Arientha Primanita & Bayu Marhaenjati – Government officials and Islamic leaders on Friday urged Indonesia's Muslims to remain unprovoked as hard- line groups staged a demonstration in anger over a recently released anti- Islamic film.

"All elements of society must maintain religious harmony, so that the security and comfort of the people can be fulfilled," said Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) on Friday also asked Muslims here not to be provoked by the movie "Innocence of Muslims," but at the same time demanded that legal action be taken against the film's producer.

Amid increasingly violent anti-US protests in the Middle East in response to the movie, MUI deputy chairman Amidhan said Muslims should stay cool- headed and advised against conducting protest rallies.

"Don't overreact," Amidhan said in Jakarta, adding that MUI nevertheless condemned the movie. "Whoever made the movie must be punished. The [Indonesian] government should respond to this quickly because this movie degrades the Prophet Muhammad."

A similar call came from the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP), which demanded that the movie be banned while, along with the nation's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, asking Indonesian Muslims to exercise restraint.

"We hope that the Indonesian Muslim community doesn't get provoked by the circulation of the movie to commit actions that are against the law," PPP deputy chairman Arwani Thomafi said on Friday.

Officials have expressed concern that violence in reaction to the film could spread to Indonesia following violent protests in Egypt, Yemen and Libya, where an attack killed the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans at a US consulate in the city of Benghazi.

In Jakarta, more than 350 Muslim fundamentalists and their supporters staged an anti-US demonstration on Friday, spewing anger at the United States over the anti-Islamic film.

Outside the US Embassy, the protesters – men and women with children in tow – carried banners that read "We condemn the insult against Allah's messenger," and the Koranic verse "There is no God but Allah."

A speaker from the pro-Caliphate organization Hizbut-Tahrir, which organized the protest, told the crowd: "This film insulted our prophet and we condemn it. The film is a declaration of war." The crowd shouted back: "Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest), while police clad in riot gear stood guard nearby.

Another speaker declared: "The US does not deserve to stay here," as the crowd roared that Americans be expelled from the world's largest Muslim nation.

Protests have erupted since Tuesday outside US diplomatic missions in several Arab and Muslim states against the low-budget movie, made in the United States and deemed offensive to Islam.

Washington has sought to keep a lid on the demonstrations by spelling out that the controversial film, made available on YouTube, was produced privately by individuals with no official backing.

Jakarta Police spokesman Rikwanto said about 400 officers had been deployed to guard the US Embassy in the capital.

The embassy posted a new security message for US citizens on its website, saying that in light of the protests "we strongly encourage you to follow good personal security practices, maintain a heightened situational awareness, and remain vigilant of your surroundings at all times."

The US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans were killed when heavily-armed extremists launched a sustained four-hour attack on the US consulate in Benghazi late Tuesday.

[Additional reporting from AFP & Antara.]

'Don't overreact' to anti-Islam movie: Indonesian Muslim leaders

Jakarta Globe - September 14, 2012

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) on Friday asked Muslims here not to be provoked by the anti-Islam movie "Innocence of Muslims," but at the same time demanded that legal action be taken against the producer.

Amid increasing violent anti-US protests in response to the movie in the Middle East, MUI deputy chairman Amidhan said Muslims should stay cool- headed and advised against conducting rallies to protest it.

"Don't overreact," Amidhan said in Jakarta on Friday, as quoted by the Indonesian news portal tempo.co, adding that Muslims should not be affected by the movie.

But he added that the MUI nevertheless condemned the movie and demanded that legal action be taken against the producer. "Whoever made the movie must be punished. The [Indonesian] government should respond to this quickly because this movie degrades the Prophet Muhammad," he said.

A similar call came from the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP), which demanded the movie be banned but asked Indonesian Muslims not to be provoked by it.

"We hope that the Indonesian Muslim community doesn't get provoked by the circulation of the movie to commit actions that are against the law," PPP deputy chairman Arwani Thomafi said on Friday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

"We believed that Indonesian Muslims, who are known to be moderate, can restrain themselves from doing actions that will be counterproductive to Islam in Indonesia," he added.

Meanwhile, hard-line Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia said it was planning to stage a protest against the airing of the movie, reportedly produced by a California man, in front of the US Embassy in Jakarta on Friday.

"We condemn the making and the spread of the movie that humiliates the prophet. Muslims are obliged to protect and defend his honor using all force," HTI spokesman Muhammad Ismail Yusanto said in a written statement.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denounced the movie on Thursday, while Indonesia's Communications and Information Ministry has asked YouTube to block access to the movie to prevent it from being viewed in Indonesia.

YouTube said on Wednesday it was restricting access in Libya and Egypt. In Indonesia, trailers for the low-budget film remain accessible on the video-sharing website.

Violent outbursts following the airing of the movie trailer killed the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi. Violent protests have also been reported in Egypt and Yemen.

The low-budget movie portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent. It pokes fun at the Prophet Muhammad and touches on themes of pedophilia and homosexuality, while showing him sleeping with women, talking about killing children and referring to a donkey as "the first Muslim animal."

Indonesian protesters say anti-Islam film declares war

Agence France Presse - September 14, 2012

More than 350 Muslim fundamentalists and their supporters staged an anti-US demonstration in Jakarta on Friday, spewing anger at America over an anti- Islam film.

Outside the US embassy in the Indonesian capital, the protesters – men and women with children in tow – carried banners that read "We condemn the insult against Allah's messenger," and the Koranic verse "There is no God but Allah."

A speaker from the pro-Caliphate organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir that organized the protest, told the crowd: "This film insulted our prophet and we condemn it. The film is a declaration of war."

The crowd shouted back: "Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest), while police clad in riot gear stood guard nearby.

Another speaker declared: "The US does not deserve to stay here," as the crowd roared that Americans be expelled from the world's largest Muslim nation.

Protests have erupted since Tuesday outside US diplomatic missions in several Arab and Muslim states against the low-budget movie "Innocence of Muslims", made in the United States and deemed offensive to Islam.

Washington has sought to keep a lid on the demonstrations by spelling out that the controversial film which sparked the violence was made privately by a small group of individuals with no official backing.

Jakarta Police spokesman Rikwanto said about 400 policemen had been deployed to guard security around the US Embassy in Jakarta. A strong police contingent, including dozens in riot gear, stood guard before the embassy grounds.

The US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans were killed when heavily-armed extremists launched a sustained four-hour attack on the US consulate in Benghazi late Tuesday.

In the Yemeni capital, police on Thursday shot dead four protesters and wounded 34 others when they opened fire on a crowd attempting to storm the US embassy.

In the Egyptian capital Cairo, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters outside the embassy, injuring more than 200 people, the health ministry there said.

Actions, demos, protests...

Students rally against tobacco conference

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

Luh De Suriyani – Dozens of students from Udayana University marched from their campus building to the Bali Legislative Council building on Friday afternoon to lodge a protest against the planned World Tobacco Asia (WTA) conference to be held in Jakarta from Sept. 19 through Sept 21.

The students submitted a letter of protest signed by influential public health institutions and organizations in Bali, including the Public Health Experts Association (IAKMI), Bali Child Protection Agency, Bali Legal Aid Council, the Association of Medical Faculties Alumni in Bali, university student councils and others.

Kadek Dwi Putra, coordinator of the Udayana University's Students Movement for Anti-Tobacco Awareness, said that by Indonesia hosting a world-scale tobacco conference, it could mean the country endorsed the tobacco industry's aggressive marketing programs.

"Indonesia is currently considered a flourishing market by the tobacco industry with its rapid growth of young smokers aged even as young as between 5 and 9 years old," Putra said.

Participants at the Friday rally were clad in their blue university jackets carrying huge banners stating the dangers of tobacco consumption on the future of Indonesia's young people.

Karyasa Adnyana, deputy chairman of Commission IV of the Bali Legislative Council, said when receiving the student delegation that the Council would immediately channel their aspirations and would contact the conference organizer.

Last year, the legislative council ratified bylaw No. 10/2011 on smoke-free zones, previously set to come into effect on June 1, 2012, but Governor Made Mangku Pastika delayed the enforcement of the bylaw as the administration needed more time to familiarize the public with its contents.

Previously, the administration had promised to enact the bylaw in stages. In the first stage of implementation, the prohibition would be enacted in government offices, schools and healthcare facilities. The bylaw would then soon include hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, nightclubs and places of worship.

The smoke-free zones bylaw states that many public places are to be smoke free. This also includes playgrounds, traditional and modern markets, terminals, airports and public transportation.

Advertising and sales of tobacco products have also been banned in these places, except for those regulated by a specific governor regulation. Violations of the bylaw can be punished by up to three months' imprisonment and a fine of Rp 50,000 (US$5.20).

"The bylaw has not been effective. We have still found ashtrays and cigarettes in offices and public buildings, including in the offices of the legislative council," Putra said.

I Made Kertana, a lecturer in the public health department of the school of medicine at Udayana University, stated that his department had conducted a survey last year showing the tourist industry's strong support for the no- smoking bylaw.

"Many hotels agree that the enforcement of no-smoking zones will create a healthy and clean environment, which in turn will maintain the tourists' health," Kertana said.

The survey also revealed teen smoking habits in Denpasar – Targeting 194 teen respondents, the survey showed that 34 percent of smoking teenagers were 13 to 22 years old. Around 60 percent of young smokers were junior high school students.

Around 69 percent of young smokers came from families that smoke. Around 48 percent had started smoking just to taste their first cigarette, while 26 percent of young smokers said they were afraid of being called "chicken" if they did not smoke.

Meanwhile, data from the National Child Protection Commission (KPAI) estimated that there were 230,000 children under 10 years old in Indonesia who were already active smokers.

"The tobacco industry has overpowered our nation," said Arist Merdeka Sirait, KPAI chairman.

Blockade creates traffic jam on trans-Kalimantan highway

Jakarta Globe - September 15, 2012

Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan – Hundreds of villagers in the North Penajam Paser district on Friday returned home and opened their blockade on the Trans-Kalimantan Highway, but threatened to stage a bigger action if their demands were not met by Monday.

On Thursday, the villagers blockaded the highway over complaints that the section of road passing through their area has still not been paved.

The protest on Thursday by residents of Labangka village, along the 41- kilometer stretch of highway linking East and South Kalimantan, caused a massive traffic jam that lasted a few hours.

"We will return if the government doesn't listen to us," Labangan Atan, the Labangka village chief, said on Friday. "We'll wait until Monday. If there is no response by then, we will return."

Labangan said residents had, for the past two months, called on the authorities to pave the stretch of road running through their area, because the dust raised by vehicles was causing health problems among the villagers.

"We've reminded them repeatedly to lay down a layer of asphalt as soon as possible, but they still haven't done it," he said. "A lot of villagers are now suffering from respiratory problems, so we have no choice but to protest by blocking the road."

The blockade began at 8 a.m., and was lifted three hours later following talks between the villagers, police and the local public works office.

Labangan said the authorities promised to pave the three-kilometer stretch of highway before the end of the week. However, he warned that their failure to do so would prompt the villagers to block the road again.

"This is not the first time we've had to resort to this kind of action," he said. "We first blockaded the road two days earlier, but there was no response from the authorities that time. Only after we did it a second time did they take notice."

Joniansyah, head of the roads and bridges unit at the East Kalimantan Public Works Office, called the villagers' blockade regrettable and said that the road was due to be paved but there was a delay because of the Idul Fitri holiday at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"What they did inconvenienced hundreds of people," he said. "They should have just waited. We were indeed running behind schedule because of the holiday, but we'll definitely finish the paving before next week."

Hilmasyah, a truck driver who was among those stuck in the traffic jam, said his entire shipment of fresh fruit and vegetables was ruined because of the delay.

"I was supposed to have reached Balikpapan earlier in the day, but because of the blockade I won't make it there today," he said on Thursday. "The produce was supposed to be delivered and sold, so I've definitely lost money."

Roadwork is being done along stretches of the Trans-Kalimantan Highway, which has fallen into heavy disrepair.

Indonesian punks protest to demand release of Pussy Riot

Jakarta Globe - September 12, 2012

Abdul Qowi Bastian – About a dozen Indonesian punks held a rally on Wednesday in front of the Russian embassy in Jakarta to demand the release of the Russian female punk rock band Pussy Riot, now serving two years in prison for "hooliganism" after they held an impromptu show criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We demand that President SBY exerts pressure on the Russian government for the release of Pussy Riot, and to provide room for freedom of expression, as well as eliminate repressive actions," said Michael, one of the protesters, referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by his initials.

Grouped under the Solidarity of Free Humans, the group comprised of just a few dozen said that the moment was ideal, after President Yudhoyono recently met with Putin during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok, Russia.

Michael said that when punks came under fire from shariah police in Aceh in late 2011, support for the embattled teens poured in from overseas, including from punk groups in Russia, who sprayed graffiti on the outer wall of the Indonesian embassy in Moscow in a December protest. "How could we not care when they are facing problems there?" Michael said.

Russian press attache Dmitry Solodov, who met with the protestors, said the embassy respected the act of freedom of expression by the protestors.

Michael, who did not identify himself as a punk, said the group had no plans to stop their protest at the embassy. "There will be more surprises. We will not stop until our voice is heard," he said.

In December last year, shariah police in Aceh arrested 65 punks and detained them for 10 days for "re-education" through "spiritual and physical coaching." Authorities argued that the punk's lifestyle ran against Islamic teachings.

Earlier this month, shariah police in Aceh continued their crackdown on the punks again, arresting five youths in a raid on an internet cafe in Banda Aceh.

Public lecture by Prabowo interrupted by protest action

Detik News - September 11, 2012

Angling Adhitya Purbaya, Semarang – Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) board of patrons chairperson Prabowo Subianto give a public lecture today at the Diponegoro University (Undip) in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang.

Half way through the lecture however, students in the seating area on level two suddenly unfurled a banner with the message, "Reject Forgetting".

The three, along with one student from the Undip Student Executive Council (BEM) Community of Students, looked like the other students taking part in the public lecture, sitting quietly and listening to what Subianto had to say. But when the national figure began talking about his personal experiences they stood up and unfurled the white banner.

Within seconds, members of the student university paramilitary regiment (Menwa) who were not far away from the activists seized the banner and rolled it up. "We were secured by Menwa [members] straight away", said BEM foreign affairs spokesperson Hendri Ariwibowo on Tuesday September 11.

The four students were then escorted out of the lecture hall by the Menwa members and rushed towards the student activities centre building.

Earlier, eight students almost succeeded in waylaying the black Alphard car with licence plates H 999 DH that Subianto was riding in on its way to the Prof. Soedarto building where the lecture took place. The students however, who had brought posters and were giving speeches, fail to stop the car however because it was moving too fast.

Action coordinator Reza Auliarahma said that they held the protest action to remind society about reformasi [the reform movement that began] in 1998 and the human rights violations committed in East Timor that involved Subianto.

"This is to remind society that Subianto still has sins related to reformasi in 1998 and the abduction of activists along with human rights violations in East Timor", said action coordinator Reza Auliarahma in front the Prof. Soedarto building.

Subianto gave a talk titled "The Revitalisation of National Culture as a Basis to Develop a New Indonesia for the 21st Century". The lecture was attended by more than 1000 students, scores of which were willing to stand in the aisles in order to hear him speak. (alg/try)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Prabowo greeted by student protests at Semarang university

Detik News - September 11, 2012

Angling Adhitya Purbaya, Semarang – A number of students could be seen Tuesday standing at the traffic circle in front of the Prof. Soedarto building at the Diponegoro University (Undip) in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang, awaiting the arrival of Prabowo Subianto who is to give a public lecture at the university.

The students however, who came from the Undip Student Executive Council (BEM) Community of Students, were not waiting hear a lecture from Subianto, but rather to stop him from entering the university and had brought banners and shouted slogans rejecting his visit.

"This is to remind society that Subianto still has sins related to reformasi [the reform movement that started in] 1998 and the abduction of activists along with human rights violations in East Timor", said action coordinator Reza Auliarahma in front the Prof. Soedarto building on Tuesday September 11.

Earlier, the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) board of patron's chairperson held a ceremonial laying of the first brick at the construction of a library at Undip's Faculty of Cultural Science. Following the ceremony, Subianto and his entourage set off towards the Prof. Soedarto building.

As he passed the traffic circle in front of the Prof. Soedarto building, the student began giving speeches and moved on to the road in an attempt to waylay Subianto's black Alphard car with licence plates H 999 DH. The students however were not quick enough to catch the fast moving car guarded over by members of the student university paramilitary regiment (Menwa) and police.

Despite their failure, they continued giving speeches on the theme "healing the culture of forgetting". "We weren't actually rejecting Subianto's visit, but rejecting the culture of forgetting [the past]. He played a role in human rights violations in East Timor. The government should also not forget. We students have repeatedly reminded [them] about human rights issues', added BEM foreign affairs spokesperson Hendri Ariwibowo.

Despite the protest action, the public lecture organised by Faculty of Cultural Science went ahead as planned. In his talk, Subianto took up the theme "The Revitalisation of National Culture as a Basis to Develop a New Indonesia for the 21st Century".

The lecture was attended by more than 1000 students, scores of which were willing to stand in the aisles in order to hear Subianto. (alg/try)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

West Papua

31 regions to seek autonomous status

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – As many as 31 regions in Papua have demanded autonomy status, 29 as new regencies and three as new provinces.

"The regions enthusiasm to separate into new regencies and provinces is quite high. We, at the Papua Legislative Council's Commission A in charge of regional autonomy, have received 31 petitions to separate," deputy head of Commission A of the Papua Legislative Council (DPRD) Yanni said in Jayapura on Friday.

Of the 31 regions, added Yanni, 16 had reported to Commission A, which oversees administrative affairs, during the Papua Legislative Council plenary session which discussed the Papua governor's 2012 accountability report.

"The 16 regions have met administrative requirements, so next it depends on the decision made by the House of Representatives [DPR] whether or not to approve the requests," he added.

The main reason why people had asked for autonomy status, said Yanni, was to improve people's welfare because they had not benefited from the developments thus far.

"The Papua special autonomy status has been in place for 11 years but many people have not yet benefited from the impacts of development. That's why they wish to manage their own regions – to improve people's welfare," he added.

Similar to Yanni, Golkar Party faction head at the Papua Legislative Council Yan Ayomi said the petitions for autonomy status were part of the need to accelerate people's welfare.

"What's the point of being a big and vast region if its people are not prosperous? It would be more manageable if a region was small and everyone could be reached by public services," he said.

"Many of the newly formed regencies in Papua have failed to carry out development and their regents are away most of the time. The central government must pay attention to this matter," said Yan.

Yanni was of a different view. He said the provincial legislature should elect the capable leaders. He said direct leadership elections were a waste of funds, as the elected leaders would only try to get back the funds that they had spent on their candidacy.

Papua Democratic Alliance (ALDP) director Latifah Anum Siregar said currently Papua needed improvement in public services and not regional autonomy.

She said none of the newly autonomous regions in Papua were able to improve people's welfare. Latifah said all levels of the bureaucracy must be improved.

"Poor communications between the provincial, regency and up to the district administrations has created discontent, which has led to the requests to form autonomous administrations."

"Such a concept must be changed, not by forming a new autonomous region but by improving the system. Failing that, any number of autonomous regions formed would not be able to improve people's welfare," he said.

One injured in latest attack on TNI in restive Papua

Jakarta Globe - September 15, 2012

Gunmen opened fire on a Freeport Indonesia car in Mimika, Papua on Friday in the latest instance of violence in the restive province.

Comr. Albertus Andreana, of the Mimika Police, told the Antara News Agency that members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) were riding in the car when unknown gunmen started shooting on Jalan Tanggul Timur.

"At the moment there is a team that is on the scene to investigate the incident," Andreana said on Friday. One soldier was injured from broken glass in the attack. No one was killed.

The TNI members were reportedly bringing food to their colleagues at a post in Kampung Nayaro. Soldiers arrived on the scene after hearing the gunshots, Andreana said. The assailants shot at those cars as well and then fled the scene.

Attacks on Jalan Tanggul Timur are a common occurrence in Papua. Last year, First. Brig. Ronald Sopamena, of the Papua Mobile Brigade (BriMob) died while exchanging fire with an unknown group.

In April 2010, two high-ranking Freeport officials died in a similar attack. Daniel Mansawan and Hary Siregar were shot and set ablaze by the assailants.

Weeks after that attack, four workers with Fajar Puri Mandiri – a company contracted to dispose of mining tailings – were killed in an attack on the same road.

Jakarta court rejects civic lawsuit against Freeport

Jakarta Globe - September 13, 2012

Rangga Prakoso – Judges at the South Jakarta municipal court on Thursday rejected a civil suit filed by the Indonesian Human Rights Committee For Social Justice (IHCS) against a subsidiary of mining giant Freeport McMoRan in Papua.

"We accept the defense of the defendant, and declare the lawsuit filed by the plaintiff unacceptable," said Suko Harsono, who headed the panel of judges hearing the case.

The court said that IHCS, a non-governmental organization, had no legal right to file the lawsuit against Freeport Indonesia because the complaint targeted the working contract between Freeport Indonesia and the government instead of human rights issues.

"Because the lawsuit has nothing to do with human rights, the panel of judges is of the opinion that the plaintiff has no legal standing to file the lawsuit," Suko said.

IHCS filed the suit against Freeport Indonesia at a Jakarta court in July, and also named President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry as respondents.

The suit alleged that the government and Freeport were in breach of a 2003 regulation which set higher royalty rates on total gross sales of minerals mined. Freeport's contract was established before 2003, and the Indonesian legal system does not recognize the principle of retroactivity.

Freeport, whose home office is in Louisiana, currently pays 1.5 percent on copper and 1.5 percent on gold. The IHCS argued that the royalties should be raised to bring Freeport in line with the law, and that the company should pay back money owed at the rate set by the 2003 law, or 3.75 percent for gold and 4 percent for copper.

IHCS said Freeport owes the state about Rp 2.2 trillion ($246 million) in unpaid royalties from 2003 to 2010. Suko said that if the government felt it has suffered losses from the contract, the agency with the authority to declare such a loss would be the Financial Audit Board (BPK); the House of Representatives has the authority to nullify the contract, the court said.

Lawmakers, environmentalists and Papuan politicians argue that Freeport's contract is "unfair" considering that Grasberg is the world's largest gold mine, has one of the largest deposits of copper in the world and has allegedly caused environmental damage.

Police officer brutally gunned down in Papua

Jakarta Globe - September 11, 2012

A police officer reportedly guarding a road project in Jayapura, Papua, was gunned down by unknown assailants on Monday, police said.

Sec. Brig. Jefri Laudik Runtuboy was stationed at a road project overseen by Modern Widya Technical in Milineri village, Tolikara district, Jayapura, Monday morning when five armed men opened fire, according to National Police reports. He was shot 14 times.

"He died of 14 gunshot wounds, five on his back, one on his neck, one on his rib, four in his belly, one on his chest, one on his hand and one on his eye," Sr. Comr. Wachyono, Papua Police's chief of detectives, told Kompas.com on Monday.

According to police, Jefri arrived at the construction site Monday morning with Sec. Brig. Faisal Asri. The two met at the construction site and then went in opposite directions.

At 11:50 a.m. local time, two unknown assailants approached Jefri, police said. They were dressed in red pants with masks pulled over their long hair. One of the men opened fire on the police officer. Three more men arrived on the scene and began shooting Jefri.

The men then threatened a Modern Widya Technical employee named Indi, but he was able to escape after telling the assailants he was just a worker, police said. Indi fled to the Geya district.

Faisal reportedly heard the shooting and ran toward it, but Jefri was already dead. Twenty police officers later converged on the scene, but were unable to find the shooters.

The slain officer's parents, Decky Wayoi and Heny Runtuboy, urged Papua Police to investigate the case.

Lawyer calls Buchtar's release after all witnesses fail to appear

Bintang Papua - September 11, 2012

Jayapura – Gustaf Kawer, one of the lawyers defending the former chairman of the KNPB – National Committee of West Papua – said that the judges hearing the case of Buchtar Tabuni should have the courage to release the defendant in the absence of any witnesses to testify against him.

The lawyer said this followed the decision yesterday to postpone a further hearing in the trial. He said that from the start, he had commented that the the prosecutor in the case had shown no seriousness in handling the case against Buchtar. This is evident from the fact that none of the witnesses he had wanted to testify at the trial had appeared although several hearings had been held.

"In the latest instance, the witness Matius Murib was to have appeared but he didn't appear, even though he is known to be in Jayapura and his home address in known, so why did he not appear?"

The lawyer said Matius Murib is known to be well acquainted with the case and the judges should consider that if there is no evidence to prove that Buchter was responsible for damaging the prison in any way, which was to have been proven by the witnesses all of whom had failed to appear, then the judges should take the bold step of simply releasing the man who is now on trial.

The lawyer also spoke about the many shootings that have been occurring in the city of Jayapura which have been linked to Buchtar, which was nothing more than a set-up. He said that Buchtar had been linked to the shooting of Miron Wetipo but that case has already been solved, so it was clear that the authorities were trying to make a scapegoat of Buchtar.

Buchtar was arrested on 6 June 2012 which was just at the time when some shootings occurred in Jayapura which was followed by the arrest of Buchtar, whereas Buchtar was not in any way connected with those shootings. So instead of being charged with the shootings, he now faces the charge of inflicting damage on the Abepura Prison in 2010, which means that he should have been arrested in 2010.

At the time, it was said that there were plenty of witnesses and now they were not even able to call Matius Murib as a witness.

The lawyer said that the panel of judges should postpone further hearings until Matius Murib could be called as his testimony would be crucial for this trial. Gustaf insisted that there were plenty of witnesses who could give testimony regarding the damage inflicted on the prison, yet the prosecutors were not able to get any of these witnesses to appear.

As is known, the hearing on 10 September was again postponed. At the hearing held yesterday, the prosecutors were still not able to bring any witnesses to court who would be able to testify about Buchtar's alleged damage to the prison. The prosecutors has also been unable to summon Liberty Sitinjak who would have been a key witness about the incident on 3 December 2010.

The prosecutor announced that Liberty was unable to appear to testify, even though he has been summoned three times. And now, the hearing held on 10 September was also suspended until 13 September while it was being said that Matius Murib, who was formerly and member of the National Human Rights Commission, would also not be able to appear.

It has now been announced that the hearing that is due to take place on 13 September which was originally intended to hear testimony from witnesses would now be devoted to questioning the defendant, Buchtar Tabuni.

[Translated by Carmel Budiardjo.]

Aceh

Aceh teenage suicide puts focus on sexist laws

Jakarta Globe - September 15, 2012

Ismira Lutfia – The suicide this week of a teenage girl in Aceh after she was arrested and apparently humiliated by the province's Shariah police has again put the spotlight on laws that discriminate against women.

"She was another victim of discriminatory policies," said Andy Yentriyani, a commissioner from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan).

"She was not the first person to fall victim to such laws in the name of religion and morality and eventually take their own life."

The teenager, identified only as Putri, was reportedly arrested with her friends by the local Shariah police while attending a concert at Langsa on Monday. Andy said the circumstances surrounding her arrest were not clear, but she was believed to have been released on bail to her family.

She added that she might have been accused of failing to wear Islamic garb or being out in the evening with men who are not her direct relatives. Other reports suggested she was accused of prostitution.

Although the charges against her were unclear, Andy said the stigma felt by the young woman after her arrest burdened her with guilt for shaming her family and is believed to have prompted her decision to end her life.

"It is deplorable that such a tragedy should happen and we demand the state takes responsibility. We have been repeatedly reminding the government to immediately annul discriminatory policies based on religion and morality," she said.

Saur Tumiur Situmorang, another Komnas Perempuan commissioner, said the central government and Aceh's local governments should have ensured rehabilitation for the victim and her family, and guaranteed the fulfillment of Aceh citizens' rights under the Constitution.

"We demand the president take immediate action to annul the discriminatory laws and reprimand his subordinates that defy him by insisting that those laws be maintained," she said.

As of last month, Komnas Perempuan said it had found 282 local government policies that discriminated against women, mostly in the name of religion and morality.

"There have been an additional 128 discriminatory laws since we first formally complained about it to the government in March 2009," Andy said, adding that as many as 207 of the 282 regional policies directly discriminated against women.

She also said that there were 60 policies that dictated a woman's mode of dress and religious expression. Some 96 others criminalize women through regulations related to prostitution and pornography.

There are also 38 policies that infringe on women's rights to freedom of movement by imposing a curfew on women unless they are accompanied by a male relative. Seven policies discriminate against women exercising their right to seek jobs abroad.

In 2007, woman Lilis Lisdawati was arrested in Tangerang, Banten and charged with prostitution for being out alone at night while returning from work.

She was denied access to justice and a chance to clear her name. As a result, she was unable to get her job back. The stigma led to severe depression and she eventually took her own life.

"Putri's and Lilis's cases should serve as reminders to all government entities and policymakers at the national and local levels on the urgency to deal with these religious- and morality-based discriminatory laws," Saur said.

Aceh teen's suicide linked to sharia practice

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2012

Jakarta – The apparent suicide of a teenage girl in Aceh should prompt officials to rethink harsh penalties imposed by sharia, a member of the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) says.

The dead girl, identified as 16-year-old PE, was at a concert in Langsa, Aceh, on Sept. 3 when sharia police apprehended her during a raid and harangued her in public for allegedly engaging in prostitution.

PE's story was picked up the next day by local media outlets, some of whom identified the girl by her full name and repeated the allegations of the sharia police. The body of PE was discovered in her room on Sept. 6. She apparently committed suicide by hanging herself.

"This incident has created a good opportunity for the leaders of Aceh and the rest of Indonesia to rethink the use of moralistic laws," Komnas Perempuan commissioner Andy Yentriyani said on Thursday.

Sharia, which was introduced in Aceh in 2002, imposes strict limits on what people are allowed to do in public.

One statute, for example, prohibits khalwat, or public displays of affection between unmarried men and women. Other laws forbid maisir (gambling) and khamar (the consumption of alcoholic beverages).

People allegedly violating Aceh's sharia laws are tried at sharia courts, which are authorized to impose judgements and administer sentences, which are typically executed after Friday prayers outside of mosques. Most of the punishments levied by the sharia courts involve public whippings.

According to Feri Kusuma, who heads a watchdog desk at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the application of sharia in Aceh was prone to abuse. For example, Feri said, sharia in Aceh has never applied equally to all residents.

Feri told The Jakarta Post that Aceh Police officers and Indonesian Military troops often tagged along with sharia police on raids to ensure that their peers were not arrested. "As a result, not a single police officer or TNI member has ever been whipped," Feri said.

Aceh's sharia police also allegedly enforced laws arbitrarily, Feri said. For instance, hundreds of women were censured by sharia police in 2010 for wearing tight pants or jeans in Banda Aceh. The sharia police told the women to be "ashamed", ordering them to change into more modest clothing, Feri said.

Andy took exception to such intervention. "Clothes are part of a person's right to expression. It's dangerous when a government declares that a dress code reflects a person's character."

The sharia police have also allegedly abused their authority, as in January 2010, when sharia police detained and raped a 20-year-old college student in East Aceh who was on her way to pick up her younger sister from school.

In another example, sharia police detained 60 people after a punk rock concert on Dec. 10, shaving the Mohawks of the men arrested, claiming that their hairstyle insulted Islamic tradition.

The women who were arrested were given bob haircuts by the sharia police. The punks were then required to bathe in a nearby lake and perform communal prayers.

All of these incidents should serve as a wake-up call for the government to reform sharia in Aceh, Feri said. "The laws in Aceh should be revised so that they don't end up violating human rights, which is very often what they do," Feri said. (png)

Human rights & justice

Government told to pay Tanjung Priok compensation

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2012

Jakarta – Families and victims of the Tanjung Priok riot urged the government to pay compensation to those affected by the violence in North Jakarta in 1984 that claimed 23 lives.

Abdul Bashir, 63, one of the victims kidnapped by military officers a day after the riot, said that he saw a thin ray of hope when the government formed a special team in May 2011 to investigate the case.

The team invited the victims and their families to a meeting last year, promised them compensation and that justice would be upheld. "We were given a glimpse of hope just to be let down again," Abdul told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"To bring this case back to court is impossible, because no institution will handle this matter, but we still want justice and a compensation for all the victims and victims' families," he added.

The series of tragedies in 1984 begun when security forces fired on Muslim protesters demonstrating against a new regulation requiring all organizations to adopt the state ideology of Pancasila.

Government political will crucial in law enforcement

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A visiting Argentinian chief justice has said public support and the government's strong will are the key factors for any administration to bring human rights violators to justice.

Ricardo Li Rosi, chairman of the Argentina-based International Judiciary Academy (IJA), said each nation had its own specific challenges in law enforcement, especially involving rights abuses.

"The [Argentinian] government has strong political will to enforce the law in favor of victims of rights violations. Meanwhile, the people's strong support for justice has encouraged our government to stick to this commitment," Li Rosi said at a meeting with the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi) on Monday.

During the meeting, Li Rosi emphasized that the independence of (Indonesian) advocates would help promote law enforcement because "law will not work properly unless advocates, and other legal forces, uphold truth and justice".

Cooperation between Peradi and the IJA began on Monday when Li Rosi met leaders and members of Peradi at their headquarters in West Jakarta. During the meeting, Li Rosi proposed an exchange program for advocates to learn from each other.

"The world is in a process of globalization, which will undoubtedly affect both Argentina and Indonesia. We believe that our countries play significant roles in our regions. For this reason, it's important for us to support each other," Li Rosi said, adding that exchanging members to assess each other's performance would be one of the efforts.

IJA is a non-profit educational institution based in Buenos Aires and Washington, DC, which provides education for judges, court administrators, ministry of justice officials and other legal professionals. Established in October 1999, the institution promotes fair, efficient, accessible and transparent court systems.

During his visit to Peradi, Li Rosi applauded Indonesia for being committed to fair judicial systems amid growing democracy.

Peradi chairman Otto Hasibuan said that his institution would treasure the partnership with the IJA as it would undoubtedly enrich his organization. "The United States has been our direction for justice matters. Therefore, we are sure that Argentina will teach us something new and vice versa" he said.

Political parties & elections

Looking beyond big political parties for quality candidates

Jakarta Globe - September 16, 2012

Pitan Daslani – How many candidates will meet all of the requirements for the 2014 presidential election? This is the key question as public figures start to think about their bids for the top leadership position and possible barriers in their way.

According to the Constitution, a presidential candidate can only be proposed by a political party that wins 25 percent of votes in a legislative election or by a coalition of parties that controls 20 percent of the parliamentary seats.

That is already a huge barrier for many political parties and also prevents independent or alternative candidates from participating in the presidential election. As a result, only big parties will be allowed to nominate candidates and this is neither fair nor conducive to the spirit of democracy, which should advocate good political education, including equal opportunities and civil justice.

Nevertheless, in recent months, legislators have started talking about the need to create a more fair presidential election system that would allow more candidates from different backgrounds to participate.

But there are big barriers to making this a reality, the biggest one being that the big political parties that control the legislature prefer to promote their own candidates. And to continue their candidates' success they will shoot down laws that would allow more candidates to run.

Setting priorities

Originally, the presidential election law was to be reviewed in October, but as of this week, indications are that the legislature may postpone its deliberations until the middle of next year.

Before that, lawmakers will work to revise laws on the status and functions of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives and the House of Regional Representatives (DPD). Given that the presidential election law needs to be revised one year before the election date, lawmakers will have to complete the work by June of next year. One of three scenarios will likely emerge.

First, parties represented in the legislature will agree that the presidential election threshold be lowered to under 15 percent of the votes. That would increase the number of opposition forces within and outside the legislature.

Second, the parties will allow the barrier to be lowered to 3.5 percent, which would result in a flood of presidential candidates. This scenario is unlikely unless there is very strong pressure from a number of wide-ranging organizations and the media. If the 3.5 percent threshold is approved, the legislature will be too fragmented. Not surprisingly, a number of alternative candidates are in favor of this scenario.

The third scenario is that lawmakers agree to a middle-ground number of about 7 percent to 8 percent and this will encourage more coalitions to emerge.

Forging ahead

Despite the fact that the law is still to be debated, a number of public figures have recently stepped up their indirect campaign activities in many ways. Though they have not openly announced their candidacies, the public perception is clear that these politicians' eyes are fixed on the presidential palace.

Former Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli last week received strong backing from senior Muslim clerics who want him to replace President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2014. They believe that Ramli is the right candidate because of his decisiveness, strong leadership and experience. He is largely believed to be a tough but visionary public figure who can elevate the nation's welfare and dignity. Many people recognize him as a leader who cannot be "bought" due to his integrity. US-educated Ramli is also a strong advocate of pluralism and is well respected in many academic and intellectual communities.

Irman Gusman, the DPD chairman, is another shining star. On Wednesday, Irman was invited to deliver a keynote speech to a gathering of 1,500 people in Surabaya, East Java, organized by the Communication Forum for Children of Retired Police and Military Officers (FKPPI).

Irman talked about the need to find "a visionary leader who can protect national unity, territorial integrity, pluralism and social cohesion in the context of a globalized world." He added that for Indonesia to move forward, the country will need to rely more on its brain power than on its natural resources, and that FKPPI must "champion this trend by acting as the locomotive for change."

What is more important is not what Irman said, but why he was invited to speak at the event in the first place. He addressed an audience that included the armed forces' family members despite not having a military background himself.

Two things can perhaps help explain Irman's presence there. First, the supreme adviser of FKPPI is Yudhoyono, who happens to be the leader of the Democratic Party. Second, the founder of FKPPI is Surya Paloh, who is also the founder of the National Democratic Party (NasDem).

Irman began his speech by saying that he was "born from the political womb of the armed forces of Indonesia," a statement that drew loud cheers from FKPPI delegates who had come from all over Indonesia. It was the armed forces that had supported him throughout his career until he reached his current position.

Could this be an early sign that NasDem and the Democratic Party, together with the armed forces, might come together some day to propose Irman as their candidate? And don't forget that the neither party have candidates on the same level of Irman in terms of reputation and acceptability. Time will tell.

Another interesting development that took place last week was a gathering of senior politicians at the Puri Denpasar hotel in South Jakarta at the invitation of former Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who is also eyeing the presidency.

The high-profile public figures who attended the meeting garnered a lot of attention, including the chairman of Golkar Party's Supreme Advisory Council, Akbar Tandjung.

Akbar's presence did not surprise me until Wednesday morning, when he appeared in a national television interview to declare very clearly that even though Golkar had nominated its chairman Aburizal Bakrie as presidential candidate, the nomination was not final. To me this seemed to say that if the party decides that Bakrie can't win the election, it will find a better and more acceptable candidate.

Never has Akbar made such a blunt remark on Bakrie's chances. His television appearance created the impression that Golkar's top leadership is not solid and will have problems staying united in this upcoming election.

Other notable guests at the Puri Denpasar meeting included former Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and former chairman of the Constitutional Court Jimly Asshiddiqie. Will they be supporting Yusril for the next presidential election?

Adding another layer to the meeting, Sutiyoso's 10-year track record of Jakarta leadership is being used by people who believe he would make a good presidential candidate.

With all of these personalities and possible candidates, it's not hard to wonder if there will be a situation in which the next president will not be the leader of a political party, but a public figure from outside who is backed by a coalition of political parties.

If that is possible, then outside candidates such as Rizal Ramli, Irman Gusman and Yusril could be the right people to consider. All of them have proven their leadership ability, professionalism and credible track records.

Political parties ignore requests for financial reports

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2012

Jakarta – Only a handful of political parties have fulfilled a legal requirement to provide their financial reports upon request, a corruption watchdog group has said.

According to the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), the parties holding seats in the House of Representatives that provided it with required financial reports were the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

The non-compliant parties were identified as the Golkar Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Even the compliant parties failed to provide complete reports. "The PKS only gave its report from 2010, while Gerindra submitted a report that is still undergoing an audit," the ICW said in a statement.

ICW representative Apung Widadi said on Thursday that the General Elections Commission (KPU) should require political parties to submit reports when they register for elections to boost compliance instead of only asking them to provide bank account numbers.

"Political parties must publicize their financial reports to their constituents and say what they have done with the money and how that has been beneficial for the public," Apung said.

By law, national parties and their local branches are required to submit financial reports every fiscal year. Those reports must be made public, according to the law, although it provides no sanctions for non-compliance.

The ICW's initial requests for the financial reports in April initially went unheeded by the parties, which prompted the ICW to file a complaint with the Central Information Commission (KIP).

According to Apung, while some parties did audit their finances, auditors only looked at the money provided to parties from the state budget.

"The funds they received from the state budget only makes up less than 10 percent of the parties' income. They must disclose the sources of the bulk of their money," he said.

Political parties have received only meager funding from the state budget. In 2010 for instance, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party received Rp 2.34 billion (US$248,040) of taxpayer funding, while the Golkar Party received Rp 1.62 billion and the PDI-P received Rp 1.57 billion.

Apung said that the government had been too lenient in accommodating political parties. "The parties are always late in delivering their report, but the government continues to earmark funds for them, year after year," Apung said.

Apung called on the commission to use submission of financial reports as a condition for political parties to register for elections.

Separately, KPU commissioner Sigit Pamungkas said that it would be difficult to accommodate the ICW's proposal for the 2014 election, as the verification of parties had already gotten under way.

Sigit also said that there was little the KPU could do sanction non- complaint parties. "Election law only orders political parties to hand over their bank account numbers and not financial reports," Sigit said.

Golkar Party central board member Firman Soebagyo said that the ICW's proposal would only slow down the electoral process. "I'm not saying that publishing the financial report is not important. But it is not in the law. Why should we make it complicated?" Firman said. (nad)

Twelve parties fail to file paperwork for 2014 election

Jakarta Globe - September 10, 2012

The General Election Commission (KPU) said on Monday that 12 political parties have failed to qualify for the 2014 general election because they have not yet submitted the necessary documents required by the commission.

"Of the 46 political parties that registered, 12 failed to become eligible election participants," KPU Chairman Husni Kamil Manik said, as quoted by Antara.

The 12 parties that failed to complete the 17 types of documents required by the commission include the Indonesian Youth Party (PPI), the Prosperous Indonesia Party (PIS), the National Unifying Party (PPB), the Pelopor Party, Republikku Indonesia, the Islam Party, the People's Action Party (PAR), the Merdeka Party, the Patriot Party, the National Front Party (Barnas), the Indonesian United Ummah Party and the New Indonesia Party (PIB).

But 34 parties have submitted the necessary 17 documents, and Husni said those parties must file additional documents by Sept. 29, or be disqualified from the election.

Husni also added that political parties without the required 30 percent of female membership a the district and provincial levels would automatically disqualified.

Labour & migrant workers

'Abuse still rife' at Soekarno-Hatta's TKI terminal

Jakarta Globe - September 15, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Migrant worker rights activists have reiterated a call for the closure of the notorious Selapajang Terminal at Soekarno- Hatta International Airport, citing its long history of alleged discrimination and extortion of returning migrant workers.

Anis Hidayah, executive director of the group Migrant Care, said on Friday that her organization had for years fielded complaints about the terminal, which handles migrant workers returning from overseas and provides onward transportation for their journeys home.

"In 2006, the UN special rapporteur on migrant worker rights recommended to the government that the migrant worker terminal be closed down," she said. "Besides the discriminative practices, the terminal fails to serve the workers by consistently providing them with expensive and unsafe onward transportation."

Anis said calls to improve services at the terminal or re-evaluate its function had been largely ignored by the authorities, who she accused of wanting to maintain the facility for their own interests. "That's because the migrant worker terminal is profitable for them," she said.

Place of deception

Known as Terminal 3 when it opened in 1999 (that name now refers to the new terminal opened in 2009 to serve budget airlines), the migrant worker terminal has long been beset by allegations of extortion, mistreatment and even sexual abuse of returning workers by terminal officials.

Workers have frequently complained about paying exorbitant rates for transportation home because they are not allowed to be picked up by family or friends.

Public minivan drivers at the terminal have even been accused of robbing their passengers, who are often carrying months' worth of wages, and leaving them stranded by the side of the road.

In a report to the UN's Committee Against Torture in April 2008, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) raised concerns "with regard to transit centers for Indonesian migrant workers – the majority of whom are women – who are on their way out of the country as well as those who are on their way back to their hometowns."

"Terminal 3 is intended as a protection effort for migrant workers, but in practice, it is a place of deception, exploitation, robbery and other forms of abuse against Indonesian migrant workers," the commission said.

The terminal was also cited in a submission that same month by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council.

"The commission observed that these workers, especially women workers, are often ill-treated during departure, transit, [in the] workplace and [upon] return," Komnas HAM said.

"The commission underlined the call of migrant workers for the government to close [Selapajang Terminal] since many acts of enforced payment, ill- treatment, fraud and sexual harassment occurred in this terminal."

Who's in charge?

Jumhur Hidayat, head of the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), acknowledges the problems at the terminal and backs the call to close it, but says his agency is powerless to do anything about it.

Testifying on Thursday before the House of Representatives' Commission IX, which oversees labor affairs, he said the terminal fell under the purview of the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

"The terminal was established based on ministerial policy, so there's no way we can change that," he said.

The legislators, though, insisted that the BNP2TKI should do more to tackle the extortion scams and other abuses that the workers were subjected to by officials at the terminal.

Anshori Siregar, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), called on the agency to carry out surprise inspections to get a clear picture of what was going on there.

"Who's in charge there and what are they doing? How can there be claims that the quality of service there is good when there are so many complaints? We need to address this issue together," he said.

Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said complaints about the terminal ranged from exorbitant transportation fees and foreign currency exchange rates, to abusive treatment by the officials.

She also questioned the authorities' decision to prohibit public access to the terminal, implemented ostensibly to prevent con artists and other criminals from extorting or defrauding the workers.

"Has it worked in keeping the criminal element at bay? We shouldn't be fighting criminals by segregating the migrant workers from the general public," she said.

Vested interest

Thursday's hearing came amid allegations that a member of Jumhur's family was behind the mark-ups at the terminal.

Posts from the Twitter account @korbanbnp2tki claimed that the person, identified only as Agung, took a 50 percent cut of all the revenue from the transportation, food, phone voucher, money-changer and other concessions there, making "billions of rupiah" a month.

Jumhur called the allegation "trash." "If I really had a vested interest in the running of the terminal, I certainly wouldn't want it to be closed," he argued.

Still, legislators were unimpressed with his office's oversight of the terminal.

Poempida Hidayatulloh, a Commission IX legislator from the Golkar Party, said on Friday that there needed to be a serious and concerted effort to address the problems at the terminal.

"The BNP2TKI must respond by improving the quality of services for migrant workers at that terminal," he said. "If indeed there's something wrong with the terminal, then it figures because the BNP2TKI just isn't doing its job of supervising it very well."

Poempida also said that the monitoring must be sustained, and [not] dropped as soon as public scrutiny of the issue had waned.

"It's important that monitoring of operations at the terminal is carried out constantly," he said. "But don't let that lead to abuse of power on the part of the officials doing the monitoring," he added.

Komnas HAM eyes joint investigation of Indonesia workers case

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

Fadli, Batam – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) expects to conduct a joint investigation with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, or Suhakam, to look into the killing of five Indonesian citizens by members of the Royal Malaysian Police.

The Indonesian government has been criticized for its seemingly lax response to the issue, amid already low levels of public approval of its efforts to protect Indonesian citizens overseas.

Komnas HAM commissioner Johny Nelson Simanjuntak said that the commission might go to Malaysia to help the investigation along. "If need be, we will go to Malaysia as we have done in similar cases earlier. However, the incident also has not yet been completely resolved. We again urge the government to provide intensive protection for citizens overseas," said Johny.

According to him, Komnas HAM will communicate with Suhakam about the shooting.

Although Komnas HAM has no authority to investigate the case in Malaysia, Suhakam expressed its willingness to conduct a joint investigation with Komnas HAM, a move the Indonesian rights body appreciated.

"We will definitely communicate with Suhakam. If they want to conduct a joint investigation, we would be very pleased, but in many cases, they had been unwilling to do so due to a lack of authority. The case still has many loopholes," said Johny.

It was reported earlier that five Indonesians, identified as Jhony, Osnan, Hamid, Diden and Mahno, were shot by Malaysian police in Perak, Malaysia, on Friday, Sept. 7. They were allegedly members of a gang that specialized in the burglary of luxurious homes in Penang.

Johny said that the government should not be hasty to conclude that the Indonesian citizens were criminals and the case had been resolved, because such a conclusion might greatly simplifies the real issue.

Komnas HAM learned about the shooting the day it happened, though relatives of the victims only received information about it two days later, on Sept. 9.

The wives of the victims struggled to get accurate information on the fate of their husbands and only received a formal reply on Sept. 13 from an Indonesian Embassy officer.

"I think what the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia had done is part of our poor and inappropriate citizens' protection communication system. Relatives of the victims have asked us many things, such as whether it was true their husbands were shot in a robbery they were accused of taking part in, how the shooting was carried out and why they were shot," said Johnny.

"We urge the Indonesian government to ask the Malaysian government for a comprehensive chronology of events surrounding the shooting," he added.

Johny said the remains of the victims must be examined to prove their organs were not taken or traded without approval from the family.

Komnas HAM also received reports that the victims' had no history of criminal involvement.

Protesters demand probe into union busting

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2012

Ainur Rohmah, Semarang – Some 100 workers from various labor unions in Semarang, Central Java, converged at the Semarang Manpower and Transmigration Office on Thursday and demanded it investigate the dissolution of a labor union by PT Audio Sumitomo Techno Indonesia (PT ASTI).

PT ASTI disbanded the labor union by dismissing six of its organizers in 2008 whom it deemed had acted in contradiction to the company's policies. Earlier this year, the company also dismissed 175 union members who staged a strike on July 9 and 10 to demand protection of workers' rights.

Protesters gathered on Thursday said PT ASTI had implemented discriminative policies against workers who were advocating for labor rights – a practice commonly referred to as union busting.

"The dismissal of six labor organizers was rooted in the fact they had fought for the rights of workers, such as demanding the company abolish its outsourcing employment system," said Central Java Workers Struggle Movement activist Prabowo in Semarang on Thursday.

Union lawyer Denny Septiviant said union busting was against Law No. 21/2000 on labor unions, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of Rp 50 million (US$5,500) for anyone found guilty. "We don't want union busting to become a trend among employers," he said.

Nani Indrawati of the Semarang Manpower and Transmigration Office said her office was handling the dismissal of the six PT ASTI employees in 2008 and promised to investigate the dismissal of 175 PT ASTI workers in July this year.

PT ASTI human resource manager Bambang Sudarsono denied that the company had disbanded the labor union. He said the company management had never disallowed workers to organize. According to Bambang, PT ASTI has acted in accordance with existing procedures concerning the dismissals.

"It's not true that we have disbanded the union. As of now, PT ASTI is home to two labor unions, PT ASTI Workers' Union and the Indonesian Metal Workers Union's Electronic-Electrical Workers' Union," he said.

Regarding the dismissal of the six union organizers, he said they were dismissed because they had falsified the number of members in the two unions. "Initially, we offered them [the opportunity] to resign honorably by giving them a severance package of Rp 30 million each, but they refused, despite the fact that they had committed a serious offense," he said.

Health & education

Women groups reject international tobacco event

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Six Indonesian women groups under the Women's Network for Tobacco Products Control (JP3T) voiced their rejection of the upcoming World Tobacco Asia (WTA) 2012 event in Jakarta on Wednesday.

They said the event was contradictory to ongoing tobacco control efforts. The country's decision to host the high-profile WTA meeting later this month was a setback as it had expanded its fight against tobacco use, they said.

Women's Voice Empowerment Movement (GPSP) chairwoman Endang Dungga said that welcoming WTA 2012 to Jakarta would give the country more smoking- related problems as it would lure more people into smoking.

"By allowing this event to take place, the government has for the umpteenth time proven its failure to protect the rights of people to health, as more women and children are left unprotected against cigarette smoke," she told a press conference.

The GPSP is one of six women groups, including the National Coalition against Gender-based Violence, the Women Participation Institute (LPP), Friends of Women and Children (SAPA), Care Group of Violence against Women and Children Elimination (KePPak) and Rindang Banua, which have joined forces to reject WTA 2012, scheduled to take place at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Senayan, from Sept. 19 to 21.

It is the second time Jakarta is the host city for the WTA event after it hosted a similar event for the first time last year.

According to the WTA official website, Indonesia's cigarette market is considered the world's fastest developing market in which 30 percent of the adult population smokes, making the country the fifth-largest cigarette market in the world.

"Indonesia is a recognized tobacco-friendly market with no smoking bans or other restrictions, in contrast to neighboring ASEAN countries. In 2009, the Asia-Pacific region added 6 million new smokers and will add another 30 million smokers by 2014," it says.

WTA 2012 offers the international tobacco industry "a forum to build relationships and demonstrate products and services to Indonesian, Asia- Pacific and Australian tobacco communities".

"It's so sad to see Indonesia is considered as the world's ashtray," said LPP director Yoke Sriastuti.

The recently-published "Global Adult Tobacco Survey: Indonesia Report 2011" shows that tobacco usage in Indonesia remains high. The prevalence of male adult smokers has stood at 67.4 percent, one of the highest male smoking levels in the world.

Exposure of women and children to passive smokers at home is also one of the highest in the world, with 133.3 million or 78.4 percent of adults exposed to secondhand smoke at home, says the report.

With tobacco bill at final stage, industry told to quit

Jakarta Globe - September 11, 2012

Made Arya Kencana, Nusa Dua, Bali – The government has finalized the legislation designed to combat the influence of tobacco, and has asked the cigarette industry to halt its opposition to the contentious bill.

"It will be signed soon. The draft has been submitted to ministers to be signed," Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said on Monday.

Nafsiah said that public health was more important than tobacco industry profits and that she therefore asked producers to stop opposing it.

"Haven't they enjoyed huge profits for tens of years already? Now is the time for them to start thinking about the people and not kill them," the minister said.

Nafsiah denied claims that the legislation will end the livelihood of tobacco farmers, saying that such fears stemmed from farmers' ignorance.

"That's absolutely not true. They are just seeking profits," she said. She said that the bill would remind the public of the dangers of smoking.

The proportion of smokers in the country has increased from 53 percent to 76 percent over the past two decades, recent figures show. "This is very dangerous and very alarming," the minister said.

Nafsiah blamed aggressive promotions by the cigarette industry for the increase. "The industry should start thinking about this and stop turning the younger generation into new smokers," she said.

She said that under the legislation, cigarettes could still be produced, but only in limited quantities. "[Cigarette manufacturers] have been enjoying very huge profits and it will not make them poor if they reduce their profits just a bit," she said.

Previously, anti-smoking activist Fuad Baradja had said that tobacco farmers and cigarette producers would do whatever it took to keep their businesses running, including attacking the proposed bill to control the impact of tobacco.

"The cigarette industry will do anything it can so that this country doesn't have any regulations, laws or a government decrees [related to smoking]," said Fuad, who is the head of guidance and education at the Indonesian Smoking Control Foundation.

Fuad denied accusations of the government not involving farmers or the cigarette industry when drafting the bill.

The cigarette industry's response to the minister's call for them to halt their campaign was not clear on Monday, but is unlikely to relent in its efforts.

Indonesia is one of the few countries yet to sign or ratify the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, leaving it with some of the world's most liberal smoking laws.

Nearly half of Indonesians live without sanitation, clean water

Jakarta Globe - September 11, 2012

Made Arya Kencana, Nusa Dua, Bali – The gap between urban and rural areas has left nearly half of Indonesia's 240 million people without proper access to sanitation and clean water, Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said on Monday.

In her opening speech at the Third East Asia Ministerial Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene, Nafsiah said about 55 percent of Indonesians do not have access to sanitation, while 43 percent don't have access to clean water. She added that the number of people without either was 109 million.

"The disparity between access to sanitation and clean water in cities and in villages means that we are still far from achieving our accessibility targets," the minister said.

She said 76 percent of urban residents had access to sanitation and clean water, compared to 47 percent of rural residents, who account for the majority of the country's population.

The government wants to ensure access to sanitation by 62 percent of the population by 2015. Similarly, it wants to increase access to clean water to 68 percent by the same deadline.

Nafsiah said that under the government's health development program, Indonesia would need Rp 56 trillion ($5.9 billion) in funding through 2020 to build the infrastructure for both, and improve access.

Health experts at the conference stressed the need for improved sanitation, particularly in preventing waterborne diseases that fuel childhood mortality rates.

Athula Kahandaliyanage, director of sustainable development at the World Health Organization's regional office for Southeast Asia, pointed out that diarrheal diseases are the second-leading cause of death in children under five and are responsible for killing 1.5 million children every year throughout the world.

"In East Asia, about 450 million cases of diarrhea occur each year and the number of deaths attributed to diarrhea amounts to almost 150,000," he told the conference.

"These diseases not only threaten lives but also keep children from school and adults from work thereby perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

"Almost 700 million people in East Asia lack access to improved sanitation facilities, and nearly 100 million of those practice open defecation."

Angela Kearney, the Unicef representative to Indonesia, highlighted two critical areas that need urgent attention.

"First, we need to address the significant inequities in sanitation and water coverage. The poorest and the most disadvantaged among us still do not have access to water and sanitation that will help them live strong and productive lives," she said.

"Additionally, we need to put and end, once and for all, to open defecation."

Sanitation target may not be achieved

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – The nation's objective of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 could remain unfulfilled due to the large number of people still without access to sanitation.

Emah Sudjimah, an official from the Public Works Ministry, said over the weekend the government still faced challenges, especially in the sanitation sector, partly due to the low awareness of people and local administrations.

According to her, from 4 to 10 percent of the regional budget was allocated to sanitation development.

"Perhaps it is because most local administrations focus only on infrastructure development that is deemed critical to improving their economies," she told a press briefing ahead of the 3rd East Asia Ministerial Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene (EASAN-3) themed "Sanitation for All: Toward 2015 and Beyond" taking place in Nusa Dua, Bali, from Monday through to Wednesday.

Creating public and political awareness of the importance of sustainable sanitation appears to be one of the key issues to be discussed in the three-day conference. There is a growing perception that infrastructure is the only key to economic growth while in fact economic costs caused by sanitation-related health problems continue to increase and deserve serious attention.

"The reality is that the lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation services, such as wastewater disposal, has a direct impact on health, which can further affect productivity," said Emah.

In 2010, the proportion of households with proper access to basic sanitation facilities reached 71.5 percent in urban areas, nearly achieving the 2015 target of 76.8 percent that the government has set.

However, only 38.5 percent of households in rural areas have access to basic sanitation facilities, including latrines, swan-neck closets and septic tanks. The figure is projected to reach 55.54 percent in 2015.

Public Works Ministry data shows that only 12 cities have urban-scale wastewater treatment plants that are very small. In Malaysia, one of Indonesia's closest neighboring countries, the proportion of cities with an urban-scale sewerage system stands at 98 percent.

The conference aims to increase commitment among countries in the region to speed up global access to proper sanitation and hygiene. East Asia is one of the few regions expected to achieve the MDG sanitation target.

Citing the UNICEF-WHO Joint Monitoring Program Survey, the Health Ministry's chief of environmental health directorate Wilfred H. Purba said in East Asia, the MDG sanitation target for 2015 was 68 percent, and that it was projected to be achieved. Additional sanitation coverage of eight percent above the initial target might also be achieved.

"It has been widely debated whether the target is truly achievable, as many countries in the region including Indonesia still lack access to sanitation services," he said.

More than 671 million people living in East Asia have poor sanitation facilities and more than 100 million people continue to practice open defecation, which may pose health risks.

More than 450 million diarrhea cases occur every year, and the number of deaths related to sanitation and water-borne disease continues to increase by 150,000 every year. On sanitation, huge disparities among East Asian countries persist. In some countries, 95 percent of the population has access to sanitation but in others less than 30 percent of the population access basic sanitation facilities.

Graft & corruption

Dungeon awaits graft suspects

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

Jakarta – In a move sure to induce nightmares in the minds of graft suspects, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is preparing holding cells in a military detention center where political prisoners were tortured and executed during the New Order regime.

The KPK will soon utilize the so-called Guntur detention center on Jl. Guntur in South Jakarta in line with its cooperative agreement with the Indonesian Military (TNI), which is in charge of the property.

"We will use the [Guntur] detention center as soon as the renovation is completed," KPK spokesman Johan Budi told the press on Friday.

According to Johan, the move to use the military detention center to hold graft suspects was part of the KPK-TNI memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2005.

Speculation has circulated that the Guntur facility was being prepared for Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, a high-profile suspect in the driving simulator procurement project at the National Police Traffic Corps.

Many have raised concerns that the KPK could not effectively monitor Djoko and prevent intervention from the police force if he were detained inside the KPK headquarters, based on doubts in the ability of police officers guarding the cell to remain neutral despite their strong esprit de corps.

The involvement of the military is expected to boost the KPK's confidence in clamping down on graft within the police force, which is still commonly viewed as an inferior organization in comparison with the TNI, despite their formal separation in 1999 after the fall of Soeharto.

The KPK spokesman, however, denied that the new facility was only designed for police suspects. "The facility is not only for driving simulator graft suspects but also for any suspects who would be detained by KPK," he said,

Aside from Djoko, there are at least three other graft suspects who still enjoy life on the outside. They are Dendy Prasetya (a suspect in the Koran procurement project), Dedy Kusdinar (a suspect in the Hambalang sports complex construction project) and legislator Izedrik Emir Moeis (a suspect in the bribery case centering on the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Tarahan, Lampung).

The KPK ensured the graft suspects detained at the Guntur detention center would get the same treatment as those locked up in the KPK's detention center in the basement of its headquarters on Jl. Rasuna Said. Johan said that in addition to TNI security guards, the KPK would station its personnel at the new detention center.

While the detention area at the KPK's headquarters has only 10 cells, the Guntur detention center can reportedly accommodate 25 people.

During Soeharto's New Order era, the military facility was known as a notorious place used to hold political prisoners, including those associated with the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Several former detainees have testified about the hellish days they spent there. Former political prisoner Bedjo Untung testified in several media outlets last year that many detainees were interrogated and tortured by military personnel under the New Order regime with such ferocity that they confessed to things they had never done.

Separately, Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana said that the ministry supported the KPK's placement of detainees in the Guntur detention center because the ministry often saw many violations of the law when a detainee or a convict was placed in a regular penitentiary.

"There is nothing wrong with the KPK having a special penitentiary, including the one in Guntur," he said, adding that the ministry had signed the agreement for the KPK to use the facility.

KPK chairman Abraham Samad said on Thursday that the TNI was a strategic partner in the KPK's efforts to eradicate corruption. "We hope that this cooperation can yield an independent synergy between law enforcers," he said.

TNI chief Agus Suhartono said that the MoU signed with the KPK was the manifestation of TNI's support to help the antigraft body fight against corruption. "Our support is a part of our commitment to put the nation's interest above a group's or individual's needs," he said.

Meanwhile, the National Police has recalled 20 police officers seconded to the KPK to work as investigators, almost one third of the commission's total investigative force. National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Friday that the officers would return to work with the police.

Johan of the KPK confirmed the recall, saying that the commission's leaders were still discussing how to respond. He declined to discuss why the reasons behind the recall, only calling the move "unprecedented".

"The National Police have usually only asked for one or two officers back because it needed them, but not 20 officers at once," Johan said. (cor)

Supreme Court told to select judges strictly

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

The Coalition of Anticorruption Civil Society Groups says that the Supreme Court should not rush its selection of corruption court justices.

The coalition also urged the court to assess candidate track records to find the best candidates to fill 80 vacancies on the benches of the nation's corruption courts.

"The Supreme Court should drop any candidate if it finds something fishy about their track record," the coalition said in a statement on Friday.

As of August, 89 candidates had passed administrative screening. They will later undergo profile assessments. The candidates making the first cut were mostly lawyers, although current court employees and academics were also represented.

The Supreme Court began its selection process early this year. The public was not informed about the process or the criteria used to select the candidates recruited for the corruption court.

The coalition described the arrest of two corruption court justices in Semarang, West Java, on bribery allegations a few weeks ago as shameful.

National police recalls 20 detectives working with KPK

Jakarta Globe - September 15, 2012

Rizky Amelia – The National Police recalled 20 detectives assigned to work with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) amid a tense investigation into the graft-tained purchase of Rp 196.87 billion ($20.7 million) worth of driving simulators, a KPK official said.

The recall will likely hinder the antigraft body's ability to investigate new corruption cases, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said. "It is disturbing [that] 20 detectives [were recalled], while the KPK is handling so many cases," Johan said on Friday.

The detectives had been working with the KPK for a year, Johan said. Under the government regulations they could have been assigned to work with the anticorruption organization for four years, with the option to renew their contracts. Most of the detectives were handling more than once case, Johan said.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the detectives were recalled because their term at the KPK had ended. Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said on Saturday that the recall was no coincidence.

"Undeniably, the recall of twenty detectives assigned to the KPK by the National Police was caused by a conflict created by the driving simulator case investigation," ICW law researcher Donal Fariz said on Saturday.

This latest tit-for-tat incident with the KPK will only further tarnish the National Police's image, Donal said. "KPK should be able to keep those detectives," he said.

Marzuki: 'Corruptors and bribers will go to hell'

Jakarta Globe - September 13, 2012

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that he supports the idea of a Haram (forbidden under Islam) edict banning money politics, or corruption, and said that such an edict could be issued by an Islamic organization such as Nahdlatul Ulama.

"Corruptors and bribers, both will surely go to hell," Marzuki told journalists at the House of Representative building on Thursday. "The edict is only to strengthen – I support it."

Marzuki hopes to not only make money politics haram, but to include the "middlemen" who facilitating bribes and kickbacks. Because all hands dipping into corruption, according to Marzuki, would be forbidden and risk eternal damnation, the House Speaker suggested abandoning all corruption conspiracies in advance.

"What is the purpose of being public official if only to use forbidden ways under religious law," he said. "Better step down."

Marzuki claimed that he personally is free from such wrongdoings, citing an example of how a councillor once asked him for money if he wanted to be appointed governor of South Sumatra. "I choose to withdraw," he said.

Beside Marzuki's self claimed "purity" from corruption, he also asked that lawmakers see the government institution that he leads for its exemplary transparency and accountability.

Former KPK chief Antasari revises allegation that SBY led Bank Century deal

Jakarta Globe - September 12, 2012

Former antigraft chief Antasari Azhar refuted media reports that he said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led a high-level meeting in October 2008 to discuss a bailout plan for Bank Century the following month.

"I did not say a word about Bank Century or the bailout," Antasari said before the House of Representatives on Wednesday. "When it appeared in the media, I asked my lawyer to correct it."

In an interview aired on Aug. 18, 2012, Antasari told Metro TV that the president, and several other high-ranking officials, met one month before the government handed the ailing Bank Century a bailout that eventually totaled Rp 6.7 trillion (worth $669.2 million at the time).

"I don't know the technical details of Century... but I know that they were planning something about it," Antasari told Metro TV in an interview from prison. "At the BI meeting, there was SBY, KPK chairman, Attorney General. There was also the Coordinating Minister of Police, Legal and Security Affairs, and Finance Minister Hatta Rajasa.

"SBY said, 'There should not be a monetary crisis [in Indonesia] like 1998, like what has started to happen in other countries. To prevent it, we need a breakthrough, a global breakthrough.'"

Antasari told the Metro TV reporter that he threw his support behind the president's words. "I said, 'I support,'" he said. "Yudhoyono said, 'It is not against the law if [we] can serve the public interest.'"

Antasari's statement was widely repeated in Indonesian media, as news outlets jumped on the implication that Yudhoyono proceeded with the bailout, despite having knowledge of its potential fallout and amid widespread opposition from legislators.

But the former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman denied making a direct connection between Yudhoyono and the Bank Century bailout.

In Wednesday's hearing before the House, Antasari said that the president's only words during the meeting were, in English, "in time[s] of crisis, there must be action, [a] decision must be taken [sic.] quickly."

At the time, Antasari told the president that the KPK would support any actions taken to resolve the issue, but warned that the antigraft body would punish those involved in any violations."

The KPK, the Attorney General's Office and the police have launched parallel investigations into the bailout and the subsequent flow of money after the House of Representatives, in 2010, adopted a resolution stating that the bailout was fundamentally flawed.

But the law enforcement agencies failed to uncover any evidence of corruption. The investigators did find evidence of banking violations, which resulted in the conviction of bank owners Robert Tantular, Hesham al Warraq and Rafat Ali Rizvi, but those offenses occurred prior to the bailout.

In the wake of the bailout, lawmakers speculated that the president stepped in to help the mid-sized lender because his benefactors stood to lose huge sums of money if the bank folded.

The president acknowledged that the bailout came at a "high political cost" but was also quick to defended his administration for going forward with it.

"Channeling bailout funds of around $600 million to Bank Century had a very high political cost," he said on Friday. "But if we did not take action immediately to resolve the crisis, in a year it would have turned into an even bigger problem."

He warned that if the bank had collapsed, it would have posed a systemic threat to the rest of the country's banking sector that could have seen it crumble in a repeat of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. It was something he was trying to avoid at all costs, he said.

He added that he believed that his administration had handled the Bank Century case appropriately.

KPK grills House budgetary leaders

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2012

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) grilled active and former leaders of the House of Representatives' budget committee on Tuesday in connection to a graft scandal surrounding the disbursement of the 2011 Regional Infrastructure Adjustment Fund (DPID).

The committee's deputy chairman, Olly Dondokambey of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as well as his former fellow deputy Mirwan Amir of the Democratic Party, were questioned by KPK investigators in connection to Golkar Party politician Fahd El Fouz, who has been named a suspect in the case, KPK spokesman Johan Budi SP said. Both were tight lipped to journalists when asked about the KPK's interrogation.

On Monday, the KPK grilled former budget committee chairman Melchias Markus Mekeng of the Golkar Party and active deputy Tamsil Linrung of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in connection to the same case.

Previously, Fahd testified before the Jakarta Corruption Court that the leaders of the budget committee played important roles in pushing for the allocation of the DPID funds.

Police want KPK to give up simulator case

Jakarta Globe - September 11, 2012

Rangga Prakoso – The National Police's lawyer has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, to retract an agreement signed by both institutions on handling corruption, or to drop their investigation into the driving simulator graft case.

"If the KPK can not respect the Memorandum of Understand that has been signed, just revoke the agreement," Otto Hasibuan, a lawyer with the National Police, said on Tuesday.

Otto said the agreement between the two institutions was specifically concocted to prevent overlapping investigations. The agreement states that if one institution has begun an investigation, the other should respect the investigating body's jurisdiction. "The National Police chief still holds the agreement," Otto said.

But what has been especially contentious is exactly when each body began their respective probes into alleged graft behind the tender process for the National Police Traffic Corps' driving simulator procurement. The KPK began their investigation in earnest in July, naming several police generals as suspects in this case, including former Police Academy governor Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo.

Shortly after the KPK named Djoko a suspect, the police claimed they had already launched their own investigation; Otto claims a police detective informed the KPK of the probe in July.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Indonesian extremists praise 9/11 hijackers

Agence France Presse - September 12, 2012

About 100 Islamic extremists on Tuesday praised the 9/11 hijackers at a rally outside the US embassy in Jakarta, as they celebrated the 11th anniversary of the deadly attacks.

Demonstrators carried posters and banners, one declaring "We are all Osama" under a picture of the late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, as dozens of policemen stood guard before the embassy. Other banners read, "It is time for Islamic revolution", and "Democracy brings oppression."

"They [the hijackers] sacrificed their lives to defend fellow Muslims in Palestine," Muhammad Fachry, spokesman of the Sharia for Indonesia group, which organised the rally, told AFP.

"What they did was a reminder to the American government to stop oppression against Muslims and support for the Israeli government," he said.

Son Hadi from the Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid, which has been labelled a terrorist group by the United States and sent supporters to take part in the rally, told AFP: "What the hijackers did was the start of the Muslim war against Western hegemony."

Fachry said it was the first time his group, which was founded in 2010, had commemorated the attacks. He referred to the hijackers as "the magnificent 19", and praised their "bravery."

"American arrogance collapsed together with the World Trade Centre's Twin Towers," the organizers said in a statement.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has suffered its own share of terrorist attacks over the past decade. The largest, by regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, were the October 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists.

Densus 88 arrest six terrorism suspects in Ambon

Jakarta Globe - September 10, 2012

Indonesia's anti-terrorism squad Densus 88 arrested six alleged terrorists involved in a series of attacks in Ambon, local police said on Monday. "They're allegedly involved in a string of attacks in and outside Ambon," a member of Densus 88 who wished to remain anonymous told Jakarta Globe on Monday.

The six were allegedly involved in an attack on a Mobile Police Brigade (BriMob) post in Loki village that left five officers dead, the source said.

"They're the rest of the Loki shooters network that he had arrested earlier," he told the Jakarta Globe. "They're in one group with [leader] Asep Dahlan."

Asep, also known as Djaja, was sentenced to live in prison for his role in terrorist activities in Indonesia. He is a member of Mujahidin Ambon, a local affiliate of the Jamaah Islamiyah terrorist network.

The suspects were arrested during a raid on a house owned by a man named Imran, in Batu Merah village, Sirimau, Ambon. Police allegedly seized two firearms, one grenade, 3,000 rounds of ammunition, seven ammunition clips and a book detailing how to make bomb in the raid.

Maluku Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Johanes Huwae told journalists that the initial of the alleged terrorists are S, U, J, A, B and B.

The source in Densus 88 told the Globe that men named Sukri, 30, Udin Nuhuyanan, 42, and Imran, 37, who also goes by the name Jummu, were among those arrested. Udin was working as a security guard, the source said.

"They live there but are not local people, they are outsiders who came to Ambon," Johanes told Kompas. "They're being detained at the headquarters of Maluku Police Densus 88."

Imran's wife confirmed her husband's arrest. "[Imran] was arrested along with his friends Abdullah, Aten and the other one whose identity is unknown," said Nur Ani.

The arrests shocked neighbors, who described the suspects as quiet people who kept to themselves. "They have been staying here for the past year and did not interact with neighbors," said neighbor Abdullah Soamolle.

Let us work, says BIN

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) is keeping silent amid rumors that the recent terrorist attacks have been intentionally orchestrated to stimulate an increase in the state budget allocated for counterterrorism efforts.

BIN deputy chairman Ma'roef Syamsoeddin on Monday refused to comment on the allegation, emphasizing that BIN and other law-enforcement agencies were still running further investigation on the blasts.

"Let us work," Ma'roef said on the sidelines of a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense.

House Commission III overseeing law and human rights has cut the National Counterterrorism Agency's (BNPT) annual budget by 27 percent this year to Rp 92 billion (US$9.7 million).

In addition, Commission I chairman Mahfudz Shiddiq has threatened to cut next year's budget allocated not only for the BNPT, but also the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the National Police – the three institutions are responsible for protecting the country from terrorism. (lfr)

Bomb explosion near Indonesian capital injures five

Associated Press - September 9, 2012

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – A suspected militant was critically injured when a bomb apparently being prepared for terrorist attacks exploded at a house near Indonesia's capital, police said Sunday.

At least three other people living nearby were injured, and witnesses said one of two suspects who fled also appeared to have suffered an injury.

An elite anti-terror squad was searching for the two men who reportedly escaped after the strong blast went off late Saturday in Depok, a town on the outskirts of Jakarta, said National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar.

The incident came just days after police raided another home in Jakarta where bomb-making materials were found in connection with a terrorist group that allegedly plotted to kill police and bomb the country's parliament building.

Anang said police at the latest site found a badly injured man whose left hand had been cut off. Bomb-making devices were found scattered around him.

"We suspect he was making bombs when one of them detonated prematurely," Capt. Agus Widodo, a local police chief in Depok, told reporters at the scene. "His condition is critical. We cannot talk to him."

He said the man also suffered burns covering up to 70 percent of his face and body.

Police questioned five people living near the rented house – listed as an orphanage foundation office and herbal clinic, but never opened to the public – including two injured men and a woman with slight wounds to her head.

They told investigators that they saw two men flee on a motorbike just after the blast, and that one of them managed to jump a fence even though he appeared wounded, Agus said.

"It was actually a militant safe house from evidence found there," Agus said, adding that a group was apparently preparing bombs for terrorist attacks.

Police seized a big haul of bomb-making materials, including six pipe bombs, three grenades, two machine guns and a Berreta pistol, Iskandar said in a text message. A bomb squad team was investigating the explosives that were packed with nails to maximize impact.

The incident came amid a security crackdown in recent days in which two militants were killed and three others arrested. Just four days earlier, police found bomb-making materials at another home in Jakarta, where suspected bomb maker Muhammad Toriq lived, but managed to escape when police raided his house.

Anang said there was a resemblance between Toriq and the man in critical condition. He said police would conduct a DNA test after gathering a sample from Toriq's mother to determine if the identities match, adding that explosives found in Depok were similar to the homemade bombs discovered at Toriq's home.

Toriq is believed to be linked to a militant group that planned to shoot police and bomb the parliament building to wage "holy war" and establish an Islamic state.

Indonesia, a secular nation with more Muslims than any other in the world, has been battling terrorists since 2002, when militants linked to the Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiyah started attacking Western nightclubs, restaurants and embassies. More than 260 people have been killed, many of them foreign tourists.

Recent terror attacks in Indonesia have been carried out by individuals or small groups and have targeted local "infidels" instead of Westerners, with less deadly results.

Counterterrorism drive 'a long shot'

Jakarta Post - September 9, 2012

Jakarta – The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has targeted the wrong groups in its counterterrorism drive, resulting in the recurrence of bomb attacks in the country, observers say.

Muhammadiyah Youth-wing organization chairman Saleh Daulay said that the BNPT's programs in fighting against radicalism and terrorism had been ineffective as the agency only created programs for moderate groups, not for the radical ones.

"The programs have not touched the real roots of radicalism or involved people with the potential to engage in terrorism," he said in a discussion on Saturday.

Judging by the people involved in the recent attacks in Surakarta, Central Java, Saleh said terrorist groups were more successful in gathering and training new members than the government was at preventing them.

A terrorist group attacked police officers on three occasions over two weeks in August, claiming the life of Brig. Dwi Data Subekti, 54, two members of the group were later killed by the police.

The police shot dead Farhan Mujahid and Mukhsin Tsani, both 19-year-old men. The National Police revealed that the attackers were bent on revenge against law enforcement officers who had rounded up their fellow terrorists.

Saleh said that the fact that the alleged terrorists were relatively young showed that the groups had successfully regenerated and remained a threat to the country. "The BNPT should target people allegedly involved in radicalism," he said.

A spokesman for Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), an organization that has been linked to radical groups, Son Hadi, said that the BNPT never engaged with people who were inclined to get involved in jihad in discussions to understand their motivation and perspectives.

"By discussing with them, we will be able to understand the real problems so we can find the right solutions," he said.

He added that the BNPT also needed to act fairly when dealing with alleged terrorists because mistreatment could create a desire for revenge among their families or other group members. The BNPT's deradicalization director Irfan Idris said that deradicalization took time.

"We understand that our efforts have been far from perfect as we are just beginning the programs," he said, adding that the BNPT also lacked personnel.

Irfan explained that his agency was now undertaking programs such as conducting religious education workshops on campuses and in Islamic boarding schools, engaging with religious leaders and rehabilitating former terrorists.

Irfan said that the BNPT had to monitor at least 40,000 institutions comprising Islamic boarding schools, houses of worship and religious communities who might be linked with terrorist activities.

Irfan also mentioned that around 200 people had been imprisoned for terrorist activity and who would need to be rehabilitated.

An observer of the Islamic movement in the country, Edi Sudrajat, said that countering terrorism was not only the government's duty. "All people have the same obligation to fight terrorism," he said.

He added that violent teachings would not flourish if conditions did not support their spread. (cor)

State ideology & Pancasila

Attempts to alter Pancasila a threat to unity, NU chief

Jakarta Globe - September 16, 2012

Pitan Daslani – Indonesia must do everything possible to prevent the state ideology of Pancasila from being replaced by a doctrine that promulgates an Islamic caliphate or nationwide implementation of Shariah law, two prominent Indonesian leaders warned this week.

Both leaders, one religious and one military, said that such a development would split the nation along irreconcilable lines.

Said Aqil Siradj, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, said on Friday that a number of religious groups and mass organizations were attempting to revive the "Jakarta Charter," which stipulates that the first principle of Pancasila – the belief in one supreme god – must be amended to include the phrase "with the obligation to execute the Islamic Shariah by the faithful."

The Jakarta Charter was adopted on June 2, 1945, by the Committee of Nine – which was preparing for Indonesia's independence – as a compromise between hard-line Muslim and nationalist camps.

However, the addendum was deleted by Vice President Mohamad Hatta on Aug. 18, 1945, a day after the proclamation of independence, because the founding fathers realized that such a stipulation would turn the young republic into an exclusively Islamic state.

Since then, there have been attempts to alter the state ideology. Many of these have been pushed by groups deemed as subversive by the military, including Darul Islam (DI), led by Sekarmandji Maridjan Kartosuwirjo, who was executed by a firing squad in 1962. The strands of his teachings were picked up by a loosely organized movement called the Indonesian Islamic State (NII), which still survives to this day.

Last week, former intelligence chief A.M. Hendropriyono said that the Darul Islam group had been reformed as Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid, which is led by Abdurrahman, son of jailed cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. Hendropriyono said he believes such extremism "would only disappear if Indonesia had become the caliphate that the radicals had dreamed about."

In the past few weeks, police have been cracking down on suspected terror networks in various parts of the country that were reportedly inspired by radical Islamic doctrines that seek to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia – an ambition shared by DI and Jemaah Islamiyah.

"Such desires represent a time bomb that could explode and disintegrate the nation," NU chairman Siradj said. "It's time Indonesia returned to faithful implementation of Pancasila." He added that since the state ideology is non-negotiable and unchangeable, any organization that seeks to alter it must be disbanded.

Pancasila constitutes part of the Four Pillars of the Nation, which includes the 1945 Constitution, and the principles of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia and Unity in Diversity.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday in Surabaya, the commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI), Adm. Agus Suhartono told a gathering of extended family members of Armed Forces troops, known as FKPPI, that such threats were real and should be investigated and stopped at any cost because "national unity and the Unitary Republic of Indonesia cannot be bargained."

However, the TNI chief also told the audience he believed that Indonesia did not have enough national leaders with the passion to "instill the spirit of patriotism and defense of the motherland" in society. Therefore, FKPPI must produce such leaders, he said.

In his prepared text, which was read aloud, Suhartono asserted that democratization in a globalized world has created an environment of freedom that could be used by radicals to poison society with subversive ideas. So, a comprehensive but decisive response is needed to preserve stability.

FKPPI sources told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday that in its declaration of commitment, the organization had warned the nation of "the dangers of communist and disruptive ideologies ruining national stability" even at a time when communism is no longer a threat in many parts of the world.

The FKPPI declaration includes a call for concerted action against radicalism and terrorism, which it said cannot be taken lightly given that behind the actions of terrorists are ideas that cannot be eradicated completely and will continue to threaten society. The declaration also called for concerted action to abolish corruption and the mismanagement of natural resources, saying that they had weakened the nation in myriad ways.

Analysts and terror experts have said that such radical ideas are easily blown out of proportion when the issue of insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad is involved. The latest example is the growing anti-American sentiment triggered by the film "Innocence of Muslims" that has caused riots across the Middle East and North Africa, and has resulted in the death of the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

Siradj was quoted on Saturday by the Suara Pembaruan newspaper as calling on Muslims in Indonesia to remain calm and "approach the issue with a cool head."

"We deplore those who insult the Prophet Muhammad, but again this must be done with a cool head. There is no need to take to the street and burn anything. Do not create chaos," Siradj said during NU's national congress in Cirebon, West Java.

Siradj's response to the growing anger is an indication that the NU will continue to uphold both Islamic teachings and national unity.

And the chairman has reaffirmed his organization's commitment to the doctrines of Pancasila, even calling on Saturday for groups that threaten the state ideology to be disbanded. He declined to name any such groups, however.

A number of Islamic organizations have in recent years gained a reputation for being disruptive and even radical, but little action has been taken against them by the government.

Analysts say that the government's reluctance to confront suspected extremist religious organizations stems from those groups' potentially incendiary embrace of religion.

Freedom of religion & worship

Shiites challenge blasphemy law in court

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

Lawyers representing local Shia minority Muslims are asking the Constitutional Court to review the Criminal Code's articles on blasphemy, which they say are elastic and open to abuse.

The lawyers are representing, among others, Tajul Muluk, a Shia leader from Sampang, Madura, who was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in July for blasphemy.

Universalia Legal Aid Institute director Ahmad Taufik said on Friday that Tajul's case demonstrated how laws on blasphemy had been abused.

Tajul was accused of telling his followers that the Koran was not the original scripture and the true version of the Holy Book would be revealed to Imam Mahdi. Tajul was not given mandatory warnings prior to his sentencing, Ahmad said.

"Tajul's verdict is proof of lawlessness and legal uncertainty on the part of regional authorities," Ahmad said. "If the court doesn't correct things, millions of teachers, religious figures and preachers could be labeled 'cultish' and sent to prison."

Golkar deputy speaker also wants Shiites to be relocated

Jakarta Globe - September 11, 2012

Ezra Sihite – A deputy speaker of the House of Representatives has backed a widely criticized call by the police chief and religious affairs minister for a beleaguered Shiite community in East Java to be relocated to prevent future attacks against it.

Priyo Budi Santoso, the deputy speaker from the Golkar Party, said on Monday that moving the community of around 400 people from the village of Karanggayam in Madura Island's Sampang district was a sensible response in light of the hostility faced by the group.

"A relocation would be the way out, for now," he said. "Once the situation has calmed down, they can return and reintegrate into society."

The Shiites were attacked on Aug. 26 by a mob of about 500 Sunni Muslims. Many of their homes were burned down, in a nearly-identical attack to one on Dec. 29 last year.

Two Shiites were killed in last month's incident while dozens were injured, including seven who remain in critical condition. The minority community has since been forced to take refuge at a sports stadium, where about 400 men, women and children remain.

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

Public anger flared up last week when National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, speaking in separate hearings before the House, proposed relocating the victims to another area as "the easiest way out" of the problem.

Officials and rights activists alike lashed out at the call, blasting it as unfair to the victims and an indication of the state's "laziness" in addressing the issue at the heart of the violence.

Priyo said he recently discussed the issue with East Java Governor Soekarwo, who insisted that the violence there was the result of a family feud boiling over and not a sectarian conflict.

"Let's get it straight. There is no conflict between Sunnis and Shiites, or between NU and Shiites," he said, referring to Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Islamic organization. "It's really not as bad as people are making it out to be."

He also criticized Mafhud M.D., the highly regarded chief justice of the Constitutional Court, for causing unjustified worry after the jurist warned on Sunday that moving the Shiites from their home village would be unconstitutional.

"Maybe he was only speaking in the purely academic context, but that kind of talk weighs on people's feelings," Priyo said. "The relocation would only be temporary and is the best option when you consider the prevailing sense of unease. Therefore I call on the government to make the best decision."

Churches report police to Ombudsman

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2012

Jakarta – Representatives of congregations from two churches in Bogor and Bekasi, West Java, have reported the local police to the Indonesian Ombudsman for ignoring their complaints.

Bona Sigalingging, spokesman of the Bogor's GKI Yasmin church, said the city police had ignored at least three reports lodged by GKI Yasmin congregants since February 2010 without clear reason.

"They don't follow up on our reports, even the ones that have enough preliminary evidence," he said at a meeting with Ombudsman members in Jakarta on Monday.

Bona said the congregation had reported Bogor administration secretary Bambang Gunawan and Public Order Agency chief Bambang Budianto to the police for sealing off the church in May 2010. But the police had not followed up on the report.

Meanwhile, Bekasi's HKBP Filadelfia congregation also reported the police for not following up on their complaints, including one of threats to kill a priest. AKBP Filadelfia Rev. Palti Panjaitan said that Bekasi Police had begun to process the reports by summoning witnesses, but none of the cases had been solved or brought to court.

Since 2010, GKI Yasmin has been unable to conduct services after the city administration revoked a permit that it had previously issued, while HKBP Filadelfia could not build its church as local residents resisted its presence.

However, both GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia have since won in legal proceedings. Ombudsman member Budi Santoso said that his institution would summon the police to ask why the reports were not followed up.

Budi said that the Ombudsman received almost 6,000 complaints about the police every year, making it the second most complained about institution.

Government backs suggestion to relocate GKI Yasmin

Jakarta Post - September 9, 2012

Jakarta – Despite a court ruling allowing the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in Bogor to stay at its current location, the saga surrounding it is apparently far from over.

A statement by GKI Yasmin and NGOs supporting it on Saturday revealed that a visit from Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi and ministry officials in a meeting held at Hotel Salak, Bogor, on Friday hinted that the government was siding with the town administration to relocate the church.

Others present at the meeting included Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto and representatives of the Muslim Communications Forum (Forkami) – a hard-line religious group known for its stance against GKI Yasmin. GKI Yasmin spokesman Bona Sigalingging said the discussion did not lead to a commitment to comply with the law.

"The government, along with the Bogor administration, restated at the meeting that GKI Yasmin should move from its current location. Such a statement is in breach of the court ruling," Bona said.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Bogor city administration, ordering the church be allowed to reopen. Since 2010, GKI Yasmin has been unable to conduct services in the church after the city administration revoked a permit that it had previously issued.

The Indonesian Ombudsman's Office also urged the Bogor city administration to withdraw its 2011 decree annulling the church's construction permit.

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

However, Bona said, the mayor remained defiant now with the government backing him. "Relocation means eviction and law violations. GKI Yasmin objects to being relocated anywhere at anytime," he said.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos of the Setara Institute said on Saturday that Friday's meeting had shown that the government tended to solve problems by ruling them out rather than accommodating them.

"The government keeps suggesting relocations as solutions for the Ahmadis, Shiites and GKI Yasmin cases. This will only lead to further segregation," he said.

Ali Akbar Tanjung from the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) said at the media conference that the situation would further taint Indonesia's human rights record, which would be reviewed by the United Nation Human Rights Council in its universal periodic review (UPR).

"The government promised to improve back in May. How can it fulfill its promise if the Home Ministry pressures GKI Yasmin like this?" Ali said.

A series of recommendations proposed by nations participating in May's UPR discussed the persecution of minority groups in Indonesia, with a recommendation that Indonesia "should strengthen efforts to ensure that any assaults against religious minorities are properly investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice". (aml)

Sampang regent 'sides' with the ulema

Jakarta Post - September 9, 2012

Prodita Sabarini, Sampang, East Java – Sampang Regent Noer Tjahja is upset. A protracted disagreement over faith has turned deadly in his little town of less than 1 million people in Madura.

And worst yet, according to him, since the news of the attack against followers of the imprisoned Shia cleric Tajul Muluk surfaced, no one had got it right.

Some 300 meters across the road from where hundreds of Shiites take shelter at an indoor tennis stadium, Noer was sitting on the side of an outdoor tennis court.

Taking a break from his Saturday morning tennis, he met with The Jakarta Post. His brows furrowed, his deep big voice echoed across the court while he lambasted the media, the Jakarta political elites and human rights organizations for their comments.

Two people died in the Aug. 26 attack against Shiites in Blu'uran and Karang Gayam villages by a Sunni mob of over 1,000 people. The mob razed 37 houses in Blu'uran and Karang Gayam villages, displacing around 270 Shiites.

Since the attack, many had put in their two cents. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono blamed lack of police intelligence, poor early detection, and a solidarity alliance in Sampang accused Madura clerics and the regent of being behind the anti-Shia movement in Sampang.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi and Constitutional Court judge Mafud MD have said that the government would protect the rights of the Shia minority, promising to rebuild the houses of victims and guarantee their safety.

But Noer, elected in 2007, said any information about the conflict and its solution in Sampang from anyone other than him was wrong. He said he would like to meet the President to give his opinions on the conflict.

"I'll tell him the true chronology, 'If [Yudhoyono] receives information other than from me. It's wrong. It's wrong even if it's from your aides. Don't listen to it'," he said.

"In all actuality we don't have a Shia problem. The problem is about a family feud and a defiant sect – blasphemy..." Noer added.

The regent was referring to a feud between Tajul and his brother Roisul Hukamah, a convert to Sunni from Shia whose report on Tajul over blasphemy had brought the latter to court. The court sentenced Tajul to two years in prison. Rois, as he is popularly known, is currently the sole suspect in the Sunday attacks.

"This is like a minority group is forcing their will on the majority. You shouldn't turn it the other way around. Those in Jakarta are twisted. I have 900,000 residents. Of course I will prefer the dominant position," he said.

Last Thursday, Iklil, Tajul's brother, who has been staying with the rest of the refugees at the tennis stadium, walked across the street to the regent's office. He has been wearing the same outfit for days, a white T- shirt and blue jeans. His house was among those burned by the mob.

That day, legislators from the House of Representatives visited Sampang from Jakarta to learn about the conflict. The members of Commission III had lunch with the regent and his staff at his office. Sampang ulema from Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and The Sampang chapter of the Indonesian Muslim Council (MUI) were also present.

Iklil said that he was asked to come there. "I walked to the pendopo [the regent's office] but they were already finished. So, I walked back here," he said.

Noer visited the refugee camp once, a day after the attack. But, until Saturday, he has been tight lipped on Sampang's administration's plan for the victims.

Sampang MUI and NU leaders, Bukhori Maksum and Syafi'uddin Wahid, who hold a lot of clout in Sampang politics, have stated that Shiites will not be accepted on their land.

As of writing, the refugees are still sleeping on mattresses inside the stadium. "We want to return to our lands," Iklil said.

Rumors about relocation plans have been flying around. Iklil flatly refuses to be sent away. "It's our homeland and we're also worried that if we become banished people from our own land, how can we be sure that we would not face the same problem elsewhere?" he said.

From jail, Tajul echoes his brother's statement. He also said he refuses "relocation" plans because it would give a bad image of Sampang people.

In a Sidoarjo jail, Tajul wears the orange T-shirt of prisoners. He has been transferred to Sidoarjo after the Aug. 26 attack in Sampang. Tajul and his lawyers deem that it would be safer for Tajul to not be in Sampang.

Tajul's view is that the Sampang administration want to kick his followers out of Sampang, just like they did to him. In 2011, the Sampang administration made him move to Malang to appease the ulema in Sampang.

Ever since Tajul returned from the Middle East in 1999, and started to become a local cleric, teaching his Shia beliefs to the community in his village, local clerics have persistently pressurized Tajul to return to Sunni teachings and stop his clerical activities. The cleric who first attempted to make Tajul "repent" in 2005 was Ali Kharrar, Tajul's grandfather's brother in-law.

Noer Tjahja refuses to call Tajul Muluk followers Shiites. Shia, a denomination in Islam, believes the leadership of Islam was to remain with the prophet Muhammad's bloodline. Despite the differences with the mainstream Sunni teachings, the national MUI has never released an edict that Shia is deviant.

The Sampang court found Tajul guilty of blasphemy on the basis that he stated that the current holy Koran was not authentic. Noer believes that the refugees are adhering to a deviant teaching based on that court's decision.

Noer also says that he follows the Sampang MUI and NU who have released edicts that Tajul's teachings were deviant.

Noer says that unless Tajul followers "repent" and the community accept them back, rebuilding homes in the area is not an option. "If the houses were rebuilt, it's like sending people to hot embers," he said. Due to strong rejection of the Shia minority from the community, if the latter refused to leave, "lives are at stake here", he said.

Tajul's lawyer Abdullah Djoepriyono said that faith was a personal issue that the government could not force on anyone. But, Noer said that he did not care if he violated human rights, as long as he saved the majority in Sampang.

To illustrate the community's hostility toward the Shia group, Noer said that when the body of Muhammad Khosim or Hamama, 50, the Shiite who died of machete wounds, was taken back to his village, his neighbors refused to let him be buried in the public cemetary. "The community rejects not only Tajul but the whole group," he said.

The Blu'uran and Karang Gayam villages where Tajul's followers come from are small farming communities. In the dry season, such as now, the produce from the fields is tobacco leaves. These fields turn into rice fields during the rainy season.

After the attack, three companies of Brimob officers were deployed to the area. Next to tobacco fields and village houses, officers holding rifles stand guard.

At Blu'uran villagers are sitting inside a bamboo gazebo. A man and a woman stack tobacco leaves into a pile. Others watch television. Mela, 30, a young mother feeds her toddler instant noodles.

"Yes I know that there are Shia people there," she says. "I don't know them though," she added. The burned house of the Shiite family was separated by one house from the gazebo. She said she did not know anything about the attack.

Young men in sarongs standing in front of village houses also say they did not hear anything on Sunday.

According to a Brimob officer from Surabaya, the people in Blu'uran were very private and kept their distance from outsiders. He said that he had asked for days about what happened there, but all he got was "I don't know".

A Madurese Brimob officer, Junaidi, told the Post that people in these villages lived together and knew each other. Both Shia and Sunni people worked together in the fields.

He said that people became suspicious of Tajul when they saw how from three to four people coming to Tajul's small mosque on Friday prayers, his congregation grew until the mosque could not contain the followers. "They overflow outside the mosque," he said.

But, not all people were disturbed by the increasing popularity of the Shia group. Muhyin, a 21-year-old Shiite, said that a Sunni family hid him when the burning was going on.

According to Tajul, politics is at play in the persecution of Shiites in Sampang. He said that the pressure and eventual attack against Shiite groups happened because Noer continued to follow the wishes of local ulema there.

Noer acknowledges that. Running for election in December to secure his current position, he said he will do whatever the ulema wants.

"The ulema owns Sampang, I am merely a worker for them," he said, adding that he follows the local customary convention in Madura in which holds the ulema in higher respect than the government.

For Noer, whatever the ulema say in Madura, is his command.

[Wahyoe Boediwhardana contributed to the reporting.]

Islamic law & morality

Padang to issue bylaw banning adultery

Jakarta Globe - September 11, 2012

The Padang chapter of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) have said that they support the local government's plan to issue a bylaw banning adultery and prostitution.

According to MUI Padang head Duski Samad, the bylaw draft has been deliberated by the Padang Legislative Council (DPRD) to be issued soon. "We will support DPRD Padang in passing this regulation as it will represent a serious effort by the government to eradicate immoral acts," Duski said as quoted by Antara news agency on Monday.

According to him, with such a bylaw in place the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) will have the legal foundation to take action against immorality by eradicating adultery and prostitution in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra.

Duski claims that society has failed to filter out globalization's effects and therefore the government needs to issue regulations in order to deter perpetrators.

The head of DPRD Padang, Jhon Roza Syaukani, says that the aim of the ordinance is to reduce occurrences of adultery and prostitution in the city. "This bylaw is to support the vision and mission of Padang city as portraying itself as a safe and prosperous metropolis," Jhon said.

The earlier draft stipulated that violators of the regulation should be rehabilitated after being sanctioned. The sanction itself remains unclear, but the bylaw obliges the government to build a rehabilitation facility.

It also stated that eradicating adultery and prostitution is part of an effort to preserve and implement the norms of Pancasila, Indonesia's state ideology, as well as upholding the sanctity of marriage as an institution.

Agriculture & food security

23,000 hectares of paddy fields 'face harvest failure'

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2012

Arya Dipa and Slamet Susanto, Bandung/Yogyakarta – Agriculture Minister Suswono said the drought in various provinces in Indonesia had caused 23,000 hectares (ha) of 13 million ha of farmland to face harvest failure.

He said in Bandung on Monday the affected farmland currently had reached 127,000 ha. "As much as 75 percent of the area has already faced harvest failure," said Suswono.

He added that the government had allocated Rp 199 billion (US$20.78 million) to help farmers facing harvest failure. The amount of funds could be used to revive up to 70,000 ha of farmland facing harvest failure.

Suswono said the government would provide Rp 2.6 million for cultivation and Rp 1.1 million for fertilizer for a hectare of affected farmland.

The assistance funds will be immediately disbursed to farming communities when the agriculture offices at the regency and mayoralty levels have verified the area of affected farmland.

"After the affected farmland has been verified, we will send the data to the Agriculture Ministry which will immediately transfer the cash assistance to the affected farming communities. This is valid for all provinces in Indonesia," said Suswono.

He expected farmers to grow side crops, such as soybean and mung beans during the drought.

According to him, the current drought is normal during seasonal change in Indonesia. "We hope by the end of September there will be rain, so the grand planting season can begin in October," he said.

He added that eventually the government would build more than 1,000 small artificial lakes to overcome the drought.

"So, while it's raining, water can be retained and reserved for the drought," said Suswono.

In the Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, hundreds of hectares of red onion farms have experienced harvest failure, causing billions of rupiah in losses.

The harvest failure is blamed on the blorok fungus, which attacks onion leaves due to the long drought.

"The leaves have turned yellow and as a result, the plants cannot bear fruit. We are certain that at least 100 hectares of our onion farms will face harvest failure," said Sunar, 47, leader of a farming community in Bulak Cetan, Sanden, Bantul.

Sunar, father of four, told The Jakarta Post that farmers had suffered losses up to billions of rupiah due to the harvest failure. "Normally, a hectare of crops can produce 20 tons. Imagine the loss we suffer if a kilogram is sold at Rp 5,000," he said.

The blorok fungus is triggered by high humidity due to the prolonged drought.

"The climate has totally changed. The previous year, before the rainy season, it had rained once or twice. This year, there was absolutely no rain, which caused the weather to become very humid," he said.

Another farmer, Agus Tiyanto, said the fungus had spread rapidly. "My crops were still green three days ago, but in just two days, all of them had turned yellow due to the fungus," he said.

Agus, who grows onions on a 5,000-meter plot, said he had suffered a loss of up to tens of millions of rupiah due to the harvest failure.

Bulog must change if it wants to take on old job: Analysts

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2012

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – The government's plan to reinstate state-owned logistics firm Bulog's role as a buffer stock agency of several basic commodities, including rice, sugar and soybean, has received a positive response from economic observers.

The economists said that government intervention was still necessary in the market, which had increasingly become more oligopolistic while local farmers still had a weak bargaining position.

However, they warned that stricter control should be put in place to ensure that the new policy would not revive rampant corrupt practices within Bulog, which was known as a cash cow for political parties. Past cases involving Bulog have see several high-ranking party officials in prison.

"Poor governance exists in any institution in our country, including in the banking sector or ministries. But with tight supervision, it can be improved, like the way BI did with the banking sector," said A. Tony Prasetiantono, the director of Gadjah Mada University's Center of Economic and Public Policy Studies.

Unlike in developed nations, the economic system in Indonesia was not well-developed and therefore state intervention in the market of food commodities would be necessary, Tony said, adding that a system should be devised to avert the moral hazards and minimize the chance of corruption.

"The government can set up a special task force to monitor the operation of Bulog as a buffer stock agency. This task force should be directly controlled by the president or vice president, as was done with the poverty eradication task force," Tony explained.

Ahmad Erani Yustika, an economist at the Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef), pointed out the urgency of standard operating procedures for the procurement of basic food commodities managed by Bulog once it was given its new task.

"The new authority for Bulog should be followed by a strict mechanism for its operation and supervision. Imports can be permitted but there should be a clear procedure, such as a price limit, and bidding should be monitored by the government," he said.

To manage the supervision function, the government could set up a watch body to be attached to Bulog, with supervisors coming from the Trade Ministry or relevant institutions, and engage associations of commodities' growers, such as soybean and sugarcane, Erani said.

At present, rice importation is one of the sources of profit for Bulog, as it can buy rice from overseas at a lower price than that from local farmers, and cross-subsidize its public-service obligation operations, Bulog chief Sutarto Alimoeso has claimed.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) deputy coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo pointed out that in the past, the most common corrupt practices in Bulog took place with rice imports, in which officials and sellers agreed to inflate the price and split the proceeds of the higher price among themselves.

"In this case, it is important to limit the authority of high-ranking Bulog officials as the sole decision-makers for market interventions, or importation. There should be a special unit to monitor and engage in the policy-making process within the agency," he said.

Parliament & legislation

DPD seeks law-making authority

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2012

The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) will soon submit documents to the Constitutional Court to request a review of the law on the legislative bodies' structure and composition (MD3) and a law on the law-making process (P3).

DPD speaker Irman Gusman said on Thursday his team would go to the Court on Friday. According to Irman, the review will clarify whether or not the DPD has authority in the legislative process. Currently, only the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government have such authority.

"The MD3 and P3 laws contradict the Constitution, which authorizes the DPD to draft laws," Irman said, adding that the review was not aimed at challenging the House.

House asks for 77 percent increase in foreign trip funds

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2012

Jakarta – Although already receiving a huge wave of public criticism against its foreign trips, the House of Representatives has now requested a 77 percent budget increase for journeys to 38 countries in 2013, taking the budget to more than Rp 248 billion (US$25.48 million). The House was given Rp 139.94 billion for 2012 trips.

The issue is currently being discussed with the government for inclusion in the 2013 state budget draft.

"The ears of our politicians in Senayan [location of the House building] are insensitive to criticisms," Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) analyst Roy Salam said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.

Roy criticized comments from some House members who have compared their budget allocation to the funds given for ministerial trips, saying the House should have also monitored their foreign trips.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) reported that budget allocation for ministerial and institutional foreign trips has increased over the past few years, with Rp 18 trillion in 2011, Rp 24 trillion in 2012 and a planned Rp 21 trillion for 2013.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie recently cited public criticism against foreign trips as unfair, saying the House had made several adjustments and improvements related to the issue.

Marzuki said foreign trips relating to matters that would alter legislation and laws made up more than 50 percent of the allocated budget.

"These criticisms aren't fair. House leaders have applied their highest efforts to ensure budget saving across the board. Our saving efforts are exceptional," he claimed. (fzm/swd)

Jakarta & urban life

Hercules visits police to clarify things on gubernatorial campaign

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2012

Jakarta – Former gang leader Hercules, along with members from his New Indonesia People's Movement (GRIB) visited the Jakarta Police headquarters on Friday to clear his name following the erection of provocative campaign banners in several areas around the capital.

The banners suggest that Jakartans should vote for Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Basuki "Ahok" Purnomo in the gubernatorial election runoff, slated for Sept. 20, if they want a "peaceful" Jakarta. Hercules' photo and name (albeit incorrectly spelled) both feature on the banners. Hercules said that despite GRIB support for Jokowi, they and Jokowi's campaign team had not put up the banners.

Hercules said that he suspected the banners were a political frame-up, to be used later as evidence to the poll supervisor of dirty campaigning. He added that someone was targeting him as a scapegoat, as he had long been associated with thuggery.

Hercules said that although GRIB was an organization with political interests, its members did not pressure anyone into choosing a certain candidate. "Everyone has the right to chose their leader, either [incumbent] Fauzi Bowo or Jokowi," he said.

Tensions flared briefly when the group, using three minibuses and Hercules' private car, arrived at police headquarters. Police prevented most of the GRIB members, who wore red berets and camouflage, from entering the headquarters building. Only Hercules, his lawyer and 10 of his men were allowed to go in and meet with Jakarta Police chief, Insp. Gen. Untung S. Rajab.

Untung said everyone had the right to state his or her opinion, but investigating the case was not part of his institution's authority.

"To determine whether the banners constitute a campaign violation or a black campaign is the job of the Jakarta Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu Jakarta), not the police," he said. (aml/swd)

Faith not a factor in Jakarta runoff: Poll

Jakarta Globe - September 10, 2012

Ronna Nirmala – A religious- and race-based smear campaign being mounted against the challenger ahead of the Sept. 20 Jakarta gubernatorial runoff vote is falling largely on deaf ears, a new survey suggests.

The results of the poll by the University of Indonesia's Center for Political Studies, released on Sunday, showed that only 39 percent of voters considered a candidate's religion a key criteria in voting for them.

Dirga Ardiansa, one of the researchers behind the survey, said 80 percent of the 600 respondents polled between Aug. 27 and Sept. 2 had already decided who they were going to vote for and would not change their minds before election day.

However, he noted that among the different religious groups, Muslim voters appeared more likely than others to take the candidate's faith into account.

Forty-two percent said they considered it a factor, while 60 percent of non-Muslim respondents said it was not a factor at all.

The poll also revealed an interesting split along ethnic lines. Seventy- four percent of respondents who identified as Javanese, the largest ethnic group in Jakarta, said they had already made their choice and would not change their minds, compared to 69 percent of those who identified as Betawi, representing the small but influential group backing Governor Fauzi Bowo.

By contrast, 51 percent of those who identified as ethnic Chinese, who voted overwhelmingly for Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the mayor of Solo, in the first round of the election on July 11, said they were unsure who to pick in the runoff.

The survey also found that only 26 percent of respondents would vote for a candidate because they shared the same religion or ethnicity.

The findings from the UI survey come as the challenger's running mate, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, comes under attack from hard-liners over his Christian faith and Chinese ethnicity.

The issue was first sparked by dangdut singer Rhoma Irama, one of Fauzi's celebrity endorsers, who urged Muslims in a sermon not to vote for non- Muslim leaders. Since then, other conservative clerics have taken up the call.

The escalating rhetoric has prompted warnings of a possible security breakdown on polling day.

Neta S. Pane, chairman of Indonesia Police Watch, called on the Jakarta Police to be on high alert for anything that could compromise the security condition in the capital as a result of the religious and racial smear campaign.

"The situation could deteriorate because of the increasingly radical stances of each ticket's supporters," he said at a discussion of the survey results.

"The police chief must call in the two candidates and get them to commit to a peaceful campaign, promise to concede defeat gracefully, and get their supporters under control."

Neta said the tensions surrounding the runoff were far higher than during the first round of voting, when none of the six candidates was realistically expected to win outright. Jokowi took the first round with 43 percent of votes, with Fauzi second with 34 percent.

Irwansyah, a UI researcher, said another threat to the election was the perennial specter of vote-buying. He said the survey showed 42 percent of respondents believed the rival camps would offer cash or other gifts in exchange for votes.

He added the demographic most likely to be targeted through such a campaign was women between the ages of 26 and 40, with only a high school education.

Social security & welfare

Anger as government backsliding on health meets strong rejection

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Workers and the poor have rejected the government's idea of gradually implementing social security programs and to impose premiums for the services, saying the people have a right to basic social security protection for free.

They showed their anger in response to a statement from Coordinating People's Welfare Minister Agung Laksono that the government would launch the national healthcare program in January 2014 and implement it gradually until 2019.

The minister also said either employers or workers would pay an aggregated 5 percent contribution to the program. The government says it has set aside Rp 25 trillion (US$2.6 billion) as its contribution to cover more than 96 million poor people as premium aid recipients (PBI).

The Action Committee for Social Security (KAJS) and an alliance of labor union confederations accused the government of a lack of seriousness in implementing the long-waited programs.

They believe the government should abide by existing regulations. The law mandates the healthcare program's universal coverage and simultaneous implementation nationwide by January 2014.

"[With regard to the minister's statement,] the government would be in breach of Law No. 40/2004 on a national social security system. This could be enough for the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly to launch a no-confidence motion against the government and impeach the President," KAJS secretary-general Said Iqbal said in a press conference here Friday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his administration violated the social security law when he declined to initiate the programs in 2009, five years after the law was enacted in 2004.

But the President managed to avoid political impeachment after coalition parties rejected the idea. Instead, the lawmakers enacted Law No. 24/2011 which mandates state-owned PT Askes to run the national healthcare program and PT Jamsostek the four labor social security programs from January 2014.

Secretary-general of the Indonesian Workers Organization (OPSI) Timbul Siregar said the people, including workers, had no constitutional obligation to make contributions to the healthcare program.

"The healthcare program is a free basic healthcare service mandated by the Constitution and the national social security system law. The premium of the workers will be paid by their employers," he said referring to Jamsostek's healthcare program for workers.

Timbul said the Rp 25 trillion funds allocated in the 2013 state budget would not be enough to cover the poor and jobless people, including their children, whose number has reached 134 million.

"Besides, more and more workers will be included in the list of poor people when they lose their jobs thanks to rampant outsourcing and contract-based employment practice."

Said, also chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI), lambasted the government which he said had never discussed the premiums with employers or workers.

"To win acceptability for the social security program, the government must discuss the premium issue with the main stakeholders, including workers and employers," he said.

Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Unions (KSBSI) Mudhofir warned the government of the limited time available.

With only just over a year to go before implementation, necessary regulation and infrastructure (hospitals, health workers and specialists) were still not in place.

Film & television

Actors may sue director of lauded film on PKI killings

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

Apriadi Gunawan and Triwik Kurniasari, Medan/Jakarta – A documentary film about the massacre of Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members in North Sumatra in 1965 has created a stir after its recent screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the world's most prestigious and popular film events.

The film, titled "The Act of Killing" and directed by American Joshua Oppenheimer, received effusive praise from Werner Herzog, one of the world's foremost documentary filmmakers.

"I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal and frightening in at least a decade." The film was, Herzog said, as reported by CNN, "unprecedented in the history of cinema".

The film's subject-actors have not been so enthusiastic. They claim that the 149-minute film was fictional and was not intended for public viewing.

The documentary involves reenactments of the events purported to have taken place in the aftermath of the abortive coup in 1965.

One of the film's subjects, Anwar Congo, plays himself. In the film, Anwar and his friends told how they were promoted from small-time gangsters who sold movie tickets on the black market to death squad leaders.

The film depicts the men working with Army soldiers in the bloody purge that saw hundreds of thousands communists, ethnic Chinese, and intellectuals killed in less than a year.

In the film, Anwar portrayed as an executioner for the most notorious death squad in his city, killing hundreds of people with his own hands. In one scene, Anwar shows how to strangle an suspected communist with a wire.

Anwar said that he was surprised to learn the title of the film had been changed. According to Anwar, who was born in the 1940s, the film was shot in North Sumatra and was originally titled "Arsan dan Aminah" (Arsan and Aminah).

He portrayed Arsan, who falls in love with Aminah, a member of the Gerwani, the PKI women's movement, and the daughter of a PKI member. Anwar said he was upset with his portrayal as a villain who crushed the PKI in North Sumatra. "If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have acted in the film."

Another actor, Sakhyan Asmara, who portrayed a Pemuda Pancasila member, said that the film was not made for public exhibition. "The script has gone through a lot of changes. The title is very controversial and inappropriate for the original script," Sakhyan said in Medan.

Sakhyan said that Oppenheimer told him that he wanted to study the Pemuda Pancasila youth organization for a doctorate.

Sakhyan, currently a staff expert for Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, said that several phone calls and text messages he sent to Oppenheimer were not answered. He planned to sue Oppenheimer unless the director clarifies why the film was screened at Toronto, Sakhyan said.

Oppenheimer said in a statement posted to the film's website that Anwar and his friends had agreed to tell him the story of the killings. "We seize this opportunity to expose how a regime that was founded on crimes against humanity, yet has never been held accountable, would project itself into history."

"We challenge Anwar and his friends to develop fiction scenes about their experience of the killings, adapted to their favorite film genres – gangster, western, musical. They write the scripts. They play themselves. And they play their victims."

Intelligence & state security

Cool response for national security bill

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Several analysts say that the national security bill currently under deliberation by the lawmakers is unclear, substantial Constitutional and legal violations and needs revision.

"If the bill is meant to be an umbrella law for the military and police laws, it will be ineffective because the Indonesian Military [TNI] and the police have their own jurisdictions," national security expert Arry Bainus told a hearing of House Commission I on overseeing defense, information and foreign affairs on Monday.

"Almost every chapter in the bill is open to multiple interpretations," Arry, a professor at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, said.

Arry also criticized the bill for calling for the creation of regional security commands that would involve governors, regents and mayors. "This is against the 2004 Regional Autonomy Law, which gives the central government full authority over the defense, security, foreign, fiscal and judicial matters."

Hermawan Sulistyo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that he suspected the bill was intended at resurrecting the provincial (kopkamtibda) and regional (laksusda) security and defense commands that were reviled under the New Order regime of former president Soeharto.

Hermawan wanted the government to retract, revise and resubmit the bill to the House. "We support you in returning the bill for a total review," Hermawan said.

The lawmaker who presided over the hearing, Agus Gumiwang of the Golkar Party, said that the commission would likely ask House leaders to return the bill as it has met increasing resistance from lawmakers.

Another lawmaker, Sidharto Danusubroto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said his party has long urged the House to return the bill to the government for a total overhaul including the involvement of stakeholders outside the Defense Ministry.

Sidharto said that the bill went beyond Article 30 of the Constitution, which requires all citizens to take part in the defense of the state.

Hermawan and Sidharto agreed that the bill should not use the word perbantuan (help or enforcement) to define the TNI's role in domestic security, including terrorism.

The analysts said that the TNI should instead be "engaged" in domestic security to avoid misconceptions that the military was subordinate to the police.

Arry also criticized the wide scope of the bill. "The bill takes over all the authority of the military, the police and the National Intelligence Agency [BIN]."

On the involvement of the nation's spy agencies in national security, Sidharto said that the BIN had a role as information seeker and not as an investigator. "According to the 2011 Intelligence Law, BIN has no longer investigative authority," Sidharto said.

Lawmakers on the Commission agreed that the bill would likely be returned to the government after it obtained input from Commission II overseeing home affairs and regional government and Commission III overseeing legal affairs.

Mining & energy

Distribution a problem in Indonesian gas sector, VP says

Jakarta Globe - September 13, 2012

Tri Listiyarini & Dion Bisara, Nusa Dua, Bali/Jakarta – A lack of distribution infrastructure is crippling Indonesia's ability to utilize its enormous reserves of gas, Vice President Boediono said on Wednesday.

Indonesia has proven natural gas reserves amounting to 109 trillion cubic feet, the most in the Asia-Pacific region, a report last year from British oil giant BP said.

But often gas distribution is haphazard, forcing some corporate customers to suspend operations at their plants. State-controlled utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara, which uses the gas to produce electricity, struggles to secure an adequate supply.

"Indonesia is committed to overcoming this," Boediono told participants of the 25th World LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) Forum in Nusa Dua.

He said the government is backing a project to build gas pipelines linking Java and Sumatra. The pipeline is expected to function from 2014. Also being planned are a pipeline linking Java with Kalimantan, and another linking the Central Java city of Semarang with the East Java manufacturing city of Gresik.

Several regions are also building gas receiving and regasification facilities, Boediono said, referring to equipment that allows LPG that has been turned solid for transport from its source location to be prepared for use.

Another constraint on LPG consumption is pricing, the vice president said, with local buyers seeking natural gas cheaper than global market prices. Boedono said the government was helping producers to sell the gas nearer to international benchmarks.

But one energy analyst was dismissive of the vice president's words, saying the government was inconsistent in its gas policy. "This is the same old story. When it come to price, government always backtracks on its policy," said Pri Agung Rakhmanto, executive director of energy think-tank Reforminer Institute.

He said this led to Indonesia lagging other countries in the development of gas resources.

Karen Agustiawan, the president director of Pertamina, said the state energy company was involved in a program to convert devices from using kerosene to using LPG. The company has distributed three-kilogram LPG canisters to 57.9 million household since the program begun in 2007.

To meet rising demand for LPG, Pertamina has stepped up its LPG storage capacity, she said.

Indonesia hopes to build first nuclear power plant in West Kalimantan

Jakarta Globe - September 10, 2012

Banjarmasin – The central government has expressed interest in constructing a nuclear power plant in West Kalimantan, citing the island large supplies of uranium and geologic stability, a senior official said here on Monday.

South Kalimantan Governor Rudy Ariffin, who is also the head of the Forum for Kalimantan Development Acceleration and Revitalization, said representatives of the central government and governors of Kalimantan discussed the issue in a recent meeting.

The central government was represented by officials from the office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, among others, according to Rudy.

"Kalimantan is a fairly rich region; not only in coal and gold, but also in uranium in West Kalimantan," Rudy said, adding that the plant could provide electricity for the entire Kalimantan region.

The plan is part of the government's efforts to implement the Master plan for Acceleration and Expansion of the Indonesian Economic Development (MP3EI).

A proposal to build a nuclear plant in West Kalimantan was first offered by the secretary of the West Kalimantan administration, M. Zeet Hamdy Assovie, last year.

"The West Kalimantan governor has invited Batan [the National Atomic Energy Agency], leading to the conclusion that West Kalimantan is the best place to develop nuclear power because we have the raw materials." Zeet was quoted as saying by news portal jpnn.com in December.

He added Kalimantan was not part of the so-called "Ring of Fire," unlike most other regions in Indonesia, and thus was not susceptible to earthquakes and tsunamis.

Indonesian environmental group Walhi, however, was quick to reject the proposal, citing the danger of leaked reactors, even in developed countries like Japan.

An official with Walhi's West Kalimantan chapter, Hendrikus Adam, said the region should not feel the need to build a nuclear plant just because the nearby Malaysian state of Sarawak had announced a plan to commence with nuclear plant construction in 2014.

Indonesia has been operating three nuclear reactors for research purposes in Tangerang, Bandung and Yogyakarta, but it has never operated a nuclear power plant.

The original plan to build a plant in Jepara, Central Java, met strong resistance from local residents and environmental groups. (Antara/JG)

Economy & investment

Minister wants to speed tax breaks to boost investment

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2012

Jakarta – Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo has promised he will accelerate the implementation of tax incentives to stimulate local investment.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Agus said that the government had introduced several tax allowances and tax holidays to motivate local companies to invest in 122 strategic industrial sectors.

The minister hoped that the increase in investment would also help boost declining exports. "We have to support whatever means are needed to increase our exports as well as to keep imports under control," Agus said in Jakarta.

A government regulation promulgated this year that revises a 2008 regulation provides for tax allowances to promote investment. The allowance reduces an investor's annual net taxable income by 5 percent of the total value of their investment for a six year period.

The regulation also stipulates that the facility will cover accelerated depreciation and amortization and provides a maximum income tax rate of 10 percent on dividends paid to offshore taxpayers. It also provides a loss carry-forward period from five to 10 years.

Under the tax holiday facility stipulated by the regulation, those who invest at least Rp 1 trillion (US$110 million) will be exempt from income tax for five to 10 years, depending on the size and location of their investment and the multiplier effect.

Agus said that one of the main industrial sectors targeted for investment by the tax holiday facility was the basic metal industry, due to the nation's reliance on basic metals.

According to the Industry Ministry, the nation's basic metal and iron industry grew by 5.57 percent in the first quarter of 2012, down from the 17.56 percent growth reported in the same period last year. Executives have attributed slowing growth in the industry to supply shortfalls.

Agus said that the government would also expand the tax holiday facility to the renewable energy industrial sector to boost investment in that sector.

Analysts have criticized the government for failing to capitalize on the nation's renewable energy potential.

Agus previously said that investors backing the construction of oil refineries would receive additional financial incentives from the government after they complete feasibility studies.

Analysts have said that the nation must build more refineries to curb fuel imports. Indonesia currently operates six refineries that can process up to 1.03 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), although their realized potential barely tops 676,000 bpd.

The refineries are located in Dumai, Riau, which has a capacity of 170,000 bpd; Plaju, South Sumatra, with 118,000 bpd; Cilacap, Central Java, with 348,000 bpd; Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, with 260,000 bpd; Balongan, West Java, with 125,000 bpd; and Kasim, West Papua, with 10,000 bpd.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has predicted that local demand will top 1.29 million bpd by 2015, assuming that fuel consumption will grow 4 percent per year. The last refinery built in Indonesian was Balongan, West Java, in 1994. (asa)

Analysis & opinion

Insult to Indonesian Muslims: Aceh's latest Sharia victim

Jakarta Post - September 15, 2012

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – An American-made film insulting Islam is expected to attract more protests at home and abroad. But anyone intending to join such protests would miss a much graver insult to themselves, both as Indonesians and Muslims.

This is the news of the death of a 16-year-old girl, identified only as PE, in Langsa regency, Aceh. She was discovered hanging in her room on Sept. 6. So far, her death has been deemed a case of suicide.

If Islam stands for compassion and reason, as many of us understand it, then what is compassionate and what is reasonable about the moral police, and the public humiliation of a teenager enjoying a concert?

The girl reportedly left a letter to her father, insisting that she had never "sold herself", as alleged by the province's so-called morality police. She had been apprehended and harangued in public by the Sharia police for allegedly engaging in prostitution during a concert. Can Indonesian Muslims accept the consequences of this moral policing, which its advocates say is a religious necessity?

We must share the blame for the humiliation and grief felt by PE, and those of many other Acehnese men and women who have become victims of the province's sharia laws – supposedly a political exchange first offered under the government of late president Abdurrahman Wahid to help silence calls for an independent Aceh.

We must share the blame for having dismissed the Acehnese people's humiliation as a mere excess of that political exchange, which has allowed them the greatest degree of autonomy among all our provinces. In other words – "It serves you right, Acehnese". Should Indonesians continue in this attitude, in the light of this teenager's death?

The spotlight must shift from Langsa and Aceh to the whole of Indonesia – and to Jakarta and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself. In response to protests that more than 150 bylaws violate the constitutional guarantee of non-discrimination against minorities, his ministers, most notably Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi, have asserted that all bylaws inspired by religion and morality across the provinces, are in line with the authority granted under regional autonomy.

Indeed, many are official "public order bylaws", not "sharia" bylaws, which are only allowed under the Aceh Governance Law. So, even without the morality police, public order officials are mandated to execute such policies, which among other things regulate "Muslim" clothing for men and women in public schools and government offices.

Last December, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) identified 154 bylaws as being discriminatory toward minorities, including women.

The death of PE, said commissioner Andy Yentriyani on Thursday, "has created a good opportunity for the leaders of Aceh and the rest of Indonesia to rethink the use of moralistic laws". The commission is appealing to all Indonesians as a last-resort tactic, as reviewing bylaws are not included in the mandate of the Constitutional Court.

Political observers do not consider such bylaws an urgent issue; in recent local elections, free education and free healthcare services have become the more trendy political commodities to attract votes rather than earlier pledges to make the provinces and regents more clean in a moralistic sense. So, perhaps these moralistic bylaws are considered just a phase in Indonesia's long "transition".

But this depends on the constituency, says one researcher; in local elections, moralistic policies may still be vote winners. And all these bylaws remain effective. The government only once raised an objection against an Aceh bylaw that would have allowed the stoning to death of adulterers, as that would have been catastrophic for Indonesia's image to overseas' investors.

The death of PE is more a testimony than an insult; a testimony to Indonesians' lack of care about affairs considered to be political evils, in this case, the Acehnese getting what they asked for.

It is also a testimony to the ignorant empathy that in the reform era, regions should now be entitled to have moralistic codes for the good of their societies (an easy vote getter). With an attitude like this, we will see few protests against such rules as, for instance, mandatory Koran- reading skills for gubernatorial candidates, aspiring students or couples registering for a marriage license.

Leaders, including the President, need to be seen to condone such bylaws to be able to woo the "Islamic vote". Never mind the protests that remind us that such policies violate the Constitution – especially considering that the victims come from dispensable minority groups, such as the Ahmadiyah and young women.

So, it is left to the public to decide what we want. Indonesia is not a fully "secular" state, while some would prefer a more "religious" state. But, while Indonesians are not limited to Muslims, surveys have found, unsurprisingly, that minorities don't say much when it comes, for instance, to school rules imposing "Muslim" wear on all students, even if some of them are Christian.

As in the case of Aceh, young people and the impoverished are easy targets for the morality police; think back to the shaving of some 60 punks following a concert. With few protests, Gamawan has been able to say that most bylaws regulating morality and behavior do not cause trouble as they only apply to Muslims.

Activists are urging the review and reform of sharia in Aceh. However, the death of 16-year-old PE should be the last warning of the price of ignorance and of the excess of policies across Indonesia, which justify the meddling by state authorities into what should remain private affairs.

Australia lets human rights takes a back seat with Indonesia

ABC News - September 11, 2012

Phil Lynch – It should be a matter of great concern to all Australians that Defence Minister Stephen Smith, says he has "no concerns" about the human rights implications of Australia's enhanced military and security cooperation with Indonesia.

Last week, the Australian Government signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement with Indonesia. While the agreement is confidential and not available publicly, an Indonesian Government press release disclosed that the agreement affirms principles of territorial sovereignty and non- interference in each other's "internal affairs". This is diplomatic speak for "you mind your business and we'll mind ours".

Disturbingly, there has been no reference, by either side, to the agreement affirming any commitment to human rights or containing any human rights safeguards. Indeed, The Age reported Mr Smith as saying "he has 'no concerns' about alleged human rights abuses by Indonesian soldiers in the province of West Papua."

That the Defence Minister should make such remarks just a week after the ABC's 7.30 program aired evidence that an Indonesian counter-terrorism unit, which receives extensive training and support from the Australian Federal Police, has been involved in torture and extra-judicial killings in West Papua, is deeply concerning. The evidence included interviews with victims and witnesses, together with video of alleged incidents of abuse by the unit, known as Detachment 88.

Previous allegations of torture and ill-treatment perpetrated by members of Detachment 88 – together with Indonesia's special forces, known as Kopassus – have been verified by Human Rights Watch and specifically brought to the attention of the Australian Government.

Smith's comments are also surprising given the strong call by his colleague, Foreign Minister Bob Carr, for a "full and open" investigation into the killing of West Papuan independence leader, Mako Tabuni, allegedly by Detachment 88. There is support for such an approach in Indonesia, with a 27-member parliamentary committee, comprising representatives from all nine major political parties, being convened just days ago to "formulate and implement comprehensive and peaceful programs in Papua".

While, of course, Indonesia bears primary responsibility for protecting and ensuring respect for human rights within its provinces, Australia's human rights obligations do not end at our borders. As a principle of international law, states must avoid acts and omissions that "create a real and foreseeable risk of nullifying or impairing the enjoyment of human rights extraterritorially".

International law also provides that states have an obligation to conduct due diligence to identify the "risks and potential extraterritorial impacts of their laws, policies and practices on the enjoyment of human rights". The purpose of such due diligence is to "inform the measures that states must adopt to prevent violations or ensure their cessation as well as to ensure effective remedies".

In accordance with our extraterritorial human rights obligations and our commitment to good international citizenship, Australia should take a number of steps to ensure that our military and security cooperation with Indonesia does not in any way aid, assist or otherwise support operations which may lead to human rights violations.

First, we should immediately suspend support for and cooperation with Detachment 88 pending a full, independent and public investigation into the alleged involvement of its members in recent human rights abuses in West Papua. In 2008, the US cut off assistance to Detachment 88 due to human rights concerns.

Second, we should develop a comprehensive human rights impact assessment procedure, the completion of which is a precondition to any Australian support for Indonesian military and security forces. As a matter of due diligence, we should also develop a vetting procedure to ensure that units and members of military and security forces accused of human rights violations are precluded from receiving Australian support until those allegations are fully investigated and perpetrators held to account. HRW reports that at least 10 Kopassus personnel implicated in gross human rights violations over the last decade continue to serve in the military.

Finally, we should make human rights safeguards central to all policies and practices relating to Australia's military and security cooperation with all states. This means that agreements such as the new Australia-Indonesia Defence Cooperation Agreement should contain human rights clauses and guarantees. Similarly, human rights modules should be a significant and essential component of any training provided to Indonesian forces.

To be "concerned" about the human rights implications of providing Australian military and security support to another country is not to interfere or "meddle" in their affairs. Rather, it is to do what all Australians expect, which is to show principled leadership and act as a force for peace, security and stability in the region.