the community," he said. "The police shouldn't try to resolve this issue with stop-gap measures."

Saan, who attended Timur's testimony at the House, warned that by treating the Sampang case lightly the police were sending out a dangerous message that serious offenses would not be dealt with harshly.

Can't be bothered

Rumadi, coordinator of the Wahid Institute, was also opposed to the idea of relocating the Shiite community, pointing out that it would be unconstitutional to prohibit citizens from living in a given area.

He also said that the community at Nangkrenang village had lived in the area for generations and to force them out would have a profound social impact.

"They have strong, legitimate ties to the land there," Rumadi said.

Another objection he brought up against relocation was that if it was carried out, it could soon become the police's default response for dealing with other conflicts of a similar nature.

This, he said, would give credence to fears by rights groups that minority groups were indeed being treated as second-class citizens by being forced to bend to the will of the majority.

Rumadi also argued that the roots of the conflict would never be addressed through an "instant solution" such as relocation.

He said it would take the police and the government a good deal of time to come up with a resolution that addressed not just the latest outbreak of violence, but also its underlying causes.

"But it seems that the police chief can't be bothered to make the effort to protect the rights of citizens," he said.

International scrutiny

Even before Timur's statement, protection for minorities in the country had become a topic of international scrutiny.

In a statement over the weekend, New York-based Human Rights Watch called on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Jakarta on Monday, to "raise the plight of religious minorities" with Indonesian officials.

"Secretary Clinton should press the Indonesian government to take concrete steps to address rising religious intolerance," said John Sifton, HRW's Asia advocacy director.

"Indonesia needs to recognize that oppressive laws and policies against religious minorities fuel violence and discrimination," he added.

At a press conference on Monday night with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Clinton did not specifically address the Sampang issue but held up Indonesia as an example of a democratic country striving for full human rights protection.

"We both agree that there should be no discrimination in any way against minorities," she said.

"We will also continue to promote freedom and tolerance of all groups."

Amnesty International was also quick to condemn the Sampang violence. In a statement released two days after the attack, the London-based rights group expressed its doubts about the authorities' commitment to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

"The failure of Indonesian authorities to adequately deal with previous attacks against the Shiite community raises serious questions about its willingness to ensure that the suspected perpetrators of the Sampang attack are brought to justice, to provide the victims with reparations, and to prevent further attacks on minority groups," it said. "Amnesty International continues to receive reports of attacks and intimidation against religious minorities in Indonesia, including Shiite, Ahmadiyah and Christian communities," the group added.

"It is high time that [the Indonesian government] develops a concrete strategy to prevent and respond to incidents of religiously based violence, including strengthening respect for freedom of religion and religious tolerance which has clearly deteriorated in recent years."

Spilling over

Amnesty also pointed out that the Shiites in Sampang had previously been attacked on Dec. 29 last year.

"A mob set fire to a place of worship, boarding school and various homes in the vicinity," the group said.

"Security forces were seen filming and watching the attack as it occurred. Only one person was eventually charged and sentenced to three months' imprisonment for the attack."

Nurcholis, deputy chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said his organization had recommended a series of measures to the Home Affairs Ministry in the wake of the earlier attack to prevent similar incidents, but the call went unheeded.

"In January this year, we asked the ministry to host talks with the Sampang district head and East Java governor on the issue, and we stressed that it was of prime national importance," he said at a discussion over the weekend.

"This was a conflict that was spilling over, but our recommendations were not carried out as expected."

If the local government had done its job, he went on, the latest violence in Sampang would never have occurred.

"I have repeatedly criticized the police for monopolizing the handling of this case, because I believe the real path to a solution is through a dialogue mediated by the local government," Nurcholis said.

Moderate Muslims need to speak up

Jakarta Post - September 5, 2012

Jakarta – As many parts of the world face growing threats against religious tolerance from radical Muslims, the role of moderate Muslims is much needed, especially to counter such hostility, analysts say.

During the discussion of a book entitled "Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide" on Tuesday, one of the authors, Paul Marshall, said that the growing radicalism is now a new worldwide phenomenon.

Marshall, who is also a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom in Washington DC in the United States, added that this phenomenon has never occurred before, and more Muslim authorities in recent years are suggesting that Sharia Law should be enforced on non-Muslims in non-Muslim countries.

"The role of moderate Muslims is key, and more important than anything else, and if you're going to combat radicalism, in terms of debate and ideas, the arguments should be made by Muslims, because they [radical groups] don't know other arguments," Marshall told The Jakarta Post.

In his book, co-written by Nina Shea, Marshall said that most of the actual repression was not done by the state. Some may be carried out by the states, but mobs, vigilantes or terrorists did more repression. "Most of the accusations are vague, and often shaped by political manipulation," Marshall said.

Another finding in his book is that there are four major sets of victims: post Islamic religion (Baha'is, Ahmadis); actual apostates, converts and unbelievers; Muslims of the wrong type in the wrong place (Sunni, Shia, Sufi); and Muslim religious and political reformers and dissidents (novelist, poets, journalists, political reformers).

Marshall also said that the restrictions imposed on Islam believers are much worse than the restrictions that the radicals impose on the non- Muslim, as debate within Islam is usually considered more offensive.

"If the people are not allowed to debate within Islam, then debates on on culture, politics, economics, science and education also become restricted," Marshall said. "Without religious freedom, there will be no political freedom," he added.

Ahmad Syafii Ma'arif, former Muhammadiyah chairman, echoed Marshall statements, saying that radical Muslims were basically the minorities, therefore the majority of moderates have the power to condemn the radicals.

"These radicals hijacked God for political purposes," Syafii said. "If Islam is led by the moderate, the enlightened people, then I think Islam can compete with any nation," he said. "However, the majority of moderates prefer to be silent rather than to counter the radicals," he added.

According to Syafii, the radicals are more vocal because their actions were based on economics. "Even though Indonesia's economic growth is satisfying, the number of marginalized people in this country is still many, and most of them see their actions as part of their livelihoods," Syafii told the Post.

According to Marshall, the Indonesian government also plays a major role in condemning radicalism, and the first thing that the government should do is review the 1965 Blasphemy Law.

The law basically stipulates that the government has the authority to dissolve religious groups whose beliefs and practices were deemed blasphemous by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Religious Affairs Ministry. Under the law, the government also has the authority to charge leaders and followers of suspected heretical groups.

Marshall said that the Indonesian government has weak law enforcement, and the blasphemy law has been used against the minorities. "The Shia leader was put in prison. People think that this person is bad and shouldn't be here, so the people feel more justified in attacking him," he said, citing the imprisonment of Shia leader Tajul Muluk in Sampang, East Java last August and the recent attack of the group.

"I worry about radicalism here. The fact is that the blasphemy law has been used to encourage and allow attacks by radicalists," Marshall said. (nad)

Shia relocation will 'violate rights'

Jakarta Post - September 5, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – There have been more calls to reject the idea of relocating Shiites from their homes in Sampang, Madura, East Java, because it is viewed that such a move will only promote more abuses against minorities.

Following Saturday's rejection by Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD, several lawmakers rejected the government's relocation plan, which aims to protect Shiites from future attacks.

"The 1945 Constitution obliges the government to protect all citizens. Therefore, the government must protect the rights of all people despite the differences of their beliefs," People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) deputy speaker Hajriyanto Tohari said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

"Not only will relocating them violate the rights of the Shia community, it will also put the unity of the nation at stake because it will promote segregation between different groups existing here, particularly between majority and minority groups. We must understand that Indonesia doesn't divide people based on such categories," he continued.

Responding to the National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo, who earlier emphasized that relocation was the best solution toward conflicted groups, Hajriyanto told the police to not submit themselves to the demands of the majority in Sampang, as well as in other places.

"Fulfilling their job to keep the country united is one thing the police must do. Segregating people by relocating the Shia community away from their majority neighbors, the Sunni community, is not even an option," he carried on.

During a meeting with lawmakers recently, Timur said that relocating the Shiites from their village in Sampang was the best and easiest way of protecting the community from similar attacks in the future.

"Relocating the people away from that environment is the easiest way. People will have no communication with their neighbors, which has continuously stirred conflict between the two," Timur said in response to lawmaker Martin Hutabarat from the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), due to his commission's findings after a working visit to Sampang on Aug. 30 that the Shia community had refused relocation.

Lawmaker Saan Mustofa from the Democratic Party condemned Timur's statement. "It seems that the police want to solve the conflict instantly and neglect the core problem. As the latest attack against the Shia community [in Sampang] was the second, the police must search for the root of the problem and prevent it from reoccurring, " Saan said.

Police chief's Shiite relocation plan draws disapproval

Jakarta Globe - September 4, 2012

Ezra Sihite – National Police Chief General Timur Pradopo's proposal to relocate a Shiite community that has sought shelter following an attack in their home village prompted criticism from a senator on Tuesday.

He said such relocation would be tantamount to segregation based on faith or religion. "How could it be that in a country based on the tolerant and egalitarian principles of Pancasila that such a discriminatory relocation program could take place?" Hajriyanto, who hails from the Golkar Party, asked.

Timur, during a hearing with House Commission III, said that the displaced Shiite community was currently being sheltered at a sports stadium in Sampang in Madura, East Java, and that they should be resettled elsewhere.

Hajriyanto suggested that what is needed is firm law enforcement that protects citizens, including members of minority groups. The police, he said, needed to be familiarized with the concept of national integration, an idea that does not recognize the dichotomy between the majority and minorities.

Last month, a mob of some 500 Sunni Muslims attacked Nangkernang, a village inhabited by a Shiite community in the sub-district of Omben in Sampang. Two Shiites were killed, while dozens of others were injured, including seven that are still in critical condition, according to the latest reports.

The attackers also set dozens of houses on fire. Police have been criticized for their failure to safeguard the Shiites despite rumors circulating of the impending attack against them before it occurred.

Shia community has the right to stay: Mahfud

Jakarta Post - September 2, 2012

Indra Harsaputra and Apriadi Gunawan, Sampang/Medan/Jakarta – The Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to choose their place to live, therefore, the government has no right to force them to move to another location, one of the country's top judges has said.

Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD rejected government's plan to relocate the Shia community that had become the target of attacks in Sampang, Madura, in East Java.

"People must not be relocated because of differences [in their religious beliefs] as it violates the basic rights set out in the Constitution. People can only be relocated if their residences can't be occupied because of a natural disaster," Mahfud told The Jakarta Post during his visit to Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday.

The chief justice, who grew up in Sampang, said he was very sorry to hear of the attacks against Shia followers in his hometown. He regretted the fact that social harmony in Sampang had been disrupted by religious conflict.

Culturally, Shia and Sunni followers in Sampang were the same, so there was no point in fighting each other, he added. "Humans are born to be compassionate toward each other," Mahfud said.

According to him, the government must enforce the law and bring perpetrators of the attacks to justice. Aside from that, the government needs to facilitate a meeting between law enforcement, security forces, religious leaders and community leaders to find the best solution.

Separately, human rights advocates have criticized the government for its failure to protect its citizens as shown in the attacks against the Shia community in Sampang, which claimed two lives.

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) deputy chairman Nurcholis said the fatal attacks showed the government was absent when it should have played a protective role.

"People fled to the mountains and their houses were burned to the ground while the police had no idea what was happening. It shows the government's failure in protecting its people," he said in a discussion on Saturday. Last Sunday, hundreds of Shiites fled their neighborhood in Karang Gayam, Sampang, when anti-Shia mobs attacked the area.

Two Shiites, identified as Muhammad Hasyim and Thohir, died from machete wounds inflicted during the onslaught, while four others were injured.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono previously slammed law enforcement agencies regarding the attack, saying that intelligence officials and the police should have detected the threat.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said a lack of personnel was one of the reasons the police could not handle the conflict better. "We need more personnel," he said on Saturday, adding that the area where the Shia community lived was also hard to reach.

Sunday's incident was the second in recent months. On Dec. 29, 2011, a mob ransacked the village and burned down the house and pesantren (Islamic boarding school) belonging to Tajul Muluk, the leader of the Shia community.

Ironically, the Sampang District Court sentenced Tajul to two years' imprisonment for blasphemy, while only one perpetrator of the attack was convicted and jailed for less than three months.

Following Sunday's attack, most school children from the Shia community have yet to return to school due to their parents' concerns for their safety.

Sumilah, 56, the school principal of SD Karanggayam 4 in Sampang, was seen tidying up a classroom on Saturday as there were few students to be taught. "I have convinced the parents to let their children go to school. Those children should attend classes because they will have to take an exam soon," she added.

Sumilah, who has taught at the school for 12 years, said that of 178 students, only 30 returned to classes after the incident. (cor)

Clinton should urge protection of Indonesian religious minorities: Watchdog

Jakarta Post - September 2, 2012

Jakarta – The United States' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should raise concerns about the safety of religious minorities with the Indonesia government during her visit to the country this Monday, a human rights watchdog said on Sunday.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said Indonesia had failed to adequately address increasing incidents of violence against religious minorities, particularly Ahmadiyah followers, Christians and Shia Muslims, in Java and Sumatra.

Indonesian authorities, the group said, did not charge all those involved in the attacks, and where punishments were handed down to perpetrators, they were remarkably light.

"Secretary Clinton should press the Indonesian government to take concrete steps to address the rising religious intolerance," the group's Asia advocacy director, John Sifton, stated in a release received by The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The watchdog also criticized Indonesian authorities for using the 1965 Blasphemy Law and laws on criminal defamation to prosecute members of religious minorities, such as a Shia cleric Tajul Muluk, West Sumatran atheist Alexander An and an Ahmadiyah guardian, Hasan Suwandi.

"Indonesia needs to recognize that oppressive laws and policies against religious minorities fuel violence and discrimination," he added.

Pressure from some Islamist groups and government decrees restricting the construction of houses of worship had also led local authorities to close hundreds of Christian churches and dozens of Ahmadiyah mosques in recent years, the group reported.

Bogor and Bekasi local administrations demonstrated their strong aversion toward minorities by refusing to reopen Bogor's Presbyterian church and Bekasi's HKBP Filadelfia church, although the Supreme Court had ordered them to do so.

"Holding minority religious beliefs in Indonesia should not put one's life and property at risk. Secretary Clinton should not miss this important opportunity to speak out strongly on these issues," Sifton added.

In the upcoming visit, Clinton is scheduled to discuss the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership. (yps)

Shia followers reject relocation, demand security

Jakarta Post - September 1, 2012

Indra Harsaputra, Jakarta – The government's plan to relocate the Shia community from their homes in Sampang, Madura, East Java, has been rejected outright by Shia group Ahlul Bait Indonesia (ABI), which perceives the proposal as a way to alienate the group.

"Shia communities are not only located in Sampang; they are spread out from Aceh to Papua. Is the government planning to relocate all of us?" ABI secretary-general Ahmad Hidayat said in a press conference on Friday.

Muhaimin Hamama, 15, the son of Muhammad Hasyim (not Kosim, as reported earlier), or Hamama, who was killed during Sunday's attack, said he and his family had no other option but to stay in Sampang. "I am still afraid of going back to our village, but I've been there my whole life, as has my family," Muhaimin told The Jakarta Post.

He added that one of the attackers was a neighbor, who lives only 20 meters from his parents' house, and that the Shiites were still facing threats from their attackers. "I want the President to act directly to protect us, instead of relocating us to another place," he said.

Zaini, 28, the son of Thohir who was in critical condition after the attack, said he was very disappointed with the government's miserly efforts to ensure their safety.

"I'm voicing the shared opinion of all the residents who are still in the temporary shelter; our decision is unanimous in that we reject the relocation plan," Zaini said.

Zaini and Muhaimin arrived in Jakarta on Friday morning to seek protection from the Witness and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK).

Ahmad of ABI urged the government to ensure the safety of the community instead of kicking them out of their homes for the sake of calm in the region. The government should start rebuilding the homes of the 600 Shia followers in Sampang who were now homeless, he said.

He added that the government should also denounce the statement by the East Java branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which declared the Shia sect heretical. "Shia is a part of Islam and it is not heretical. The MUI statement, on the other hand, should be declared heretical," Ahmad said.

ABI chairman Hasan Alaydrus said collective fury and attacks against Shiites had increased following the East Java MUI's announcement in 2007.

"The situation worsened after statements – such as Shiites' blood is halal – were made by some mubaligh [Islamic preachers], which ignited a fire of hatred toward Shia followers," Hasan said in a press statement.

According to Ahmad, Shiites in Sampang suspected that one of Tajul Muluk's relatives, Abuya Ali Karrar, a prominent Sunni ulema in the region, was also behind the attack.

"Abuya sent hate messages to Shia community members via his sermons and through his media statements, which provoked the neighborhood," Ahmad said. He said Sunday's attack was a form of public hatred, although half of those who attacked the Shiites were victims of provocation themselves," he added.

"Some people are trying to turn what was a family conflict into a religious conflict, as well as conflicts between the ulema, when in fact most of the Sunnis and members of Nahdlatul Ulama [NU] accepted Shia followers, and they all lived together peacefully before the provocation," he said.

Meanwhile, Iklil al-Milal, the elder brother of Shia leader Tajul Muluk, said the Shiite victims of Sunday's attack had forgiven the perpetrators and they would not be seeking revenge.

Together with 278 Shia followers, Iklil sought refuge after his house was burned down by an anti-Shia mob.

East Java Police security unit chief Comr. Supardi Astiko said police would be sending a case file to East Java's Provincial Prosecutor's Office after naming Rois al Hukama a suspect in Sunday's attack. "We have questioned 30 witnesses so far," he added. (nad)

Yudhoyono turns a blind eye

The Australian - September 1, 2012

Peter Alford, Jakarta – There was a characteristic absence in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's response to Indonesia's latest outburst of sectarian violence – any mention of religious identity.

It began last Sunday in Sampang regency, Madura island, when 200 villagers confronted a party of 30 Shia children leaving their hamlet for religious school after the Idul Fitri holiday.

The mob grew to almost 1000, according to Komnas HAM, the national human rights authority, and its rampage left two men dead, six seriously injured, 35 houses burned and a community of 500 people terrorised and dispersed.

"(A) complex problem and not purely because of the difference of beliefs between the two communities," was the closest Yudhoyono came to acknowledging the victims were all Shia Muslims and their attackers all Sunnis.

Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim bridled at official descriptions of the incident – the third assault on the hamlet in eight months – as a communal conflict. "We are saying the state has failed to protect its citizens with Shia beliefs. There was no clash, it was an attack."

Yudhoyono's persistent refusal to acknowledge victimised minorities – whether Shias, Ahmadiyah "heretics" or Protestant church-builders – is symptomatic of "his complete failure to set an agenda of religious tolerance", particularly in the Muslim sphere, says Australian National University's Greg Fealy, an authority on Indonesian politics and Islam.

During SBY's eight years in power, there has been "a great narrowing of the limits of acceptable Muslim behaviour", says Dr Fealy, and increased readiness by authorities to use the blasphemy law against heterodox movements.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, about 87 per cent of the 238 million total, and 99 per cent of those are Sunni, the Pew Research Centre says.

With its tradition of Javanese tolerance, secular government and freedom of worship enshrined in the state doctrine, Indonesia remains probably the safest majority-Muslim society for religious minorities – but is becoming less so each year.

As authoritarian regimes crumble in the Middle East and North Africa, Mr Yudhoyono's Indonesia is the open Muslim society model that Western leaders urge on "Arab Spring" revolutionaries.

But enthusiasts find themselves hotly contradicted, not just by international rights groups but by Indonesian liberals.

Jakarta's Setara Institute, which focuses on religious freedom, published a five-year survey in January showing that, aside from a severe spike in 2008, incidents of discrimination and oppression of minorities had increased steadily. Setara noted the President urged tolerance in 19 speeches last year but "all the delivered messages seem (to leave) no footprint".

Mr Yudhoyono at least acknowledged a sectarian element in the Sampang incident, the third attack on that community in eight months, but Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, sent to East Java to investigate, swiftly decided there was none at all.

"The Sampang incident is a purely criminal case that developed out of a family conflict and later gained momentum within the local community. It is not an anti-Shi'ite situation."

That was at odds with Komnas HAM, which has monitored Sampang's intra- religious strife since 2007. The shift of a locally prominent clerical family from Sunni persuasion to Shi'ism in the 1980s was a central element in the tensions, later aggravated by a rupture between brothers Tajul Muluk and Roisul Hukama.

But that was only in 2009 when Mr Roisul, the younger, returned to the Sunni fold, becoming an influential figure in the East Java chapter of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest of Indonesia's mass Muslim organisations. Mr Roisul is now in custody, accused by police of fomenting Sunday's violence. Tajul was jailed for two years in July on a questionable blasphemy conviction. His house and religious school were burned in the earlier attacks.

His blasphemy was openly teaching Shia doctrine, which East Java NU and the local Indonesian Ulema Council chapter complain is heretical.

However Nahdlatul, Ulama's national council has repeatedly ruled Shia is a legitimate stream of Islam, not a "deviant sect", and chairman Said Aqil Siradj repeated this week that violence was intolerable.

But SBY's Religious Affairs Minister, Suryadharma Ali, formerly an East Java NU man, has called this year for Shia preaching to be suppressed.

Many of the President's difficulties spring from the post-Suharto devolution of central government authority to the regions, which has degenerated into unruly localism.

Provincial jurisdictions interpret laws as they choose, governors run personal patronage networks, while regents and mayors defy Jakarta and the national courts with impunity.

Parliament & legislation

Lawmakers on a boat tour in Copenhagen

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A group of lawmakers on an official trip to Denmark were photographed having a boat tour along a Copenhagen Canal in the Scandinavian city.

Photos of the lawmakers aboard the boat were circulated on the Internet on Friday. The lawmakers are part of the group on an official visit to Denmark and Turkey in their efforts to study the Red Cross and Red Crescent logos in both countries.

The photos sent by an Indonesian living in Denmark seemingly confirmed public assumptions at home that lawmakers' foreign trip is not worth the taxpayers money they are spending.

An Indonesian residing in Denmark was reported to have accidentally seen the 10 lawmakers and their personal assistants on a boat touring the Copenhagen Canal on Thursday at around 2 p.m. local time, took their picture, and sent it to Indonesian online media.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) recorded that the House has wasted Rp 1.3 billion (US$135,804) on both trips – Rp 660 million for the Denmark trip and Rp 636 million for the Turkey trip.

Previously, the House had spent Rp 1.6 billion for a trip to Brazil to research village administration; and another Rp 4 billion on a junket to the United States, England, and Spain to research the defense industry.

Following mounting criticism against the House's overseas trips for lack of accountability, the Prosperous Justice Party's (PKS) faction has proposed the House temporarily take a moratorium on overseas junkets to allow House's leaders, as well as the House's Ethics Council to evaluate all previous escapades.

Other party factions have followed suit, saying that even though they had always been very careful in appointing representatives for overseas working visits, a moratorium would give an opportunity for improvement.

"We support the idea of the moratorium because we are committed to improve our performance as lawmakers," Democratic Party faction leader Nurhayati Ali Assegaf said Friday.

Meanwhile, civil groups promoting transparency within the House supported working visits as long as they were accountable.

"The House has never announced any plans for trips, nor has it reported to the public the results of such visits. Lawmakers are obliged to do so because they are using taxpayers' money for the trips. People deserve to know how their money is used and how can they benefit from the spending," FITRA coordinator Ucok Sky Khadafi said.

Fitra pans trip to study Red Cross logo

Jakarta Globe - September 6, 2012

Ezra Sihite – A trip to Turkey and Denmark by members of the House of Representatives' Legislative Council to determine whether or not to change the Indonesian Red Cross logo has been criticized as an illogical waste of money by the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency.

Twenty members of the council, known as Baleg, reportedly flew to Turkey and Denmark on Monday to conduct a study on whether to keep the current logo or to change it to a red crescent to better reflect the country having the world's largest Muslim population.

"Baleg's excuse to fly to those two countries, Turkey and Denmark, just didn't make any sense," Fitra coordinator Uchok Sky Khadafi said on Wednesday. "Why do they have to visit the two countries only to determine whether to keep the Red Cross logo?"

Rather than spending taxpayer funds on the trip, the government should have sought input from the public on whether to change the logo or not, he added. The House approved a travel budget of Rp 1.3 billion ($135,000) for both visits.

Taslim Chaniago, a member of the council who did not go on the trip, which he deemed "unimportant," said changing the logo came with safety considerations for the aid workers entering dangerous areas under the auspices of the Red Cross.

The National Mandate Party politician said that the logo was an internationally recognized symbol that provided a measure of protection for aid workers entering conflict-ridden areas.

"If the logo is replaced with a new one and then you enter a conflict-torn area, people might not recognize the [new] logo," he said.

House Deputy Chairman Taufik Kurniawan, however, supported the proposal to change the logo to a red crescent and denied that the visit to the two countries was solely for that purpose. He said the council members would be conducting a comparative study related to bill deliberation during the visit.

He added that changing the logo was worth considering, as the current one was designed during World War II. "There are no more wars now," Taufik said. "The study to design a new logo is an innovation."

The Red Cross, now known as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, was founded in 1861 in Switzerland. The affiliated Indonesian Red Cross was founded in 1945.

Red cross or red crescent?

Jakarta Post - September 6, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has sent 22 legislators on a Rp 1.3 billion (US$135,804) junket to Turkey and Denmark, in a move activists have criticized as further wasteful government spending.

Apparently unaware that Google could help them determine whether the national flag of Turkey features a crescent symbol and Denmark's flag is adorned with a cross, a number of lawmakers decided to take a trip to the two countries to investigate in person, ostensibly to reconcile their difference over which symbol the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) should use.

The price tag for the Denmark trip is over Rp 660 million, with the trip to Turkey costing Rp 636 million, data from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) shows.

Chairman of the House's legislative body Ignatius Mulyono defended the overseas trip, saying that it was necessary to break the deadlock in the deliberation of the PMI bill.

He said that some of the lawmakers wanted to check if Turkey, a majority- Muslim nation, used a crescent as the logo for its red cross society. He said some lawmakers objected to the use of a cross given the fact that Indonesia was a majority-Muslim country.

"We want to find out if we can keep the red cross logo or if we could use both," he said by phone from Turkey on Wednesday. Ignatius and 10 other House members are in Turkey, while another group is currently in Denmark.

The two groups departed on Sunday and are expected to return home on Friday. Ignatius hoped that the debate would be settled amicably after the two groups presented their findings from the trips.

Lawmakers from Muslim-based political parties have argued that the Indonesian red cross society should adopt a red crescent as its symbol, arguing that other Muslim countries have adopted the symbol. A number of local humanitarian groups have also used red crescent as their symbol.

Achmad Dymiaty, the deputy chairman of the legislative body from the United Development Party (PPP) faction, said that the red cross symbol had been the only big issue that arose in the deliberation of the bill.

"This is a new bill so we need a comparative study to see how the logos are used overseas. We don't want to pick the wrong cat from the sack," he said as quoted by tempo.co.

Activists have criticized the trip as wasteful government spending. "The House leadership should evaluate the foreign trip comprehensively to assess whether it is necessary to help with the bill's deliberation," said Sebastian Salang, the executive director of legislative watchdog Formappi.

Sebastian said that like most overseas trip by politicians, these trips were a ploy used by lawmakers to get travel stipends, which could reach up to Rp 4 million per day per person, and travel as tourists.

Sebastian also said that the logo of the PMI was not big of a deal and the bill itself was not on the priority list of legislation for this year. "This is a sectarian issue which has nothing to do with the bill's deliberation. Besides, the House should focus on other bills that are of greater relevance to the public," he said.

He said that if the lawmakers were serious about deliberating the bill, they should have focused on the PMI's structure, authority and functions. "If they take the logo so seriously, it indicates their stupidity and narrow-mindedness," he said.

Jakarta & urban life

Dirty tricks more prevalent ahead of Jakarta election runoff: ICW

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2012

Jakarta – The gubernatorial candidates could be pulling out all the stops by using dirty tricks such as money politics, vote-swaying through bureaucratic means and manipulating reports of campaign funding ahead of the Sept. 20 runoff, said Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) on Friday.

ICW researcher Ade Irawan said that the dirty tricks would be more prevalent than in the first round as the runoff was the final battle for both candidates – incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo and Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who bested four other candidates at the July's election.

"We've found many cases where teachers have been summoned by the principals and asked who they will vote for," he said, adding that such a practice was more prevalent after the first round without disclosing the schools' names. "From what I can remember, the schools are mostly located in North and Central Jakarta."

Ade reported the findings on Friday during a discussion, which also featured CSIS's political and international department head Philips J. Vermonte and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner Adnan Pandupraja as speakers, on unethical practices ahead of the runoff at ICW's office in Kalibata, South Jakarta.

Ade said that such practices also happened at the level of subdistricts, where subdistrict heads would intimidate residents to vote for a certain candidate when they wanted to apply for relief letters (SKTM) and government-funded health insurance Jamkesmas cards.

Besides, campaign funds were prone to violations, such as the cases where individuals or firms with dubious identities gave money to the candidates, he said.

In the first round, ICW found that candidates supported by political parties received vast amounts of money from such "ghost donors". Based on the findings, Ade warned that there could be more cases where companies with interest in the outcome of the election poured their money into a candidate's coffers.

"Not to mention that candidates don't have to submit campaign funding records to the Jakarta branch of the General Elections Commission [KPU Jakarta] at the runoff," he said.

KPU Jakarta member Suhartono said that while the law did not require the candidates to reveal their campaign funds for the runoff, they had agreed to do so voluntarily. The commission, however, will not audit the reports as the cost of public auditors was not included in its budget, according to Suhartono.

"The budget was made based on the law, which doesn't require candidates to report funding. Therefore, we won't hire public auditors, unlike the first round," he said.

"Instead, we'll facilitate open debate between the candidates and the public through the media, so that the public can assess the reports and query them."

Suhartono said that the commission had not decided when the candidates should submit the reports.

Besides warning the public of potential violations, Ade also criticized the performance of the Jakarta branch of the Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu Jakarta).

He said that Panwaslu Jakarta failed to follow up on ICW's report on first round campaign fund violations because the committee was too stern on technical issues such as deadlines.

Panwaslu Jakarta chairman Ramdansyah, meanwhile, said that it was the committee's duty to uphold the law, which contained technical guidelines for violations during election.

"ICW only reported their finding to us once, and we already acted upon them by forwarding the report to KPU Jakarta," he said. (han)

Fauzi graft allegations must be investigated: Analysts

Jakarta Post - September 6, 2012

Jakarta – Legal and political analysts are calling on law enforcers to investigate graft allegations against Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo's administration, as stated in a book authored by his own deputy Prijanto.

Yenti Garnasih, a legal expert from Jakarta-based Trisakti University, said that setting aside any political motives behind Prijanto's book, the allegations he made were by no means lightweight.

"These are allegations made against the administration responsible for our nation's capital, published in a book for the public's eyes to see," Yenti said in a discussion of the book in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

"If law enforcers do nothing about the allegations, it will mean that they are approving the vilification of a state institution," she said.

Prijanto, in his book Kenapa Saya Mundur dari Wagub DKI Jakarta (Why I Resigned from Jakarta Deputy Governor Post), details a number of conflicts and disagreements he had with the governor.

The deputy governor printed and distributed the book himself late last year, before publishing company PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama agreed to print and distribute it earlier this year.

The book came after his attempt to resign from his post was denied by the City Council. Prijanto tendered his resignation in December, only seven months before the gubernatorial election and 10 months before his end of term.

His resignation was the culmination of several years' worth of rumors concerning a political rift between Fauzi and his running mate in the 2007 election.

In February, Prijanto accompanied a graft activist filing reports and the parts of his book containing graft allegations against Fauzi at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The report, he said, contained data and evidence of corruption allegedly orchestrated by Fauzi.

Prijanto claims Fauzi ignored a report of possible extortion and corruption involving social shelters in February 2011 and that the governor approved special allowances for top administration officials in May 2009, which Prijanto said some might consider "legalized corruption".

In the same discussion, Boni Hargens, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, said he applauded Prijanto's move but regretted how the deputy governor had not been direct with his allegations.

"Why not directly challenge Fauzi and report him to the law enforcers? Why the book?" said Boni, who also observed that the timing of the book along with Prijanto's resignation meant that it was hard to not identify political undertones.

Jakarta's traffic jams are a blessing in disguise, Nachrowi says

Jakarta Globe - September 4, 2012

Deputy governor candidate Nachrowi Ramli urged voters to look on the bright side of Jakarta's choking traffic jams – congested roads mean that more Jakarta residents can afford to buy a car.

"If we want to be honest and think positively, traffic jams could be seen as a blessing for Jakarta residents," Nachrowi said.

Nachrowi, the running mate of incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo, said that the capital's heavy traffic was a sign of rising incomes in Jakarta. The Democratic Party candidate also added that private car ownership was a sign of a good economy, improved security and good politics.

"People would not go out of their homes if the situation was not secure," he said. "People would not go to work and use transportation facilities and infrastructure if the economy was not improving. These facts are hardly seen by people."

To blame the traffic on Fauzi is not fair, Nachrowi argued, explaining that the capital's problems can be found across Indonesia.

"It is a complex [issue]," he said, adding that voters can't expect Jakarta to solve "all the problems that could not be solved in other regions. Just see how many jobless people from other regions came to seek work in Jakarta. "Who should solve it."

Nachrowi also claimed that he and Fauzi had a public transit plan to address Jakarta's traffic woes. "Foke gets dizzy while handling the traffic jam every day," he said. "If other regional heads get dizzy, please imagine how bad Foke is suffering from a headache."

Economy & investment

Red tape, corruption push Indonesia down: WEF

Jakarta Post - September 6, 2012

Linda Yulisman and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Indonesia slipped four places in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) new global competitiveness index (GCI), particularly due to inefficient government bureaucracy and corruption, inadequate infrastructure, poor ethics in its national labor force and restrictive labor regulations.

The 2012-2013 report, published on Wednesday, showed that Indonesia's competitiveness ranking fell to 50th out of 144 countries surveyed, a further decline after last year's slide of two places. However, Indonesia remains one of the best-performing countries within the developing Asia region, ahead of the Philippines, Vietnam, and all South Asian nations, while still trailing Malaysia, China, and Thailand.

"The institutional framework [ranked 72nd] is undermined by concerns about corruption and bribery, unethical behavior within the private sector and the cost to business of crime and violence," the report read. The report also pointed out Indonesian infrastructure, ranked 78th, remained "largely underdeveloped".

On the positive side, the country's macroeconomic environment continued to be stable, supported by "solid performance" on fundamental indicators.

Ahmad Erani Yustika, an economist at the Institute for Economics and Financial Development (Indef), described the bureaucracy as a "deep-rooted" problem that the government had failed to address.

"Our bureaucracy, in the case of investment permit processes, has improved, but we've achieved that at a slower pace compared to other countries," he said.

Erani pointed to the low realization of government targets as caused by state budget disbursement delays as prominent consequences of the failure of bureaucratic reform in the country.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, who formerly chaired the Investment Coordinating Board (BKMP), said the drop in the competitiveness ranking would be the government's job to improve.

"We're moving in a fluid world, in which other countries may have worked harder than us. This [decline] is a kind of push for us to work even harder," he said on the sidelines of APEC-related meetings in Vladivostok, Russia.

However, Gita argued that another indicator to measure economic performance was investment, which currently showed an upward trend in the country.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is slated to be established in 2015, would pose a new challenge for Indonesia, especially if the government could not the address major bottlenecks that undermined its competitiveness.

"The real challenge will be the AEC, when investors can pick any country in the region as their production base. If the government fails to boost the country's competitiveness, it will become a market only," he said.

Analysis & opinion

The Jokowi factor and the future of Indonesia's democracy

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2012

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Jakarta – "It's Jokowi, stupid, not Prabowo!" one friend replied, paraphrasing Bill Clinton's famous slogan, to a colleague who had argued that it was the Prabowo factor – the supposedly leading candidate for the 2014 presidential elections – that pushed Joko "Jokowi" Widodo toward a surprising victory in the first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election last July.

So, did Jokowi win because of Prabowo, or has Prabowo's star risen thanks to Jokowi? The issue is important for 2014. The Jokowi-Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama ticket not only demonstrated its strength (43 percent) – much to the surprise of pollsters – it may have significant impact at a national level.

A few things need to be noted. First, the great surprise at Jokowi's victory suggests we have forgotten that Indonesia has demonstrated the potential for the emergence of charismatic, talented and populist leaders since the 1920s. Examples abound; H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto, Tan Malaka, Sukarno. In the early years of independence, these kinds of leaders acted as "solidarity makers" in contrast to regimented bureaucrats or "administrators".

And in times of crisis they thrive. Even the decades-long New Order authoritarian regime could not prevent the emergence of daring figures like Nahdlatul Ulama leader Subchan Z.E., who was mysteriously found dead in the early 1970s and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who was forced to play Soeharto's game until Soeharto himself was forced to resign.

This is not to unduly equate Jokowi with any past figures. The point is that the decades of Soeharto's "repressive stability" were deceptive; creating a false consciousness that ignores Indonesia's leadership potential. Having been stifled by the iron fist many have been surprised to see a leader propping up.

Second, the dispute about whether Muslims should accept a leader from a different faith (referring to Jokowi's alleged, and Ahok's actual, Christian faith), provoked by popular singer Rhoma Irama and silently acquiesced in by Governor Fauzi "Foke" Bowo shows how easy it is to play the sectarian card.

But, when a minister and leading politicians followed suit the public response changed from mute to anger. That tactic proved counterproductive despite the singer's melodramatic tears in public.

This points to the apparent modern perspective of most Jakartans; more sensitive to issues other than religious sentiments. One test of this will be whether the support of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Jakarta's second-biggest party, for Foke will make a difference in the second round on Sept. 20. Another will be whether recent terrorism-related incidents in Jokowi's city, Surakarta, will change the perceptions of the Jakarta electorate, probably not.

Third, the Jokowi phenomenon is not just a semblance of the past. It reflects the capital's conditions today. Jakarta, with pluriform, highly educated yet conservative layers and a growing lower-middle class, needs a new leader as the incumbent governor is seen as having achieved little to resolve the most glaring daily problems.

To be fair, Foke has built new infrastructure, for example to fight floods, but that is not exactly very visible to most people. The adage "Anyone But Foke" (Asal Jangan Foke) and Jokowi's amiable approach have been fatal for Foke as the latter is viewed as relying on a powerful elite, supported as he is by groups of property developers. Such an image – an arrogant chief – seemed confirmed when he called on victims of a fire who might have considered voting for Jokowi to move to Solo.

Foke has thus helped create conditions for a populist leader to emerge. Ironically, it was Jokowi's political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who had always supported Foke in the past. So it was last June that Prabowo came to support Jokowi-Ahok, and won over PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri's as she saw the chance for herself to be yet again a presidential hopeful.

Sources at the PDI-P, however, say this is not without risks. Megawati, whose popularity outside the party seems waning, should realize that "the hegemony of Sukarno family may soon end" as new leaders may emerge with better prospects than her daughter, Puan Maharani. Even if chosen as new governor, Jokowi may not be helpful.

But it is argued that if Megawati decides to resign, Jokowi, or Prabowo, could eventually ensure a state role – a kingmaker in 2014? – as an honorable swansong to her political carrier.

Prabowo's predicament is even more difficult. It remains to be seen whether his popularity will enable Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) to ensure his 2014 presidential bid. He may profit from Megawati's dilemma if the latter resigns, but what if the latter chooses Jokowi to be the party's presidential candidate?

Moreover, Prabowo cannot continue to ignore his past history as he remains seriously implicated in a number of atrocities in Timor Leste, Aceh and the May 1998 riots. Hence, he systematically attempted to forge a sort of reconciliation – with some financial assistance in lieu of pledges of political support – first, with Timor Leste (a diplomatic asset), then with former GAM rebel leaders who lead the province (a symbol of national unity) and now with Ahok (a symbol of the May 1998 victims) as Jokowi's partner. One wonders if Papuan leaders will be next.

Yet, what he essentially needs to do – and has presumably been doing – is to attract substantial support from PDI-P rank and file in order to ensure his own presidential bid. A fierce competition with Megawati and her party will naturally make it impossible for him to persuade her to retire.

In comparison, Jokowi has come relatively out of the blue. His background as a local businessman is similar to many politicians today and he has a good track record as a local mayor. His success story shows clever methods in persuading people, but he lacks organizational experience at the grassroots level and few know much about his plans, policies and concepts other than the human approach.

Populist leaders tend to ignore the consequences of growing social class divisions as global capitalist development penetrates deeper. Such leaders, according Peter Worsley's (1973) study of, among others, Sukarno and the Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah, may be able to forge national unity, but at the same time they have to struggle even harder to cope with the growing consequences of such development – in which both Sukarno and Nkrumah, amid the tensions of Cold War, failed.

With the Cold War gone, populist leaders now have a better chance. Yet to be attractive and to thrive, they need to address public discontent. Such feelings are now widespread and effectively summed up by the Indonesian word: kebablasan (gone too far).

Today everywhere we see discontent erupting in sectarian violence (Sampang is the latest example). Even liberal and educated elites have become wary of our kebablasan democracy, continuing uncertainty and a president who is indecisive.

Jakarta is not Indonesia, where radicals and fanatics in the regions can act badly without public resistance. And promises of strong leadership plus explosive economic growth, as Prabowo, whose ideal is China's authoritarian Deng Xiao-ping, pledged in Singapore recently, can be misleading.

These are not ingredients for a better future. If these conditions remain into the foreseeable future the fear will be that while the economy booms our political prospects will simply muddle along.

[The writer is a journalist.]

Commentary: SBY will never be brave enough to punish rights abusers

Jakarta Post - September 7, 2012

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – How can we believe in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ability to realize his promises on big issues when he intentionally broke the pledges he expressed tearfully – according to some eyewitnesses – to two ordinary Indonesians who asked him to find those responsible for the pain and misery they were suffering due to human rights violations?

In this very month, September, I wish to talk my fellow Indonesians who have lost their loved ones to or who have suffered from gross human rights violations perpetrated by the state and the government. I have no intention of discouraging your noble struggle. Your efforts deserve full support from all Indonesians, because your ordeal can happen to us too. Allow me to share with you some bitter facts.

September is generally perceived as the right month to promote human rights issues in our country, while under the Soeharto regime it was the perfect moment to frighten people over the latent dangers of communism. Very often the issue was exploited to scare Soeharto's critics.

Do you remember human rights activist Munir Said bin Thalib, who was poisoned to death en route to Amsterdam from Jakarta? He died aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight eight years ago on Sept. 7, 2004.

Please also check on Google the assault of Tama S. Langkun, an activist of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), who was assaulted on July 8, 2010. The suspected perpetrators included some police officers.

Let me be straight. It is totally absurd for you to expect SBY to uphold the justice that you have been fighting for, in some cases for decades. For the President, human rights are the last priority because the issue creates "unnecessary" problems for the "good" image of his government. The President of course has often made promises that justice should be upheld at all costs and that he would exercise his presidential powers to find the perpetrators of crimes against humanity.

But I dare to bet (gambling is illegal and haram in this country) that President Yudhoyono does not – and will never have – the guts to punish those who have acted on behalf of the state to kill, torture or rob citizens of Indonesia of their constitutional rights in the name of national interests. To make it clear, SBY prefers to assume that nothing is wrong with human rights here, or that the level of violations is much lower than what victims and activists have claimed.

His ministers, top intelligence officials, his police generals, close aides and bootlickers around him perhaps will be outraged with my conclusion. They may scold me. "Who do you think you are to make such a slanderous statement?" they may say. They can easily arrange lengthy press conferences to convince the nation that the Yudhoyono administration is strongly committed to the rights of the country's citizens. But commitment and realization are two very different things.

The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has issued a very long list of human rights abuses allegedly committed by the state. The commission repeatedly demanded that the government honestly reopen investigations into human rights violations committed in the aftermath of the coup attempt blamed on the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) on Sept. 30, 1965. Thousands or perhaps millions of Indonesians – be they communists, anti-communists, victims of slander and innocent people – were slain before, during and after this national tragedy.

Demands were also made of the government to find the truth behind the Tanjung Priok riots, where hundreds of Muslims were killed or tortured by the military on Sept. 12, 1984. In the May 1998 riots, hundreds of people were burned to death and many women of Chinese ethnicity were harassed and even raped. Crimes against humanity have also occurred in Aceh, Papua and in our former colony of East Timor.

These gross human rights violations will remain dark chapters in our history. To be fair it is not just Yudhoyono who has been reluctant to take the risk of reopening these cases. His predecessor, president Megawati Soekarnoputri, even scolded her fanatic supporters who demanded that she find the truth behind the assaults and killings of her followers by the military and police during the takeover of her own Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters on July 27, 1996. She said she had never asked them to sacrifice their life for hers.

Yudhoyono has repeatedly said that no one can escape the truth. So how to prove my claim that he will never take any meaningful actions to prove his pledge? Highly intellectual people or those who think they know the best about justice perhaps will laugh at my arguments.

There is a famous saying: "If you are faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in large ones."

Just several weeks after he won the presidential election in 2004, Yudhoyono assured Munir's widow, Suciwati, that he would find the killer(s) of her fearless husband Munir. Until now, however, only an ex-Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budi Hari Priyanto, has been convicted of the murder, while the mastermind(s) remain at large.

Then, SBY shook Tama's hands in the hospital where he was treated after being assaulted by four unknown men (some say they were police officers), and he swore that Tama's attackers would not escape justice. And the result? No one has been brought to court, let alone convicted.

Is my conclusion wrong?

Sampang solution?

Jakarta Post Editorial - September 5, 2012

Hundreds of Indonesians are on the brink of being driven permanently from their homes by fellow citizens, sharing the fate of thousands before them in other sectarian conflicts. The difference is that the latest bunch of displaced villagers are from a minority Muslim denomination, which apparently faces greater challenges than those of a different religion altogether.

Villagers from Sampang regency in Madura, East Java, have taken refuge in an indoor tennis stadium for more than a week now. The followers of the Shia minority sect were attacked by a crowd on the morning of Sunday Aug. 26, just as they were celebrating the customary Lebaran Tupat, a week after the Idul Fitri celebrations at the end of the Ramadhan fasting month.

The attackers were fellow Muslims from the Sunni majority; two men were killed, one from each side, and another remains in a critical condition. The government has offered to "relocate" the villagers, even though there is no guarantee that the new, unidentified, location will be any safer for the displaced community. This uncertainty leads to the question: Will Indonesia's Shiites share the fate of the Ahmadi minority?

About 100 Ahmadis have remained in shelters since they were attacked in 2006 in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. In the wake of the attacks Muslim leaders quickly reiterated that Shiites were Muslims, thus apparently having a better guarantee as Indonesian citizens. However the Shiites were attacked anyway, just as in the previous assaults against the Ahmadis that ended with two dead in Banten last year and just like the intimidation and threats against Christians, although without the forced disruption of hundreds of congregations and sealing of churches.

All this shows clearly to the world how Indonesia manages its differences; it doesn't, we just hide them from sight. To think that only a few years ago visiting State Secretary Hillary Clinton cited Indonesia as the world's model where Islam and democracy could live side by side.

The case of the Sampang Shiite refugees is not on the scale of the dramatic stories from Maluku and Central Sulawesi years ago where Muslims and Christians terrorized and killed each other, displacing thousands of residents. One would have thought that the local and central government, honed so long on the values of Pancasila and respect for diversity and humanity, could manage the tensions between a few villagers.

The protracted uncertainty over the Shiite minority demonstrates the glaring trend of continued failure to protect all citizens, not only at a local level. Sampang officials have insisted that they tried all they could to mediate the conflict between local Shiite leaders and the Sunni ulema, the most influential party in Madura.

Human rights watchdog, Setara, has listed hundreds of cases of religious- based violence and discrimination. They include numerous bylaws restricting minorities like the Ahmadi, and also local regulations inhibiting freedom of worship for Christians. And yet the government has deemed that these policies do not exceed the authority of regional governments, neither do they contravene the Constititution.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has left local leaders to solve such problems largely by themselves. Yet the Constitution is crystal clear on the state's obligation to protect all citizens equally and to guarantee their rights to a decent life.

Strangely, while ministers dismiss the Sampang attacks as a family feud following a love affair involving Shia and Sunni relatives, they continue to offer to "relocate" the entire Shiite community from their homes.

Many Indonesians may dismiss the Sampang attacks as an unfortunate excess of the notoriously volatile Madurese culture. But unless the government immediately guarantees the safety of the Shia minority, without displacing them, the message that minorities have long suspected is only reinforced – that beautiful Indonesia is not really safe for them.

We need the truth on West Papua

New Matlida - September 5, 2012

Richard Di Natale – Severe abuses of human and democratic rights continue in West Papua as the indigenous population struggles for the right to decide their own future as a people. As the violence escalates, it's important we know what role Australia is playing in supporting the Indonesian security forces working in the region.

As the news from our neighbours in West Papua worsens, it has become more urgent that we critically examine Australia's connections to the alleged perpetrators of violence. This includes Detachment 88, an elite counter- terrorist unit that Australia helps to train. It appears that their remit has not been limited to counter-terrorism, as they appear to be engaged in "counter-separatist" operations against the indigenous people of West Papua.

Many Australians from right across the country have contacted me to urge advocacy and action on behalf of our West Papuan neighbours. I'm deeply concerned about how Australian funding is being spent and the level of accountability that goes with it. Human rights standards must be attached to the support we give to the Indonesian military and police. It's time for Australians to have clear information about what our military and police training funding is supporting.

The recent history of West Papua is a violent one. The Indigenous people of West Papua have been waiting a long time to have a say in their own political future.

Self-determination, a right belonging to all people, was denied to them when a sham referendum ironically labelled the "Act of Free Choice" saw their land formally annexed to Indonesia in 1969. A true act of self- determination should have occurred, but it did not. The Papuans were denied their chance to vote on their future. Instead, there was an atmosphere of violence and intimidation, with 1022 hand-picked Papuans assembled, cajoled, bribed and threatened into voting to become part of the Republic of Indonesia.

During the many decades of Indonesian occupation since 1969 we've seen an alarming number of disappearances, imprisonments and deaths of West Papuan people, with strong evidence that many of these atrocities can be attributed to Indonesian security forces.

As Marni Cordell reported in New Matilda, details about Australia's support for the Detachment 88 counter-terrorist unit are difficult to confirm. I've been working in the Parliament and in Senate Estimates to ask questions about Australia's role in the imprisonment of political activists and deaths reported from the region.

So far, detailed answers have been difficult to come by. Our Foreign Minister states that our role in training these forces ensures that Australian standards of human rights protections are conveyed. That is commendable, but the evidence is mounting that these standards are not being upheld on the ground.

Detachment 88 has been alleged to be involved in several incidents over the past year, a particularly bloody one in West Papua. This includes the recent killing of West Papuan independence leader Mako Tabuni. Awareness about this killing was raised in Australia following last week's reports on ABC's 7.30. Two journalists went undercover into West Papua, despite significant restrictions on press movement in the region.

Of particular importance were the first-hand accounts that the 7.30 journalists gathered from observers of the killing of Tabuni. The evidence to demonstrate Detachment 88's involvement was strong. Yet his family and fellow independence activists mourn without any process of justice to examine the circumstan ces of his death.

I was heartened by Minister Carr's call for an inquiry into Mako Tabuni's killing, when questioned about the evidence presented by the ABC. It is important that the Foreign Minister takes a leadership role. He needs to make it very clear to his counterpart in Indonesia that what's going on in the region is unacceptable.

West Papua presents a challenge for Australian diplomacy and for the global community. It is a challenge that this nation and indeed the world is yet to meet. It's important that Australia plays a role in supporting counter- terrorism training in our region. But this cooperative approach should be extended to upholding human rights.

Our partnership with Indonesia must be based on mutual respect and a mutual commitment to advance democracy and the rights of the region's peoples. We should take seriously any reports that Australian-trained or Australian- funded Indonesian forces are acting with impunity in the troubled West Papua region.

Will development challenges create a marriage of executive cohabitation?

Development Policy Blog - September 5, 2012

Sue Ingram – On 8 August 2012 the Fifth Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste, formed following Parliamentary elections on 7 July and led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, was sworn in by President Taur Matan Ruak (better known as TMR).

The speeches given on the occasion of the swearing-in by the Prime Minister and the President were rather different in theme and tone. The PM's speech was upbeat: he hailed the achievements of the government he had led over the preceding five years in breaking the cycle of violence that had plagued Timor in the initial years following its independence in 2002, and committed the new government to consolidating stability and bringing progress and welfare to all Timorese.

The policy priorities which he outlined in his speech – health, education, social protection, infrastructure, building the non-oil economy – drew on the themes of the twenty-year Strategic Development Plan which his previous government had developed and seen through Parliament in 2011.

In contrast, the President's speech focussed on the immediate challenges confronting the country, and the language was uncompromising:

To build the country we dream of we have ahead of us battles so hard and stringent as the battles we have had in the past.... No one disputes that in the last ten years we have made significant progress. Yet as we look around us and analyse the situation of the country, what do we see? We see very low levels of income, a fragile economic fabric, high external dependence, low levels of infrastructure, unbalanced regional development, with unruly urban growth and large differences among cities and with rural areas, low levels of wellbeing, a weak administrative structure and low technical and scientific wellbeing.

The President's remarks reflected a broad concern about the extent of the urban/rural divide and patterns of social inequality in Timor-Leste. While the flow of petroleum revenue has pushed up economic growth and gross national income, the statistics belie the real living conditions of much of the population. Timor-Leste remains in the low human development segment of UNDP's Human Development Index, only slightly ahead of PNG and just behind Pakistan and Bangladesh. Data included in the 2011 Strategic Development Plan [pdf] indicate that almost half the population lives below the poverty line and 58 percent of children are stunted due to malnutrition.

Around 75 percent of the population lives outside the urban areas and is largely dependent on subsistence agriculture. Opportunities for wage labour are limited, with earnings otherwise coming from the sale of coffee or small agricultural surpluses. An important distributional initiative of the last government was the introduction of pensions for the elderly and disabled, poor female-headed households and veterans. While individual payments are modest, in total over $US100million is distributed annually, much of which goes into rural households. Prime Minister Gusmao, in his swearing-in speech, undertook to embed the assistance scheme.

While social transfers are bringing cash into rural communities, the reach and quality of other government services in these areas remains relatively poor. The UN Transitional Administration controversially established a highly centralised government administration despite some strong calls for a much more deconcentrated model. After independence, successive governments have put decentralisation on the public policy agenda, but so far it has gone no further. In his swearing-in speech, PM Gusmao foreshadowed action on decentralisation, although it is unclear from his statement what form it will take.

While the countryside languishes the capital, Dili, has become a boom town. The process began under the UN Transitional Administration: the city was cashed up by the international presence and became a magnet for internal migrants and returnees from across the border in West Timor. Dili's population has almost doubled in the last decade and the last census showed a disproportionate number of males, most marked in the 20-39 age group. Job opportunities, however, fall well short of the numbers entering the labour market.

How will these issues play out in the life of the government, and what influence is the President likely to have?

Under Timor-Leste's constitution, power to initiate policy and legislation is concentrated in the Prime Minister, working as necessary through the Parliament. The President, however, has important powers to influence the direction of public policy, including through the request for judicial review of legislation and through the exercise of legislative veto.

The first government after independence involved a very uncomfortable cohabitation between a politically opposed Prime Minister and President, and then President Gusmao used both his moral authority and his formal powers to stymie key policies of the Alkitiri government. Cohabitation arguably re-emerged in the latter years of the last government as PM Gusmao and President Horta diverged, most obviously over fiscal policy.

President TMR is a close ally of PM Gusmao: their relationship goes back to the days of the resistance struggle and TMR took over as on-the-ground leader of the armed wing after Gusmao was captured and imprisoned by Indonesian forces in 1992. The PM threw his considerable authority as charismatic leader and national hero (although, as he was careful to distinguish, not as PM) behind TMR's run-off campaign for President. But as TMR settles into his role, will he seek to shape the policy agenda? He has already shown he is no rubber stamp, objecting to the Prime Minister's nominee for Minister for Defence who was subsequently withdrawn. More recently, he has used his public declaration of assets as a platform to advocate "clean and self-disciplined politics" and to decry the corruption that "is slowly and insidiously infecting our society".

Prime Minister Gusmao is no stranger to the effects of Presidential activism and may be anxious to forestall it in the current term. In his swearing-in speech, the Prime Minister addressed the following words directly to the President: "We believe that the working relationship between our two institutions will be guided by a spirit of cooperation, trust and solidarity." Presumably no Prime Minister – or President for that matter – can find much joy in cohabitation.

[Sue Ingram is a PhD student with State, Society and Governance in Melanesia, researching post-conflict political settlements in Timor-Leste and Bougainville. Sue has previously worked as a senior executive with the Australian Government, held senior posts in UN and regional peacekeeping and stabilisation missions and worked as a governance consultant. The original title of this article was: "Will Timor's development challenges push a close political marriage down the path of executive cohabitation?".]

Commentary by Damien Kingsbury

Your article on 'cohabitation' raises two interesting points.

I think everyone agrees that while there has been significant progress in Timor-Leste over the past several years, much remains to be done. In one sense, the PM's speech was 'glass half full', while the President's speech was 'glass half empty'. The actual amount in the 'glass' remains the same.

Importantly, the PM's vision for development focuses on 'front end' spending, which has been heavily criticised, with good reason, by organisations such as Lao Hamutuk. In short, spending now to buy a better future may not work, is financially unsustainable and produces a range of further problems, not least of which is corruption. Although the President does not have an economic plan for Timor-Leste as such, he appears to be promoting a similar approach.

The real issue, though, as you note, perhaps focuses more on decentralisation, to ensure the spread of benefits more widely across Timor-Leste's society. As you will be aware, the decentralisation program – which is constitutionally mandated – has been delayed a number of times, primarily due to disagreement over the extent of devolution of authority. Politicians rarely enjoy giving up power or financial control of resources. The current plan is, therefore, for a minimalist form of decentralisation to take place in 2014. That plan now appears to be on track, although the extent of its impact will probably be reduced in line with the reduction in the financial and administrative scope of the new local governments.

The central issue in the article, however, concerned 'cohabitation'. This raises two matters, the first of which is that 'cohabitation' between the PM and the President does not imply any greater effectiveness in addressing development issues – there is simply no logical connection between the two. Part of the issue is that 'cohabitation' means that executive responsibility is shared between the PM and the President, and the term was developed in conjunction with the other term sometimes used to describe Timor-Leste's political system: 'semi-presidentialism'. In such systems, the President usually has responsibility for external affairs, with the PM retaining responsibility for internal affairs. This does not describe the status of Timor-Leste's political system not, without significant constitutional change, can it. The point is, though, that under 'cohabitation', the President is not involved in economic planning. Even if the President did have some executive economic responsibility, there is no guarantee that this would lead to better development outcomes, especially if the President did not work in lock-step with the rest of the government.

You are right to note that the first post-independence government saw considerable friction between the PM and the President. This was because Gusmao optedg for the presidency before the constitution was adopted, historical anomosities between himself and the PM, and the (Weberian) charismatic status that Gusmao held at the time which was not equalled by the PM. Similarly, President Ramos-Horta attempted to involve himself in executive matters on a couple of occasions, with results that cannot be described as constructive. None of this supported an argument for constitutional change.

It is true that, as President, TMR rejected the nomination of the defence minister. In this, he clearly went beyond his constitutional authority, which requires him to 'follow' the recommendation of the PM on such matters. But to keep the peace, Gusmao acceded. The President's power to send legislation for review provides a limited check but, as the constitution clearly notes, even if he vetoes legislation, the parliament can still overturn the veto and pass the legislation. In this sense, the President does have a moderate power, but it is one of a limited 'check and balance', not one of initiative. And again, this does not imply a tendency towards cohabitation.

The importance of this discussion is, I think, that with some degree of continuing confusion about the status of the President within Timor-Leste (mostly due to a lack of familiarity with the constitution), should there be a serious disagreement between the PM and the President, it could potentially lead to civil strife. This would especially be the case had the PM and the President been elected from opposing political camps. Fortunately, however, they were not, so this scenario is much less likely. However, while the President is encouraged to assume powers beyond those identified in the constitution, there will continue to be potential for further errors of 'competency', such as that when the previous president engaged in discussion with the Australian government over the establishment of an asylum seeker processing centre in Timor-Leste. Had the President more regard for his (limited) constitutional powers, he would have deferred such a proposal to the PM, where it would have been quietly and quickly rejected. Let's hope, then, that TMR, as President, respects the constitutional limitations of his office and that, the government exercising its constitutional authority, ensures that the benefits of develop are shared more evenly by the people of Timor-Leste.

New findings on the 1965 Indonesian tragedy

Jakarta Post - September 1, 2012

Asvi Warman Adam, Jakarta – The recent publication of "The 1965-1966 Indonesian Killings Revisited" seminar results in Singapore in 2009, entitled The Contours of Mass Violence in Indonesia, 1965-68, edited by Douglas Kammen and Katherine McGregor, was driven by the fact that very few books on the 1965 mass killings can be found.

It was only in 1990 that a book edited by Robert Cribb was published, The Indonesian Killings of 1965-1966: Studies from Java and Bali – a work translated into Indonesian in the era of reform.

Unlike other books on the cleansing of Indonesian communists, The Contours of Mass Violence in Indonesia tries not only to determine how many people fell victim to the tragedy, but also to provide considered responses to questions such as when did the violence erupt, which parties were involved in which regions, why the death toll in a particular area was higher than the numbers of fatalities recorded in other locations, and whether there was any connection between the central government and the cases of violence emerging in various regions.

The book uses "mass violence" instead of "mass killings" in the title because what took place at the time was not only the killing of people, but also included the eight elements of a crime against humanity (genocide, slavery, forced displacement, deprivation of liberty, torture, rape, persecution and forced disappearance), which was exactly what the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) found and announced on July 23.

The book inexplicably zeroes in on the period of 1965-1968, as the Moncongloe camp for communists (and the island of Buru) was only constructed in 1969. Whereas the issue of a wide variation in the number of deaths – between 78,500 and 3 million – was resolved by coming up with a moderate figure of 500,000 casualties.

However, it is difficult to provide a satisfactory answer to why the mass killings actually occurred. Answers could include intensifying ideological conflicts and competition among political parties; local factors, from land disputes to aristocracy's attempts of survival; economic setbacks coupled with hyper inflation and food scarcity; and high-risk foreign policy.

All these issues did contribute to the escalating crisis, but it was never clear as to how they eventually led to mass killings.

It would also be inappropriate to relate the killings to the Cold War, and to say that they were purposefully concerted to wipe out the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). The acts represented the first stage in the plan to oust president Sukarno and strike a hard blow against those considered leftists.

The next stage was to initiate a social reorganization and integrate Indonesia into the world of the capitalist economy.

The editors tried to divide their book into four periods of research (October-December 1965, January-May 1966, June-October 1966 and 1967-1968) based on the intensity of arrests and killings in various regions.

In November 1967, there was reportedly an engineered attempt to get Dayaks to attack people of Chinese ethnicity in West Kalimantan. In 1968, the Trisula operation managed to kill and detain nearly 100 communists hiding out in South Blitar in East Java.

Chinese people also fell victim to a 1965-related event in Medan, North Sumatra – when groups of protesters rallied outside the PRC's consulate office on Dec.10, 1965. The situation got out of hand, and looting and killing started and quickly spread to nearby areas. Around 200 Chinese were killed.

During March-April 1966, buildings that belonged to Chinese organizations in North Sumatra were taken over. In May 1996, the People's Republic of China sent a vessel to pick up thousands of their "citizens" over four voyages. Every entry of the ship into the port sparked another act of violence against local Chinese.

Camp Moncongloe, 30 kilometers from Makassar, was commissioned as a long- term detention center for B-class political prisoners. It was meant to be a self-sufficient camp where prisoners planted their own produce, and the home-grown vegetables could even be sold for the benefit of the camp officers. People detained in the center were also ordered to work without pay, and constructed 300 residential units for the Hasanuddin Regional Military Command.

An article by David Jenkins and Douglas Kammen unveiled military operations run by the Army Paratroop Command Regiment (RPKAD) led by Sarwo Edhi in Central Java. Contrary to what Robert Cribb reported in his book, Jenkins and Kammen revealed that the special force troops were later deployed to East Java. Horizontal conflicts in East Java led to the massacre of communist groups – the killings supported by the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leadership, as described in the writing of Greg Fealy and Katherine McGregor.

International aspects of the events were discussed by Bradley Simpson, noting that the fall of communism in Indonesia had an impact on United States' foreign policy. The US believed that the duty to defend Vietnam would not be as difficult as guarding a reddening Indonesia. It was the other way round for the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China – they backed North Vietnam and urged them not to give up.

Katherine McGregor wrote about an attempt to dig up a mass grave in Wonosobo by the 1965 survivors, with support from a team of forensics, and another attempt to rebury remains of the victims of the anti-communist purges in the district of Kaloran, Central Java, which failed following resistance from local groups.

An interesting article by John Roosa showed that the discourse on the PKI being the force behind the "Sept. 30 Movement" (G30S), consistently backed by the New Order regime for many years, turned out to be controversial. (Roosa uses the term "aporia").

It has never been clear who masterminded the movement (Aidit, the Special Bureau, the Central Committee or PKI?), what G30S actually was (a coup, rebellious act or just kidnapping/killing of a number of high-ranking army officers?) and how the PKI was crushed (were there mass killings or were there in fact no massacres at all?).

Obscurity means that there is no need for the head of state to provide an apology, and no legal process would be necessary. When John Roosa's book was banned by the Attorney General's Office in December 2009, the spokesperson for the office, responding to questions raised by the press, said that there were 143 objections to the publication.

But when the journalists demanded further explanations, he said that "there is no need to go into details". Something that is unclear is clearly not subject to debate.