Jakarta – Parade marches, offerings and unique ceremonies marked the Islamic New Year's Eve 1434 celebrations, or Muharram, in various cities across the archipelago on Thursday.

The celebration might be considered less popular than Idul Fitri, but this year's events offered a series of cultural displays.

In Yogyakarta, hundreds of residents and abdi dalem (royal servants) performed a ritual called lampah mubeng beteng (march around palace walls) at midnight in the Yoyakarta palace complex in Keben to greet Islamic New Year's Eve, locally known as Satu Suro.

Some kidung (songs) were chanted and prayers were recited before the rituals kicked off. The royal servants, clad in traditional Javanese attire, carried Indonesian flags and other symbols as they marched the streets followed by hundreds of enthusiastic residents.

Danu Wresni, a royal servant, said participants were not allowed to talk, drink, eat and smoke during the 5-kilometer march.

"While walking in silence, we said our prayers. The aim of this ritual is to invite people to thank God and ask him for safety and prosperity," said Danu as quoted by Antara news agency.

People living on the slope of Mount Semeru in Sumbermujur, Lumajang, East Java, welcomed Muharram differently.

Dozens of villagers provided offerings that included nasi tumpeng (cone- shaped yellow rice), various fruits, vegetables and a cow's head.

The offerings were later taken from the village hall to a spring at Bambu Forest on the slope of Mount Semeru to perform a ceremony called larung pendam saji.

"Such a ritual is held on Islamic New Year's Eve," said Heri Gunawan, a village figure, adding that the tradition was performed as an expression of their gratitude to God for the abundance of crops they had earned.

"We also ask him to keep Mount Semeru calm so it continues to provide good fortune for the residents living around the mountain. The ceremony is the symbol of our gratitude for the blessings we have received this year," he went on.

He hoped that the tradition would be preserved and that it would draw tourists to the village.

The residents later buried the cow's head in the ground above the spring, which is believed to be the life source of the villagers.

In Kediri, also in East Java, hundreds of people struggled to snatch nasi tumpeng, vegetables or snacks from the gunungan (offerings) because the items were paraded after the ritual. People also tried to get Rp 1,000 coins (US 10 cents) and Rp 500 distributed by the members of the Muharram event committee.

Among other traditional rituals conducted were jamasan (washing sacred objects) and ruwatan (cleansing ritual).

Traditional performances such as reog ponorogo (masked dance), jaranan (horse dance) and even barongsai (Chinese lion dance) were also featured during the ceremony.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, thousands of Muslims took part in a long march around the city.

The administration also held a car art competition, participated by students of state schools and Islamic schools, members of Islamic study groups and officials at a number of agencies in Pontianak. The cars were decorated with Islamic ornaments and paraded across the city.

Meantime, Muslims in Jayapura, Papua, chose an educational approach to celebrate the New Year. Residents and students joined a 3-kilometer morning parade, while at the same time, cleaned the city streets.

Four TNI soldiers, three police officers arrested for alleged drug ring

Jakarta Globe - November 16, 2012

Pekanbaru – Police have arrested four soldiers, three police officers and a civilian who are thought to be part of a drug syndicate operating out of Riau.

The eight were arrested after they assaulted Pekanbaru Police officer First Brig. Joko Fabianto on Monday because of his supposed knowledge of their illicit activities.

"The perpetrators are also suspects in the kidnapping and assault of First Brig. Joko Fabianto that occurred some time ago," Pekanbaru Police chief Sr. Comr. Adang Ginanjar said on Friday, according to Antara news agency.

Joko is currently undergoing intensive treatment at Bhayangkara Hospital in Pekanbaru, under heavy guard, after he managed to escape the assailants on Monday.

Adang explained that the arrests were made in separate places, with support from the Pekanbaru Military Police. Law enforcement also arrested a civilian, another alleged member of the drug ring.

Adang said the three police officers and the civilian are currently being detained at the Pekanbaru Police compound for questioning, while the four soldiers are being held at the Pekanbaru Military Police headquarters.

News of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers' involvement the in illicit drug business made several headlines earlier this year.

Recently, a member of the Bali Military Command, Head Sgt. Suryono, was sentenced to four years in jail for possession of 64 ecstasy pills and 5.2 grams of crystal methamphetamine, and another soldier, identified only as S., a sergeant major with the TNI's intelligence unit, was arrested in May when Indonesian police made their 'biggest ecstasy bust in 10 years,' seizing 1.4 million ecstasy pills from a shipping container at North Jakarta's Tanjung Priuk Port.

No more fooling around for Gorontalo civil servants

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2012

Civil servants working in the Pohuwato district of Gorontalo engaging in extramarital affairs now have two options: repent, or get fired with no allowance.

The local government has recently distributed a letter warning civil servants of the consequences of involving themselves in extramarital affairs or other immoral acts

Regional Employee Education and Training Agency (BKPPD) chairman Zukri Surotinojo said on Thursday, as quoted by Antaranews.com, that any civil servants caught having affairs would not receive regional performance allowances (TKD) and could be fired from their posts.

He added that the government would only allow six months for the civil servants who've been proven guilty of violating the regulation to repent and behave well. Otherwise, they will be fired without pay.

Zukri said that the leaders of local government institutions have the power to monitor, question and sanction civil servants who are caught having affairs or engaging in other immoral activities. If the institutions' leaders fail to sanction their employees, they will be the ones ousted from their positions.

He added that such decisions were made to deter civil servants from acting unethically.

The media has often reported on civil servants from many Indonesian regions having extramarital affairs. Earlier this year, a middle-ranking official of the Ministry of Tourism named Turman Siagian died after reportedly consuming a tonic promising to increase sexual stamina in a posh hotel. A woman, identified as A.M., said that he fell to the ground and began seizing in the bathroom after drinking the tonic.

The high number of affairs among civil servants triggered the Gorontalo government to issue a regulation that transfers married civil servants' salaries to their wife's bank account. If a civil servant has more than one wife, the salary is transferred to the account of the legitimate wife.

West Papua

Former Vanuatu PM blasts Fiji over Indonesia's inclusion in MSG

Radio New Zealand International - November 15, 2012

A former Vanuatu Prime Minister says the move to bring Indonesia into the Melanesian Spearhead Group is unacceptable because Fiji, as the current MSG chair, does not have a democratic government.

Under the chairmanship of Fijis interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the MSG granted Indonesia observer status last year. This is despite indigenous West Papuans in Indonesias Papua region unsuccessfully lobbying for MSG observer status over many years.

Barak Sope says Indonesia manipulates diplomatic relations with regional governments to silence concern about human rights abuses in Papua.

We are very worried that Indonesia is at the MSG. Fiji does not have the mandate to take such action. It is a military dictatorship. So Im worried that a dictator comes in and brings Indonesia into this organisation. All of us are democratic countries, we all get ourselves elected, except Bainimarama. That decision cannot be accepted.

Police claim to set up team to investigate terror incidents at Freeport

Bintang Papua - November 9, 2012

Timika – The chief of police in Papua has announced that he will be setting up a special team to investigate recent acts of terror in the vicinity of the Freeport copper-and-gold mine which is located in the district of Mimika.

Inspector-General Tito Karnavian said that the special team will be charged with mapping the incidents and investigating each one so ensure that they are properly solved.

"The team will be instructed to handle each case seriously. What happens at present that when an incident occurs, everyone talks about it but then is disappears."

The chief of police spent two days in the area with a number of officers and inspected the open pit mining (Grasberg) as well as the underground mines.

He stressed the need for the incidents to be handled seriously. There have been a number of shootings in the Freeport area since 2009, but in most cases, the perpetrators have not been found.

During the past three years, he said, there have been "hundreds" of shooting incidents leading to the death of twenty people which has included members of the police force, members of the company's internal security force as well as local people who are involved in traditional mining.

As regards the general situation in Papua, the chief of police said that everything is quiet and under control. He went on to say that there have been a number of terror incidents in Wamena which have been solved as well as cases of the discovery of explosive material in Timika.

Six people who are thought to be involved in explosive material are currently in the custody of the police and are being interrogated. He said that the cases are being handled in accordance with legal procedures. "Anyone who is deemed to be guilty will be processed according to the law."

[Translated by TAPOL]

Human rights & justice

AGO 'shirking its responsibility' by refusing to probe 1965 purge

Jakarta Globe - November 16, 2012

Rizky Amelia & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Rights activists have lashed out at the Attorney General's Office for refusing to follow up on landmark findings of gross human rights violations during the 1965-1966 anti- communist purge, accusing prosecutors of shirking their duty.

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said on Thursday that the AGO had no legitimate grounds to reject the report submitted to it by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

"Their actions are a shirking of their duty as law enforcement agency. This is simply a way of freezing any inquiry into gross rights abuses," he said.

The AGO revealed last week that it would not conduct an investigation into the Komnas HAM report about the purge, in which up to 1.5 million people may have been killed, because the report failed to satisfy the requirements needed to launch a formal investigation.

"The evidence Komnas HAM gathered was insufficient to justify an official legal investigation," Attorney General Basrief Arief said last Friday.

Haris said the AGO had been repeating the same excuse for the past 10 years to justify its refusal to investigate a host of other rights abuse cases.

He said the cases included the anti-Chinese rapes and looting of May 1998, the shooting of student protesters at Jakarta's Trisakti University in the same month, and the killing of more student protesters in November 1998 and September 1999 in the Semanggi area of South Jakarta.

"This refusal [to investigate rights abuse cases] has gotten stronger and stronger, in line with the growing apathy shown by the president and the House of Representatives toward these cases," Haris said. "Meanwhile, the victims and their families have been left in legal limbo."

He said he had never heard of the AGO attempting to bring closure to any of the cases, including by seeking input from either the president or the House.

"It's time for the president to re-evaluate the way the AGO has been dealing with these cases since 2002, so that we can arrive at a solution for properly addressing past rights abuse cases," he said.

The AGO's refusal to launch a probe into the purge against suspected Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) members and sympathizers has been linked by rights activists to political moves from influential groups such Nahdlatul Ulama, the Golkar Party and the military to block efforts to shed light on the episode.

If the AGO had accepted Komnas HAM's report, it would have been obliged to launch an official investigation and propose that the House set up a human rights tribunal on the issue.

Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for politics, legal, and security affairs, previously said that the military's action during the 1965-66 period was justified by law because the aim was to salvage the state and the nation from falling into the hands of subversives.

"If you want to look at the events of 1965, you need to use a pair of 1965 lenses, not 2012 lenses," he said.

Golkar, which was swept into power along with strongman Suharto on the back of the supposed communist threat, has also written off the importance of addressing what many have called the darkest period in the country's history.

Golkar deputy secretary general Leo Nababan previously said that the House would not be interested in acting on Komnas HAM's report because the PKI case had long been closed.

He said the government had done the right thing by restoring the political rights of the family members of former PKI members and that any further gesture of humanitarian action would be overkill.

"What else do they want? It's enough," Leo said earlier this year. "Forces loyal to Pancasila [the state ideology], including GP Ansor [the youth wing of the NU], will stand up against such a maneuver," he added.

He said that the violence used at the time was justified because Indonesia was at risk of falling under communist rule.

House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, from Golkar, has also opposed the idea of setting up a special ad hoc court to deal with the past killings, saying the country should put the past behind it.

"Opening old historical [wounds] will not solve anything," he said in July, in response to the Komnas HAM report that was issued earlier that month. He was promptly reported by Kontras and other groups to the House Ethics Council over his statement, but no action has been taken against him.

Kontras receives international award on human rights

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2012

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), a non-governmental organization advocating human rights issues, has received the Emilio F. Mignone International Human Rights Prize 2012 from the Argentina government.

"I want to congratulate you for the award on behalf of my embassy and government," Argentina Ambassador Javier A. Sanz de Urquiza said on Wednesday at the Kontras office in Jakarta.

Javier said that Kontras was chosen from among 49 other NGOs around the globe for its lasting commitment to promoting human rights in Indonesia.

The NGO was founded in 1998 by activists and organizations that initially wanted to seek justice for many cases of forced disappearances in the country during the New Order era.

"We are grateful for this award. It is like a breath of fresh air for us amid the uncertain commitment of the Indonesian government to resolve cases of human rights violations," Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said.

The Indonesian government, according to Haris, has been less than committed to solving human rights abuse cases.

The Attorney General's Office (AGO), for instance, recently rejected a National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) report stating that the 1965 communist purge was a gross human rights violation and declined to probe the atrocity. The AGO said that the commission needed to gather more evidence before declaring the 1965 incident a gross human rights violation.

"We hope that this award will make our government eager to resolve human rights abuse cases," Haris said. (riz/iwa)

Students remember 1998 Semanggi shooting

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2012

Jakarta – Students took to the streets of Jakarta on Tuesday, demanding the government resolve the Semanggi I riot, which broke out exactly 14 years ago.

The demonstrators gave President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono two years to act. "President SBY has two years to prove his commitment. Until today, we have not seen any efforts from him to solve the case," Indro, a student activist from Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, said as quoted by kompas.com.

Indro said that the shooting of students who protested against the People's Consultative Assembly's (MPR) special session in November 1998 was a gross violation of human rights.

Students who joined the protest on Tuesday also urged the government to bring the perpetrators of the shooting to justice.

Seventeen people were killed during a protest that took place on the Semanggi cloverleaf on Nov. 13, 1998. Some of the dead had joined a protest to oust then president BJ Habibie, whom they said was an appendage to the authoritarian rule of Soeharto.

UN human rights commissioner calls for Munir murder case to be reopened

Kompas - November 14, 2012

Jakarta – United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Navanethem Pillay has called for a full investigations into all cases of gross human rights violations in Indonesia. Specifically, she urged the government to reopen the investigation into the death of renowned human rights activist Munir Said Thalib and bring the intellectual actor behind the murder to trail.

"I have given a message to the Indonesian foreign affairs minister that the outside world is waiting for justice for human rights crusader Munir who was murdered in 2004. I have also proposed a retrial of Muchdi Purwopranjono (former State Intelligence Agency deputy chief) in order to clarify in a transparent manner [who] is responsible in this case", said Pillay at a press conference at the end of her working visit to Indonesia on Tuesday November 13.

According to Pillay, the handling of human right violations in Indonesia has been inadequate and has become of special concern to the UN. In addition to Munir's murder, Pillay also called for the establishment of an ad hoc commission under Law Number 26/2000 on a Human Rights Court in order to investigate the abduction of student movement activists in 1997-98.

The former International Criminal Court judge also urged the government to give serious attention to the problem of violence in West Papua. Pillay also expressed concern over the imposition of sharia laws (Islamic law) that are applied arbitrarily and discriminatively in Aceh.

During her visit to Indonesia, Pillay met with representatives of the Ahmadiyah, Shia and Christian religious communities in Indonesia. Pillay noted that Indonesia is still a young democratic state that has emerged from the shadow of decades of military rule. She also expressed her appreciation that as of September Indonesia has signed 150 (out of 180) international agreements on human rights (sic).

Pillay, a South African citizen of Indian decent, also noted that there is not one country in the world that has a clean human rights record. "What is important for Indonesia at the moment is transforming international human rights laws in Indonesia into local and regional level regulations", she said.

Pillay praises Indonesia for making the democratic transformation from a military regime to a civil administration. Pillay also welcome the establishment of human rights institutions in Indonesia such as the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission on Violence Against Women and the National Commission for the Protection of Children. (GRE)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

AGO rebuff of PKI report a blow to human rights

Jakarta Post - November 12, 2012

Jakarta – The decision by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to dismiss the National Commission on Human Rights' (Komnas HAM) finding that the 1965 communist purge was a gross violation of human rights is a setback for the human rights campaign in the country.

Komnas HAM said that the AGO's decision was premature and that it could further degrade the institution's image as obstructionist in any efforts to uncover the truth about past human rights abuses.

"The AGO can officially declare whether or not it will continue to investigate the PKI [Indonesian Communist Party] purge only after it has studied our new report," outgoing Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

On Saturday, Attorney General Basrief Arief repeated his statement that the Attorney General's Office (AGO) rejected Komnas HAM's findings of gross human rights violations in the 1965 communist purge and had returned the rights body's extensive report.

Ifdhal said that Komnas HAM was in fact given 30 days to collect new evidence before it could resubmit the report.

"The AGO returned the report to us. It also provided us with a list of instructions that we should follow within 30 days if we want to submit the report again," Ifdhal said.

In late July, the rights commission released its comprehensive report on the 1965 violence, the fruits of a four-year research project. The report stated that persecution of alleged members of the former Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was a gross violation of human rights.

Some estimated that more than 500,000 people were killed in the purge, while thousands were sent to prisons in some of the country's remote islands without proper trials.

Komnas HAM also handed over a copy of its 850-page report to the AGO to form the basis for a possible criminal investigation. This is not the first time the AGO rejected a report on human rights abuses in the country.

The AGO, for instance, has failed to investigate allegations of human rights violations in the violence that took place during the transition from the New Order regime.

Human rights activists have expressed disappointment with Basrief's remarks.

Usman Hamid, formerly of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that the AGO could only rule out a gross violation of human rights in the 1965 anti-communist pogrom only after it conducted its own investigation.

"The existing law stipulates that the attorney general should launch an investigation into an allegation of a human rights violation after getting recommendations from Komnas HAM," Usman said, referring to Law No. 26/2000 on the human rights court.

Usman said that the AGO's stance reflected the government's overall position on human rights in the country.

Rights activist Zainal Abidin of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said that the AGO could have done a great deal to prosecute the case, based on recommendations from Komnas HAM.

Zainal said that if the AGO found that Komnas HAM was lacking crucial evidence, it should have launched a probe of its own. "The AGO is authorized to use force to summon witnesses, while Komnas HAM does not have such a privilege," he said.

He said that it was highly unlikely that the AGO would prosecute the case. "It is the same old song. It's always that the Komnas HAM's report lacks evidence. It is just a polite way of rejecting the report," he said. (riz)

Victims say 'old forces' behind AGO's refusal to investigate 1965 killings

Voice of America - November 12, 2012

Andylala Waluyo, Jakarta – The chairperson of the Institute for the Study of the 1965-1966 Massacres (YPKP 65), Bejo Untung, told Voice of America (Indonesian language) that the victims of the 1965-1966 affair are disappointed that the Attorney General's Office (AGO) has returned a case dossier on human rights violations that occurred in 1965 to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM).

In July, Komnas HAM announced the results of its investigation into the affair declaring that the systematic retribution against those alleged to be members of or sympathisers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) following the 1065/1966 affair was a gross violation of human rights.

The AGO returned the case dossier last week and requested that Komnas HAM collect new evidence on the 1965/1966 cases as well as the mysterious shootings (Petrus) in 1982-1985. Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Andhi Nirwanto said that that it would be difficult to investigate an incident that occurred decades ago.

Untung said that the YPKP 65 had already predicted that the AGO would return the case dossiers. According to Untung, this demonstrates the government's lack of seriousness in uncovering the case.

"I am concerned that there was political intervention by old forces in the case, so they are repeatedly drawing it out so that the 65-66 affair is never fully investigated", said Untung, a former member of the [PKI affiliated] Indonesian Association of Youths and Students (IPPI), who was jailed for almost nine years under the regime of former President Suharto on charges of involvement in the PKI and the failed coup on September 30, 1965.

Untung said that the Komnas HAM report into the 1965-1966 affair is very comprehensive so it is strange in his view that the AGO believes that further evidence is need to back the report.

"As far as I have studied it, the Komnas HAM report is very comprehensive, because it covers all of the issues and cases of violence spanning the 65- 66 period from North Sumatra to Ambon. And [from] the sampled cases it is very clear, the military was involved in the acts of violence", he said.

"And all of [my] colleagues, who were questioned by the Komnas HAM investigation team, explained who was behind it. Including the commanders of Kodam [regional military commands], Kodim [district military commands] and Koramil [sub-district military commands], and this is absolutely clear from the written [signatures] in our release papers, this could be traced right? How much more comprehensive could it be? I am concerned that it's just a fabrication by the Attorney General".

Nur Kholis, the chairperson of the ad hoc investigation team into the 1965-66 gross human right violations, who is also a Komnas HAM commissioner, told VOA that the team will endeavour to complete the deficiencies cited by the AGO.

"The Attorney General provided annotations and also suggested several things that need to be complimented by Komnas HAM. This includes, among other things, a lack of witnesses, questions about alleged perpetrators, and also technical and legal deficiencies such as whether or not the investigators and witlessness were put under oath. Because of this therefore the team will hold a meeting, and then begin to work on the things that were deemed inadequate over the next 30 days", said Kholis.

In its report, Komnas HAM cited evidence that there were nine kinds of humanitarian crimes that represent gross human rights violations that occurred during the 1965-66 affair. The nine types of crimes against humanity include murder, forced evictions or relocation of populations, or physical violations of the liberty of persons in the form of torture, rape and forced disappearances.

This conclusion was arrived at by Komnas HAM after taking testimonies from 349 witnesses, who comprised victims, perpetrators as well as people who witnessed the events directly. The total number of victims of the affair is estimated to be between half-a-million to 3 million people.

Komnas HAM also recommended to the AGO that the mysterious shootings that occurred in 1982-1985 be followed up.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

PKI purge not a gross violation of human rights, says AGO

Jakarta Post - November 11, 2012

Jakarta – Attorney General Basrief Arief said the systematic persecution of alleged members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) after the failed 1965 coup was not a gross human rights violation.

Speaking after taking part in a ceremony to mark the National Heroes Day at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery on Saturday, Basrief repeated his statement saying that the Attorney General's Office (AGO) rejected the earlier claim by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and had returned the latter's extensive report to the rights body.

Basrief made a similar comment on Friday, saying the evidence gathered by Komnas HAM was insufficient to justify a legal investigation.

"As I said yesterday, we have returned the report to Komnas HAM because it does not meet several requirements. In principle it [anti-communist purge] does not meet the requirement to be considered a gross violation of human rights," he told reporters.

In late July, Komnas HAM declared that the persecution of alleged PKI members following the aborted coup did in fact constitute a gross human rights violation.

Komnas HAM said that state officials under the Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Kopkamtib), which was led by former president Soeharto from 1965 to 1967 and between 1977 and 1978, should be prosecuted for various crimes, including mass rape, torture and killings.

Komnas HAM also handed over a copy of its 850-page report to the AGO to form the basis for a possible criminal investigation.

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

Two days after the report was published, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the AGO to study the report.

In October, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto claimed the mass killings were justified to save the country from communism.

Soon after the ceremony, President Yudhoyono, the First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and Boediono and his wife Herawati spread flower petals on the graves of the heroes, who include former vice presidents during the New Order, Umar Wirahadikusumah and Sudharmono.

Earlier this week, Yudhoyono had bestowed the honorary title of National Hero on the country's first president and vice president, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta.

Also present at the ceremony was Jakarta's new Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, whose presence caused a ruckus near the cemetery when well-wishers tried to catch a glimpse of their new leader, ignoring more senior officials and politicians, including Yudhoyono himself.

Jokowi, who was wearing a black suit, greeted them with his typical wide smile and shook hands with those who participated in the ceremony as well as soldiers, police personnel and their families.

Historian J.J. Rizal said the adulation toward Jokowi could indicate that the public had a new definition of what constituted a modern-day hero.

"Most of the National Hero titles are bestowed upon individuals with a military background and soldiers who died on the battlefield. Citizens now, however, found their heroes among those individuals who can address current problems," he said.

AGO rejects Komnas HAM report on 1965 massacres

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2012

Rangga Prakoso, Ezra Sihite, Bayu Marhaenjati& Firdha Novialita – The Attorney General's Office has rejected a plea by the National Commission on Human Rights to conduct an official investigation on alleged human rights abuses in 1965.

The commission (Komnas HAM) submitted a report to the AGO in regards to the aftermath of an aborted coup in 1965 that saw at least 1.5 million people killed. "The evidence Komnas has gathered was insufficient to justify an official legal investigation," said Attorney General Basrief Arief said on Friday.

The Komnas HAM report was based on its own investigations in various parts of the country. It included interviews with 349 eyewitnesses in East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, Bali, Sumatra, Maluku, and Java where members of the banned Communist Party were allegedly butchered.

The report also sought to reveal the truth about mysterious killings that took place between 1982 and 1985 when President Suharto's government restored peace and order through a killing campaign allegedly performed by elements of the armed forces.

The killings were known as "pembunuhan misterius [petrus]," or mysterious killings.

After concluding its investigation, Komnas HAM's investigators said they had enough evidence to declare gross human rights violations in both massacres, and submitted the report to AGO. Andhi Nirwanto, the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes, said formal and material requirements had to be met before AGO would take any action.

"Apart from questioning witnesses, we need to find the actors," Andhi said, suggesting that Komnas HAM's report failed to satisfy the requirements that are needed to launch a formal investigation.

The AGO's announcement came despite various independent studies that have concurred with Komnas Ham's findings. Some studies estimate that the number of casualties might have exceeded 1.5 million people.

Human rights activist Hendardi slammed the AGO's decision, saying that political pressure from groups involved in the purge was behind the decision.

"It shows the reluctance of the country's elites to confront its past mistakes and bring those responsible to justice," he said. "The tragedy has continued to haunt the nation for 47 years, and will continue to do so unless we come to terms with it."

In recent years, pressure has been mounting from civil groups for the government to come to terms with the events that preceded President Sukarno's ouster, and Suharto's rising as the country's ruler. They have urged for the official rewriting of the country's history to include the truth about the killing campaigns, including the 1965 Communist purge, seen as the country's darkest period.

However, political moves from influential groups such Nahdlatul Ulama, the Golkar Party and the military continue to block efforts to shed light on the past incidents, the groups say.

If the AGO accepted Komnas HAM's report, it would have launched an official investigation and proposed that the House set up a human rights tribunal.

Deputy secretary general of Golkar, Leo Nababan, has said the House would not be interested in acting on Komnas HAM's report because the Partai Komunis Indonesia case has long been closed.

Nababan said the government had done the right thing by restoring the political rights of the family members of former PKI members and that any further gesture of humanitarian action would be overkill.

"Forces loyal to [state ideology] Pancasila, including [Nahdlatul Ulama's youth wing] GP Ansor, will stand up against such a maneuver," Nababan warned.

Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, also from the Golkar Party, has also opposed the idea of setting up a special ad hoc court to deal with the past killings.

Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for politics, legal, and security affairs, said that the military's action during the 1965-66 period was justified by law because the aim was to salvage the state and the nation from falling into the hands of subversives.

"If you want to look at the events of 1965, you need to use a pair of 1965 lenses, not 2012 lenses," Djoko said.

Media & press freedom

Riau journalist assaulted – again

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2012

Pekanbaru – Fakhri Rubiyanto, one of the journalists assaulted by Air Force officers when covering a jet crash in Riau last month, has once again been physically attacked, this time by four unidentified men in Pekanbaru on Wednesday night.

The perpetrators, wearing helmets to cover their faces, were riding two motorcycles when they intercepted Fakhri's motorcycle on Jl. Arifin Rachmad, tempo.co reported on Thursday.

When the victim, who works for Riau TV, stepped off his motorcycle, the four men beat him up, resulting in a wound to his temple and bruises over his body.

While beating him, the men said that they hated the fact that Fakhri had received an award, along with six other journalists assaulted following the plane crash, from the Indonesian Journalists Association (PJI) in Riau. The award was given in recognition of the journalists' persistence in demanding justice following the attack against them.

Bukit Raya Police chief Comr. Panangian Samosir said the police would investigate the recent attack and find the perpetrators.

Last month's attack against several journalists occurred after the crash of an Indonesian Air Force Hawk 200 jet in Kampar, Pekanbaru. Journalists covering the event were beaten by Air Force officers and their cameras were confiscated. (han)

Political parties & elections

'Dangdut' king ready for presidency

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2012

Jakarta – Believing in the democratic value that everyone has the same right to be a presidential candidate, Rhoma Irama, the country's king of dangdut music, says that he is ready to go the distance in the 2014 presidential election.

Rhoma, who was born in Tasikmalaya as Raden Oma Irama, was quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday as saying that he was ready to run for the country's top post if Indonesian people wanted him to.

So far, the Wasiat Ulama association and the Indonesia Malay Musicians Association (PAMMI) have endorsed the 65-year-old singer as their preferred presidential hopeful.

"Rhoma Irama has led his dangdut group Soneta for 40 years. The group is still going strong now, so it is a proof that Rhoma has good sense of leadership," said Fachrurozy Ishaq, one of the leaders of Wasiat Ulama, in Jakarta last week.

The Wasiat Ulama stands ready to approach Islamic political parties to back Rhoma, since only political parties can officially nominate a presidential candidate.

Mahfudz Siddiq, the deputy secretary-general of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said as quoted by Antara news agency that Rhoma had a significant number of devoted fans and supporters. "Dangdut followers could outnumber members of political parties," he said.

No political parties, however, have said that they would consider Rhoma as their presidential pick.

Rhoma founded the prominent dangdut group Soneta in 1970. The group's first album Begadang (Stay up all night), which featured a shirtless Rhoma in tight trousers on the cover, was a big hit. Rolling Stone Indonesia listed the album at number 11 out of the 150 greatest Indonesian albums of all time.

After performing haj in 1975, Rhoma featured several Islamic values as the theme of his songs, including "Judi" (Gambling) and "Haram" (Forbidden). As a popular musician and actor, he has also garnered a relationship with political entities, especially Islamic parties.

Rhoma has built a reputation as a supporter of Islamic party the United Development Party (PPP) since the New Order era. The Soeharto regime officially banned his songs when he campaigned for PPP from 1977 to 1982.

During the recent Jakarta gubernatorial election, Rhoma campaigned for Fauzi Bowo and his running mate, Nachrowi Ramli. He delivered a controversial sermon against Fauzi's rivals, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his running mate, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, during prayers at a mosque.

Though he was cleared of any campaign violations, Rhoma's statement was widely criticized, mostly by Internet users. The larger-than-life singer delivered a tearful formal apology for his sermon, which advised Muslim voters to choose a Muslim leader.

Regarding his current interest in running for president, Twitter users have made a number of jokes under the hash tag #RhomaforPresident, which mostly contains satirical jokes about Rhoma's physical appearance and personal life. (lfr)

Politics, semiotics and the checkered shirt

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2012

Jakarta – Blame it on Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. It is a moot point whether the checkered shirt that Jokowi wore while on the campaign trail contributed to his win, but for those eager to copy his success, their wardrobe choice is clear.

Today, plaid and checkered shirts are no longer the sartorial preference of cash-strapped grunge musicians. In almost any regional election in the nation, there will be one ticket whose candidates wear matching plaid shirts, usually red, white and black.

The candidates following Jokowi's lead include La Ode Azis and HT Jusrin, who are running in Southeast Sulawesi's gubernatorial poll; Hariyono Abdul Bari and Hamduddin Iksan, who are running to lead the regency of Sampang, East Java; Rudiyanto Asapa and Andi Nawir Pasinringi, who are running in South Sulawesi's gubernatorial election; and Tantri Hasan Aminuddin and Timbul Prihanjoko are running to lead the regency of Probolinggo, East Java.

The latest candidates to have gone plaid are Rieke Dyah Pitaloka and Teten Masduki, who have been nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to run in West Java's gubernatorial election in 2013.

Rieke and Teten were seen wearing checkered shirts identical to those sported by Jokowi when they registered with West Java General Election Commission (KPU Jawa Barat) on Saturday. "This shirt has become a symbol of change," Teten told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Teten, an antigraft activist from Transparency International Indonesia (TII), said that he hoped that he could emulate Jokowi's spirit of change by wearing a checkered shirt.

"Rieke and I happen to share views similar to those of Pak Jokowi, and we decided to wear shirts identical to his for the West Java gubernatorial election," he said.

Teten, however, said to expect a slight modification of the shirt's design. "My campaign team will work with young designers from Bandung to come up with a new design for our checkered," Teten said.

The suggestion that Rieke, a lawmaker on House of Representatives Commission IX, and Teten to wear the shirts came from none other than Jokowi himself.

Benny Hoedoro Hoed, who specializes in semiotics at the University of Indonesia, said that many politicians were eager to emulate Jokowi in hopes of repeating his success. Checkered shirts have now become a signifier for populist politics, thanks to the Jakarta governor, Benny said.

"The meaning of checkered shirts has shifted. Now, any leader who wears a checkered shirt is expected to embody Jokowi, and they'd like to be portrayed as being close to the people," Benny said.

However, Benny warned candidates and their fashion consultants that the clothes do not make the man. Donning a plaid shirt alone is no guarantee of victory at the polls, according to Benny.

"When they [candidates] wear the shirts, the public will also assess whether they have the same traits as Jokowi. Ultimately, it will depend on the quality of individuals who wear the shirt," he said.

Politics aside, those who have benefitted from candidates' new-found preference for checkered shirts are the vendors who hawk them, many of whom have reported reaping windfall profits.

Heri, an ojek motorcycle taxi driver, said that he could still make money from a side job selling checkered shirts on a corner of Jl. Surabaya, in Central Jakarta, even after the Jakarta gubernatorial election ended in September.

"I used to sell 50 checkered shirts a day during the election period," he said. "Some people have started to ask me whether I sell the shirts worn by Rieke and Teten."

Heri sells short-sleeve Jokowi shirts for Rp 80,000 (US$8.31) and long sleeve ones for Rp 125,000. (riz)

Golkar, PKS yet to pass election verification stage

Jakarta Post - November 12, 2012

Jakarta – The General Election Commission (KPU) announced over the weekend that out of 16 political parties, 13 had passed the factual verification stage at the national level.

The KPU was yet to decide the status of the Golkar party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB), which thus far are still undergoing the factual verification process.

KPU said in a statement that the three political parties failed to meet the basic requirements for parties to be declared eligible to contest the 2014 general election.

Golkar and PBB have failed to meet the basic requirements that women make up 30 percent of the party central board membership. The Muslim-based PKS, meanwhile, failed to present its chairman and secretary general during a visit by a KPU commissioner.

"When we arrived for the verification process, both the party chairman and secretary general failed to show up," KPU commissioner Ferry Kunia Riskiyansyah said in a statement.

As for the female representation, 61 percent of PKS' central board membership are female party members.

The three parties have until Nov. 17 to complete their applications before being subjected to another round of factual verification.

The 13 political parties that have passed the factual verification process at the national level are; the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Democratic Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), the National Democrat Party (Nasdem), the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI), the National Unity Party (PPN), the National Care for People Party (PPRN), the Democratic Renewal Party (PDP) and the New Indonesian National Sovereignty Party (PKBIB).

Responding to the verification result, Golkar deputy secretary general Nurul Arifin said that there was no reason for party members to panic.

"We are not worried. We know all the stages and this is not a reason to panic. Next week, we will submit a new list with more female members," Nurul said as quoted by Antara news wire.

Nurul said that Golkar had in fact met the 30 percent threshold for female central board members. "They just failed to show up during the verification process. Some of them went on the haj pilgrimage, some were out of town or overseas. They will definitely show up for the next verification stage," Nurul said.

PDI-P officially nominates Rieke-Teten for West Java election

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2012

Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has officially nominated the pairing of member of the House of Representatives Rieke Diyah Pitaloka and antigraft activist Teten Masduki to compete in the 2013 West Java gubernatorial election.

House member and interim chairman of the PDI-P West Java chairman TB Hasanuddin said party chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri had endorsed the pair to run in the election.

Hasanuddin said that the PDI-P was expected to make an official announcement on the candidacy soon. He also said that the PDI-P would not form a coalition with other political parties for the gubernatorial election.

"Our doctrine is that we will build a coalition with the people and other components in the society," he said as quoted by Antara news wire.

Hasanuddin was also optimistic that the PDI-P could repeat the success it had with the popular Surakarta mayor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Jokowi was recently elected as the Jakarta governor. "Rieke-Teten ticket will be our Jokowi part two," he said.

Later in the afternoon during a press conference to announce the candidacy, the PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo said that the party central board had instructed all party officials and members in West Java to work hard for the election of the Rieke-Teten ticket.

"All members of the party must work to organize the people to elect their new leaders," Tjahjo said.

Responding to the PDI-P central board's decision to name him as a candidate for the deputy governor position, Teten said that what matters in the election is the commitment to develop West Java.

Teten also said that he would also play a more active role, especially in efforts to ensure the creation of clean and excellent governance across the country's largest province.

"We have agreed to have a [fair] division of labor so that I will not serve as a spare tire. I will take new initiatives to create a clean government," said Teten, who is a native of Garut, West Java.

Teten also said that he had agreed to resign from his position as secretary-general of the Transparency International Indonesia (TII), with immediate effect.

This announcement is a blow to the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, who had said in October, it would nominate Teten as its candidate in the West Java gubernatorial election.

Gerindra had said it would form a coalition to nominate Teten, as it lacked enough seats in the West Java Legislative Council (DPRD) to register Teten as a candidate on its own.

Labour & migrant workers

Jakarta council recommends 44% minimum wage increase

Jakarta Globe - November 15, 2012

Lenny Tristia Tambun – The Jakarta Wage Council decided late on Wednesday night to recommend a massive 44 percent increase in next year's minimum wage, much to the dismay of business representatives.

If approved, this would mean Jakarta workers should next year receive no less than Rp 2,216,243 ($230) per month.

"The calculation of the 2013 minimum wage was based on the worker living standard, regional living standard, Indonesia's projected economic growth in 2013, projected inflation rate and Reasonable Living Cost Index," said Dedet Sukendar, the head of the Jakarta Wage Council and also the head of Jakarta's Manpower and Transmigration Agency.

The amount is higher than the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL) in Jakarta that was recently set at Rp 1,978,789 – 30 percent higher than the 2012 benchmark of Rp 1,497,838 – but Dedet said the proposed figure was deemed the best for both employers and workers.

Workers representatives opened the meeting demanding a minimum wage of Rp 2.79 million per month, but later lowered this to Rp 2,216,243, which the Wage Council agreed to.

This final figure is just slightly higher than the Rp 2,176,667 proposed by government representatives, arrived at with the assumption of an annual economic growth rate of 6.8 percent and inflation at 4 percent.

Business representatives, on the other hand, wanted the minimum wage at Rp 1,978,789, equivalent to the KHL. The proposed minimum wage would be adopted once Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo approves it.

"Thank God," M. Toha, secretary general of Jakarta Worker Forum, said after the meeting. "Entering the Islamic New Year, we get the big prize – the minimum wage is higher by 44 percent."

But employers maintained their objection and refused to sign the decision, saying the government had conspired with the workers. Representatives from the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) and the Jakarta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) walked out of the meeting.

"Apindo and Kadin do not acknowledge the decision of the Wage Council shown by our walking out of the meeting," said Bambang Adam, a representative from Apindo. Bambang said that if the governor approved the proposed wage, they would resort to legal options to challenge it.

Sarman Simanjorang, chairman of the Indonesian Indigenous Entrepreneurs Association (Hippi), said the proposed amount was not arrived at through the proper process set out by the government to determine the minimum wage.

"It's strange that the workers who previously insisted on a minimum wage of Rp 2.79 million in the end only demanded an amount that's two percent higher than the amount proposed by the government," Sarman said on Thursday.

"[The meeting] was fully loaded with drama and we, the employers, were abused. Why waste energy in that meeting if the minimum wage had already been set since the beginning."

Mass labor protests in Indonesia next week

Straits Times - November 15, 2012

Zubaidah Nazeer, Jakarta – Thousands of workers took to the streets in Purwakarta, West Java, in ugly protests on Wednesday that saw most roads closed.

The protests came ahead of planned mass demonstrations across Java next Tuesday, with 70,000 expected to rally in Jakarta alone.

Indonesians are demanding a rise in the minimum wage and a ban on employing contract workers – two problems they cite as barriers to improving their welfare.

Said Iqbal, one of three labor leaders representing the Alliance for Labor Unions in Indonesia (MPBI), said, "We are forcing, not asking, the government to amend the laws to limit (contract jobs) and implement a better wage system. There will be no compromise until there is a change or more transparency."

Labor groups are also denouncing comments by Sofyan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesia Employers Association (Apindo), who said that 80 percent of those who took part in strikes and demonstrations were hired to do so and were not union members.

The protests came despite Industry Minister Mohamad S. Hidayat's announcement on Monday that the government may raise the minimum wage to 2 million rupiah (S$255) a month, and that Jakarta's minimum wage may go up by 50 percent.

The labor leaders' statements show a growing distrust of the government and increasing boldness on the part of workers to demonstrate for change.

A nationwide strike in early October crippled production at 1,000 factories, causing an estimated 1 trillion rupiah in losses, Apindo claimed.

These protests have been rising in frequency even as Indonesia posted strong growth and attracted a record US$5.9 billion in foreign direct investment in the third quarter of this year. Singapore was one of the top investors.

A survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development September found that Indonesia's minimum wage is among the highest in the world relative to average salaries at 65 percent. But labor leaders say it is not enough as the minimum wage is set based on an unmarried worker's needs, and the lack of monitoring allows many companies to breach the requirement and flout laws on limiting contract jobs.

Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar has been busy talking to provincial wage councils and governors, who have the authority to decide on the minimum wage, to consider more variables such as the needs of dependents and estimated future inflation.

Aggressive action, such as workers forcing their way into factories to get others to strike, has unsettled many companies. Some Japanese and South Korean firms have sought help from their embassies to discuss the issue with the Manpower Ministry.

Wednesdya's protests in Purwakarta are the first of several scheduled over the next few days.

On Saturday, MPBI officials will lead a meeting in Batam with about 50,000 workers. Next Monday, workers in Surabaya will take to the streets.

Next Tuesday, workers from industrial estates on the outskirts of Jakarta will march on the presidential palace and Parliament. Apindo says 23 companies have plans to suspend operations if demonstrations continue to be rowdy.

The International Labor Organization's deputy director Michiko Miyamoto describes the labor situation as complex, but says the main issue rests with the implementation of the law.

"The biggest problem is the lack of clarity over the laws. Once this is resolved and the government shows the political will to implement this, workers and investors may be reassured."

Medan workers rally for more wages

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2012

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Thousands of workers from the Medan Industrial Zone (KIM) in Medan, North Sumatra, rallied on Tuesday, calling a proposal to raise the monthly minimum wage (UMK) to Rp 1.46 million (US$162) "inhumane".

Workers' representative Agus Utomo said that the city's proposed increase was a far cry from meeting the daily needs of workers.

"Workers have been leading a difficult life. What can we eat with a monthly salary of Rp 1.46 million? Now, everything is so expensive," Agus said on the sidelines of the rally at Medan City Hall.

Agus said that the workers were demanding that the city increase the monthly minimum wage to Rp 2 million, which he described as in line with a survey on minimum living standards.

Medan Deputy Mayor Dzulmin Eldin, who was on hand to meet the protestors, said that the increase to the UMK had been set by the Medan administration, based on a recommendation from the local Remuneration Council, which he claimed had taken into consideration rising minimum living standards for the workers.

During the protest, the workers also held protests at several factories that had barred their employees from joining the rally at Medan City Hall to demand an increase in the monthly minimum wage.

The tensions began to mount as the workers were blocked from entering factories by security guards.

But due to the huge number of workers arriving by motorcycles, the security guards, assisted by local police officers, were overwhelmed, and eventually allowed the employees who were working to join the demonstration.

A convoy of thousands of workers from various factories in the KIM descended on city hall, paralyzing the highway connecting Medan and Belawan Port.

Congestion also occurred in a number of points in Medan, as the workers marched on the city's thoroughfares on the way to Medan City Hall.

While workers did not cause havoc during the protest, government offices closed or suspended work. Hundreds of officers from the North Sumatra and Medan Police and troops from local Indonesian Military (TNI) units were on hand to oversee the rally.

North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Wisjnu Amat Sastro arrived at the rally to talk with the demonstrating workers. Wisjnu described the workers' protests, which were held in a number of places in Medan, as peaceful overall. Wisjnu added that the police had mobilized 3,828 police officers and TNI troops to provide security during the protests.

Riau workers get 13.08 percent minimum wage increase

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2012

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – After lengthy and tough negotiations that had been going on since early October, the Riau Remuneration Council eventually agreed to a monthly 2013 Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) set at Rp 1.4 million (US$155), or an increase of 13.08 percent from the current Rp 1.238 million.

Riau Manpower, Transmigration and Population Agency head Nazaruddin said the UMP negotiation was at one point postponed because many of the wage components had to be put into consideration, including the basic cost of living (KHL), consumer price index, company capacity, UMP of neighboring provinces and job market conditions.

"The number of items being discussed is also higher, such as the KHL standard, which was based on 46 items that we decided earlier. But now, based on Manpower and Transmigration Ministerial Decree No. 13/2012, the component and achievement stage of KHL are determined by 60 items of needs," said Nazaruddin, who also heads the Riau Remuneration Council, on Monday.

He cited that two parties – the employers and workers – had contrasting points of views that were difficult to reconcile.

"Workers' representatives insisted that the new UMP should be set in line with the KHL, or around Rp 2 million, while employers wanted the UMP percentage increase to not be too high compared to the current UMP," Nazaruddin said.

"But both sides have mutually agreed the UMP be set at Rp 1.4 million per month as it represents the interests of every party. The increase of 13.08 percent is quite reasonable for the current conditions," he added.

According to him, the remuneration council's decision has been reported to the Riau governor for approval to be put into effect as of Jan. 1 next year.

"The Riau UMP will serve as a reference for the regency and mayoralty administrations in setting the minimum wage in the respective regions," he said. "Every employer in Riau must abide by the UMP. Violators will be given stiff sanctions in line with Manpower Law No. 13/2003," said Nazaruddin.

Remuneration council member and regional coordinator of the Riau chapter of the Indonesian Prosperous Workers Confederation, Patar Sitanggang, deemed that the 2013 UMP could never be able to improve the welfare of workers, as the amount of UMP was still a far cry from the KHL of an unmarried worker.

"Workers actually have never demanded improper wages, but employers, like always, remain adamant and demand lower wage increases," said Patar. "Workers only wish to be treated more humanely. We are also humans who have living costs that keep increasing, so wage adjustments cannot be avoided," he added.

On the other hand, another remuneration council member who is also Riau Chamber of Commerce executive director, Muhammad Herwan, acknowledged that he was quite reluctant to approve the increase in the 2013 UMP.

"The business world is very supportive and understands the importance of improving the welfare of workers, but 2013 will be full of upheavals and challenges. The sluggish economy, such as drops in exports, the planned increase in basic power rates and the cuts in subsidized fuel are still haunting the business sector. Political agendas, such as the gubernatorial election, will also have direct impact on business activities," said Herwan.

"But for the sake of togetherness, the businesspeople will make efforts to implement the decision as best as possible. Hopefully, the new UMP will further invigorate the business sector," he added.

'Small businesses in dire straits over wages'

Jakarta Post - November 11, 2012

Amahl S. Azwar and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Eka, who owns and runs a cellular phone shop in Palmerah market in West Jakarta, does not see the recent debate on next year's minimum wage for Jakarta workers as having any advantages for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

With three workers on her payroll and around Rp 7 million (US$735) in monthly sales, she could never comply with the labor law requiring all businesses to pay workers the minimum wage.

"If small businesses like us are forced to obey the law, it will be better for us not to employ anyone and just shut the business," she said on Friday.

Jakarta's minimum wage is set at Rp 1.52 million per month, and labor unions have been staging protests to have it increased by around 80 percent.

Labor unions, business representatives and governments in all cities and regencies are in the process of negotiating a new minimum wage for next year.

The government and labor unions have called for a significant increase – around 30 to 50 percent for 2013 – much to the dismay of business associations who want an exclusion for SMEs and labor-intensive businesses.

While the negotiations have often been marred by violent rallies, workers and owners of SMEs have been left out of the loop, despite accounting for around 90 percent of businesses in Indonesia.

As of 2010, there were 53.8 millions SMEs, employing more than half of the country's workforce, according to the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry.

Based on the law, SMEs are businesses with net worth not more than Rp 2 billion and annual sales of not more than Rp 1 billion.

Virtually, no SMEs can afford to pay their workers minimum wage. The owners all risk going to jail because, based on the existing labor law, business owners who fail to comply with the minimum wage policy will face a maximum of four years in prison.

In some cases, owners pay kickbacks to officials to avoid prosecution. "During negotiations on the minimum wage, there should be a differentiation between those for SMEs, labor-intensive businesses and large businesses," said Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Suryo Bambang Sulisto.

"Not all businesses can cope with the rising minimum wage," said Suryo, adding that it was the SMEs that cushioned Indonesia from the impact of the late 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global economic meltdown.

According to the law, a minimum wage is applied to all businesses regardless of their financial capacity. What differentiation there is usually applies to sectors like automotive, telecommunication and finance.

Sugi, who represents an association of West Jakarta's warteg (food stalls), said he would hold a meeting of members over their opposition to the minimum wage requirements. "Some warteg owners pay their workers around Rp 600,000 per month. There's no way we can comply with the law," said Sugi.

The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has also called on the government to exclude labor-intensive businesses, such as footwear and textiles from complying with the rising minimum wage.

According to the association, there are currently three million people working in labor-intensive industries.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar has often said that the ministry could not exclude SMEs and labor-intensive businesses from complying with the minimum wage policy as they are required to pay their workers based on the standard cost of living.

Outsourcing policy in doubt

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry has postponed issuing a controversial revised decree on labor outsourcing after unions and businesses failed to reach a compromise on several sticking points.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister, and chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Muhaimin Iskandar said on Thursday that he had suspended the planned revision indefinitely until a compromise was reached. The revised decree was previously scheduled to be issued on Nov. 2.

"We hope the conflicting parties will reach an agreement on two crucial issues so the decree can be signed," Muhaimin said. The issues include jobs that may be outsourced and the implementation period of the decree.

A revision to the decree was drafted after the government bowed to pressure from unions following major rallies in the past couple of months in several industrial cities, many of which ended in violence.

On several occasions, the union organizers resorted to ransacking production facilities of firms that were not willing to allow their workers join the rallies.

The planned decree would make it more difficult for companies to practise outsourcing – a move that would affect 14 million outsourced workers – and faces challenges from the private sector.

According to the planned decree, companies would not be permitted to outsource their core business and outsourcing would be limited to five types of jobs: cleaning services, security, driving, support services on mining sites and catering.

Due to the rigidity of the labor law, labor-intensive companies have preferred to outsource their core workers from third parties on a contract basis to avoid making them permanent employees.

The companies have argued that under the existing labor law it is costly and difficult to fire underperforming permanent staff.

Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) Said Iqbal said the unions had already agreed to compromise on some issues in order for the revised decree to be immediately signed to limit outsourcing practices.

Iqbal said unions and the ministry's team had agreed to limit outsourcing to the five job types and that employers would be allowed to outsource other jobs with ministerial approval. He also said the unions had demanded that the revised decree be implemented one month after its issue, while the government proposed 12 months.

"But the unions will tolerate companies making changes to their employees' status within three months after the issue of the decree," he said.

In response to the planned decree and the recent violence at labor rallies, the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) has warned the government that its members will temporarily close their factories or relocate overseas.

The association also alleged Muhaimin's plan was politically motivated and that the decision was made to improve his standing among workers amid declining support for his party.

However, another influential business lobby group, the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), did not share Apindo's concerns.

Kadin's vice chairman for trade, distribution and logistics Natsir Mansyur doubted that Apindo members would have the courage to lock out their workers or relocate their factories overseas.

"It's not easy for companies to quit their businesses instantly. We are not talking about street food vendors who can simply move their stoves if they want to relocate," said Natsir.

"Doing business in Indonesia is still profitable. I urge Apindo not to exaggerate things," he said. Most of Kadin's senior officials are Golkar Party or Democratic Party politicians.

In a separate development, the Jakarta Labor Forum has threatened to hold a massive strike on Nov. 13 and 14 should the Jakarta administration refuse to raise the new minimum wage by around 80 percent to Rp 2.79 million (US$295) per month.

Mohammad Toha, the forum's secretary-general said the strike would be held at industrial estates in Pulogadung in East Jakarta and KBN Cakung- Cilincing in North Jakarta. "We are a coalition of 13 workers' associations. We have 400,000 members under our coordination," Mohammad said. (sat)

Health & education

Human rights needed in family planning

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – Experts have said that a human rights- based approach was the key to ensuring the success of the family planning program.

Stan Berstein, an expert working with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said on Wednesday that through a human rights-based approach "everyone, men and women, of all ages, everywhere in the world should be empowered to exercise their rights to decide on the number, time and spacing of their children".

Berstein made his speech during the launch of the 2012 State of World Population report titled "By Choice, Not By Chance: Family Planning, Human Rights and Development" jointly held by the UNFPA and the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN).

The report released globally on Wednesday said that millions of people from countries around the world found that their rights to access family planning were still being denied.

A human rights-based approach, said Berstein, would give people access to proper information, good and non-discriminative treatment and quality services on family planning. "In this regard, people are treated not just as a target of a particular program," he said.

Ninuk Widyantoro, an activist from the Women's Health Foundation, said that with the rights-based perspective women would be in charge of any decision regarding their own health. She said the right to family planning was crucial as more than 90 percent of total contraceptive users were women.

"It is about how a person, especially a woman can exercise her rights over her own body and make decisions such as when to start having sexual intercourse, when and with whom to get married, when is the right time to have a baby, how many children to have, and how many years between children," said Ninuk.

The right to family planning was included in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) agreed in the Tehran Conference on Human Rights in 1968, when countries affirmed that individuals and couples had the right to make responsible and voluntary decisions concerning time, number and spacing of their children.

It is estimated that in the early 1960s only about 15 percent of women in developing countries used family-planning methods. As countries began implementing rights-based approaches to family planning, the figure increased to 63 percent using any contraceptive method while 50 percent are using modern methods.

"This is a success rate that many other development programs would envy," Berstein said. The agenda had not yet been completed, however, as millions of women still lack access to reproductive health services.

According to the report, 222 million women are believed to lack access to modern contraceptives. They either don't want to have another birth or they want to delay the timing before the next birth, but are not currently using any types of contraceptive.

Women who lacked access to contraceptives account for more than 80 percent of the total 80 million unintended pregnancies, projected for this year. About 40 million of the total unintended pregnancies affecting women who lack access to modern contraceptives will likely end in abortion.

The report also found that female sterilization is the most common contraceptive method, followed by Intra Uterine Devices (IUDs). Data from the Indonesian Health and Demography Survey (SDKI) shows that the number of users of IUDs now stands at 3.5 percent, down from 13.2 percent in 1987.

English will be taught, Indonesia's education ministry says

Jakarta Globe - November 14, 2012

After weeks of speculation, the Education Ministry has announced that English language lessons will not be scrapped from the nation's elementary school curriculum after all.

Musliar Kasim, the deputy minister, had previously said that the ministry was trying to simplify the existing elementary school curriculum, which had been criticized as overwhelming students with too many subjects.

Musliar said under the new curriculum there would only be six subjects: religion, nationalism, Indonesian language, math, art and sport. On Tuesday, however, he said that ministry would include English, but only as an elective subject or integrated into the six mandatory subjects.

"We never wanted to scrap [English from elementary school]. From early on there was never any mandatory English class [at elementary level]," he said. "All this time, English at the elementary school level has been included into local knowledge [elective] subjects, not mandatory subjects."

Musliar said it would be unfair to children in remote areas if the government made English a mandatory subject, arguing that Indonesia had a limited number of teachers qualified to teach the language. "If English is made a mandatory subject but the teachers are incompetent [to teach it], the impact on the children would be bad," he said.

Musliar added that elementary schools across the country could still teach English as electives or additional subjects as long as the lesson was accepted by children.

It is still unclear whether the government will make science and social studies electives or proceed with plans to scrap those subjects entirely.

Musliar previously said the government had decided to make the elementary school curriculum simpler by scrapping several subjects like science and social studies, which he said would be integrated into Indonesian language classes.

"A national figure told me that his grandchild, who is an elementary school student, has to carry books in a suitcase because there are so many subjects they have to study," he said last month.

"Many students, when their teacher is absent from school, feel glad because they're free from studying. In the future, the system should be overturned. They should be glad to study."

The decision sparked controversy and polarized the nation, with proponents of the plan arguing that their children had long felt overburdened by the curriculum.

But opponents of the plan argued that it would make Indonesians less competitive in the globalized market and discriminate against those who could not afford to send their children to private English and science tuition centers.

Retno Listyarti, secretary general of the Indonesian Teachers Union Federation (FSGI), said there was no need to force Indonesian children to speak a second language at such an early age.

"Elementary school students are still at a basic stage [of learning]. Just provide them with a range of vocabulary," she said.

Indonesia lagging on child health

Jakarta Globe - November 9, 2012

Dessy Sagita – Indonesia's infant mortality rate matches that of significantly poorer Bangladesh, and blame for the alarmingly high rate lies with the government, an activist says.

World Vision campaign director Asteria Aritonang said on Thursday that the mortality rate in Indonesia was due to the government's failures.

"The problems are almost the same in every country, which are leadership, budget allocations and policies, such as regional autonomy and distribution of paramedics," she said.

Asteria lamented that Indonesia's infant mortality rate matched that of Bangladesh, saying that Indonesia has an income per capita of $3,000 while Bangladesh's stands at $700.

"How can Indonesia, a country with a per capita income almost five times higher than Bangladesh, have the same infant mortality rate. It should be much lower," Asteria said.

The rate of infant mortality in Indonesia reached 134,000 in 2011, official figures show. The rate is almost the same in Afghanistan and Ethiopia, where income per capita is even lower than in Bangladesh.

Asteria said that geographic and economic factors also contributed to the rate. But the rate could have been minimized, with strong leadership and the right policies, she added.

"The regional autonomy system should've contributed a better result because the regional administrations know the most suitable policies for their regions," Asteria said. "If the leaders were for the people, they would've done their best."

Slamet Riyadi Yuwono, the Health Ministry's director general for nutrition and child and maternal health, agreed that the autonomous system often slowed the central government's health programs.

"We no longer have regional health offices. We only have health agencies that are under the control of the governors and district heads," he said.

Under the autonomous system, a regional head can replace paramedics that had received training from the Health Ministry and the decision often disrupts the continuity of a program, he said.

In a global competitiveness index report in June, the World Economic Forum said health care could become a major barrier in Indonesia's push for economic development.

"A high infant mortality rate, the burden of communicable diseases and the prevalence of malnutrition highlight the worrisome situation," the WEF's executive summary said. Indonesia ranked 99th in health out of 139 countries assessed by the Switzerland-based international organization.

Hasbullah Thabrany, a health expert and professor at University of Indonesia, said a deterioration in public health was looming because the government only spent 1.1 percent of its estimated gross domestic product for this year on public health care.

That compares to 2.8 percent on subsidies, mostly for energy, which stood at Rp 188 trillion ($21.9 billion) in this year's state budget.

Graft & corruption

Cabinet secretary reports three ministries to KPK

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2012

Rabby Pramudatama, Jakarta – Cabinet secretary Dipo Alam visited the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) late Wednesday and submitted reports of alleged budget mark-ups within three ministries that he received from a number of civil servants earlier this month.

"I submit this report to the KPK because the Cabinet is not a law enforcement institution. I think we have enough momentum now as civil servants have the courage to report dishonest practices," he told reporters after handing over the reports to the KPK.

He assured that the reports came from civil servants, "We [the Cabinet secretary] have studied the reports and crosschecked the information." Dipo, however, refused to name the three ministries.

Earlier, the Cabinet secretary circulated a decree, SE-542/Seskab/IX/2012, to civil servants working at ministries, which urges the civil servants to report any corrupt practices found in their own institutions.

A number of civil servants apparently responded to the decree by submitting reports of alleged corruption between House of Representatives members and several executives of state-owned enterprises. (lfr)

Dahlan revises names of alleged 'unlawful' lawmakers

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2012

Jakarta – State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan delivered another letter, containing revised names of lawmakers that allegedly asked state- owned companies' officials for kickbacks, to the House of Representatives (DPR) ethics council.

The House ethics council chairman M Prakosa said on Tuesday that the council had received the letter on Monday. "The letter mentions revision of lawmakers' names that have been delivered to us before," he told kompas.com, without giving further details.

On Thursday last week, Dahlan delivered five names that had allegedly asked kickbacks from state airlines PT Merpati Nusantara through a letter. In the letter, the names mentioned are AQ, IQ, ATP, LM, ARW.

Prakosa, however, said that there was no additional names in the list, only the changed ones. "We will summon Dahlan to ask further explanation on his reports," he added.

Some of lawmakers considered the revision had defect his reports The council plans to hold a hearing in connection with Dahlan's revision after the recess next Monday.(cor)

Cabinet secretary claims political parties are infiltrating ministries

Jakarta Globe - November 13, 2012

Arientha Primanita – After creating a stir by banning government officials from colluding with lawmakers, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam has caused further controversy by suggesting that political parties have infiltrated government ministries.

Political parties appointed representatives in ministries to take up key positions or act as advisors to ministers, and these people often engineer ministries' projects, Dipo said.

He said that he made the claims based on reports he received from civil servants who work at the ministries and are aware of such practices.

"The cadres of the [political] parties reportedly did unethical things," Dipo said at a media conference on Monday. "[They] engineered the implementation of the procurement of goods and services worth hundreds of billions of rupiah each, with the intention of helping their partners or certain business partners."

Dipo declined to name the political parties, or the ministries that were allegedly infiltrated by them.

Dipo said he learned of the practice shortly after issuing the edict that aimed to prevent corruption and collusion on budgets. He added that the reports he received were backed up by detailed information and data.

After engineering projects, the politicians usually asked the business partners that won the projects to give kickbacks worth up to tens of billions of rupiah. "If all the fees from the projects were combined, they could reach hundreds of billions of rupiah per year," Dipo said.

The party cardes in ministries work with government officials to ensure that the projects run well by offering the officials senior strategic positions. The party staff then report the officials to the ministers to be dismissed or transferred to other positions if they refuse to cooperate.

Dipo said that he was told that these party apparatchiks played a significant role in determining appointments to the echelon I, II, III and IV bands of the civil service.

"This makes the situation in the ministries become non-conducive [to good results] because of the various programs and activities that were created to serve the interests of the political parties," he said.

Reports by the civil servants also mentioned the involvement of a certain House of Representatives faction chairman, who Dipo declined to name publicly.

That chairman's job was to create activities and programs and to ensure that his colleagues in the parliament approved the budget that was previously marked up, thus making the collusion systematic, he said.

Dipo said that these practices have been revealed in several internal audit reports but the ministers chose to ignore the reports.

Mudslinging gathers momentum as lawmakers plan to sue Dahlan

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The row between members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Dahlan Iskan continued on Monday with lawmakers threatening to file legal complaints against the outspoken minister.

In recent weeks, Dahlan has tested the patience of members of the House by going public with the names of politicians who he claims demanded kickbacks from executives of SOEs.

The National Awakening Party (PAN) faction at the House announced on Monday that it would file a complaint against Dahlan and asked him to make a public statement apologizing to the lawmakers.

PAN faction secretary Teguh Juwarno said that Dahlan has slandered lawmaker M. Ichlas El Qudsi by accusing him of blackmailing executives.

"If it is true that MIEQ is in the report, we will certainly file a compliant against DI," Teguh said, referring to Ichlas and Dahlan by their initials. Ichlas is accused of demanding bribes from state-owned regional airline PT Merpati Nusantara.

Last week, Dahlan forwarded the names of eight lawmakers who he claims asked for kickbacks to the House of Representatives ethics council. Ichlas name is said to have been on Dahlan's second list, delivered to the ethics council on Friday.

The three lawmakers previously named by the minister have been identified as Sumaryoto from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Idris Laena from the Golkar Party and Idris Sugeng from the Democratic Party.

Ethics council member, Usman Jafar, claimed that Idris demanded a sweetener of 2,000 tons of sugar from the state-run PT RNI to be distributed to his constituents. Ichlas himself maintained that he was innocent and demanded Dahlan provide evidence for his allegation.

"I have never met anybody from a state-owned firm. I demand Pak Dahlan disclose details of his accusations. I will resign my position if proven guilty. I ask him to publicly apologize if he fails to provide evidence," Ichlas told reporters.

PAN executive Viva Yoga Mauladi said that his party was giving Dahlan seven days to prove his contentions.

"We give him a week to prove his accusations. If he fails to submit evidence, we will file a report of defamation with the police. His irresponsible statement has dealt a blow to the credibility of our member, our party, and the House," Viva Yoga said. The PAN faction has also filed a complaint to the ethics council.

Other than Ichlas, the four other lawmakers on the list are said to be members of House Commission XI on financial affairs, Achsanul Qosasi, Andi Timo Pangerang and Linda Megawati of the Democratic Party, and PDI-P's I Gusti Agung Rai Wirajaya.

Achsanul had previously said that he and the other lawmakers attended a meeting with PT Merpati Airlines executives three months ago. Ichlas denies ever being at the meeting.

Separately, lawmaker Idris Sugeng of the Democratic Party also denied accusation that he demanded kickback from PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) president director Ismed Hasan Putro.

"It's cruel. I once asked Pak Ismed whether the company offered sugar to be distributed to our voters through the company's CSR [corporate social responsibility] program." Idris protested.

"I must emphasize that I finally bought four tons of sugar worth Rp 48 million [US$5,000], with each kilo costing Rp 12,000. It was a normal price," he said.

Former SOE official backs Dahlan's extortion claims

Jakarta Globe - November 12, 2012

Ezra Sihite – Former State Enterprises Ministry secretary Said Didu has backed up claims made by current minister Dahlan Iskan that lawmakers have engaged in extortion.

But Didu said that the lawmakers were not the biggest source of misappropriated funds from state-owned enterprises – instead, people close to the government were.

Dahlan said in a text message to Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam that House of Representatives members were trying to extort kickbacks from SOEs ahead of the finalization of the national budget.

Didu confirmed that 10 groups tried to extort SOEs during his time as the ministry's secretary. The groups comprised of government officials, and the inner circles of ministers, political parties, politicians, lawmakers, people from the media, law enforcement officials, NGOs, regional governments and foreign entities.

"The most persistent ones were within the inner circles of the rulers," he said. "The inner circles of the rulers were not necessary politicians but they could be wives or other relatives of government officials.

"The approach used by politicians and those within the inner circles of government officials included the placing of their people as SOE directors. That's because every rupiah spent on SOEs must go through the president directors and finance directors."

Meanwhile, foreign parties intervened through lobbies by getting SOEs to intentionally lose in tender bids. "Foreign parties lobbied SOEs to get our mining companies to lose [in tenders] and prevent Pertamina from getting oil fields," he explained.

He added that intervention and extortion by lawmakers could most easily be done through the procurement of goods and services, subsidies and initial public offerings of SOE shares. The money disbursed through those means can go undetected or unrecorded.

Didu praised Dahlan's decision to reveal the practice but added that he should not only identify extorting lawmakers. Didu said that of 141 SOEs, only about 20 are targets of extortion.

He said he was confident that extortion could be eradicated if the government replaced the directors of the targeted SOEs with people who objected to the practice. "Find president directors and finance directors who can push back when they are extorted," Didu said.

Abdul Latif Algaff, chairman of the SOE Workers Federation, said that extortion by lawmakers is genuine and that all SOE employees knew about it, though many lacked concrete evidence. "We are SOE employees and the extortion at SOEs is real and is committed through different means," Abdul said.

He added that lawmakers often grill SOE directors at parliament hearings but in the end ask for money. "The lawmakers criticized them so much but it turned out they had certain intentions and wanted to make some sort of deal," Abdul said.

He added that sometimes the idea to give the money came from SOE directors. Abdul defended Dahlan, whom he said was only trying to protect SOEs from extortion.

Hendrawan Supraktino, a member of House Commission VI, which oversees SOE matters, described Dahlan's report as speculation that would garner a positive response by the media and the public.

Sebastian Salang, coordinator of the Concerned Citizens for the Indonesian Legislature (Formappi), said there was a larger problem related to the extortion committed by lawmakers.

"It's not that simple. It's not just about some coward SOE people or legislators with the nerves – there is a more complex problem than that," Sebastian said.

He added that the problem stemmed from the transactional political practices that are often used by politicians, and collusion by lawmakers who issue weak policies that leave SOEs at risk.

"If people had any influence, they would be tempted to do things, such as place their own men [in SOEs], and own shares," he said.

Sebastian said that the lack of evidence means the House Ethics Council, which is investigating Dahlan's allegation, will struggle to confirm the claim.

Formappi called on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to investigate the practice by tapping the lawmakers phones.

Early in his time as minister, Dahlan indicated plans to merge, privatize or shut down many SOEs, potentially cutting opportunities for graft.

Dems lawmakers among 'those asking kickbacks'

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Three of the five lawmakers whose names recently forwarded to the House of Representatives ethics council were politicians from the Democratic Party, an organization already marred by several graft scandals.

The other two lawmakers were from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

On Monday, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan disclosed the names of another two lawmakers during a closed-door meeting with the House ethics council leaders.

Usman Jafar, a lawmaker attending the meeting, revealed that the two politicians named are Sumaryoto of PDI-P and Idris Laena of the Golkar Party.

Initially, details of the five lawmakers were released to journalists identified only by their initials: AQ, ATP and LM from the Democratic Party, MIE from PAN and IGARW from PDI-P.

It has transpired that all the lawmakers are in fact from House Commission XI overseeing financial affairs: Achsanul Qosasi, Andi Timo Pangerang and Linda Megawati from the Democratic Party, M. Ichlas El Qudsi of PAN and PDI-P's I Gusti Agung Rai Wirajaya.

M. Prakosa from the House's ethics council refused to comment on the names of those five lawmakers on Friday. However, lawmaker Achsanul Qosasi stepped up and talked to reporters at the House to clarify his alleged involvement in the "extortion scandal".

"I feel disturbed," he said, adding that the five initials might possibly refer to Commission XI lawmakers who attended a meeting with executives from the PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines three months ago.

According to Achsanul, all the other four initials resemble names of Commission XI fellows Andi, Linda, M. Ichlas and I Gusti, who also attended the meeting. "If it's true, Pak Dahlan should have forwarded more names because there were at least ten to 15 lawmakers in the meeting," he said.

Achsanul claimed that none of the lawmakers attending the meeting mentioned anything that could lead to demanding kickbacks. The meeting was apparently cancelled because not even half of the 48 Commission XI lawmakers showed up.

"While awaiting fellow lawmakers to arrive, some of us only asked former PT Merpati Airlines president director Sardjono Jhony about the company's business plan and how to cope with their debts. I believe none of us talked any more outside the meeting room," he said.

Commenting on the naming of members of the party in the scandal, leader of Democratic Party faction at the House, Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, suggested Dahlan to immediately provide evidence to the allegation to clarify misleading message against the party.

"We hope Pak Dahlan supports his allegation with necessary evidence otherwise [this is] nothing but slander," she said.

Separately, lawmaker Teguh Juwarno from PAN encouraged Dahlan to forward his report to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to uphold justice against "corrupt lawmakers". "We have encouraged him [Dahlan] to go to the KPK with his report if he is sure about it," he said.

Meanwhile, antigraft activist Dahlan Abdullah from the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) called on both lawmakers and government officials to start to "clean" their institutions from corrupt practices.

"What has been going on between Pak Dahlan and the DPR gives both institutions momentum to curb corrupt practices. However, it seems that everyone is more focused on the political side of the incident instead of the core problem, which is massive corruption in almost all walks of life in this country," Dahlan Abdullah said.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Fifty alleged terrorists from Islamic school in Nganjuk detained

Jakarta Globe - November 13, 2012

Approximately 50 students and one teacher affiliated with an Islamic boarding school and allegedly involved in terrorist activities were taken into police custody on Tuesday.

According to Antaranews.com, dozens of fully-armed police officers raided the Pondok Darul Akhfiya school in the Kepuh village of the Nganjuk district in East Java.

Besides hauling in students, officers also arrested Nasiruddin Ahmad, also known as Landung Tri Bawono, the teacher at the institution.

Nganjuk police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Anggoro Sukartono told Okezone.com that police were still trying to determine whether or not the students were being trained to be terrorists.

A local resident commented that people who live in the surrounding area of the school regularly witnessed students participating in martial arts training during the morning and evening.

"They often exercised and practiced martial arts. They even have a space that looks like a military training field behind the school," Maryono, one of the locals, said, as quoted by Antaranews.com. "We suspect they are members of a terrorist network."

Maryono said that students of the school are high school-aged and are from several different regions, such as Banyuwangi, Pasuruan and Ambon.

Nasiruddin denied the allegations and claimed that he only teaches the students about Islam.

"We're not teaching terrorism, but only religious studies, as other Islamic boarding schools do," Nasiruddin said. "Besides that, we teach them martial arts."

Police have not let journalists investigate the scene further, but a reliable source told Antaranews.com that police found many books about jihad and air guns on the premises.

Nganjuk police officers refused to comment when the Jakarta Globe contacted them.

Antiterror raids net innocents

Jakarta Post - November 12, 2012

Nani Afrida, Jakarta – "Rahman" and his four colleagues were apprehended by the National Police's Densus 88 counterterrorism personnel in a house in Pejaten, South Jakarta, in 2010.

The house was the regional headquarters of the Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), whose leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison for funding military training in Aceh.

Rahman, then an office boy at the JAT office, was released after spending seven days in jail and undergoing "intimidating questioning" sessions. The police failed to tie him to terrorist activities.

However, the police have never issued any apology nor provided any compensation to help ease both the mental and physical damage he may have incurred from the arrest.

Rahman is among dozens of people arrested and subsequently released whose situation has been largely ignored even though they may have been harshly interrogated or even abused.

According to Yayasan Prasasti Perdamaian (YPP), a foundation that facilitates rehabilitation efforts for former suspected terrorists or terrorist convicts, 33 people have allegedly been wrongfully arrested by Densus 88 since 2010.

YPP researcher Taufik Andrie said recently the number of wrongful arrests had become serious. "Being associated in some way with terrorists does not make one a terrorist," he said.

Taufik said victims of wrongful arrest or police questioning had not received any rehabilitation or compensation after their release, even though some had allegedly been tortured and denied legal representation during their interrogations.

Apart from the trauma, the stigma of being taken in for questioning in relation to terrorism often sticks.

Since his release, Rahman said his life had changed dramatically. Simply joining Koran reading groups had become difficult, as both old and new friends distanced themselves from him. Old friends thought he was an intelligence agent for the police, while new acquaintances believed he was a terrorist.

"My problems got worse as I felt I was being spied on by the authorities. They often called me to ask me my whereabouts and what I was doing," Rahman said. Frustrated, he decided to move to Bandung with his entire family, saying he had to start his life from zero.

High-school student Davit Anshary, 19, is the latest victim in the list of innocent people being arrested.

He said he was still traumatized after being arrested by Densus 88 last month and spending seven days in jail. "What was traumatizing was when they raided my house, cuffed my hands and put a mask over my head," Davit said.

Davit claimed the police treated him well including during their interrogation about his relationship with a terrorist suspect, someone he knew from Facebook and who later spent several days at Davit's house.

Achmad Michdan, a lawyer for the Muslim Defenders' Team representing Davit, has asked the police to clear his clients' name and apologize to him, even though there are no specific rules regarding people who have undergone police questioning without being charged. "We want to remind the police to be more professional."

Since the Bali bombings claimed 202 lives in 2002, the authorities have detained more than 700 suspected terrorists and accomplices. More than 60 terrorists have been shot dead by the police.

Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, is still engaged in an intense fight against terrorism that has stemmed from various splinter groups of Jamaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda affiliate behind the Bali bombings.

In such a fight, more arrests are expected and more collateral damage is likely to ensue.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that people like Rahman and Davit were not victims of "wrongful arrest". He said they were merely questioned and were, therefore, not entitled to rehabilitation as otherwise stipulated in the Criminal Law Procedures Code.

The interrogation period allowed under the Terrorism Law lasts for up to seven days, not two days as is the case for suspects in regular crimes. Boy argued that as long as the police did not declare a person a suspect, he or she was not technically "wrongfully" detained.

"These people were with terrorist suspects when we caught them, so we had to check them as well. We will release them after seven days at the latest if we lack evidence."

Boy said rehabilitation in such cases was unnecessary as police were "just trying to gain information". The perception of "wrongful arrest" was wrong, he said.

Freedom of religion & worship

Pillay gets no clear answer on discriminatory laws

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2012

The Indonesian government has balked at complying with the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) recommendations, issued during its quadrennial "Universal Periodic Review" in May, that the country must amend or repeal laws and regulations discriminatory against the country's religious minorities.

Five months later, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay arrived in the country and repeated the same call and grew more concerned about the increasing violence against religious minorities.

Pillay, a South African national, was the first woman to start a law practice in her home province of Natal in 1967. She has acted as a defense attorney for anti-apartheid activists, exposing torture, and helping establish key rights for prisoners on Robben Island.

In her public statement, Pillay also highlighted several other cases of human rights violations, but religious persecution certainly tops her list. The Jakarta Post's Margareth S. Aritonang and Yohanna Ririhena interviewed her at the UN's mission headquarters in Central Jakarta.

Question: Your visit here has apparently brought hope to the lives of those who suffer from religious discrimination, such as the Shia community in Sampang, East Java. What will you recommend to restore their rights and particularly to release Shia leader Tajul Muluk, who is in prison for blasphemy?

Answer: I have met the wife of the Shia leader who is in prison. And I have already raised the issue with both the government and the judges. I myself will look into the facts of the case. I've been assured by the government and the judges that freedom of expression is protected under the Constitution, but at the local level, the Shia leader appears to have been charged for expressing an opinion that doesn't suit those who disagreed with him. I will have my office look at the charge sheet and begin to address it from there.

I'm very concerned with individuals being charged in local courts for violating freedom of expression when, in the constitution, that right is assured. We will continue to focus on individual cases that concern us that may amount to human rights violations.

You have recommended the government amend or repeal regulations you see as discriminatory toward religious minorities, such as the 1965 Blasphemy Law. However, the government has continuously claimed that such regulation is in line with the Constitution. How do you see this?

I too have been told that those laws are valid. However, I didn't get any clear answers wherever I raised it. This is an ongoing problem that has to be addressed.

I will continue to call for the repeal of laws that fall short of the international obligations that Indonesia has undertaken. Even though the Constitutional Court has found the Blasphemy Law not to be in conflict with the Constitution, I still have trouble reconciling at that law with the right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion, which are fundamental freedoms.

Government officials have previously said that the implementation of the universal human rights values should adopt local contexts, such as bylaws. Is this acceptable or is Indonesia obliged to abide by the UN's universal human rights values as a member state?

That is totally unacceptable. It has to be the other way around. Whatever your local context is, you owe the same rights and protection to your people that people all over the world enjoy. Universal rights have been formulated by all the member states of the UN, so that is the standard everyone accepts.

The Indonesian government has rejected recommendations on religious freedom by the United Nations Human Rights Council [UNHRC]. What if the government continues to refuse comply with the UN?

It's true that it's not a perfect system, but it's the best we have and we've never had this problem before. Four years ago, we didn't have a mechanism that could examine the human rights record of a civil society. But now victims can come to the human rights council and they have a voice, a forum where they are heard, and the high commissioner's office will independently examine the situation and report. That's what we have now.

So far, the system is voluntarily. There is no penalty if a state doesn't comply with the recommendations. As with all international statutes, the state has to undertake its obligations. It's important that you implement them. I will continue to urge Indonesia to accept the recommendations that it is not ready to accept now. I'll find out what the difficulty is. Why isn't the government accepting it? How can we assist? Sometimes with through different steps we can reach the same goal.

Let me assure you that all states take the UPR [Universal Periodic Review] very seriously now. This is probably why the Indonesian delegation was at such a high level, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. They genuinely want to advance the human rights of the people in Indonesia. They want to protect human rights and they want to use all the tools and mechanisms that are now available.

We get many directives from the human rights council to provide technical assistance. So it's not, as I said, a perfect system but that's where we are. We have to rely on the good faith of the government to implement our recommendations, and on civil societies from the country concerned to monitor the situation and report to the council. I'm afraid there are no consequences, but it does go on public record.

Government dismisses 'incidental' religious violence

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A minister is rejecting claims made by the United Nations high commissioner on human rights that the government has done little to stop religious violence in the nation.

Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsudin claimed that the government had indeed taken measures to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their religion, could practice their faith freely.

Amir described the violent attacks directed at religious minorities as relatively minor problems for a populous nation that was too much for the government to manage.

"There might be places where attacks on certain minority groups occurred. However, they are incidental," Amir told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. "Indonesia has a population of over 240 million who are spread over a vast area. We have too many people to deal with," according to the minister.

Amir said that the government had not received adequate recognition of its protection of minority groups, placing the blame with the media. "We're always misunderstood. We, for example, have always given protection to members of the Taman Yasmin Christian Church [GKI] to prevent them from being attacked," Amir said.

However, Amir told only half the story: While the police protect the congregation as it holds religious services at an alternate site, the central government has failed to challenge Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto, who has defied court orders to open the congregation's original church.

Amir offered a similar defense of the government in the case of majority Muslim attacks against the minority Shia community in Sampang, East Java, that killed two.

"We have also done the same in Sampang, when we moved the Shia to a shelter in order to protect them from future attacks. However, people consider these attempts as a restriction of the freedom of the minority groups," he said.

Amir said that he had made this clear to United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Navanethem Pillay when the pair met earlier this week. "I have explained this to Ibu Pillay with a hope that she can understand the context of what really happened," he added.

The UN commissioner, who met with victims of religious persecution in Indonesia, said that she was "distressed to hear accounts of violence, attacks, forced disappearances and other discrimination and harassment, as well as the police's failure to provide protection".

Among those whom the commissioner met was Ummi Kulsum, the wife of Sampang Shia leader Tajul Muluk. Tajul was convicted and imprisoned for blasphemy immediately after Sunni Mulsims burned his community to the ground.

The wheels of justice have spun slower for the Sunni Muslims who instigated the attacks. Their trials started only last week.

Ummi told the commissioner that the Shia who took shelter in a local sports center in Sampang after the attack remained under threat from Sunni Muslims who want to forcibly convert them.

Pillay also met with representatives from the GKI Taman Yasmin, the Filadelfia Church from Bekasi and members of the Ahmadiyah community.

The commissioner told the Post that she received no clear answers from Indonesian government officials on their efforts to aid the persecuted.

Pillay said that she urged the government to amend or repeal laws used to discriminate against religious minorities, including the 1965 Blasphemy Law, ministerial decrees on building houses of worship and religious harmony and the 2008 joint ministerial decree on Ahmadiyah.

Amir said he welcomed Pillay's recommendations. "We appreciate her advice. She is a credible person in a position to give advice on human rights", he said.

UN urges Indonesia to address 'lawful' persecution

Jakarta Post - November 14, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang and Yohana Ririhena, Jakarta – The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Navanethem Pillay has strongly urged the Indonesian government to amend or repeal laws and regulations she deemed discriminatory against religious minorities.

Pillay also urged the Indonesian government to accept the presence of a UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion as a response to the ongoing religious persecution in the country.

The Indonesian government is yet to allow the presence of UN special rapporteurs on religion and on forced disappearance, among other things.

She stressed the urgency for the government to amend the 1965 Blasphemy Law, the 1969 and 2006 ministerial decrees on building houses of worship and religious harmony, and the 2008 joint ministerial decree on Ahmadiyah or risk the country's pluralist nature being hijacked by religious extremists.

"Indonesia has a rich culture and history of diversity and tolerance, which has been nurtured over many years. At the same time, it risks losing this if firm action is not taken to address increasing levels of violence and hatred toward religious minorities and narrow and extremist-interpretations of Islam," she told reporters at the headquarters of the UN Mission in Indonesia on Tuesday.

Pillay said that she had met with representatives from the Indonesian government and warned them of the dire consequences of religious intolerance.

"I have met representatives of the government and alerted them that small situations can develop into serious situations, such as the exploitation of the ethnic division that we are now seeing in Syria, which has become part of the political struggle," she added.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had previously included such a recommendation on a list of 180 recommendations forwarded to the Indonesian government during a quadrennial Universal Periodic Review last May.

The Indonesian government refused to adopt the recommendation, arguing that those regulations were mandated by the Constitution.

In the press briefing, Pillay particularly highlighted the ongoing persecution against the Sampang Shia community, members of the Ahmadiyah, as well as parishioners of the Taman Yasmin Christian Church (GKI) and the Bekasi Filadelfia Church.

"I was distressed to hear accounts of violence, attacks, forced displacement, denial of identification cards and other forms of discrimination and harassment. I was also concerned to hear that the police have been failing to provide adequate protection in these cases," she said.

Other than religious persecution, Pillay also spoke out about the persecution of human rights campaigners in the country, including in Papua.

She also demanded a new probe into the killing of human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, who was murdered in 2004, as well as a review of the trial of former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chairman Muchdi Purwoprandjono.

Pillay had met representatives from Sampang's Shia community, the Ahmadiyah, the GKI Yasmin and the Filadelfia Church on Sunday.

Unfortunately, she failed to deliver the issue to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono because a meeting with the President "was not set up".

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsudin declined to comment on the situation when contacted by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday evening.

UN condemns Indonesia's increasing violence against Shiites

Agence France Presse - November 13, 2012

The UN human rights chief on Tuesday condemned violence and discrimination against Christians and Muslim minorities like Shiites in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said she had met with leaders of Christian communities, as well as Islamic minority Shiite and Ahmadiyah sects, all of which have been targeted by hard-liners in recent years.

"I was distressed to hear accounts of violent attacks, forced displacement, denial of identification cards and other forms of discrimination and harassment against them," she told reporters in Jakarta.

She warned Indonesia risked losing its culture of diversity and tolerance "if firm action is not taken to address increasing levels of violence and hatred towards minorities and narrow and extremist interpretations of Islam."

Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion but rights groups say violence against minorities has been escalating since 2008 in the nation of 240 million people, nearly 90 percent of whom identify as Muslims, the vast majority Sunni.

Pillay recommended Indonesia repeal its blasphemy law from 1965, under which a Shiite cleric was jailed for two years in July for saying the Koran was not an authentic text and that the hajj pilgrimage was not obligatory.

She also called for the revocation of a 2008 ministerial decree that deemed Ahmadiyah "deviant" for believing in a prophet after Mohammed and banned Ahmadis from proselytizing.

In May, a mob of 600 Islamic hard-liners threw plastic bags filled with urine at an Indonesian church congregation marking the ascension of Christ.

In August 2011, an Indonesian court handed jail sentences of just a few months to 12 hardliners who clubbed to death three Ahmadiyah men as police looked on.

Shiite Muslims have become common targets for hard-liners. A mob of around 500 Sunni Muslims wielding machetes and sickles attacked a Shiite community in August, killing two and torching dozens of homes in eastern Java.

Pillay also expressed concern over Shariah law in Aceh province – where canings are common and a law on stoning was passed in 2009 – saying enforcement was "arbitrary" and "discriminatory" against women, creating "an environment of intimidation and fear."

Sampang Shia ask UN commissioner for help

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2012

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Members of the Shia community from Sampang, Madura, East Java, who have suffered religious persecution, called on the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to address their plight – including the latest mass religious conversion that had been forced upon them by Sunni clerics.

Umi Kulsum, the wife of Shiite leader Tajul Muluk who was sent to jail for blasphemy in July, is among vocal Shiite who have urged Pillay to put pressure on the Indonesian government to comply with universal human rights standards.

"It's been three months since they torched our homes and forced us to live in uncertainty. Not only has the government done nothing to restore our rights, it has even assisted the majority Sunni community to force us to convert to their faith – so that they won't attack us in the future!" Umi said in a press briefing arranged by the Human Rights Working Group's (HRWG) headquarters in Central Jakarta on Monday.

Umi and representatives from Sampang's Shia community, members of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI), members of Filadelfia Church from Bekasi and members of the Ahmadiyah community held a meeting with Pillay on Sunday to air their grievances.

Umi said that several Sunni leaders in Sampang, East Java, continued to intimidate members of the Shia community who are currently taking shelter at a local sports stadium. The displaced Shia took refuge in the stadium after their compound was attacked in August. Two people died in the incident and dozens of homes were destroyed.

"Backed by government officials, these kyais [religious leaders] put pressure on us to convert to Sunni otherwise they would not allow my family and I to return to our village," Umi said.

Umi said that she and some of her fellow Shia followers would not submit to the pressure. "Please, let us freely practice our faith," she said, holding back tears.

The Surabaya office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) previously reported that 26 Shiites from nine families were forced to sign an agreement to convert to Sunni on Nov. 1. According to Umi, the 26 individuals finally gave up their faith because of threats of murder.

Contacted separately, Kontras Surabaya coordinator Andy Irfan said that converting to Sunni was the primary condition before the Shiites were allowed to return to their home village.

Andy said that the Sunni majority could not impose their will unless they won backing from the local government. "The majority does not have the courage to impose on their will on the minority unless they have the go- ahead from the local government to do so," he said.

Chairman of Sampang's Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Buchori Maksum denied the allegation of forced conversion.

"It's not true that the ulama in Sampang have forced the Shiites to convert to Sunni. The Shiites converted to Sunni of their own choice because they have realized that Sunni is the true teaching of Islam. They have found the true path," Buchori told the Post.

Buchori also denied allegations that local Sunni clerics made efforts to bar the Shiite refugees from returning to their home village.

"I tell you that the MUI or local religious leaders never prohibited the Shiites from returning to their village. It's the locals who have not allowed them to do so. I can understand their [actions]," he said.

Dozens of Shiites forced to convert in Sampang

Jakarta Globe - November 9, 2012

Camelia Pasandaran & Ethan Harfenist – More than 30 Shiites in Sampang, East Java, have reportedly been forced to embrace Sunni Islam after they were faced with the prospect of having their homes burned down if they refused.

Andy Irfan, the chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence's (Kontras) Surabaya chapter, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday that since Oct. 24, Sunni leaders have visited the houses of 15 Shiites and have made them sign an agreement which states that they voluntarily agreed to embrace Sunnism.

"In the second batch [of conversions] on Monday, nine more Shia men were forced to sign the pledge. They represented their wives, as well," Andy said. "Since the first incident, a total of 33 people have been converted."

Back in August, a mob of 500 Sunnis attacked a group of Shiite students and teachers, leaving seven injured and two dead from both sides. Following the attack, more than 200 Shiites were relocated to the Sampang sports center to escape the violence. Those Shiites who were forced to convert were still living in their homes at the time.

"On paper, it appears that they were converted to Sunnism voluntarily, so they were not reprimanded physically. However, they were psychologically intimidated," Andy remarked.

In addition to coercing the Shiites who remained in their homes to convert, religious figures in Nangkernang village in Sampang stated that Shiites still seeking refuge in the sports center were welcome to return to their houses so long as they accepted Sunni Islam as their religion.

Andy commented that the government should issue a statement declaring Shia Islam as an acceptable branch of Islam that is not blasphemous.

"The government has been abstaining [from action] and has done nothing to foster tolerance among Indonesians," he said. "Those living in conflict- ridden areas are hardly exposed to information from outside their regions and get most of their information from religious leaders. The government should instead make people aware that Shia Islam is not heretical. People should live in harmony with Shiites."

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a Shiite-majority nation, was in attendance at the Bali Democracy Forum on Thursday and was photographed with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono shaking hands and smiling.

Indonesia has maintained a good relationship with Iran despite such religious clashes taking place in places like Sampang.

FPI demands total ban for Ahmadiyah activities in West Java

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2012

Arya Dipa, Bandung – At least 200 members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) staged a demonstration in Bandung, West Java on Thursday, demanding that the administration immediately implement a total ban of Ahmadiyah activities in the province.

The FPI members, most of them wearing long-sleeved, white FPI T-shirts and caps, held their protest in front of the West Java Legislative Council and the West Java governor's office. They urged the administration to firmly implement the 2011 Governor Regulation No. 12 on the banning of Ahmadiyah activities in West Java.

"One of our members has been arrested for damaging the Ahmadis' mosque. We can accept it if he is found guilty for the assault," said FPI West Java chairman Abdul Kohar. "But what about the Ahmadis who ignore the regulation and keep on conducting public activities? Should they not also be punished?"

On Oct. 28, Bandung Police named FPI member M. Asep Abdurahman, alias Utep, as a suspect in the attack of the Ahmadis' An-Nasir Mosque on the eve of Idul Adha, the Islamic Day of Sacrifice.

Utep and other FPI members raided the mosque and forced the Ahmadis to call off all Idul Adha activities. Knowing that the Ahmadis had failed to follow the FPI's demand, Utep became enraged and smashed the mosque's windows.

Utep was charged under Article 170 of the Criminal Code on assault, Article 406 on the destruction of private property and Article 335 on offensive behavior.

Abdul said the FPI would have not damaged the mosque had the Ahmadis complied with the governor's regulation and stopped performing religious practices in public. (lfr)

Agriculture & food security

Rice field conversions affect food security

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2012

Elly Burhaini Faizal, Jakarta – The government needs to prohibit the conversion of rice fields into housing, industrial complexes or other non- agricultural activities as part of efforts to promote food security, experts have said.

Sumarno, an expert with the Agriculture Ministry, said on Thursday that Indonesia would face severe food shortages and food insecurity unless it took serious action on the continuing conversion of rice fields for non- agricultural activities.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the amount of land comprising rice fields across the nation reaches only about 8 million hectares. Sumarno said that the figure will continue to decrease with excessive land conversions.

"It is just not sufficient to produce enough rice to feed around 240 million people in the nation," Sumarno told a workshop on food security held by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

Annual rice production in Indonesia stands ranged between 33 and 38 million tons between 2000 and 2010, up about 400 percent from the 1960s. Although Indonesia is a rice-producing country, it still has to import 1 to 2 million tons of rice every year due to high domestic consumption.

Sumarno said while other countries in the region, including Thailand and Vietnam, have succeeded in diversifying food consumption, Indonesia still depended too much on rice.

"Unless the government starts prohibiting the conversion of rice fields for non-agricultural activities, we will be facing a severe food crisis in near future, as existing rice fields cannot grow enough rice to feed the millions of people in the country," he said.

Data shows that the amount of agricultural land in the nation continues to decrease rapidly due to massive conversions for non-agricultural activities, such as industry, settlements, and amusement facilities developments.

BPS data shows that 8 million hectares of rice fields, both irrigated and rain-dependent, are currently cultivated by about 23 million farmers.

Indonesia has been facing a declining number rice fields since 1950, when around 4.5 million hectares of rice fields were cultivated by only 6 million families. Poor irrigation also threaten rice production in the country.

Effendi Pasandaran, a researcher from the Agriculture Ministry's agriculture research and development agency, said that with slow expansion of water irrigation, the share of the nation's land comprising irrigated rice fields has not shown significant increases.

The first generation of irrigation facilities founded during the Dutch colonial era increased to 3.5 million hectares from 1 million hectares in only a quite short period of time.

But since that time, the land dedicated to irrigation facilities in the country has not shown significant increase. The BPS records that the land dedicated to irrigation facilities now reaches only 5 million hectares.

"We've seen quite slow progress on water irrigation facility developments, as the government keeps underestimating the capacity of our farmers to build autonomous irrigation facilities," said Effendi.

The deputy assistant for agriculture and fisheries at the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister, Ellyza Mangkudum, said the government had issued several laws and regulations to protect valuable agricultural land, including a regulation that offered incentives to farmers who agreed to join sustainable farming schemes.

"We will give farmers incentives, including agriculture infrastructure, post-harvest treatment support and price guarantees, if they agree to use their rice fields for sustainable farming," she said.

With large land funds available to attract farmers, the problem of the conversion of rice fields remains, however. "In such situation, we've seen that protecting rice fields from any conversions is very crucial," said Ellyza.

Ethnic & communal conflicts

Poso the new cradle for terrorism network

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2012

Bagus BT Saragih and Ruslan Sangadji, Jakarta – The police and military personnel combed Maros regency in South Sulawesi on Monday for two individuals implicated in an incident on Sunday that involved the throwing of a bomb, which failed to explode, at the province's governor, Syahrul Yasin Limpo.

During the search, explosive materials were found at Pamanjengan village in Maros, located on the outskirts of the province's capital Makassar.

It is alleged that the explosives, which were inside two cardboard boxes, had been left by two suspected terrorists after they fled the scene of a police raid near the village, Maros Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hotman Sirait said.

The boxes contained 5 kilograms of potassium chloride, 3 kilograms of potassium nitrate, 2 kilograms of potassium, 100 grams of sodium, 20 batteries, 20 integrated circuits, 20 on/off buttons and a switcher.

The police arrested Awaluddin Nasir, 25, for throwing the bomb at Syamsul while he was on stage attending a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Golkar Party, in Makassar.

While the authorities continue to intensify their search, the police are investigating the possibility that Nasir and his friends are associated with the terrorist group behind a series of attacks last month in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi.

Over the past three months, the authorities have labeled Poso as the nation's hotbed of terrorism, which may be a cradle and training ground for extremists to launch violent jihad in other part of Indonesia – the world's largest Muslim majority country.

Poso regency, with a population of around 215,000, was plagued by bloody clashes between Christian and Muslim communities between 1997 and 2001, which claimed around 1,000 lives and displaced 25,000.

After a peace pact in 2001 that ended the conflict, extremists linked to the al-Qaeda affiliated Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), and its radical ideology, have been largely left undisturbed in the Christian-majority regency.

The extremists' network in Poso was actually weakened and fractured following the 2001 peace accord.

However, the government's failure to thoroughly root out radicalism, coupled with alleged police brutality in counterterrorism raids has reunited the Islamic fighters, boosting the spirit needed to radicalize traumatized residents.

Security personnel, amid concerns that a ravaged Poso would become a base for Islamic extremists to breed and launch attacks in other parts of the country, have been trying hard to prevent Poso from lapsing into another round of bloody conflict.

A reemergence of the conflict would incite Muslim extremists across the country to wage war against Christians.

Moderate Islam losing ground to extremists in Poso

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2012

After a peace pact in 2001 that ended three years of bloody sectarian conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi, extremists linked to and directed by al-Qaeda affiliated Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) have largely been left undisturbed with their radical ideology in the Christian-majority regency.

The extremists' network in Poso was actually weakened and fractured after the peace accord was signed.

However, the government's failure to thoroughly root out radicalism, coupled with alleged police brutality in counterterrorism raids, have reunited the Islamic fighters and boosted the spirit needed to radicalize traumatized residents.

The movement has eventually resulted in the unexpected expansion of Islamic militant strongholds, such as the Tanah Runtuh and Kayamanya neighborhoods. Tanah Runtuh was the JI base in Poso during the conflict while Kayamanya remains the base of Kompak extremists.

Kompak, translated as the Crisis Management/Prevention Committee, is a JI- affiliated group that masterminded the sectarian conflict. Besides their expanding base, militants have also aggressively tried to take over mosques run by moderate Muslim groups.

Former Islamic combatant Sutami Idris, who is now a respected moderate Muslim cleric, said many mosques were struggling to prevent the infiltration. Many moderate mosques in Poso have gradually come under the control of radical groups, Sutami said last week.

"Their movement looks to be very organized. First, they deploy their followers as ordinary congregation members to regularly attend prayers at particular mosques to gain trust."

"Once the trust begins to develop, these people are given responsibilities, such as announcing adzan [Muslim call to prayer] and are allowed to be part of the mosques' organizations. When this stage is reached, they begin to spread their radical ideology," he said.

According to Sutami, radical teachings can be easily identified by the way jihad is allowed to be carried out. "Robbing a jewelry store owned by 'infidels', for example, can be considered halal for these kinds of group," Sutami said.

Sutami acknowledged that many Islamic clerics from outside Poso, particularly from Java, such as Surakarta and Semarang, had played significant roles in the radicalization movement.

"Many of those labeled 'terrorists' by the police are not well-known publicly, at least by me. I know all the Islamic leaders operating in this area who are Poso natives," said Sutami, who served time in prison after the end of the sectarian conflict.

Among the outsiders spreading radical teachings, according to Sutami, is Santoso, the police's top fugitive who allegedly shot dead three police officers last year in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi.

He also named Yasin, who was arrested during a Nov. 3 raid on terrorists. Both are Javanese.

Sutami called on all stakeholders to help equip the moderate camp to fight the radicals, including by strengthening the role of Al Khairat, the biggest Islamic organization adhering to moderate teachings in Central Sulawesi. Al Khairat has ties to the nation's largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama.

Although Sutami has taken the moderate path, the radicals have not been discouraged from trying to indoctrinate him and his followers. "I was frequently targeted by the group. But I have a strong belief that such radical ideology is inappropriate. Besides, we are tired of conflict," said Sutami.

The authorities in Poso are also worried over the inflow of former combatants of the Philippines' Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Philippine government signed a peace pact with MILF last month to end decades of bloody separatism conflict. However, the combatants, who oppose the peace pact, may have traveled to Poso to help their Muslim brothers in the fight.

Unconfirmed reports circulating among Poso residents revealed that villagers along the northern shoreline between Poso and Morowali had met with strangers who were unable to speak the Indonesian language. Some of the "newcomers" immediately fled, leaving their boats and cooking utensils on the beach.

Peace advocate Rafiq Syamsuddin, previously a Muslim combatant during the sectarian conflict, believes the government's failure to stem radical teachings and rehabilitate former combatants are the root of the protracted security instability in Poso.

"There is actually a good program where former combatants are subject to vocational training and cash incentives, not to mention 'special access' to win projects from Poso regency in exchange for removing themselves from radical teachings and violence," Rafiq said.

"But unfortunately, the program is not carried out in a transparent way, leaving many disappointed and adhering to their radical ideology and violence," he said.

However, Poso Deputy Regent Samsuri denied that the program had failed. "As you can see, Poso today is fairly peaceful. This is because the deradicalization program ran well," he said.

While such a program remains valid, the authorities have again been alerted to the inflow of extremists from Java. According to Adnan Arsal, the leader of the Tanah Runtuh neighborhood, many clerics and militants from Java had opted to shift their jihad operations to Poso.

Militants and terrorist fugitives apparently want to create tension between Christians and Muslims in Poso in the hope of reviving the sectarian conflict. "Santoso, among others, may feel more comfortable running his operations in Poso," he said.

In the last couple of years, terrorist groups have targeted the so-called "near enemy", which includes the police and government officials, in their struggle to turn Indonesia into an Islamic state. For the groups, there is no better spot to wage the war than Poso, given its bleak history and difficult terrain.

But the targeting of authorities has backfired as the police appear to revenge their fallen comrades. The terrorists were allegedly behind the killing of three police officers last month in a forest in Poso.

Former combatant Jamil, a native Poso cleric, suffered severe injuries in the head and face, as well as right elbow and leg during his detention by the police for more than six hours on Nov. 3.

He claimed he had been kicked, trampled and dragged by the police during an antiterror raid following the killings and violence in the past three months that have plagued Poso.

The police failed to tie Jamil to terrorist activities or any plot to revive the conflict.

"I have been trying hard to respect the police. But after what I just went through, I can hardly perceive them the same way," Jamil, a known moderate cleric, said last week.

The police have not apologized nor offered compensation to help ease both the mental and physical damage he may have incurred from the arrest.

Rafiq said police brutality had brought back memories of the dark times in Poso. "Personally, I am not provoked. But what about the others? Particularly former fellow combatants."

Flashback

Dec. 1998: Sectarian conflict begins, comprising mostly the burning of Christian homes
April 2000: The second wave of sectarian violence starts between Muslims and Christians: 1,000 dead, 25,000 families homeless.
May-Dec. 2000: The third wave of sectarian conflict. Many clashes, including the attack on Christians in Sepe village. 300 dead, thousands of homes destroyed.
July 2000: Arrest of top Christian combatants Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marianus Riwu
May-June 2001: Walisongo Islamic school burned, hundreds of students killed
July 2001: 14 Muslims killed in Buyung Katedo hamlet
Dec. 2001: Malino peace accord signed
Oct. 2003: Masked gunmen kill 13 Christian villagers in Beteleme subdistrict in Morowali regency
May 2004: Drive-by murder of prosecutor Fery Silalahi, a Christian
May 2005: Tentena bombings
Oct. 2005: Three Christian schoolgirls beheaded
Sept. 2006: Tibo, da Silva and Riwu executed Oct. 2006: Muslim militants and police clash, killing one
Jan. 2007: Police raid JI stronghold in Tanah Runtuh, 14 killed including police officer
Aug. 2012: Christian durian seller killed
Oct. 2012: Two missing police officers found slaughtered in Tamanjeka
Oct.-Nov. 2012: Police officers kill two, arrest nine in terror raids

Poso, battleground for devout souls

Jakarta Post - November 13, 2012

After a period of relative peace, Poso, Central Sulawesi, was again rocked by a series of incidents that have occurred in the past three months. The Jakarta Post's Bagus BT Saragih and Ruslan Sangadji explored the root causes of the conflicts in the regency. This is the first in a series of two reports.

It was December 1998, only months after the fall of former president Soeharto's regime, when Poso, a small regency with a population of less than 220,000 (recorded population in 2012), started to gain nationwide notoriety due to violent clashes between Muslim and Christian communities in the regency.

As a consequence, right up to the current day, and much to the frustration of Poso natives, the regency is widely recognized as a conflict zone.

Continued dissonance followed the clashes of 1998 – a period which featured dozens of incidents – and the violence was to come to a bloody climax two years later.

Between April and June 2000, thousands of Muslim combatants, who called themselves white warriors, were involved in "street battles" with Christians – the red warriors – the clashes resulted in hundreds of casualties.

Only one year later the communal violence left hundreds dead, including students and civilians living in the neighborhood, when Christian militants burned the Walisongo Islamic school (pesantren).

In December 2001, former coordinating people's welfare minister Jusuf Kalla led negotiations between leaders of both Islamic and Christian communities that resulted in the Malino Accord.

However, the accord, which was supposed to end the ongoing conflict, failed to please all stakeholders and communal clashes were still widespread until 2002.

There was never an exact number of casualties released officially. However, reports say that the series of incidents from 1998 to 2002 claimed around 1,000 lives and displaced 25,000 Muslim and Christian residents.

The majority of former combatants who talked to The Jakarta Post, last week, said that the 1998-2002 conflicts tended not to be religiously motivated. "It strengthened solidarity when fellow Muslims, even family members, were abominably killed," Rafiq Syamsuddin, a former Islamic combatant, told the Post.

Rafiq was recognized by many as the best producer of weapons and light explosives in Poso during that time.

Sutami Idris, another former Islamic militant, recalled the experience of seeing hundreds of corpses, believed to be fellow Muslims, floating just below his stilt house in Bonesompe in the northern part of Poso city.

Below the house was a place where some Christians and policemen had been executed, Sutami said.

Beginning around 2001, conflicts in Poso, particularly on the Islamic side, were fueled by radical ideology, brought mainly by firebrand clerics from outside Poso, particularly Java.

Radical Islamic organizations, such as the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) led by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, came to Poso to offer help and assistance to grieving Muslim residents.

Their incitement of the spirit of jihad and radical indoctrination boosted hostility against Christians. According to Rafiq, many – but not all – Islamic combatants were roused by this radical infiltration.

"For example. I did help make numerous weapons and pipe bombs during the sectarian conflicts. I don't know how many people were killed by my weapons. Up to the present day I am not sure if all of my actions in the past were really jihad," he said.

Today, Rafiq is known as the most prominent peace and anticorruption activist in Poso.

Another combatant, Andi Ipong, continued to be a mujahidin (those engaged in jihad) after the Malino accord.

Ipong joined the JI Poso branch in Tanah Runtuh on the southwestern outskirts of Poso city. He became the field commander of the local mujahidin until he was arrested in 2005 for a series of killings in 2001.

"I don't 'play' anymore because of the policy made by my leaders in Tanah Runtuh. We decided to cool down for the time being. But I am ready to 'play' again at anytime if necessary," Ipong told the Post.

By "play" Ipong meant attacking those considered infidels and people considered to be thogut or anti-Islam.

The infiltration of radical Muslims into Poso led to a continuation of violence in the region, until 2007 when the police began crackdown measures, one of which was on Jan. 22 that claimed 14 lives in Tanah Runtuh.

After a period of relative peace, Poso was again rocked by a series of incidents that have occurred in the past three months.

Among the incidents was the burning of a church in Mandale subdistrict in October and the killing of two policemen in Tamanjeka. "Some parties in this republic just don't like to see peace in Poso," Rafiq said.

Jakarta & urban life

Video of Jakarta deputy governor scolding public works officials goes viral

Jakarta Globe - November 16, 2012

A 46-minute video showing Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama getting tough on public works officials has gone viral on YouTube, getting more than a million views since it was posted a week ago.

The video of the budget meeting posted by the official Jakarta administration YouTube account, PemprovDKI, on Nov. 8 shows the deputy governor asking Public Works Agency officials whether they have already slashed project budgets by 25 percent to remove "mark-ups," as instructed by Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

"The cost of public works projects are too high. Rough calculations already show that budgets can be cut by as much as 40 percent, but we're only asking for 25 percent," Basuki told the officials in the meeting.

"I'm offering two solutions to solve this. The first is for you to cut the budget. The second is that we cancel the project. And then I'll use my own operational funds to build the same project. Just give me the specifications."

But if he resorts to the second option, the deputy governor said he would look into all previous public works projects and ask the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and Attorney General to inspect them.

"If you don't want to open old wounds, let's start with a new Jakarta," Basuki said. "It might not sound nice. If you disagree, then it's better for there to be no construction. We'll replace all of you, from the top to the third echelon. We might be waging an open war, but we have no other option than to cut the Public Works budget."

Basuki said he asked that the video be posted online to let people know that from now on, under Jokowi's leadership, all Jakarta budget discussions would be made transparent. As of Friday, it had more than 6,300 mostly positive comments.

"If you insist on disagreeing, I'm going to put the budget online, so everyone can look at it, and I will have KPK investigators check," he continued in the video. "I'm sorry, but I'm really disturbed when someone steals the people's money. You can choose: if you can adjust, you can stay in the agency. If you disagree, you can leave the agency and leave Jakarta."

Ahok cited as examples of excessive spending the Rp 1 billion spent to create a police post in Pluit and the Rp 34 billion for constructing a fire station.

After around 10 minutes of this talk, the deputy chairman of the Public Works Agency, Tarjuki, said that he agreed to the budget being cut by 25 percent. "The point is I agree," Tarjuki said. "My calculations have been checked by consultants."

But this did not immediately cool down the deputy governor. "Don't hide behind the consultant," Basuki responded. "We tell the consultants what to do, don't hide behind them. You're an older man with a lot of experience, but I'm 46 years old, not a child, so I also understand."

Jokowi rolls out universal health coverage

Jakarta Post - November 11, 2012

Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – Pariyono Andri Winoto, 47, his wife Endang Hartati, 44, and their two teenage daughters were among the first few hundred Jakarta residents to receive a new card that will give them free access to medical services at Jakarta's community health centers and municipal hospitals.

The family received the cards from Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo during a launch ceremony in the densely populated area of Pademangan Timur in North Jakarta on Saturday.

Pariyono and Endang – a security officer at a factory and a stay-at-home mother – were all smiles as they received their Jakarta Health Cards on a small stage set up among makeshift houses overlooking a small murky canal.

"I hope this will be really beneficial for our family. We have been relying on our local community health center for medical services," Endang told The Jakarta Post in one of the neighborhood's narrow alleys after the simple ceremony.

Jokowi said that besides providing accessible medical services to the people, the healthcare program was also aimed at promoting a better image of hospitals in the eyes of the poor. "The poor should no longer dread going to the hospital, because through this program all [medical services] are covered," the governor said.

In order to obtain the card, citizens are expected to report to their local community health centers, or puskesmas, and show valid ID cards. "However, you don't need to rush to the puskesmas now. It will take a while to provide and distribute the cards, please be patient," Jokowi said.

Jokowi has been in office for less than a month after being inaugurated in the middle of October. "The reason I launched the program so soon is to try out immediately this healthcare system. We will have more time to optimize the system for better healthcare in the future," he said.

In his plan, the governor expects that by 2013, about 4.7 million Jakartans, be they rich or poor, will have the cards that will entitle them to free health services in all community health centers or third-class facilities in hospitals across the capital.

At the launch, a total of 497 cards were distributed in Pademangan Timur, 502 cards in Bukit Duri and 505 cards in Manggarai in South Jakarta, 503 cards in Tanah Tinggi in Central Jakarta, 494 in Marunda in North Jakarta and 504 in Tambora in West Jakarta.

City Health Agency chief Dien Emmawati said that as of Saturday all 340 puskesmas and 88 hospitals in the city had begun providing free healthcare. The hospitals include six run by the city and private hospitals that are cooperating with the administration. "There will be no charge for registration, medical attention, medicine and inpatient services," Dien said.

The Jakarta Health Card program is expected to serve as a model for the implementation of the central government's plans for universal health coverage by 2014. The health card scheme was one of Jokowi's campaign platforms that he promoted with running mate Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama during the gubernatorial race. He claimed the program had been a success in Surakarta where he served as mayor for about six years.

The new administration expects to spend about Rp 2.9 trillion (US$301 million) on health next year. Most of the funds will be used to finance the health card scheme, which is estimated to cost Rp 900 billion.

Judicial & legal system

First time ever, Supreme Court judge resigns

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2012

Jakarta – Achmad Yamanie became the first Supreme Court judge in the country to resign from his position, citing health concerns. The Judicial Commission, however, indicated that the judge may have stepped down after being implicated in the falsification of a court document for a drug lord.

Supreme Court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur confirmed that chief justice Hatta Ali had accepted Yamanie's resignation letter on Wednesday. "The judge, Achmad Yamanie, has tendered his resignation due to his illness," Ridwan said as quoted by Antara on Thursday.

Ridwan said that added that the Supreme Court would first hold a meeting to discuss the resignation of Yamanie before delivering a report on the issue to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Deputy chief of the Judicial Commission Imam Anshori S. gave a different account as to why Yamanie had resigned from his position.

Imam said Yamanie's resignation was influenced by his alleged involvement in the forgery of a Supreme Court ruling on drug lord Hengky Gunawan. Yamanie, along with two other judges on the panel, Imron Anwari and Nyak Pha, reduced Hengky's punishment from death to 15 years imprisonment.

Hengky was arrested in 2006 with 11.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu, and raw materials for the drug's production valued at Rp 10.8 billion (US$11.3 million). He was also suspected of operating a drug laboratory in Surabaya, East Java.

However, when the Supreme Court verdict was uploaded on the court's official website mahkamahagung.go.id, it said that the prison term was 12 years, three years lower than the actual sentence. As of Thursday night, the document regarding Hengky's ruling could not be accessed.

"He was allegedly involved in changing the ruling from 15 years to 12 years in a drug case uploaded to the Supreme Court's website. This was the motive behind his resignation," Imam said. Imam said that the case should not stop with Yamanie's resignation and that he should be charged with document forgery.

Separately, Judicial Commission's spokesman Asep Rahmat Fajar said that the commission could launch an investigation into the document forgery. Yamanie, along with two other judges, were reported to the Judicial Commission for commuting Hengky's death sentence.

"The commission will investigate it further, particularly the possible involvement of other judges," she said. The Judicial Commission also expected the Supreme Court to make a statement on Yamanie's resignation.

"We can accept the resignation of Article 11 of the 2009 Supreme Court Law. However, to prevent people coming to their own conclusion, we suggest the Supreme Court makes a clarification immediately," he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

Prior to his resignation, Yamanie was under fire for some of his controversial rulings. Yamani was also one of the judges who annulled the 17-year imprisonment of drug dealer Naga Sariawan Cipto Rimba alias Liong- Liong, in May, last year.

He was among the panel of judges who declared spiritual guru Anand Krishna guilty of sexual harassment and sentenced him to two-and-a-half-years imprisonment. (yps)

Judicial institutions need overhaul

Jakarta Post - November 10, 2012

Constitutional Court (MK) chief justice Mahfud MD has called for the dismissal and replacement of all law enforcement officials so the nation's judicial institutions can be freed from the influence of long-standing corruption.

"The old organization bears the burden of past corruption. Therefore, the judicial institutions sabotage each other," he said during an experts panel discussion, themed "Law, Justice and Social Order" in Jakarta, on Friday.

"Judicial institutions are able to hold each other hostage because they know about each other's scandals," Mahfud was quoted by Antara news agency.

Therefore, he suggested that all law enforcement officials be dismissed and replaced with new officials. "Some countries have already taken such steps in order to form a new organization that is free from the influences of the past," Mahfud pointed out.

Talking about state institutions formed only few years ago such as the MK, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Judicial Commission (KY), Mahfud said: "They have been functioning quite well".

Foreign affairs & trade

Keating urges Australia to focus on Indonesia

ABC News - November 15, 2012

Former prime minister Paul Keating says Australia needs to dramatically improve its relationship with Indonesia and stop being subservient to the United States.

Mr Keating delivered the Keith Murdoch Oration in Melbourne last night, with a speech titled "Asia in the new order: Australia's diminishing sphere of influence".

Before making the speech, he spoke to Lateline, and said Indonesia should become Australia's most important strategic relationship. He said the current relationship had no structure or coherence and was full of transactional issues like live cattle exports and refugee management.

"Our natural stamping ground is South-East Asia," he told Lateline. "The effort we should be making is with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). In fact, I'm suggesting in the speech we should be a member of ASEAN.

"We should be redoubling our efforts on the bilateral relationship with Indonesia. Where Indonesia goes strategically, so go we, in which case the rise of that great state is centrally important. Our strategic bread is entirely buttered in the Indonesian archipelago.

"This is at our neighbourhood, this is at our doorstep – rather than simply trying to second guess the Americans and the Chinese about the South China Sea or North Asia."

Mr Keating says Australia will always be friends with the United States, but the strategic power of the west is diminishing.

He argues that Australian acquiescence to US foreign policy demands during the governments of former prime ministers John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard has damaged Australian independence and hurt relations with Asia.

"I think that we are far too deferential to what we see as the proclivities of US foreign policy vis-a-vis our own," he said.

"Not knowing when to strike out on your own, not knowing when to map out your prerogatives and where the lines are all blurred with their own. Howard described himself as a deputy sheriff, remember this, in Asia.

"In the WikiLeaks cables, the Chinese discovered that Kevin Rudd was urging the Americans to keep the military option open against them. This is hardly a friendly gesture.

"And of course we had President Obama make an aggressive anti-Chinese speech fundamentally in our parliamentary chamber, the so-called pivot speech.

"We're in the lee of the great whoosh of American policy making for good or for bad – we have been. Now, we're entitled to pick the eyes out of it. but we should not expect to be taken for bunnies."

Malaysian policemen accused of raping Indonesian

Agence France Presse - November 11, 2012

Kuala Lumpur – Three policemen have been accused of gang-raping an Indonesian woman at a police station in a northern Malaysian town.

Lau Chiek Tuan, a local politician, told AFP that the 25-year-old woman came to his office in the town of Prai just hours after the alleged rape on Friday.

Lau said he held a press conference on Saturday where the woman claimed the three officers in a patrol car stopped a taxi she boarded from a shopping mall in the town of Prai early Friday morning.

"They asked to look at her passport but when she produced a photocopy, they still took her to the police station. It was just an excuse to bring her in.

"She could identify the three cops who raped her in a room where there was a mattress – I don't know for what reason there is a mattress in a police station," he added.

However, the former elected representative said the woman did not want to be identified and she could not be immediately contacted.

News reports cited Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi as confirming that three policemen were remanded for a week on Friday night and suspended from duty pending investigations.

"We will make sure that the policemen will not be protected if the allegation turns out to be true," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times newspaper on Sunday. AFP could not reach Abdul Rahim for comment.

The woman, a restaurant worker, was also quoted by the English daily as saying she was scared and "had no other choice but to have sex with the three policemen."

According to newspaper the Star, she said she was warned "not to tell anyone about the incident" after they sent her back to her home.

Malaysian police are already under fire from rising crime fears as personal tales of abduction, assault and robbery go viral online, triggering scrutiny of official claims that offenses have reduced significantly over in recent years.

Mining & energy

Political adventurers behind shock decision

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2012

Amahl S. Azwar, Jakarta – The individuals who eventually brought down oil and gas regulator BPMigas through the Constitutional Court may have been enflaming nationalistic sentiment to gain popularity in an attempt to raise their profile ahead of the 2014 presidential election.

The University of Indonesia's political observer Iberamsjah said on Thursday that judging from their profiles, the organizations and the individuals filing the judicial review "obviously" had political motives.

"Of course their actions are politically motivated [...] most of the public figures among the plaintiffs are notorious for their opposition stance against the government," he said.

International investors were in shock upon learning on Tuesday that the court disbanded BPMigas on the basis that the agency's existence was against Article 33 of the Constitution, which stipulates the state should make the most benefits from the country's natural resources for the people's welfare. The article has been often loosely interpreted to fuel nationalistic sentiment.

It was through such arguments that leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the country's biggest and second biggest Muslim organizations took the opportunity to file a case with the Constitutional Court whose chief justice Mahfud MD is a notable NU member.

Mahfud, a former defense minister during the administration of president Abdurrahman Wahid in 2000 and 2001, was a politician for the National Awakening Party (PKB) founded by NU elites.

His recent criticism of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration has raised his profile, and he has been touted by many as a potential presidential or vice presidential candidate for the 2014 election.

According to a poll by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate (SSS) in June, Mahfud was among the favorites to run for president behind Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) chief Prabowo Subianto, Golkar politician Jusuf Kalla and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Other political figures in the panel of judges include Akil Mochtar, former senior politician of the Golkar Party, and former Moon and Crescent Party politician Hamdan Zoelva.

These politicians teamed up with high-profile figures behind the judicial review, including Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin, who once called Yudhoyono "a liar" over poverty statistics.

Din has also been touted to run for the 2014 presidential election, although he has constantly denied any intention to run.

Other Muslim scholars opposing BPMigas include Hasyim Muzadi, former NU chairman and Salahuddin Wahid, also a notable NU member.

Other notable plaintiffs also include former spokesman for president Abdurrahman and Clean Indonesia Movement (GIB) chairman Adhie Massardi, and Indonesian Resources Studies (IRESS) director Marwan Batubara who has affiliations with the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Senior Golkar Party politician and former industry minister Fahmi Idris, who served in Yudhoyono's Cabinet between 2004 and 2009, also joined the club.

The plaintiffs in June requested energy analyst Kurtubi, who is associated with state oil and gas company PT Pertamina, to become their expert witness before the panel of seven judges.

Pertamina is obviously the beneficiary of the court's decision as the company once had the BPMigas function before the agency was formed in 2002. Kurtubi expected Pertamina to have its authority as regulator returned.

Kurtubi has also constantly considered BPMigas to have favored foreign companies over Pertamina. International energy companies, such as Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total SA, account for around 70 percent of Indonesia's oil output. Around 40 percent alone comes from Chevron.

Economist Fauzi Ichsan of Standard Chartered Bank said if similar complaints from such opposition groups could be easily accepted by the Constitutional Court, it would create legal uncertainties for businesses.

He added that as long as the government could find ways to avoid violating and breaking existing commercial contracts, the risk of hampering Indonesia's investment climate could be minimized.

Excerpts of the verdict:

1. All of the aspects in relation to the upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas as stipulated in Law No. 22/2001 on oil and gas are against Article 33 in the Constitution, which stipulates that the government must manage the natural resources directly for the sake of people's welfare

2. BPMigas is a state legal agency while, according to the panel of judges, a state-owned enterprise is more suitable to handle the regulation of the oil and gas businesses as stipulated in Article 33 of the Constitution because legal agency has limitations

3. BPMigas has the potential to abuse its power

4. Given such provision, BPMigas does not have any legal grounds to support its existence

5. All of the functions of BPMigas will be handed over to the government until there is a formation of a new law stipulating a new supervisory body

Finance & banking

Government officially increases non-taxable income threshold

Jakarta Post - November 12, 2012

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The Finance Ministry has issued a regulation that raises the non-taxable income threshold of individual taxpayers to Rp 24.3 million (US$2,524) per year, up from Rp 15.8 million previously, in a bid to maintain the population's purchasing power amid the global economic slowdown.

The decision took into consideration the rising prices of basic needs, said the spokesman of the Finance Ministry's taxation directorate general, Kismantoro Petrus, in a statement sent over the weekend.

"The new threshold is also needed as part of the government's measures to anticipate and to mitigate the current global slowdown, triggered by the financial crisis in Europe and in the United States, which has affected the public's purchasing power. By adjusting the rate, we hope to be able to increase and to maintain purchasing power, which hopefully can increase gross domestic product [GDP] through both consumption and investments," he added.

The idea to increase the non-taxable income threshold was proposed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who said the government wanted to ease tax pressures on those who earned less than Rp 24 million per year.

Indonesia relies heavily on its demographics and its substantial domestic consumption rates to maintain economic growth during the current global downturn. The government has set an economic growth target of 6.8 percent in the 2013 state budget.

Kismantoro added that the decision to increase the limit had received approval from the House of Representatives during hearings on May 30 and Oct. 15, and the new non-taxable income level would take effect starting Jan. 1 next year.

The new regulation also has implications for families. Individual taxpayers with an unemployed spouse will receive an additional Rp 2.02 million income tax exemption under the tax structure, up from Rp 1.32 million in previous regulations.

Married couples filing jointly are entitled to a total of Rp 48.6 million in non-taxable income, up from Rp 31.6 million, if both spouses are employed.

Families are allowed a tax exemption on another Rp 2.02 million of their income per year for each child they have, an increase from Rp 1.32 million earlier, for up to a maximum of three children.

Analysis & opinion

Employment, wage reform key to occupational security program

Jakarta Post - November 15, 2012

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The occupational social security programs will certainly raise further problems and worsen the labor situation if they are implemented under the current employment and remuneration system.

The current employment system that has left millions of workers subject to the rampant abuse of the outsourcing and contractual systems has created job insecurity. Thousands of workers in industrial areas have to go back to their home villages and can no longer attain further education for their children when they are dismissed or their contracts are not extended without adequate severance pay, and they cannot get new jobs because of limited job opportunities amid a surplus in the domestic labor market.

Meanwhile, 70 percent of 117 million workers employed in the formal and informal sectors have no savings as they earn the minimum wage or even less, leaving them unable to save or pay contributions to the occupational social security programs.

The occupational social security programs, which are a blend of social aids and social insurance, are only effective if jobs are relatively well paid. Law No. 40/2004 on National Social Security System stipulates employment for a consecutive 15 years minimum for the old-age risk and pension benefit schemes.

Workers cannot enjoy their retirement, and in many cases have to work during their retirement age because of the low old-age risk and pension benefits under Law No. 3/1992 on Social Security Programs for Workers (Jamsostek).

Rampant outsourcing needs to be reigned in immediately in accordance with the 2003 Labor Law to provide job security for most workers, with permanent status in their workplace, while supervision has to be intensified to ensure that all companies, including outsourcing ones, comply with the law.

Minor revisions of dismissals and severance pay in the labor law may be needed to encourage employers to give permanent status to their workers and to prevent employers from outsourcing their core and non-core jobs to other companies. Many employers have preferred to outsource some of their jobs or recruit workers on a contractual basis to minimize their labor costs and to avoid large pay-offs when they have to dismiss workers or downsize their labor force.

Softening or deregulating the dismissal mechanism and tightening outsourcing could be a win-win solution to assure job security, maintain workers' loyalty and promote industrial harmony between workers and their employers.

The government, as regulator, should also show its political commitment to reforming the remuneration system and to end the cheap-labor policy so that the majority of workers can survive and support their families while saving for a better future. The remuneration system based on provincial or regional minimum wages has frequently met strong opposition from workers because most, including those working in the informal sector, have felt exploited and underpaid.

The key problem is that the remuneration system is based on the nominal wage and not on workers' real needs. The nominal wage of Rp 1.5 million (US$155.9) for a single worker in Jakarta is relatively high but it is not based on real needs even though it is accompanied by an index of prices in the capital city. Real wages should take all factors into consideration, including the inflation rate, transportation, housing, saving and education.

If employers, workers and the government had a common understanding on the comprehensive wage elements, the current minimum wage in Jakarta would be raised by at least 100 percent to between Rp 3 million and Rp 3.5 million to allow workers to live a decent life and be able to contribute to social security programs.

If the real wage was set at Rp 3 million for a single worker in the capital city he or she could put aside around 10 percent or Rp 300,000 of it for savings to pay their contribution to the old-age risk and pension program.

And if employers and their workers shared 10 percent each in their contribution to the occupational social security programs, workers would receive higher compensation and benefits in terms of occupational accident or death insurance and when they retired. The benefits would certainly be far higher than the ones received under the Jamsostek programs.

With the 5 percent premium proposed by the government for the national healthcare program, workers would pay in total 25 percent of their monthly wages in premiums to the five mandatory programs. Workers would really pay only 10 percent of their monthly wages while employers would account for the remaining 15 percent.

If compared to neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, the percentage of contribution is a relatively modest figure bearing in mind the country's annual economic growth of between 6 and 6.5 percent over the last eight years with a fading hope that it will be higher in the next decades.

Malaysian workers and their employers pay in total 30 percent in their contributions to the Employment Providend Fund (EPF) while those in Singapore contribute in total 40 percent under the Central Providend Fund (CPF).

Employment and wage reform is expected to allow at least 50 percent of the workforce to take an active part in the national social security programs and to ensure their universal coverage. It also has to be supported by professionalism by the two assigned insurance providers and a quality service for participants.

The professionalism of Askes (Health Assurance) and Jamsostek in running the national programs and reinvesting funds collected from participants is absolutely essential to make them world class providers and to enable them to provide maximum benefits to participants.

Learning from the current social security programs' low coverage and Malaysia's success in the EPF's universal coverage, it is not enough for Jamsostek to rely on its persuasive approach but it should be equipped by the government with investigatory powers to bring to court companies and employers violating the law. So far, only 30 percent or 11 million of 35 million workers in the formal sector have been registered with Jamsostek because of Jamsostek's lack of investigatory powers.

[The author is staff writer at the Jakarta Post.]

1965, recognized

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 14, 2012

In July, the national human rights body issued its report after four years of investigations – that the witch hunt and widespread abuse and killings in the 1960s entailed a gross violation of human rights.

This recognition is a first-ever result of a state body – and nothing can change this fact. Even if the Attorney General's Office (AGO) on Saturday said it had returned the report to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), requesting it provide more evidence and revise the report within 30 days. The commission had said the AGO's rejection of the report was a setback in the nation's human rights record.

However, on technically legal terms, the AGO's reaction was far from surprising. The commission had collected whatever testimonies it could verify, and came up with hundreds of samples from various areas across the country, several of which were never raised in the public arena – without the pretension that it could get all testimonies from a single region.

The commission acknowledged its difficulties in compiling testimonies from those who were brave enough to speak up, though all identities were disguised, and after some 40 years it was also naturally hard to determine whether sources were correct in their recollections.

On purely legal terms, citizens did not really expect the judiciary to follow up on the report, not only because of a lack of necessary evidence and the fact that many witnesses and suspected perpetrators have died but also mainly because the issue is so divisive.

What would be news is if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono acknowledged the grievances of survivors and family members of hundreds of thousands of people, and restored the good names of these people who have borne a lifetime of stigma.

This stigma continued to punish survivors and their families well beyond the 1960s; family members found it difficult to continue studies or gain income, let alone credit. They split apart for the sake of safety; many men detained at Buru Island came home to find their wives had remarried.

Yet, no national leader has followed up on the gesture of then president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who apologized for the involvement of the youth group of his organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama, in the killings of suspected communists. The current Ansor youth group leaders pointed out that the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) also killed many of its members; thus a state apology is not necessary, they say.

A further stumbling block in efforts to seek non-legal settlements is that the law on a truth and reconciliation commission, planned to provide a mechanism to settle past grievances, was annulled by the Constitutional Court on technicalities.

The Komnas HAM report is a major landmark, considering the fact that school history books barely mention the bloodshed, only focusing on the eve of Oct. 1, 1965, the date of the alleged aborted coup.

True, at this time, further follow-up on the report is constrained by much of the vocal resistance against recognition of what really happened beyond the official version. The President has maintained his silence, treading ever more cautiously ahead of 2014, when he may want to handpick his successor.

What he might not realize is that many would applaud his boldness if he were to take up Komnas HAM's recommendation and at least issue a state apology to all victims and survivors of the political power game, in which so many lives were lost and wasted in arbitrary detention.

Religious education: For tolerance or fanaticism?

Jakarta Post - November 9, 2012

Samsul Maarif, Yogyakarta – Indonesia is a country where religious education is taught to school students probably in the most extensive way in the world. Religious education is compulsory for students from elementary to high schools.

On the other hand, the country is also a place where violence involving different religious groups is rampant. Conflicts between followers of a religion or different religions have marked the country's history.

One may therefore ask: "Is there any correlation between the two facts?"

In public schools, all official religions, except probably the newest (sixth), Confucianism, are taught as compulsory subjects. Students have the right to study the religion they embrace, which may suggest that the national curriculum promotes pluralism or at least acknowledges religious diversity.

In line with the National Education Law, the curriculum requires that each public school provide a course(s) of religion according to the religion their students believe and adhere to.

If a school has Muslim students, it must provide courses on Islam. If it has few Buddhists, for instance, the school does not have to hire a Buddhist teacher, but it requires its students see someone in a Buddhist community from which they can learn Buddhism and earn credits for the courses. This rule is seemingly a way of accommodating religious diversity.

The way the curriculum of religion works is that Islam can only be taught to Muslims, and not to others. Muslim students in a school are not facilitated to know about other religions, even though other religions, like Christianity or Hinduism, are taught in their schools. Students are segregated in studying (their own) religions.

The curriculum clearly adopts the "monoreligious model". The model, as Carl Sterken explains, emphasizes that norms and values of religion being taught for students to comply with. A truth claim is accepted and unquestioned. Moreover, religions in this model are perceived mainly as dogma, and so taught dogmatically.

Students therefore are not to learn religions of others. They are prevented from studying other religions in order to keep the truth claim of their own religion unquestioned and unchallenged.

Sterkens elaborates that unquestioned truth claims have two variants: exclusive and inclusive. The claim is exclusive if other religions are viewed as positive insofar as they have similarities to the claim. It is inclusive if other religions are considered positive as far as they share the basic, fundamental element of religion. For instance, as long as a religion has a doctrinal concept of the oneness of God, it is positive to Islam. According to Sterkens this Islamic truth claim is inclusive.

If the national curriculum religious education adopts the monoreligious model, can we expect students, who take courses of religions for nine years, to learn and practice religious tolerance?

What is clear about the curriculum for the nine years of education (elementary to high level) is that it focuses on dogmatic and ritual aspects of a religion. Religion is taught so that students may become religious. Nothing of course is wrong with being religious, except if it leads to "fanaticism" and a belief that only one's own religion is valid (to exist).

Such national curriculum seems to contribute to religious fanaticism, though not necessarily the "active" one, which justifies violence in the name of religion. Cases of this include, among others, acts of terrorism and attacks on minority religious groups considered deviant or blasphemous.

One may argue that such an "active" fanaticism is quantitatively too small for accounting impact of the national religious education. None should disagree with this argument.

The "passive" kind of fanaticism is, however, widespread. It is sadly surprising to hear responses of people on cases of attack on minority religious groups that the use of violence against them is legitimate. These people are neither militant members of an extremist group nor politicians.

They are farmers, villagers, taxi drivers, warung (kiosk) owners or other kinds of lay people. They are too busy with their survival, but when they hear that followers of non-mainstream religious group come under attack, they tolerate the act of violence. They are much more scared of religious differences than violence.

When asked about their responses, they replied, "That's what we learn in schools. That's what all preachers have said about, haven't they?" These people were referring to what they learned in classes and what they heard from sermons in places of worship. This qualitative account corresponds with findings of a survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle and the Denny JA Foundation announced on Oct. 21. The survey revealed that most Indonesians are not comfortable living with others with different religious backgrounds.

The survey also found that people whose educational level was not higher than high school had strong attitudes of intolerance toward other believers. This discovery should logically indicate that their attitude of intolerance, or fanaticism in my term, was influenced by their exposure to religious education during their nine years of study in school.

If religious education does not contribute to fanaticism – one may be reluctant to argue so for whatever reasons – it fails to prevent the educated from such attitudes.

This does not mean that religious education has contributed to fanaticism, intolerance or hostility against other believers. Such attitudes are surely caused by many factors. Many stakeholders should together bear the responsibility.

The question left is how effective is the national religious education in promoting tolerance. As long as the monoreligious model remains in place, the outcome would be either fanaticism/intolerance (active or passive) or permissiveness toward fanaticism/intolerance.

[The writer is lecturer at the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS), Graduate School of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.]

Book & film reviews

A rare look at lesbian issues in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - November 9, 2012

Katrin Figge – In Indonesia, lesbian women, as well as gay men, bisexuals and transgender individuals, often face intolerance and violence from religious fundamentalist groups like the Islamic Defenders Front.

Even though there have been many positive developments in recent years in terms of visibility, many people who belong to the LGBT community still hide their true identity for fear of the social stigma, which comes not only from groups like the FPI, but often from one's own family, friends and immediate surroundings as well.

A book by Evelyn Blackwood, a professor of cultural anthropology at Purdue University, sheds light on the challenges that lesbian women in Indonesia still face, following extensive research she conducted in West Sumatra.

The book titled "Tombois and Femmes: Defying Gender Labels in Indonesia," was first published by the University of Hawai'i Press under the title "Falling into the Lesbi World: Desire and Difference in Indonesia." Blackwood's book was recently picked up by the Lontar Foundation for a reprint.

"My first research project was in West Sumatra, which resulted in my first book, 'Webs of Power: Women, Kin and Community in a Sumatran Village' [2000], a study of the matrilineal Minangkabau," Blackwood said.

"So I was already very familiar with the area of West Sumatra and the cultural context. Much of my research over time has focused on sexuality, female masculinities and transgender identities. So it was an easy jump for me to take my interest in those topics and apply them to West Sumatra."

With the help of a local research associate, Blackwood was able to make contact with "tombois" in Padang – a term which derives from the English word tomboy and refers to the masculine partner in a same-sex relationship – and their girlfriends, or "femmes," the feminine counterpart.

However, it was not easy, especially when taking into account the fact that West Sumatra is a region with a reputation of being devoutly Islamic.

"Because I was open about my sexual identity as a lesbian, they felt pretty comfortable talking to me," Blackwood said. "Their fear was of course that they would be exposed to their family or neighbors. So I have been very careful to maintain their privacy."

Interviews were mostly conducted in Blackwood's hotel room to guarantee that her sources could talk openly.

The book is not only a much needed contribution to raise awareness and understanding of LGBT issues, but the author also understands to put the stories of the women in a larger cultural context. At the same time, Blackwood's main aim seems to be to provide information in order to increase the visibility of lesbian women in Indonesia. She doesn't use a judgmental tone, but rather states facts and brings to paper what others have told her.

"The tombois and femmes I knew lived quiet lives with their families and kept their relationships hidden," Blackwood said. "I don't think that has changed. But even with that, tombois and their girlfriends are finding ways to have meaningful and long-term relationships. The LGBT activist groups in major cities are doing a great job creating visibility for LGBT. The more people know about them, hopefully the more accepting the larger society will become."

Blackwood hopes that through the publication of her book in Indonesia, she will help people understand sexuality and gender in a broader sense, by showing how cultural factors have defined the terms.

"It argues against fixed sexual identities, by which I mean that identity labels are just that, labels," Blackwood explained. "How people live those labels depend on cultural, religious, and political influences, as well as their access to the global flow of ideas circulating on the internet."

Blackwood added that the Ardhanary Institute, a Jakarta-based center for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender research, publications and advocacy, was in the process of working on an anthology which will include the first chapter of her book, translated into Indonesian. The anthology is scheduled to be published by the end of this year.

"I think their efforts will make a much stronger impact because it will reach non-English-speaking Indonesians," she said.

Blackwood is currently working on her latest project in the United States where she is developing a research topic to look at the history of lesbians in San Francisco from the 1970s to today.

While Blackwood sporadically keeps in touch with some of the women she has written about in her book, the personal impact of the research has stayed with her. "I haven't forgotten any of their stories and can only hope that they continue to be happy in their lives and their relationships," she said.