Local communities around Sinak, Gurage, Mulia and Tingginambut in Puncak Jaya regency have felt the first effects of Indonesian military reprisals, after West Papuan independence guerrillas under General Goliat Tabuni confirmed that they had killed eight Indonesian special forces soldiers and four non-Papuan civilians on February 21 in two separate incidents.
The shootings were carried out after Kopassus officers continued to build military posts on a local sacred burial site, despite being requested not to by both community representatives and emissaries from the West Papua National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat-TPN-PB) under Tabuni. TPN spokespeople have said that the shootings were done "to assert West Papuan sovereignty against Indonesian colonial occupation", and to assert West Papuan cultural rights to defend their customary practices against ongoing military brutality.
A spokesman for the Goliat Tabuni's TPN-OPM command, Nikolas Tabuni, told West Papua Media in a statement that the killings were not without cause.
"Prior to the incident TNI had wanted to make a military post in the region of Tingginambut and the TPN OPM had sent a letter to the TNI asking them not to go ahead with the military post construction at Tingginambut. As that is an area of which the land is formally claimed to be owned by the TPN OPM, and as it is also a sacred area under indigenous customary law of the indigenous community of that area. However TNI disregarded the request (in principle) and continued with the construction. As a result TPN OPM carried out the shooting on 21 February," the statement read.
Nikolas Tabuni also denied statements from the Indonesian President and Police that the shootings were connected with Indonesian election campaigns in Papua. "This shooting had absolutely nothing to do with the election of the Bupati (Regency leader) for the region of Ilaga in the Regency of Puncak Jaya in the Province of Papua, and had nothing to do with the general election of the Provincial Governor. The shooting was purely concerned with Papuan independence and the activities of the TNI in West Papua."
Despite an effective information blockade imposed by thousands of Indonesian army (TNI) troops and Police, and unchallenged by a compliant Jakarta-based colonial media, detailed reports are beginning to filter through from independent sources in the area of the military offensive, painting a vastly different picture to that reported by Indonesian and international media since the shooting of the Kopassus soldiers.
At least 1000 members of various Indonesian security forces are currently occupying and laying siege to entire communities around Puncak Jaya, with thousands more troops being sent in from other centres in Papua, according to local church, human rights, and sources in contact with West Papua Media stringers across the conflict area.
According to these sources, the villages of Tingginambut, Trugi and Nelekom have been occupied by TNI forces since Sunday February 24, with villagers being forced to give all their food and houses to soldiers, and being subject to arbitrary and harsh interrogations. TPN sources have also stated that troops are using the villages as strategic hamlets to prepare for a hunt and destroy mission to flush out the forces of Tabuni, who have claimed they are well prepared for guerrilla defence.
In Nambut and Gurake (Gurage) villages in Sinak District, security forces began to carry out house to house sweeping operations on February 26, and in villages in Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya. According to our sources, the TNI Commander in the area has commanded "that the sweeping operation is to be continued until the culprits from last Thursdays killings are arrested". The TNI have stated to local people they "need to see 11 persons sentenced," according to the reliable source.
Two civilians were said to be arrested on February 27, according to Indonesian military reports, however independent sources could not confirm if any other civilians have been arrested.
As of February 26, at least 18 houses have been burned to the ground, 5 GIDI churches razed, 2 schools and a library have been destroyed by the combined Police/TNI forces in Tingginambut, according to reliable church sources who have safely relayed data from witnesses to West Papua Media stringers. Witnesses have also reported that soldiers are deliberately burning and destroying food gardens and shooting livestock, including over one hundred pigs. There are fears of a major humanitarian disaster unfolding with the reports of the destruction of food gardens and livestock, an act of collective punishment on a civilian population.
Thousands of people from the surrounding villages have fled to the high mountains and according to church sources, the entire community populations have fled throughout the area of Gurake, Sinak, Tinggi Neri, Trugi and Nelekom. Exact numbers are not currently known but local sources indicate that several thousand people, mainly subsistence farmers, live in the area.
Human rights workers have also reported from Mulia in Puncak Jaya that townspeople are greeting news of the offensive with panic and preparing to flee.
Reports are difficult to verify as the only media personnel allowed into the operations area are those with approval from the Indonesian army, and very few of these journalist have actually ventured into the area. Stringers for West Papua Media in Puncak Jaya and the Baliem Valley have reported that independent journalists and human rights workers have been prevented from travelling into the area by a de facto Military Operations Area being applied across the entire highlands, including the regional centre of Wamena.
Civilians are staying off the streets as reliable local sources report a massive combat army and police show of force, including house to house searches. On the morning of February 28, witnesses have reported to West Papua Media stringers that 8 Brimob trucks have left Wamena heading to Puncak Jaya this morning, with large numbers of troops patrolling the streets across Wamena also..
Thousands of heavily armed combat soldiers from Battalions 751 (Jayapura), 753 (Nabire), and supported by the Wamena 756 Batallion, are reportedly being flown into Tingginambut over the next few days from several centres across Papua. They are joining together with over 1000 extra Brimob paramilitary police (in addition to the at least 1000 Polda Papua police already in the highlands), and allegedly several units of the notorious Australian-funded Detachment 88 anti-terror commando, to hunt for Tabuni's forces. Several media reports in Indonesia are also claiming a Kostrad (Strategic Reserve) battalion is being deployed from outside Papua, though this has not been independently confirmed.
Local sources have reported that each TNI platoon is accompanied by a platoon of police, as the operation is officially under control of the Police as a "law enforcement" operation. However, the witnesses have reported that the TNI are clearly in command. TNI spokespeople in Jakarta have told Indonesian media outlets that there is no plan to increase non- organic troop presence in the area, but local sources are reporting a vastly different story. West Papua Media sources in Wamena observing the airport have confirmed that two TNI Puma Helicopters are involved in the operation constantly ferrying troops between Wamena and Tingginambut, and stopping only for refuelling and crew changes. Three Hercules c130H aircraft have each made 3 drops to Wamena then the troops have entered by road from Wamena. Observers in Nabire have also noted daily departures of three trucks of troops from the notorious Battalion 753 Nabire, to the west of the highlands to reinforce the offensive in Tingginambut.
Human rights and church sources in Puncak Jaya and internationally have expressed deep concern about the potential for heavy civilian casualties to occur with the intensified military campaign, given extra impetus after the Indonesian President, General Susilo Bambang Yudoyhono, called for firm action on Tabuni.
The exact circumstances of the deaths of the eight Kopassus special forces soldiers are now mired in claim and counter-claim, with soldiers' personal accounts of the attack conflicting with the official narrative picked up by Jakarta media. What is confirmed is that the eight commandos Sertu (Chief Sergeant) Udine, Sertu Frans, Sertu Romadhon, Pratu (Private 1st class) Mustofa, Sertu Edy, Praka (Chief Private) Jojon, Praka Wempi and Sertu Mudin were killed by a cascading attack led by guerrillas of Goliat Tabuni's TPN group as they went to the Sinak airstrip to collect cellular monitoring equipment designed to track international phone communications in the area.
However, one survivor of the attack testified in the Jakarta Post that his group was attacked by men, women and children all carrying spears, machetes and knives. According to the TNI survivors as relayed to JP, the platoon of Kopassus was unarmed at the time of the attack, which happened as the soldiers were installing and moving communications monitoring equipment.
TPN forces also opened fire on a Puma helicopter that was evacuating the wounded commandos, lightly injuring three helicopter crew.
West Papua Media sources have provided a highly credible and technical but unconfirmed report that two "very large weapons" that were being moved into Sinak, and went missing during the raid by TPN. According to our sources, there is "extreme concern from the TNI around this particular issue."
"Apparently they have been trying to find out the whereabouts of these weapons, which suggests they might be too heavy to quickly and easily move," explained the source. Further investigation is still required, but credible observers in the area believe that these heavy weapons may be artillery pieces the presence of which in Puncak Jaya represents a serious and dangerous escalation of TNI hardware to be used against civilians. West Papua Media believes any confirmed presence of artillery is connected with the TNI's stated aim to destroy Goliat Tabuni's group, but any use of these weapons will place a large number of civilians at risk. It is not the first time the TNI have used artillery against West Papuan civilians: the Bloody Wamena massacres of 2000 and 2003, as well as the aerial bombardment campaigns in the 1977 and 1984.
The killings of the soldiers have generated outrage in Jakarta, with nationalist politicians calling for cordon and destroy missions in what human rights observers have said amount to collective civilian punishment by an occupying force.
Indonesian Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant-General (LG) (Rtd) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin indicted as a war criminal by the UN for his role in East Timor on Friday ordered the TNI to conduct heavy "tactical actions" in order to prevent the shooting from occurring again. "The tactical action includes to chase, apprehend and destroy," the deputy minister said here on Friday. He said the latest shootings by the separatist rebels did not affect TNI's strategic policies in Papua. TNI so far did not have a plan to send more troops to Papua, he added.
However SBY also claimed in an interview with MetroTV that "no violence" would be used to solve the situation. The situation on the ground has illustrated that security forces have no interest in making SBY's words truthful.
Despite the nationalist rhetoric, there are many in Indonesia who are seeing this as a wake up call to end Jakarta's use of state violence against civilians in Papua as it default policy.
The Indonesian Regional Representatives Council, or DPD, called for a necessary cessation of military operations to end the prolonged violence in Indonesia's easternmost provinces, according to a report in the Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
The presence of the non-organic personnel from TNI special forces cause animosity among Papuan groups, who have launched attacks against them, according to the report. "If Jakarta wants to end violence, the militaristic approach has to stop, and all non-garrison troops from the military elite forces must be withdrawn from the two provinces because their presence and their irregular operations have triggered attacks on garrison troops and innocent civilians," DPD deputy chairman Laode Ida said on Tuesday.
A coalition of Papuan human rights groups urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to conduct a thorough investigation into the soldiers' killings, saying the presence of Komnas HAM could prevent human rights violations that occurred during TNI sweep operations after shooting incidents, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe.
"We encourage law enforcers to be professional in carrying out their tasks. They must ensure that their attempts to find the perpetrators do not turn into seeking revenge against all Papuans," Ferry Marisan from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said in Jayapura on Monday.
The TNI has loudly complained in Indonesian media of hurt feelings about the loss of its soldiers, with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) leaders have been forced to apologise for "insensitive" remarks saying killing soldiers is not a human rights abuse. But not all observers are showing sympathy for the loss of the soldiers lives, pointing to the fact that the military are occupying Papuan land against the wishes of the local people.
"One has to remember that soldiers who were shot were Kopassus special forces who have been involved in ongoing human rights abuses right across Puncak Jaya, including village burnings, collective arrests and punishment, burning of villages, and acts of torture. Many observers suspect these soldiers were part of units involved in conducting many OTK (Unknown persons) shootings blamed on West Papuans," a long time human rights worker in the highlands told West Papua Media by email. "These are not innocence, nor babes in the woods; Kopassus are the original wolves in the forest."
Still, other observers believe the actions point to an assertion of tribal identity, as a complex motivator behind the declaration of Papuan sovereignty inherent in the armed resistance against Indonesia's militarist policy in the highlands. An Australian church worker who worked for many years with highland communities in Puncak Jaya made the observation to West Papua Media that this was not simply an act of resistance to Indonesian colonisation, but an assertion of traditional and indigenous Papuan law and cultural survival against the onslaught of an occupying colonial army.
"This must be looked at from another perspective that is relevant. As many indigenous communities including Australian Aboriginal Peoples and traditional highland Papuan people, observe around the world, if outsiders came into their sacred lands, they would also feel compelled at whatever cost to themselves to spear the outsider to compensate (violations of) their traditional law if they belonged to the clan that was legally responsible (under customary law) to guard that site," she explained.
"Indigenous Law is simply not negotiable on things like that. Things have only changed in Australia because non-Indigenous systems have for years now in Australia been locking up those indigenous peoples who have acted to maintain their law," the former church worker explained.
"As I understand the TNI despite warnings were acting in a way that broke the Papuans' traditional laws regarding adat (Customary law), and as the TPN are still holding strong to their traditional laws, so they acted in accordance with the laws they are living by. I can't see any difference at that level as Melanesian peoples separated historically but only a short distance of water. The difference is that the TPN OPM represent groups that have not yet been overcome by the laws of a colonising power whereas Indonesia does not recognise the traditional Papuan customary laws," she said
A prominent Papuan human rights activist, Yasons Sambon, has reported that the killings are causing many military families to reconsider their support for the Indonesian colonial occupation of Papua. In an interview with the wife of one of the eight soldiers killed at Sinak, recorded on February 23 after the soldiers funeral in a car by the old market in Sentani, the widow called for Indonesia to abandon its occupation of Papua.
The wife of an Indonesian soldier from Sentani said in a regretful tone, "SBY would be better off giving independence to the people of Papua if it meant our husbands wouldn't become victims. Our husbands have been murdered. What will be my fate, and the fate of my children, now that my husband has been murdered? We want to hold onto our husbands but they also have a duty to the country. They are murdered and it's the women and children who become victims, because if they aren't at work, then what will we eat?" "It's better if independence is given to the people of Papua so that we can be safe," she said.
Robert Isidorus, Jayapura The National Liberation Army of the Free Papua Movement, led by Goliath Tabuni, said it had no interest in money or power and that it was purely fighting to achieve an independent Papua.
"We want to be fully independent," Anton Lego Obet Tabuni, secretary general of the organization known as TPN-OPM, told Suara Pembaruan in a phone call.
"We know that [we're being chased]," Anton said. "We will not surrender and we will not back down even slightly in maintaining our ideology. This is serious."
Asked to comment on Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian's statement linking the shootings that killed eight military officers to the regional elections, Anton denied it. "We're not looking for positions and therefore the allegation is inaccurate."
Tito said police and military heightened security in Sinak and Tingginambut after an ambush killed soldiers and four civilians. Tito said the number of officers increased as the regional election process was still ongoing.
"I will not withdraw members of the forces in Ilaga, Puncak district, to preempt any unwanted incidents. Right now the condition is quite conducive," he said.
Tito said that the incidents in Sinak and Tingginambut could have been arranged by candidates who took part in the elections.
"The shootings in Tingginambut and Sinak were not related to the Free Papua Movement issue, but to another." A leading human rights group has blamed poor law enforcement for the recent murder of the eight soldiers and four civilians in Puncak Jaya.
In a statement on Saturday, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) questioned police effectiveness in the restive province.
After expressing sadness over the deaths, Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said, "This series of violent acts are crimes that have to be responded to by law enforcement."
Haris said that greater transparency in the legal process following such crimes would likely reduce instances of violence in Papua, given the current extent of secrecy imposed.
Kontras data showed that in Puncak Jaya there were 15 cases of violence since the start of last year, including two incidents in which unidentified people snatched firearms from officers.
In the 15 incidents, nine military officers, two police officers and 10 civilians died. One military officer and nine civilians were also hurt.
Yeremia, Carlos Paath & Markus Junianto Sihaloho Newly elected Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe says he will form a special team to resolve conflicts and violence in the province as soon as he is inaugurated.
Lukas said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the team, expected to work during his first 100 days in office, will be people with vested interests to help take in different views on how to solve problems. Those problems, he says, have roots in high unemployment, poverty, underdevelopment as well as in pro-independence and anti-government sentiment.
The governor-elect, who won the gubernatorial race by a landslide 52 percent earlier this month, also said the team will talk to the opposition as well as pro-independence groups such as the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) to find common ground.
"I am sure that once I am in office, there will be a huge change in Papua. The team that will be formed will at least give a voice to our brothers who have opposing views with NKRI," Lukas said.
Papua has seen a series of armed insurgencies since the 1960s, when the resource-rich province became part of Indonesia. In the latest violence, a military convoy was ambushed, resulting in the death of eight soldiers and four civilians.
The central government has poured trillions of rupiah into the region since it declared it a special autonomy area in 2001. It disbursed Rp 28.5 trillion ($2.9 million) for Papua last year. However, many of the region's residents remain poor.
Even the presence of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, which operates the world's largest copper mine in Papua, could provide little help to the province where three of every 10 residents live in poverty.
According to the Central Statistics Bureau (BPS), the poverty rate in Papua was 31 percent as of September 2012, while in West Papua province it was 27 percent. More than 1.1 million people in the two provinces are living below the poverty line.
Lukas, who was in Jakarta to discuss the region's expansion, said Papua's problem is so complex that it goes beyond special autonomy as a solution.
He said the central government's development policy was often not in line with regional implementation and the will of Papuans. He called on the government to closely monitor development in the region.
"So many policies have been implemented yet they are still not what the Papuans want or hope for. As long as Papua is still seen as a land to make profit, the problems here will not go away," Lukas said, adding that state budgets for Papuan development were a ripe target for corruption.
Velix Wanggai, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's special adviser on regional autonomy and development, said that the key to developing Papua was keeping up intense communication with local leaders and public figures.
"The spirit of the special autonomy is balancing socioeconomic development," he said. Velix added that the government was constantly increasing its budget for Papua.
Meanwhile, calls for the president to visit Papua in order to assess the province for himself rather than leaving it to the military and other bodies, is mounting.
La Ode Ida, deputy chairman of the House of Regional Representatives, told the government to refrain from using a militaristic approach in handling the situation in Papua as it could make matters worse.
But military spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said it had refrained from using force in an effort to gain public trust and reduce tension, warning that such moves have often been exploited by armed rebel groups to launch attacks against soldiers and civilians as seen in the recent incident.
"They see us getting along with the Papuan [people] and they don't like that," he said, adding that the rebel group shot at the military because it was losing influence over locals.
Yeremia Sukoyo, Carlos Paath & Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy A member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has officially apologized to the Indonesian Military (TNI) for a controversial remark he made about the recent killing of eight military officers in Puncak Jaya, Papua.
"The moment I picked to say it was inappropriate because the Indonesian Military was in mourning," Komnas HAM member Natalius Pigai said on Wednesday. "Therefore, I directly apologize."
In a recent discussion at the parliament building, Natalius had said that the death of the eight military officers in Papua was not a human rights violation. He blamed the military's lack of preparedness as one of the contributing factors to the incident.
He said that there were 16,000 military officers in Papua, including 200 intelligence officers, while the number of separatists is only estimated at 1,000 people. "So, the rest of them were sleeping and hanging out. It's no wonder they got shot," Natalius said.
The remark upset lawmakers and military families, who said he was wrong to criticize the officers.
"Natalius has discredited the military officers who passed away. Natalius's statement has hurt the families of the officers who died in the line of duty. Natalius's statement could also be used as an argument to dishonorably discharge him from being a Komnas HAM commissioner," Khatibul Umam Wiranu, a member of Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said on Tuesday.
The TNI and Komnas HAM conducted a closed door meeting on Wednesday at military headquarters in Cilangkap, Jakarta, to discuss Natalius' controversial comment. Spokesman of TNI Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said that TNI has accepted the apology.
"TNI has accepted the apology of Komnas HAM commissioner Natalius Pigai," Iskandar said. "The apology is accepted as his statement was said in an inappropriate moment."
Ridwan Max Sijabat and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has strongly urged the government to cease military operations and withdraw special forces from Papua and West Papua to end the prolonged violence in the country's easternmost provinces.
The DPD said that the presence of the non-garrison troops, who mostly belong to elite forces within the Indonesian Military (TNI), had caused animosity among local groups who have launched attacks against them.
"If Jakarta wants to end violence, the militaristic approach has to stop, and all non-garrison troops from the military elite forces must be withdrawn from the two provinces because their presence and their irregular operations have triggered attacks on garrison troops and innocent civilians," DPD deputy chairman Laode Ida said on Tuesday.
The council suggested that after the withdrawal of these troops, the security operation should be handled by the local police in close coordination with the Cenderawasih Military Command (KODAM).
Papua DPD member Ferdinanda Ibo Yatipay alleged that the presence of non- garrison troops in Papua was designed "to maintain instability" in the region.
Ferdinanda also said that the series of violent incidents in the past few years could be attributed to growing dismay with the regional autonomy program, which had so far only benefited local elites.
"Ten years after the granting of special autonomy status, no new infrastructure in the transportation, education and health sectors has been built, while the largest chunk of special autonomy funds has been used to finance the bureaucracy or been stolen by corrupt local elites and powerful officials from Jakarta," she said.
In the past 10 years, the government has disbursed Rp 47 trillion (US$4.84 billion) in special autonomy funds in an attempt to accelerate development in Papua, one of the country's poorest provinces in spite of its abundant natural resources.
The government had earlier admitted that the management of the special autonomy funds has been plagued with problems.
Chief of the Special Unit of Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), Bambang Darmono, said Papuans themselves were not ready to manage the huge budget.
"We've found that the absence of local regulations on the management of the funds has encouraged confusion and bickering among local leaders and members of the indigenous councils on how to best use the money," he told members of the House of Representatives' Commission II overseeing domestic governance earlier this week.
The House's Commission I overseeing defense has once again urged the government to hold dialogue with separatist groups in Papua, to help reduce tension in the region.
"The government must give them a chance to freely speak their minds. Listening to them does not mean bowing to their demands. This is only the first step toward having a mutual understanding before moving to the next step," Commission I member Ahmad Muzani of the Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party said.
In Papua, the Paniai Police apprehended on Tuesday two alleged members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) led by John Yogi, after a tip-off from locals who said that three armed men were seen in a boat crossing the lake and landing at the foot of Mount Bobairo.
Paniai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Semmy Ronny Abaa led a 30-strong manhunt team sweeping the mountain but the three armed individuals managed to flee by speedboat to Kebo village.
SP/Carlos Paath & Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy The Indonesian military has demanded a public apology from the commissioner of the country's human rights watchdog, who on Friday made an insensitive remark about the recent murder of eight soldiers and four civilians in Puncak Jaya, Papua.
"Our soldiers work based on the Constitution, leaving behind their wife and children for our country. The statement by a commissioner of Komnas HAM [National Commission on Human Rights], Natalius Pigai, has upset our soldiers' wives, and we hope he will be willing to make a public apology," Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul, a spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), said Tuesday.
Natalius earlier said that the attack in Papua was not a human rights violation, and added that the soldiers deserved to be shot to death for lazying around instead of patrolling the area.
"It is very ironic that somebody thinks that our soldiers in Papua are just hanging out and slacking. It's not true at all. Our soldiers in Papua are actively involved in various charity activities," Iskandar said.
Natalius denied that he insulted the TNI, saying that some media outlets misquoted him and that he was only criticizing the lack of management within the military.
"What I meant was that there should be security management and a balance between the quality and the quantity of our soldiers [in Papua], so there won't be any unnecessary deaths," he told Detik.com.
Khatibul Umam Wiranu, a Democratic Party lawmaker and a member of the House of Representatives' commission III overseeing legal affairs, said that the commission would summon Natalius to clarify his controversial statement before the House.
"Natalius has offended the family of the deceased soldiers. The statement has hurt them, and it could be used as an argument to remove Natalius from his position in Komnas HAM," he said.
Khatibul added that Natalius did not have the right to insult Indonesian soldiers since the commission was still in hot water over their polarizing internal dispute and poor work performance.
The controversy at Komnas HAM revolves around the length of the term served by the chairman, which the House has proposed should be cut from the current two and a half years to just one year. Four of the organization's 13 commissioners, including Otto Nur Abdullah, the chairman, have opposed the move, but the nine other commissioners have sided with the proposal.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Papua Paniai police apprehended two members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) led by John Yogi, after a tip off from locals on the Paniai Lake.
The police pursued the armed men along the river and arrested the two alleged separatists who had been hiding out in a local resident's house. Police confiscated a 7.56 caliber bullet, a walkie-talkie, a cellular phone and a Bright Star flag the mark of the Free Papua Organization.
"The men are being held at Paniai Police Headquarters for further questioning," Papua Police spokesman Sr.Comr. I Gede Sumertha Jaya said.
John Yogi's separatist group is widely suspected as being behind shootings and robberies in Paniai District. Two people have been shot this year already.(dic)
Margareth S. Aritonang and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta The deaths of eight soldiers, who were shot by unidentified perpetrators in Papua last week, may have been due to negligence on the part of the local military command in the area.
Speaking on Monday before the House of Representatives' Commission I on defense, Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Adm. Agus Suhartono told of a glaring omission and violations of procedures that led to the shooting incidents.
A chronology given by Agus of the event, which occurred on Feb. 21, reflected the TNI's lack of vigilance in a tense area, where multiple attacks had earlier targeted members of the security forces.
Agus told Commission I lawmakers that the first attack took place at 9:30 a.m. local time (7:30 a.m. Jakarta time), when soldiers at a guard post in Tingginambut district were ambushed after a visit by Wendi Tabuni, a local who was known to be a friend of the TNI, although, according to Agus, he was also known as a friend of "the other group", the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
"After chatting to some of our on-duty personnel for around 30 minutes, Wendi Tabuni left the post and immediately vanished. His departure was quickly followed by shooting from all directions, believed to have been carried out by a group of 50 or so men led by Goliat Tabuni," Agus said, referring to the leader of OPM's armed wing in the province. The first ambush claimed the life of First Pvt. Wahyu Prabowo.
The second attack, Agus said, took place at 10:30 a.m. local time against seven soldiers of an 11-man platoon, which was on its way to the Sinak airstrip to pick up military communications devices. The 11 soldiers were not wearing military fatigues and were unarmed.
"These soldiers were off duty, so they went out without their uniforms and weapons. They were then stopped by a group, likely led by Murib, who has around 20 followers," Agus said, referring to another separatist leader.
Agus added that the second attack claimed the lives of seven soldiers, comprising First Sgt. Muhammad Udin and Frans from the Puncak Military District Command (Kodim); and First Sgt. Ramadhan, first privates Mustofa, Edi, and Idris and Second Pvt. Jojo from the Argaviratama 753rd Infantry Battalion.
Also killed in the ambush were four locals identified as Yulianus, Palimbong, Yohanes Lallo and Markus Kevin Rendenan.
Agus rejected a suggestion that the TNI should be held accountable for the deaths of the soldiers. He insisted that no procedures were breached during the incidents.
"We have never been suspicious of the locals who are close to us, including Wendi Tabuni. It's our way of reaching out to the local community and reassuring them that we have come to Papua to help," he said.
In order to build a good rapport with locals, off-duty soldiers were encouraged to change out of their uniforms and conceal their weapons. "We don't want to scare people off by carrying weapons all the time. We want to be their friends," he said.
Agus said that in an effort to pool resources in the fight against separatist groups in Papua, a crisis center has been set up to collect information about the current situation in the province.
National Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Marciano Norman said that the crisis center would also be used to coordinate all members of the intelligence services in the province. "We hope the center will provide the same information to all the leaders in Papua," Marciano said.
Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso has called on the government to deploy more security personnel to Papua after the incidents. The House and the government are expected to discuss the latest situation in Papua in a coordination meeting next week.
"We want the government to brief us about its efforts to bring peace to Papua and whether it has lost control of the situation," he said.
In Papua, a coalition of human rights groups has urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths of the eight soldiers.
The coalition said the presence of Komnas HAM could prevent human rights violations that tended to occur during the TNI's hunt for separatists following such shooting incidents.
"We encourage law enforcers to be professional in carrying out their tasks. They must ensure that their attempts to find the perpetrators do not turn into seeking revenge against all Papuans," Fery Marisan from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said in Jayapura on Monday.
SP/Roberth Vanwi & SP/Carlos Paath, Jayapura The two armed attacks in Puncak Jaya that left eight soldiers and four civilians dead last week were linked to the local district elections, Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said over the weekend.
"We have evidence that Goliath Tabuni is the actor behind the attacks and ambush in Tingginambut and Sinak," Tito said late on Sunday, following a ceremony for the release of the bodies of seven of the eight dead soldiers in Jayapura.
He said Goliath himself has laid claim to the attacks through a telephone call made to an individual, Tito said without identifying the individual for security reasons.
In the telephone call, Goliath claimed that the attack and ambush were related to the elections for the Puncak Jaya district head and his deputy.
"It is true that to determine the real motive, the perpetrator should be arrested first, but from our analysis, this case is local in nature and is related to the district elections," Tito said.
Goliath, he said, is believed to be close to one of the candidates running in the elections, and the violence may have been to scuttle the elections and the vote counting.
"The incidents took place two days ahead of the plenary to count the ballot and determine the vote count. They took place on Thursday while the plenary was on Saturday," he said, adding that ballot casting proceeded safely because the winners were not yet apparent.
But in a press release issued late on Sunday, the armed wing of the Free Papua Organization (TPN-OPM) denied any links between the shootings and the district elections.
The statement, signed by Maj. Gen. Teryanus Satto, the chief of staff of the West Papua TPN, contained nine points. The first was that the TPN was not a "security-disturbing group" as the government called them, but a structured organization fighting for self-determination and the freedom of West Papua.
It vowed to fight until their aims were reached and also emphasized that they were not a group of armed civilians but a military force possessing armaments.
The statement claimed that the shooting of soldiers in Puncak Jaya district was carried out purely by the TPN-OPM under its paramount commander, Gen. Goliath Tabuni, and had nothing to do with the district's elections or anywhere else in Papua.
"But we do reject the programs of the Indonesian government, including the district elections in Puncak Jaya or elsewhere in Papua land," the statement said.
It added that the actions were not to get the government to pour money, housing developments and others into Papua, but to claim the political rights of the people of West Papua for self-determination.
The shootings on Feb. 21 were a rejection of the government's offer to Goliath, although the statement did not give any details on the offer. It only said that the TPN-OPM rejected the "persuasive approach" taken by the government through its administration in Papua, police and armed forces.
"The TPN-OPM is not asking for anything from the government of Indonesia. TPN-OPM demands the political rights of the Papua nation for independence and to be fully sovereign so that they sit equal with other countries in the world," the statement said.
Meanwhile, in Jakarta, Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, who deals with politics, justice and security, on Monday said that there was a need to beef up security in Papua.
"I think troop reinforcement is necessary. Non-regular troop reinforcement should be considered but it does not mean that it should be a show of force, just make it soft," he said.
It was the duty of the police and the armed forces to provide a feeling of safety and security in Papua, he said, and therefore the House of Representatives would soon summon the government to be briefed on the problems in Papua.
Priyo said the violence in Papua was now so complex and interrelated. "Especially regarding the latest incident, whatever the reasons, we cannot tolerate it because so many security personnel have lost their lives while on duty," he said.
The Golkar Party lawmaker called on the security forces to go after the assailants and capture them. "This is a heavy violation, a cruel action," he said. "I have asked that all the security personnel hunt down the perpetrators and act firmly against them."
Nethy Dharma Somba and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jayapura/Jakarta The shooting deaths of eight soldiers and four civilians in Papua on Thursday may be connected to the province's recent gubernatorial election, according to the police.
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Kurniawan said here on Sunday that the police suspected that the supporters of those who were expected to lose the election might have been behind the attacks.
According to Tito, the attacks came on Thursday, just two days before the Papua General Elections Commission was slated to convene a plenary session to verify the vote count and announce a winner in the gubernatorial election, which was held on Feb. 14.
The police chief speculated that the attacks might have been launched to force the postponement of the plenary session.
While Lukas Enembe, backed by a coalition led by the Democratic Party, was certified as the winner by the Papua KPUD, the five losing campaigns have asked the Constitutional Court to overturn the commission's certification of Lukas' victory.
Tito denied that the killings were connected with Papua's prolonged secessionist movement. "The incident should not be connected with the separatist movement. If its purpose was to have backed Papua's independence, why did they not launch a major attack with numerous victims far beforehand?"
He said he assigned his chief detective, Sr. Comr. Bambang Priambada, to lead a team working with local Indonesian Military (TNI) forces to arrest the perpetrators of the attacks. "The team will pursue those who committed the shooting, investigate their motives and bring them to justice."
Eight soldiers were killed in two separate ambushes in Puncak and neighboring Puncak Jaya regency on Thursday. The regencies are known as a stronghold for separatists who have battled for independence from Indonesia for decades.
The first attack was carried out by a group of unidentified gunmen who attacked a TNI guard post in Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya, leaving one soldier dead and another injured.
About an hour after the attack, another group of armed assailants ambushed a squad of 10 soldiers who were on their way to the Sinak airstrip in Sinak, Puncak. Seven of the 10 soldiers and four civilians were killed.
The bodies of 11 of those slain on Thursday have been taken to Jayapura on Sunday after a helicopter sent to recover the bodies was shot at and forced to return to its base.
The incident was the latest in a series of attacks against security personnel in the restive province. Previously, two police officers were killed when unidentified gunmen assaulted a police station in Mulia.
In Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has condemned the incident, instructing officials to find the perpetrators, while Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, who recently visited Papua, attributed the attacks to groups supporting the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
A senior politician from the National Mandate Party (PAN) also condemned the shootings, calling for the government to reevaluate its policy in the province.
"The incident indicates that a segment of the Papuan people hates the TNI and the police as representative of the state in Papua and West Papua," PAN deputy chairman Bara Hasibuan said. "The government must necessarily reevaluate all the actions it has taken to resolve the Papuan situation."
Bara said that Jakarta should stop looking down at Papuans and trust the province's residents to manage their domestic affairs under the law on special autonomy. He also said that security matters in the province should be left to the police, not the TNI.
Bara said that the government should hold comprehensive and open dialogues with all parties, including the OPM, to solve Papua and West Papua's political, security, economic and human rights problems.
According to Bara, security disturbances in the province would continue unless all groups fighting for Papua's independence were invited to seek a comprehensive solution.
Bara said that he regretted that a decade of special autonomy given to the province has enriched only the elite while a majority of residents remain in poverty.
"The government should hold a dialogue with all elements to convince everyone that Papua's integration into Indonesia was final during the 1969 self-determination vote," Bara said.
He said that he also wanted the government to form a reconciliation and rehabilitation committee to handle allegations of unresolved human rights abuses and to rehabilitate human rights victims and their relatives.
The United States condemned the deadly series of shootings on Thursday that left eight soldiers dead in Papua.
US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marcial expressed his concerned in a message sent to Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto. The message said the United States disapproved of the violence that leads to the deaths of the Indonesian soldiers.
The US embassy also expressed condolences to the families of those slain and welcomed the Indonesian government's statement that it will work to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.
Pemalang Economic and social gap is the root cause of persistent security problem in Papua, Velix Wanggai, a special staff of the president on regional autonomy, said.
The problem has to be sorted out through comprehensive approaches to create peace in the rebellious region, Velix said when accompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on a working visit in this Central Java district on Thursday.
Velix made the statement when asked to comment on the incident earlier that day when eight soldiers were killed in Papua shot at by armed gangs of rebels.
He said feeling of injustice by local people over economic and social gap between Papua and the rest of the country was exploited by the rebels to incite the fight for independence led by the outlawed Papua Merdeka Organization (OPM).
Papua has not enjoyed the fruit of development and felt being isolated from the rest of the country, he said.
Papua is known to be rich in natural resources with large mineral reserves of copper, gold, silver and oil. Papua hold the country's largest reserves of copper, gold and natural gas but ironically the scarcely populated region remains lagging behind the rest of the country in economic development.
"The backwardness, disappointment and dissatisfaction serve as an ammunition to incite resistance against the government," Velix said. The resistance movement is concentrated in isolated areas like Puncak Jaya regency, he added.
He said the government is fully aware of the problem and what has caused the problem, therefore, steps have been taken to remove the gap and reduce the feelings of injustice.
In the past 10 years, the government has tried to create more effective bureaucracy by splitting regencies such as Jaya Wijaya regency into 10 regencies, he pointed out. The purpose is to get the district administrations closer to the people in the vast region, he said.
In addition, the government has built new infrastructure such as roads and airports to facilitate transport, he added. He said the policy of naming local leaders having good knowledge of the areas and familiar with the local culture should be maintained.
Jakarta The Ambassador of Australia to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, has expressed condolences following the deaths of eight soldiers in shooting incidents in Papua on Thursday.
In a press release from the Australian Embassy received here on Friday the Australian government said that the incident will only hurt Indonesia especially the people of Papua with regard to efforts to create a safe and prosperous Indonesia.
The attacks on eight soldiers occurred in two different locations namely in Tingginambut and Sinak. Meanwhile, four civilians had also been killed in the incidents.
An army helicopter was shot on Friday (2/22) morning leaving three crew members injured when it was to evacuate the bodies of the victims forcing it to return to the base.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a limited cabinet meeting on Friday (2/22) afternoon, to discuss the incidents suspected to be the acts of armed civilian groups of members of a separatist Free Papua Movement organization.
Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says the national government will use a welfare-based approach rather than a military one to keep the peace in Papua after a deadly series of shootings on Thursday left eight soldiers dead.
At a limited cabinet meeting on Friday, the president declared that the government would continue to seek to improve the living standards of Papuans and would not intensify security arrangements in the restive provinces.
"The [security] status in Papua has not been raised, however the law still has to be enforced in any part of the Indonesian islands," Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said in a press conference at the presidential palace on Friday.
The government declined to raise the number of officers in Papua but said it was prepared to send additional weapons, if needed, to hunt down the armed group.
"Bear in mind that we have a clear and firm stance on any party who is trying to disrupt public security or refuses to acknowledge the sovereignty of the unitary state of Indonesia in Papua," Djoko said.
He said he suspected that Thursday's shootings in Sinak were related to regional elections for which the results will be announced today, and the shootings in Tingginambut were sparked by the opening of new military posts, which made separatists feel uncomfortable.
"Indonesia and the world need to know that the military and police officers were carrying out their job to protect the sovereignty and security [of Indonesia] as well as to protect the people," Yudhoyono said on Friday.
Former Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the state had proven itself unable to resolve conflict in Papua.
Yusril called on the government to remain calm in seeking to ease tensions in Papua. "The approach should be effective to prevent the situation from getting worse," he said.
The former minister added that unrest in Papua was similar to that in many other parts of the world, in that it stemmed from dissatisfaction with living conditions.
"No matter what, the integration between Papua and Indonesia is part of history and it has happened. It's been acknowledged internationally," he said.
West Papua Regional Legislative Council deputy chairman Jimmy Demianus Ijie said that many Papuans felt they had not benefited from Indonesia's independence and called for an empathy from the national government.
"We've never enjoyed Indonesia's independence. What we have is only blood and tears," Jimmy said in Jakarta on Friday, adding that his people were frustrated at the lack of delivery on regular promises of improvements by the government.
Jimmy called on the government to build a dialogue with the Papuan people and not take a heavy-handed approach to security.
"Let's talk about our unity. Why is the government afraid of opening a dialogue with Papua? Today, there are many military personnel in plain clothes in Papua, as if a big war is happening here," he said.
He added that Papuan people love Indonesia but want to be freed from poverty and want to look after the interests of their children and grandchildren. Indonesia officially annexed Papua in 1969 with a UN-backed vote, seen by many as a sham, and tensions have persisted.
Bagus BT Saragih and Nethy Darma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the country's security forces to refrain from conducting excessive security operations in Papua following shootings that left eight soldiers and four civilians dead in the restive region.
"I have instructed the military and the police to respect the rule of law as well as human rights. Any excessive acts will not be sanctioned," Yudhoyono told a Cabinet meeting on the Papua shootings at the State Palace on Friday.
The President claimed that his administration has been focusing on using an economic and welfare approach to address security issues in Papua. "Nevertheless, we need to carry out quick and certain measures when it comes to any disturbance of Indonesia's sovereignty.
Indonesia's territorial unity must be protected and law enforcement must be carried out without exception. We cannot ignore such an incident like the ones yesterday [Thursday] where eight soldiers were killed," he said.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto said security measures must be carried out carefully and prudently because, "Papua-related issues are very sensitive, domestically and internationally. Foreign NGOs and media are always concerned."
Eight soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in Papua's Puncak regency and neighboring Puncak Jaya regency on Thursday. The area is known as a stronghold of separatists who have battled for independence for years.
The first attack was carried out by a group of unidentified gunmen who attacked a post in guard Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya, leaving one soldier dead and another injured. Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Adm. Agus Suhartono revealed on Friday that the slain soldier in Tingginambut, First Pvt. Wahyu Prabowo, was a member of the Army's elite Special Forces Command (Kopassus).
Agus, however, denied that Kopassus' presence meant the elite force had been carrying out special operations in the region. "The slain Kopassus member had been stationed there for quite a long time," he said.
About an hour after the Tingginambut incident, another group of armed assailants ambushed a group of 10 Army soldiers who were on their way to the Sinak airstrip in Sinak, Puncak. Seven of the 10 soldiers and four civilians were killed. The civilians, identified as Johanis Palimbung, Markus Renden, Rudi Lallo and Uli, were construction workers. They were on their way to the local airstrip with the military personnel, Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumertha Jaya said on Friday. He added that four other civilians were injured.
On Friday morning, a TNI Super Puma helicopter took small arms fire while attempting to evacuate the slain soldiers to the provincial capital of Jayapura, Agus said. Three of the helicopter's crew members were wounded, forcing them to turn back and rush the injured to a hospital.
"The chopper was shot from a honai [Papuan traditional home]. It aborted its mission and returned to Puncak Jaya. We then decided to carry out the evacuation operation on foot," Agus said, adding that the chopper had been able to continue flying despite the shooting.
He said the TNI had deployed reinforcements from the Cendrawasih Military Command (Kodam) to areas surrounding Puncak Jaya.
Puncak Legislative Council member Paulus Sumino believes that the shootings were related to last week's regency election, the first election since the regency separated from Puncak Jaya that in 2008. "The shooting was intended to disrupt the final phase of the local election process," he said.
However, Agus said he believed rebel groups might have carried out the attacks in response to the TNI's decision to establish a district military command (Kodim) in Puncak Jaya and several other military posts in the area.
Farouk Arnaz A military helicopter that was on its way to evacuate the remains of the eight soldiers who were shot dead in Papua's Puncak Jaya district, was forced to return back to its base after an armed group attacked them in the air on Friday morning.
The suspected separatists attacked the helicopter at 8:25 a.m., just 10 minutes after the aircraft left its base in Mulia to travel to Sinak to pick up the bodies.
Antaranews.com said that three soldiers identified as First Lieut. Amang, Maj. Asep and Capt. Tata were injured in the attack and were taken to a hospital in Mulia.
Julian Aldrin Pasha, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's spokesman, told Antaranews.com on Thursday that the president would discuss the latest incidents in Papua in a limited cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon.
"I have reported to the president and he has ordered to chase and arrest the attackers," said Indonesian military chief Admiral Agus Suhartono, as quoted by Antaranews.com in a press conference in Malang, East Java on Thursday night.
Agus said that he had lost eight of his best soldiers in the attack. "The soldiers are ready and will keep on chasing [the perpetrators] in coordination with the police," Agus said.
Meanwhile, the National Police on Friday said they had made no plans to send reinforcements to Papua. "In principle, we are ready but there is yet no order to reinforce personnel coming from the assistant for operation," said Insp. Gen. Unggung Cahyono, who heads the National Police mobile brigade (Brimob) unit.
Insp. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, the National Police assistant for operations, said the area already had sufficient security personnel to look after the area, adding that there was already one Brimob unit working in the district.
"There is already one company of men there, or about 100-150 personnel," Badrodin explained. "They [Brimob unit] are already there as part of the security framework for the Papua regional elections and now they are assisting in hunting down the assailants."
Eight soldiers were shot dead and two more were wounded in two separate incidents among the mountains of the Puncak Jaya district, a known hideout for rebels where attacks on police and soldiers are common.
Government minister Djoko Suyanto late on Thursday said the assailants were members of both the Goliat Tabuni and Murib groups, which he accused of targeting police and military officers in the past.
In the day's violence, the soldiers were shot while on patrol and didn't have a chance to shoot back, said Djoko, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs. "It was a total ambush," he said. "[This] was not a gun battle where both sides fired shots."
Djoko ordered the Papua Police and the Cendrawasih Military Command to mobilize troops to capture those responsible. He said the recent attacks could disrupt efforts to settle ongoing tensions in Papua, the site of an ongoing campaign for autonomy.
In the day's first attack, an armed group shot at the Tingginambut military post in Puncak Jaya, killing one solider and wounding another, said Lieut. Col. Jansen Simanjuntak, a Papua province military spokesman. He said that First Private Wahyu Wibowo died instantly when he was shot in the chest, while First Lt. Reza was wounded.
An hour later, a group of soldiers traveling from Sinak in Puncak Jaya to the Ilaga Air Base three kilometers away were attacked by an armed group, killing four officers.
The four soldiers killed were identified as First Sergeant M. Udin, First Sergeant Frans, First Sergeant Ramadhan and First Private Mustofa.
Finally, three soldiers identified as Private Edi, Private Jojo and Private Idris were killed when they were attacked elsewhere in Puncak Jaya district.
Banda Aceh An elderly Indonesian said Monday he had won a rare victory against a noisy mosque, despite being forced to withdraw legal action after an angry mob threatened to kill him.
Complaints against the loud speakers issuing the call to prayer have been met with extreme opposition in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim- majority nation that is home to about 800,000 mosques.
And when Sayed Hasan, 75, filed a lawsuit in December in the city of Banda Aceh, in which he complained of being disturbed by lengthy recordings of Koranic verses, it was met with strong protests from the community.
But Hasan, a Muslim, said despite being taken to see the deputy mayor and Muslim leaders, and then being escorted to the court where he was forced to withdraw his legal suit, he had ultimately won a rare victory.
"I was forced to withdraw my lawsuit as an angry mob threatened to kill me," he said. "But after I dropped my case, the volume was significantly turned down by about half." A local Muslim leader said the imam had decided to reduce the noise.
City dwellers in Indonesia are often woken up before dawn by intermingling calls to prayer from three or four nearby mosques. Many also blare Koranic verses or broadcast day-long events through loudspeakers.
Ninety percent of Indonesia's 240 million citizens are Muslim. While most practice a moderate form, Aceh province has implemented Sharia law, which is enforced by special Islamic police.
A 75-year-old man in Aceh has filed a controversial lawsuit against local religious officials alleging that the noise from a nearby mosque's six loudspeakers has negatively impacted his life.
Sayed Hassan originally filed the lawsuit against the Al Muchlisin mosque, the Aceh Religious Affairs office, Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU) Aceh, Islamic Sharia Agency, and the Gampong Jawa village chief in December of 2012, according to Tempo.co.
Sayed claimed that the Al Muchlisin mosque, which is located 100 meters from his home in Gampong Jawa village, Banda Aceh, began broadcasting sermons from Baiturrahman radio twenty minutes before morning and evening prayers.
He reportedly asked the Imam to turn the volume down, but he refused. Sayed responded with the lawsuit.
Hundreds of residents in Gampong Jawa were outraged after the matter made it to the Banda Aceh district court on Feb. 11. They demanded Sayed apologize for filing the suit and withdraw his claim.
Sayed told the local news portal Aceh.Tribunnews.com that he was sorry and would withdraw his case. "I'm sorry for my mistake," he wrote. "If I repeat it, I agree to be ousted from this village."
But on Thursday, he told Tempo.co that villagers forced him to issue the statement. He had no plans to withdraw the lawsuit. The mosque, he said, continued to broadcast loud sermons at 4:30 a.m. "This problem has not been solved," he told Tempo.co on Thursday.
Banda Aceh's deputy mayor said Sayed had no basis for filing the lawsuit. The man's house, he said, is too far to be impacted by the loudspeakers.
"This is the first such case in Aceh and it is strange because the house of the plaintiff is located far from the mosque," Deputy Mayor Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal said.
Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta Human Rights defenders suspect the government's recent initiative to hold discussions on the possibility to open human rights tribunals were politically motivated.
They argued that the discussion, which was raised in close proximity to the 2014 General Elections, could implicate some of the strong presidential candidates.
"We are actually surprised to learn that the Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto had just begun talks with the House of Representatives leadership on the plan to establish an ad hoc human rights tribunal on the 1997-1998 forced disappearance case," the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Families of Missing Persons Association (IKOHI) said in a joint statement issued on Tuesday.
"On the one hand, it is good that the tribunal might be finally established. On the other hand, however, we are concerned that the tribunal is merely political tool to crush political opponents," they added.
The activists were referring to People's Conscience (Hanura) Party chairman and former Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. (ret.) Wiranto as well as Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party chief patron and former Special Forces Command (Kopassus) Commander Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto who were both implicated in the violations during the 1998 riots.
Kontras and Ikohi are among the organizations who have repeatedly accused the government of ignorance with regards to the victims of past human rights abuses because it failed to establish an ad hoc human rights tribunal even though a mandate had been given by the House in 2009.
Andjarsari Paramaditha, Jakarta Bejo Untung was a 17-year-old Indonesian schoolboy when armed soldiers came to his village in 1965, forcing him on the run for years until he was caught, tortured and jailed.
A communist-led coup attempt had just failed, triggering a wave of arrests and killings that ushered in more than three decades of rigid anticommunist education and propaganda. The subject is still so sensitive it is rarely broached in public.
But now a documentary, "The Act of Killing," made by Texan-born director Joshua Oppenheimer, shines a light on that dark era, focusing on the death squads and torture that seem like a myth to the majority of the Indonesian population.
Oppenheimer came up with the idea for the film while working on a different project in North Sumatra and found many relatives of the Indonesians he was talking to had been killed or imprisoned between 1965 and 1966 for trying to form a union.
Most were too afraid to appear on camera to speak with him and suggested he talk to the killers. He took their advice and was horrified by his findings.
"I... encountered the boastful and shocking way that the killers were talking about what they did," said Oppenheimer in a telephone interview from Denmark.
"That was for me the beginning of the journey. I realized, my goodness, how is it possible that the perpetrators of mass murder should talk loudly and boastfully and with smiles and laughter."
The film, which runs for nearly two hours and won two prizes at this month's Berlin International Film Festival, re-enacts several murders and features a member of a death squad.
These death squads were operating systematically across Indonesia mostly in the late 1960s. Estimates put as many as one million people dead in a wave of violence after the aborted coup and purge of communists and alleged sympathizers.
The main character in the film, Anwar Congo, was the one of the most feared death squad leaders in the area around the city of Medan in Sumatra.
"I choke them to death, with steel wire around the neck," Congo says in the film, demonstrating in front of the camera how it was done. "And then pull it, sometimes with a pole. It's easier that way and less blood to clean."
Premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in October 2012, "The Act of Killing" took the Panorama Audience Award and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the recent 2013 Berlin International Film Festival but there have been no official screenings in the country where it took place.
It has been shown in about 265 underground screenings, with secret invitations among small groups, but there is the fear that police might try to block the screenings. Still, some 10,000 have been to see it.
The national police spokesman did not respond to questions asking whether the police would have tried to stop showings of the film.
Young Indonesian had long been taught that communism was sadistic and evil and given no alternative view to that era.
Until 1998 and the end of the iron rule of Suharto, the leader who took power shortly after the coup, viewing of a violent movie about how six generals and an officer were killed in the coup attempt was compulsory for schoolchildren.
Even last year an attempt by Indonesia's human rights commission to look into the events surrounding the slaughter were effectively blocked by the government.
Bejo Untung said the movie reflected accurately what happened to him and many others.
Caught and imprisoned in 1970, Untung survived a year of torture beating and electrocution in prison and then a camp of several hundred men located in Central Jakarta. Three killed themselves while he was there, while others disappeared and were feared to have been killed. He spent eight years in jail without trial, including a stint of brutal forced farm labor.
"Ten of us were forced to stay in a room which can only fit two," he said of his time in one prison. "We slept like layered cake, my head facing another inmate's toes so we could breathe while we slept."
Most of the protein in his diet came from "anything that moved" in the fields, including frogs, rats, snakes and snails. "My favourite was the baby rat, it's easy to swallow it alive," said Untung.
He learned to play guitar and piano and made his own instrument during breaks. To learn English, he copied a dictionary word for word onto cigarette papers.
It wasn't until 1979 that political prisoners were released, in order to open the way for Indonesia to receive financial grants from the United States and European nations.
Untung was a private music tutor until retiring and now heads YPKP 65, an organization for victims of the brutality. For nearly six years, he marched in front of the State Palace, the seat of Indonesian government, every Thursday together with other human rights victims, demanding resolution.
Now he and others want Indonesian history to be revised to reflect the truth of that period.
Hilmar Farid, a Jakarta-based historian at the University of Indonesia, said this was a lesson not to allow absolute power to take hold.
"I doubt that the perpetrators will watch the movie and apologize... Political interest plays a big part. There is a need to have mass consciousness, mass repentance if necessary."
Oppenheimer said his film, which cost US $1 million to make over five years, gave young Indonesians a different chapter to their nation's history.
"From the history lessons in school, I only remember that they [the communists] killed and oppressed people, that's it," said 23-year-old graduate student Frederika Dapamanis after watching the movie. "I was sad and ashamed."
There were also lessons for those older as well. "For Indonesians old enough to remember the genocide, the film makes it impossible to continue denying what everybody in that generation already knew. They are closer to the perpetrators than they like to believe," Oppenheimer said.
"It's not because they're communist or Indonesian, but they are human beings," he said. "The movie, that's a hurtful truth. Indonesia has to speak out about this. The government has to apologize and the truth has to come out."
Markus Junianto Sihaloho The party of retired military commander Wiranto says it has no objection to a government plan to set up a human rights court that could deal with past cases in which he has been implicated.
"There's no problem if the government thinks it's necessary to do it," Saleh Husin, a legislator with the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said on Friday.
He added the establishment of the ad hoc court would not impact Wiranto, who is seen as a likely candidate for president in next year's election, because he was already cleared by a court of human rights violations allegedly committed while he was the military chief of staff.
Saleh said that while Hanura would not focus too much on the plan to set up the court, he hinted that it was politically motivated, noting the timing of similar calls raised in the past.
"This issue often surfaces ahead of legislative or presidential elections. And that's normal," he said. "The issue also came up before the last presidential election [in 2009] and disappeared after the election."
He added this showed that Wiranto was seen as a serious candidate by the rest of the political establishment.
Wiranto has long been accused by independent rights organizations of playing a role in the violence that erupted in East Timor following an independence referendum there that saw pro-Jakarta militias, reportedly backed and armed by the military, attack civilians.
Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a former justice minister, said that if the government's plan to set up the court went through, it would need to make clear what case it would deal with, because an ad hoc court can only be established for a stated purpose.
He also pointed out that the government had previously set up an ad hoc court to address the East Timor violence, which cleared Wiranto of any wrongdoing, in a decision upheld by the Supreme Court.
The call for an ad hoc court to be set up to address past rights abuses was first made by legislators in 2009, but forgotten soon after.
It was only revived last year following a landmark report from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) that alleged gross rights abuses by the state stretching back to the 1965-66 anti-communist purge.
The rights body has urged the Attorney General's Office to open a formal inquest into the cases, but prosecutors have repeatedly rejected the request, citing the lack of required paperwork from Komnas HAM.
Jakarta A senior People's Conscience Party (Hanura) politician says he will not stop the government from forming a tribunal to probe alleged human rights violations involving the party's chairman.
Saleh Husin, the secretary-general of Hanura, told reporters on Friday that plans to establish an ad-hoc tribunal to probe alleged violations during the 1998 riots would not hinder the presidential ambitions of Hanura chairman Gen. (ret.) Wiranto, who was then commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI).
Saleh said that alleged human rights violations always became an issue in the run-up to elections and would soon fade after the polling booths closed. "This is not the first time such an issue has surfaced ahead of the elections," Saleh said.
In 2009, the House of Representatives recommended that the government set up a tribunal to investigate and potentially prosecute those believed to have committed human rights violations in the days before Soeharto's downfall.
Not until recently, however, did the government move to establish a tribunal by arranging a meeting between lawmakers and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Although Saleh said that Wiranto was in the clear, a report published by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in 2003 alleged that the retired general might have been involved in rights abuses.
The report also alleged that another presidential hopeful, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo Subianto, the chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, was also implicated in the bloody riots in 1998.
The Komnas HAM report said that the security authorities at the time failed to curb simultaneous widespread rioting, concluding that the riots had been orchestrated based on similarities in how the violence began: provocations, followed by attacks on civilians.
Lawmakers have been divided on establishing a tribunal, with some saying that the move was politically motivated.
Puan Maharani, who leads the lawmakers of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the House, said there were many factors needing consideration before establishing a tribunal.
A tribunal, Puan said, would affect Indonesia's image in the global community. "We want our new leader to be accepted not only by the people, but also by the global community."
Previously, Komnas HAM chairman Otto Nur Abdullah said that the commission would endorse the establishment of the ad hoc tribunal, regardless of political considerations.
"Komnas HAM, as well as the public, will fully support the government in its plan. Any political motivation behind the initiative is beyond the remit of Komnas HAM," he said.
Lenny Tristia Tambun & Bayu Marhaenjati Thousands of workers on Thursday gathered in the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and at the State Palace to rally against the government's decision of granting companies exemption from having to pay the minimum wage set by regional governments.
President of the Confederation of the All Indonesia Workers Unions (KSPSI) Andi Gani Nena Wea said that the protesters have five demands, including asking the government to abolish minimum wage reprieve, low-wage policies and outsourcing.
They also called on the government to implement the Social Security Organizing Body (BPJS) Law, which requires all workers' insurance and pension schemes to be managed by a single entity, the BPJS, It will provide health insurance to all Indonesians, and expatriates who have worked here for at least six months. The new body is scheduled to be established by Jan. 1, 2014/
"We urge the governor to reject every request by the companies to postpone giving the minimum wage," Andi said. "Because if the requests are approved, the workers will suffer."
Some 492 companies in Jakarta have requested exemption. To date, 43 have obtained approval while 20 were denied. Jakarta's new monthly minimum wage of Rp 2.2 million ($227), implemented in January, is a 44 percent increase from the 2012 standard.
The protesters who rallied from the traffic circle to State Palace caused long traffic jams along Jalan Sudirman and Thamrin. Deputy director of Jakarta Police traffic division Adj. Sr. Comr. Wahyono advised commuters to avoid the areas where the protesters have gathered.
"To ease the traffic congestion along the roads [Sudirman-Thamrin], commuters should use alternative routes nearby heading to those roads," Wahyono said. "If there is escalating mass concentration, there will be traffic redirection."
The Jakarta police have deployed 13,235 officers to safeguard the rally in some places including Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, State Palace, House of Representatives and the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration office.
Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has inked a deal to provide troubled Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) with humanitarian assistance overseas.
"If there is a TKI facing a problem abroad, the PMI will ask for help from the local Red Crescent, for example, to provide humanitarian aid," PMI chairman Jusuf Kalla said after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Yogyakarta on Friday.
Kalla signed the MoU with National Agency for Overseas Labor Placement and Protection (BNP2TKI) chief Jumhur Hidayat during the opening ceremony of PMI's national working meeting, which has been slated to run until Saturday.
Kalla said that Indonesian migrant workers were at high risk, especially those working in conflict areas such the Middle East. Many troubled workers were in isolated areas where access to media or communications was limited, he added.
"If the PMI asks for help from the Red Crescent, they have an obligation to help for humanitarian reasons," Kalla said.
Jumhur said that the government was happy to work with the PMI, which currently has representatives in 160 countries, since there were workers in areas that the government could not reach, such as conflict zones.
There were currently around 6 million Indonesian migrant workers laboring in 142 countries, according to Jumhur. The TKI send home about Rp 100 trillion (US$10.3 billion) in remittances every year.
Jumhur said that the MoU would also provide aid to Indonesian migrant workers at home, ensuring that those in need would receive counselling and education on health and natural disaster preparedness.
Kalla added that the PMI would continue to cooperate with Indonesian embassies to protect the nation's migrant workers.
Another MoU was also signed on Friday by the PMI and the Indonesian Scout Movement (Pramuka) to quickly deploy scouts to disaster areas in times of need.
Pramuka chairman Azrul Ashar said that the MoU was aimed at strengthening the relationship between the PMI and Pramuka. "When united, both can move faster and this will be advantageous for the affected people."
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X called on the PMI to continue its humanitarian work with sincerity as it aided those in need due to problems stemming from natural disasters, climate change and energy and food crises.
Arya Dipa, Bandung Major confederations of labor unions have filed a lawsuit against the West Java administration regarding the postponement of the 2013 regional minimum wage (UMR).
The lawsuit was filed on Friday at the Bandung State Administrative Court (PTUN) against West Java Gubernatorial Decree No. 561, which allows 257 companies in 11 regencies and mayoralties to postpone implementation of the 2013 minimum wage that was issued on Jan. 18.
Trade Union Rights Center activist Ari Lazuardi said his group filed the lawsuit because it felt the wage postponement process was not in line with procedures.
Manpower and Transmigration Ministerial Decree No. 231/MEN/2003 on UMR postponement guidelines requires that any application for UMR delay must meet several requirements, including a decision from labor unions at the company level.
"Many companies, which lacked approval from labor unions, immediately submitted postponement requests to the governor and were granted, not to mention intimidation of workers and labor unions," Ari said.
Workers will not be paid in accordance with the 2013 UMR set by the respective regions as long as the decree remains in place. In November 2012, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan accepted the UMR increase proposed by 26 regional administrations.
Based on estimates of average minimum wage increases in five industrial areas, the average increase of the regency and city minimum wage in West Java this year is 25.6 percent.
The regions with UMR exceeding Rp 2 million (US$206) are Bekasi municipality, which increased the UMR from Rp 1.47 million to Rp 2.1 million; the municipality of Bogor, which jumped from Rp 1,174,200 to Rp 2,002,000; Bogor regency, which saw a rise from Rp 1,269,320 to Rp 2,002,000; and Karawang regency, where the UMR went from Rp 1,269,227 to Rp 2 million.
Ari said companies that had submitted postponement proposals were mainly found in Purwakarta, Karawang and Bogor.
West Java Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Hening Widiatmoko said his office had strictly selected postponement applications.
"The main requirement of a company seeking a postponement included approval from labor union representatives at the company, without which, we will reject the application," Hening said.
Hening said his office would submit the applications for a UMR postponement to the governor as they had been approved by the West Java Renumeration Council, in which labor representatives were present.
Around 90 percent of companies applying for postponement are in the textile, garment and footwear industries. "They are labor-intensive industries employing around 233,000 workers. Should they not be allowed to reschedule their UMR [payment], they could immediately close and their workers would be laid-off," Hening said.
Hening said his office was ready to follow the legal process should the case go to court.
M. Fandrain Hadistianto, who also works on the Trade Union Rights Center advocacy team, said the lawsuit was part of the national agenda of the Indonesian Workers Council to oppose UMR postponements.
A similar suits will be filed in North Sumatra, Banten, Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, South Sulawesi and Riau Islands. "Actually, the companies can afford to pay their workers as they are not losing. However, they don't want to cut their profit margins," he said.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta Employers can no longer use incompetence or a lack of productivity among their employees as a basis to determine wages.
The director general for training and productivity development at the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, Abdul Wahab Bangkonang, said that employees who had worked for more than one year in the formal sector should have decent skills in their line of work, regardless of their educational background.
"The industrial process in labor-intensive companies, such as garment, footwear and textile factories, relies on simple technology that can be operated by workers who do not possess high qualifications. Workers face no competence problem in handling the technology after one simple training session and one year of employment," he said.
Abdul Wahab blasted some employers, whom he labeled greedy, for locking their factories, laying off their workers and relocating abroad following the government decision to raise the local minimum wage.
He said the minimum wage in some cities in the country were in fact lower than the international standard. "I don't believe that employee incompetence and a lack of productivity should be used as a basis by employers to not pay decent wages. Even with the recent wage increase of up to 40 percent, small- and medium-sized companies will not suffer losses. Although these companies may face slimmer profit margins [due to the wage increase] large companies will not be affected at all," he said.
The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) claimed recently that many Korean investors had already relocated to other Asian countries following the decision to significantly increase local minimum wages.
Other firms have pleaded with local governments to delay paying the increased wages after winning their workers' support through bipartite negotiations. Almost 50 percent of 949 employers seeking government approval have been granted permission to postpone paying the higher wages, mostly due to financial difficulties.
Indonesian Workers Organization (OPSI) secretary-general Timboel Siregar criticized both the government and employers for failing to abide by the 2003 Labor Law, which stipulates mandatory training to improve the quality of human resources.
"Besides using labor training centers to train job seekers, the government has an obligation to introduce training policies requiring employers to improve their workers' skills and productivity. Both the government and employers should change their mind-set to see such labor training not as a financial burden but as an investment to enable Indonesian workers to be competitive in today's global economy" he said.
Payaman Simanjuntak, a professor of labor economy at the Krisnadwipayana University, questioned whether employers had the will to create good industrial relations with their workers. He lamented the fact that after 68 years of national independence, workers and employers were still arguing about the minimum wage.
He also called on employers to respect workers by paying them decent wages regardless of their experience and competence. "A firm's productivity depends on the performance of its workers and management; so, workers deserve higher wages for their contribution to the productivity of their firms," he said.
Payaman added that the minimum wage should only be applied to newly recruited and single workers.
Director of Apindo's training department, Muhammad Aditya Warman, said many businesses' decision to reject the basic minimum wage was motivated by the stance of Apindo chairman Sofjan Wanandi, who strongly opposed the recent wage hikes.
Aditya said that some of the businesses were run by foreign investors who engaged in rent-seeking activities. "They [rogue investors] can easily escape because they use rented land and leased machinery," he said.
Aditya added, however, that most employers had provided job training opportunities for their workers to improve their productivity, and they had no major problems with the wage increases.
He said Apindo had for a long time campaigned for labor regulations for investors to help create industrial harmony and a conducive business climate in the country.
"Many companies have created a harmonious atmosphere when investors comply with labor regulations and deploy a humane approach. Most workers feel proud and happy to work when their employers congratulate them on their birthdays or when they have a child," he said.
Nurfika Osman, Jakarta Extensive layoffs in Indonesia's manufacturing and service sectors are growing inevitable as the businesspeople's appeal to the government to suspend the rise in minimum wages goes unheeded, a senior businessman says.
Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said that at least 500,000 workers in about 1,500 companies across the country might lose their jobs in March as the companies were no longer able to pay their workers in accordance with the new minimum wages.
"I think half a million is the smallest figure we are going to see next month and I am afraid the layoffs will be done secretly. Most of [the layoffs] will occur in Jakarta, Banten and West Java," Sofjan told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of an Apindo National Leadership Council (DPN) gathering in Jakarta.
The affected workers mostly work in the food and beverage, tobacco, textile, footwear and leather, toys and furniture industries.
At least 26 provinces have set their respective minimum wages for this year, with Bogor, West Java making the highest increase of 70.5 percent to Rp 2 million (US$208), from Rp 1.17 million in 2012.
Purwakarta, also in West Java, recorded the second-highest increase of 61.6 percent to Rp 1.69 million from Rp 1.04 million last year. Meanwhile, the capital city saw a 44 percent hike in its minimum wage from Rp 1.5 million to Rp 2.2 million this year.
"Businesspeople are facing tough times and the new wage increases have forced them to lay off workers due to rising costs," he said.
The wage hikes were estimated to increase production costs in the manufacturing industry by between 4 to 9 percent this year.
He also said that the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry was reluctant to review manpower ministerial decree No. 231/2003, which states that the postponement of the minimum wage increases could only be done if the companies had suffered loss for two years in a row.
Apindo was afraid that the high wage problem would also contribute to the worsening of the country's trade balance as more companies would prefer to import products from China, Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia, which are cheaper than local goods. "We have seen the tendency [of importing goods] lately," he continued.
Contacted separately, Manpower and Transmigration Ministry spokesman Suhartono said that the government was optimistic that massive layoffs could be avoided.
"We have not received any reports from the manpower and transmigration office saying that companies will layoff their workers. Besides, we are continuing to work with related parties and stakeholders to find the best solutions on this matter," Suhartono told the Post.
If the ministry knew of any company laying off workers without informing manpower offices in their respective regions, the ministry would have summoned the companies and called on them to pay severances according to the law, he said.
Regarding the possibility of the suspension of the ministerial decree on the new minimum wage, he said that the ministry had remained in talks with senior officials at the gubernatorial level.
According to Apindo, a number of foreign companies particularly from South Korea and India, have left Indonesia and relocated their businesses to other Asian countries since the end of last year.
Freedom of information & press
Veeramalla Anjaiah, Jakarta Is Brunei, a non-democratic country, much more open than world's third largest democracy Indonesia in terms of press freedom?
Yes it is, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based non- government organization that promotes and defends freedom of information in its recently released World Press Freedom Index 2013.
The annual index measures the level of freedom of information in 179 countries in five continents. The survey covers six fields pluralism, media independence, environment, self-censorship, legislative framework transparency and infrastructure through a questionnaire sent to all five continents.
A quick look at the 2013 index reveals that none of the 10-ASEAN countries made into the top 100 countries out of 179 that were surveyed for this year's index. Brunei ranked at 122 with a score of 35.45, a slight increase from 2012's 125th position on the same index. Finland, like last year, once again topped the index with a score of 6.38 followed by the Netherlands (6.48) and Norway (6.52) in second and third respectively.
With a score of 84.83, Eritrea retained its infamous crown as the country that least respects press freedom and sits at the bottom of the index in 179th place. North Korea, where press freedom is an alien concept, ended up at 178th with a score of 83.90.
Indonesia ranked only 139th position with score of 41.05, four positions behind Thailand, which had a score of 38.60. In fact, Indonesia did improve its ranking by seven positions from 146th position in 2012.
Indonesia's former state Timor Leste earned the respectable rank of 90 with its score of 28.72. Indonesia's neighbor Papua New Guinea fared much better at 41st position with a 22.97 score.
The question raised by these results is why democratic countries like Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines lag behind Brunei, a country without an elected parliament? An RSF executive gives some insight;
"The Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not take the kind of political system into account," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement that accompanied the index's release.
While commenting on press freedom, senior journalist and Bisnis Indonesia chief editor Arief Budisusilo said the situation has been gradually improving in Indonesia.
"Press freedom in Indonesia has so far progressed well. But it faced challenges in some areas and also from government institutions such as the police and the Indonesian military that sometimes use violence against journalists," Arief said in a short text message sent to The Jakarta Post on Sunday. "Any how, we have to defend the press freedom".
There are also other problems hindering Indonesia's media progress. "The Indonesian media's biggest challenge is to enhance the competence and knowledge [of journalists]. It has to maintain its independence and protect itself from political interests and the interests of media owners," Arief said.
Most of the media companies in Indonesia are owned by business tycoons and politicians who have vested interests for their own agenda. It is different in Brunei. Although democracy may be absent from Brunei it has a vibrant media. The people of Brunei love their Sultan and his government.
"In Brunei, education and healthcare are free. Fuel prices are heavily subsidized. There is no income tax. The media is relatively free from any intervention from the government," an Indonesian citizen who preferred to remain anonymous and worked in Brunei told the Post recently.
Brunei has four leading newspapers Borneo Bulletin (circulation 20,000), Pelita Brunei (19,000), The Brunei Times (15,500) and Media Permata (10,000) with a combined circulation of 65,000 copies in a country of 400,000 people.
Rendi A. Witular and Ina Parlina, Jakarta In what appears to be the first salvo against the Yudhoyonos, former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum hinted on Wednesday at the involvement of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's youngest son, Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro, in a graft case.
Anas has accused Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin, another of the party's senior politicians, of having knowledge of the flow of money from the Hambalang affair, including knowing about money received by Ibas.
Amir was a member of the party's ethics council who, in May 2011, questioned then party treasurer, Muhammad Nazaruddin, about a plethora of graft cases, including Hambalang. Nazaruddin alleges that numerous politicians accepted bribes in the scandal for which he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.
"Pak Amir is the right person to tell the story. If he refuses to do so, then I will be in the position to replace him in explaining it," Anas told The Jakarta Post.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is in the process of investigating the Hambalang project, and named former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng, a member of Yudhoyono's inner circle, as a suspect late last year.
The KPK also named Anas a suspect on Friday for accepting gratuities or making promises related to several projects, including the Hambalang sports center, which cost more than Rp 1.7 trillion (US$177 million) in taxpayers' money.
Anas' statement may signal his seriousness in uncovering the manifold malfeasance of his party colleagues in general and of the President's family in particular, as foreshadowed in his press conference on Saturday when he stepped down as party chair.
Anas claims he knew that he would be named before the KPK's announcement, suggesting that it was part of a systematic plot to oust him as party chairman. The politician said the KPK's decision to name him was not the end of his battle.
"Today, I am making it clear that this is just the beginning and still very far from the end. Like a book, we have merely flipped open the first page. There are so many pages waiting to be turned, for our own good.
"In the coming days, this party will be tested. We will see if it really adheres to its 'clean, smart and ethical' slogan. We will learn if it is, instead, just the opposite," he went on.
Since Anas took the chair of the party from Hadi Utomo, Yudhoyono's brother-in-law, in 2010, he has emerged relatively unscathed from numerous attempted coups.
Party sources have insisted that Yudhoyono, the party's founder and chief patron, sees Anas as the "unwanted son" and wanted Andi to lead the party instead.
Factions within the party, such as the supporters of Andi and senior politicians who contributed to the founding of the party, have pressurized Yudhoyono to dismiss Anas.
Yudhoyono's delicate approach toward Anas is thought to be rooted in concerns that Anas would receive a great deal of public sympathy and risk alienating the widespread support Anas enjoys among the party's regional members.
In response to Anas' allegations, Minister Amir said there had been no mention of Ibas' name during Nazaruddin's questioning.
"Tales told by Anas are not true. There was indeed a meeting of the ethics council to question Nazaruddin at that time. The idea to hold the meeting came from Anas, but there was no mentions of Ibas' name," Amir told The Jakarta Post over the telephone.
"So we are confused if he [Anas] was talking about the involvement of Ibas, or even Ibu," Amir said. Ibu refers to First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.
Ibas also denies Anas' allegations of accepting money from the Hambalang project. "These allegations are like broken records that have been repeatedly played, and force me to reaffirm my innocence despite the fact that I know nothing about the case. I hope the public can see this clearly without being influenced by the wrong opinions," said Ibas, who is the secretary-general of the party.
"I have a lot of respect for Mas Anas, but I hope from now on he will be fully focused on the legal problems he is facing, and refrain from issuing dubious opinions to the public," Ibas said, adding that he hoped the KPK would be transparent in investigating the case.
Jakarta Chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri said the her popularity had declined because of the lack of media coverage she received.
"Journalists have forgotten about me. When they write about figures from the Reform era they don't include me. I am so upset," Megawati said as quoted by Antara.
The former president said that, despite the complaint, she did not want to be perceived as an attention-grabbing politician. "I just want the public to know [more about me]," she said.
Megawati also voiced concerns about a suspected intelligence operation that specifically targeted her.
Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta A group of loyalists to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have been appointed as members of the interim collective leadership of the Democratic Party.
The move follows the resignation of party chairman Anas Urbaningrum on Saturday.
The four Democratic Party politicians party chairman deputies Max Sopacua and Jhonny Alen Marbun, secretary-general Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono and party executive director Toto Riyanto will be in charge of the party until an extraordinary party congress is held to elect a new chairman.
The decision was made following a closed-door meeting involving the Democratic Party's supreme assembly that lasted until the early hours of Sunday.
"The Democratic Party's central board will continue to operate although the former chairman has decided to step down. The supreme assembly has appointed [the four individuals] to temporarily take over his responsibilities with the help of the chairman of the assembly," Toto said, the last referring to Yudhoyono.
Toto said the supreme assembly declined to directly respond to an accusation from Anas that the move against him was orchestrated by rival politicians within the party.
The supreme assembly acknowledged Anas' contribution to the party despite "the Democratic Party struggling under his leadership". "The party still wishes him the best although he attacked us. We hold out hope that he will be proven not guilty of the charges," Toto added.
Anas announced on Saturday that he would step down as the party chairman, only one day after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named him a suspect in a graft scandal surrounding the construction of a sports center in Hambalang, West Java.
He said that the KPK's decision was part of a systematic political plot against him. Anas said he had expected the KPK to make such a decision as soon as the Democratic Party's chief patron, Yudhoyono, and the party's supreme assembly issued policies to restore the party's reputation and electability earlier this month. One of the policies was to demand Anas' resignation if he was named a graft suspect.
"It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots and see all of these actions have been orchestrated against me," Anas said.
The KPK charged Anas for allegedly accepting a gratuity from the construction firm that won the tender for the sports complex project during his time as a lawmaker with the House of Representatives' Commission X overseeing sports in 2009. Anas vowed to fight a long battle to prove his innocence.
Olivia Rondonuwu A flood of corruption scandals has seriously undermined the Indonesian ruling party's prospects in 2014 elections and left the outcome of the polls more uncertain than ever, analysts say.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won a second term in 2009 partly on a pledge to fight corruption in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, one of the most graft-ridden nations in the world.
But four years on that promise seems hollow, with leading figures from his Democratic Party from the chairman to the treasurer and sports minister all becoming embroiled in corruption scandals.
In the latest case, party chairman Anas Urbaningrum was named last week by the country's anti-graft body as a suspect in a multi-million-dollar scandal over the construction of a sports stadium near the capital Jakarta.
Urbaningrum, who is accused of receiving "gifts or a promise of gifts" in the building of the Hambalang sports centre worth around Rp 1.17 trillion ($120.5 million), quit his post on Saturday but maintained his innocence.
It was the same case that forced the resignation in December of sports minister Andi Mallarangeng.
As the corruption cases have built up the party's popularity has plummeted, dropping to just eight percent in polls in December, a far cry from when Yudhoyono was elected with 21 percent of the vote in 2009. He is constitutionally barred from running for a third term and no obvious presidential candidate is yet to emerge from his party. Nevertheless, analysts had expected the Democratic Party to field a strong candidate.
But following the corruption scandals, observers question whether there is much hope for them at the 2014 elections and say it is now anyone's guess who will come out on top, especially as Yudhoyono has not anointed a successor.
"In the past two years, the Democratic Party... has often been labeled corrupt, now can Yudhoyono clean this up?" said Kuskridho Ambardi, executive director of private pollster Indonesian Survey Institute.
And it not just the Democratic Party that has been implicated in corruption. "It is a fact that all parties colluded... No one is really clean," Syamsuddin Haris, a political analyst from Indonesia's Institute of Sciences, told AFP.
Indonesia slipped to 118 out of 176 nations in Transparency International's corruption perception index last year. Some graft-weary Indonesians are now keen on politicians seen as outside elite circles and therefore untainted.
One such figure is new Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, a man dubbed the "Indonesian Obama" who has become immensely popular with his down-to-earth style and common touch.
In a recent poll by the Jakarta Survey Institute surveying the popularity of 12 leading politicians, he came out on top with 21.2 percent.
But he insists he will not run in the 2014 presidential election and his Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle has said it may nominate its chairwoman, former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, who lost to Yudhoyono in 2004 and 2009.
In the same Jakarta Survey Institute poll, Aburizal Bakrie, one of Indonesia's richest men and as yet the only declared presidential candidate, scored just 8.7 percent.
Bakrie has been tainted by the so-called "Sidoarjo mudflow disaster," when hundreds of thousands were displaced by a mud volcano in Java. Many blame drilling by Bakrie's energy firm as the cause of the disaster.
But the chairman of the Golkar Party, the party of Indonesia's late strongman Suharto, hopes that a victory last week over British financier Nathaniel Rothschild in a battle to control London-listed miner Bumi will help Bakrie.
By seeing off a bid by Rothschild to oust the board, Bakrie should now be able to take back control of thermal coal producer Bumi Resources, seen by many as a vital source of funding for his presidential campaign.
For now, the only certain thing is that the outcome of the 2014 elections is more uncertain than ever.
"Everything is very liquid, and there is no solid front-runner for 2014," said Ambardi of the Indonesian Survey Institute, adding that in a recent poll no politician scored more than 10 percent.
West Java's incumbent governor Ahmad Heryawan won Sunday's highly contested gubernatorial race according to quick-count results released by several polling companies.
Ahmad and his running mate Deddy Mizwar, both of the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) garnered 32.38 percent of the votes, according to unofficial IndoBarometer estimates broadcast by Metro TV on Sunday.
The incumbent pair faced a tough race against the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Rike Diah Pitaloka and Teten Masduki, who earned 27.18 percent of the vote according to unofficial counts. The PDI-P candidates rode a wave of support from workers in West Java, but failed to unseat the incumbent party.
The Democratic Party's Dede Yusuf and Lex Laksmana took home 26.09 percent of the vote. The Indonesian Voting Network (JSI) reported similar figures.
Analysts focused on the region's large percentage of undecided voters and high-profile corruption scandals involving the PKS and the Democratic Party as possible deciders in the election. Ahmad's close ties with hard-line Islamic groups was also said to put off moderate Muslim voters.
But according to unofficial counts, Ahmad was able to sweep the race in one round. "Ahmad and Deddy's votes will remain steady," Fajar S. Tamim, executive director of JSI, told Antaranews.com. "They definitely won the West Java election in one round."
Ahmad recently signed a deal with the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) promising to ban the minority Ahmadiyah sect in exchange for their support in the election. The Islamist governor said he was interested in preserving an "Islamic environment" in West Java, but did not plan to enact Shariah-based bylaws.
Open-wheel racers Ananda Mikola and Moreno Suprapto will run as legislative candidates for the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra), the party's chief patron said on Friday.
"They have spent most of their lives fighting for the good name of the nation. They are very patriotic," Gerindra chief Patron Prabowo Subianto said during a news conference announcing the racers' candidacy.
Prabowo said his party was open to young people who want to work for their country. "Gerindra is a party for successors. We are only paving the way for them."
Gerindra has placed ads in various media outlets calling for applications from aspiring legislators at local and national levels.
Previously, soap opera actor Irwansyah and prominent Betawi figure Biem Benyamin had also announced their plan to join Gerindra to run as legislative candidates.
With pollsters saying most parties will garner less than 25 percent of the popular vote in the upcoming legislative election, the public will see no more than four candidates in the presidential election, a political analyst said on Thursday.
Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) analyst and State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta lecturer Burhanuddin Muhtadi said that based on recent surveys on election participants' electability, most parties would have to form a coalition to nominate a presidential candidate, as the law required that they secure 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives or 25 percent of the popular vote to do so.
"We will see prolonged chaos in the legislature, as none of the 10 parties eligible to contest the election have a dominant [position]. They will have to seek potential merger partners in order to compete in the presidential election," Burhanuddin said during the launching of his book Perang Bintang 2014 (Star Wars 2014) at UIN Jakarta.
The survey Saiful Mujani Research & Consulting (SMRC) released on Feb. 2 found that the Golkar Party would get the most votes (21.3 percent) if the election was held today. Golkar was followed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with 18.2 percent and the Democratic Party with 8.3 percent. The study sampled 1,200 people and had a margin of error of 3 percent.
Golkar has nominated its chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, as its presidential candidate. PDI-P chairman Megawati Soekarnoputri will likely run for president for the third time after being twice defeated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Democratic Party.
Burhanuddin said the situation would not change significantly should the 2008 Presidential Election Law that regulates the presidential nomination threshold remain intact.
"The House of Representative should revise the election law and allow more people to compete in the presidential election," Burhanuddin said. "These parties are forcing us to choose from a limited number of unqualified presidential candidates if the law is not revised."
A number of high-profile figures have been touted as potential presidential candidates in many surveys, but their prospects to enter the 2014 race remain slim.
According to the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) poll released in November last year, 79 percent of a total 223 respondents said that Kalla was the most capable presidential candidate, followed by Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD.
Another public opinion poll conducted by Jakarta Survey Institute (LSJ) found that Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was the most electable political candidate for the 2014 presidential election with 21.2 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him if the election was held today.
UIN Jakarta rector and prominent Muslim scholar Komaruddin Hidayat said that the press played a big role in introducing these new figures. "The public can easily be stirred by the media. The media should also promote figures who have the ability to become a president but have yet to gain a lot of popularity," Komaruddin said.
Mahfud MD, who attended the book launching at UIN, said that he was ready to join next year's presidential candidate as long as he was backed by political parties that shared a similar ideology. "I wouldn't mind becoming a presidential candidate, vice presidential candidate or just being a supporter," Mahfud said.
Former vice president Jusuf Kalla also said that if opinion polls showed that he was one of most popular figures then he would run for office. "It depends on the viewers, if they still want to be entertained then I would love to sing," Kalla said. (nad)
Hans Nicholas Jong and Yulia Sri Perdani, Jakarta Things have become considerably easier for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following the stunning fall from grace of Anas Urbaningrum after he was named a graft suspect on Friday.
The path has been cleared for Yudhoyono, the chief patron and chief of the supreme assembly of the Democratic Party, to replace Anas, who he recently suspended as chairman of the party, despite the support that Anas has received from the party's local branches.
The path has also been cleared for Yudhoyono to appoint his son or his brother-in-law to lead the Democrats.
The party's deputy secretary-general, Ramadhan Pohan, said that he was shocked and saddened by the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) decision to name Anas a suspect. He said that he wanted the party to move forward, claiming that the Democratic Party has a mechanism in place to appoint a new leader.
"Let the supreme assembly decide on the new developments," Ramadhan told The Jakarta Post on Friday evening.
Yudhoyono effectively took over as party chief following perceptions that the filing of formal charges against Anas was inevitable. Party insiders have said that it was likely that Yudhoyono would tap his younger son, Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, or his brother-in-law and Army chief Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo to replace Anas.
"We believe that the best solution that the chief of the supreme assembly [Yudhoyono] can take will be to ensure the unity and prominence of the Democratic Party in the future," Ibas said in a press release.
While Anas refused to talk to the media after he was named a suspect, his close friend Adhi Ferdya, who spoke on his behalf to reporters outside Anas' home on Friday, pleaded for time. "[On Saturday], Pak Anas will explain his position to the media at party headquarters," Adhi said.
Anas's previous statements have returned to haunt him. In March last year, he boasted that he was ready to be hanged atop the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta if he was found guilty of accepting bribes.
The 43-year-old does not face capital punishment in the Hambalang scandal merely a sentence of 20 years' imprisonment. The KPK's decision to name Anas a suspect in the case was long anticipated.
"Based on the several case exposes we have conducted including the one today in the investigation related to charges of accepting gratuities or making promises related to the development of the Hambalang sports center and other projects, the KPK is declaring [Anas] a suspect," KPK spokesman Johan Budi told a packed press conference at the commission's headquarters on Friday evening. Johan did not say when Anas would be detained.
The scandal revolves around gratuities, bribery and the misallocation of government funds for the 1.17 trillion (US$121 million) project to build the sports center in Bogor, West Java. Several big names in the Democratic Party and other political parties have been implicated in the case.
Disgraced former lawmaker and current corruption convict Muhammad Nazaruddin, who was also previously the Democratic Party's treasurer, has alleged that several politicians have accepted bribes in the scandal for which he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.
Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo came to the KPK's office on Tuesday to be questioned as a material witness in the scandal.
Johan said that the decision to name Anas a suspect had been unanimously approved by all five of the KPK's leaders. "Please do not link this case to the political process," Johan said.
When asked to elaborate on scandals other than Hambalang, such as a Toyota Harrier vehicle that Anas allegedly accepted as a bribe few years ago, Johan equivocated. "Let's not talk about the subject now."
Source: The Jakarta Post
Rizky Amelia Graft suspect Anas Urbaningrum stepped down from his post as the head of Indonesia's ruling party in a Saturday press conference held less than 24 hours after being charged as part of the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) ongoing probe into the Hambalang construction project.
Anas took the stage at the party's headquarters in his monogrammed blue Democratic Party jacket, delivering his resignation before a crowd of jostling photographers and cameramen. The former chairman was calm as he announced his departure.
"I have no bitterness, no anger," Anas said. "This is not about power, this is my own standards telling me to step down."
The KPK charged Anas on Friday with allegedly accepting a bribe to help rig the contract bidding process for the construction of the graft-tainted Hambalang sports center. It was the latest corruption charge levied against a top Democratic Party official.
Former sports minister Andi Mallarangeng recently stepped down after being charged in connection with the same case.
Anas, who once boasted that he would agree to be hanged from the National Monument (Monas) if he was found guilty of corruption, maintained his innocence and said was surprised by the KPK's decision.
"I was so sure that I would not have any legal [issues] with the KPK because the commission worked independently and free from influence," Anas said, "but I started to hesitate when there was pressure for the KPK to make a decision regarding my legal status after I was told [by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] to focus on my legal case."
Anas accused top party officials of plotting against him and said he was suspicious that they were so confident he would be charged by the KPK.
"It all started at the party's congress," he said of the alleged plot. "I won't explain it in detail, but at the time I felt like Anas was like a baby whose birth was unwanted."
Anas has faith that he will beat the charges, he said. "I still have faith for this country," Anas said. "Our country is based on law. I still have faith that through a honest, objective and transparent legal process, the truth will prevail."
The former chairman faces four to 20 years in prison under Indonesia's anti-corruption laws. He was charged with accepting a bribe that was later used to purchase a pricey Toyota SUV.
Antigraft watchdogs, worried that the charges might not stick, urged the KPK to charge Anas with money laundering on Saturday. Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Tama S. Langkun said the KPK's case could fall apart if prosecutors can't prove that Anas accepted bribes while serving as a lawmaker. Bribery charges are generally filed against public officials, Tama said.
If the KPK charged Anas with money laundering instead, the antigraft body could trace his assets and amass a larger body of evidence, Tama explained.
"We are still waiting for the KPK to use the law on money laundering," he said. "I think [Insp. Gen.] Djoko Susilo's case can be used as a standard for the KPK so they can trace the assets beyond the Harrier [SUV]."
The KPK charged Djoko, the former chief of the National Police traffic corps., with money laundering stemming from allegations that he accepted a Rp 2 billion kickback to award a public contract to an unqualified metal company interested in taking a cut.
The commission used the money laundering charges to track down Djoko's assets, Tama said, including ten homes worth billions of rupiah found in posh sections of Jakarta, Solo, Semarang and Yogyakarta.
Former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin claimed Anas accepted Rp 100 billion in kickbacks from the Hambalang project and used the money to buy the votes of party officials during his campaign for chairman.
Nazaruddin, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in an another corruption case, has repeatedly pointed the finger at fellow Democrats Anas and Andi, accusing both of corruption.
Anas, as he approached the end of his speech, warned that this case would continue to expand. "Trust me, this is not the end of everything," he said. "This is just the very beginning of something very big."
Bagus T Saragih, Jakarta After spending the night in silence following the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) announcement that he had been named a suspect, Anas Urbaningrum has finally announced his resignation from the post of the Democratic Party chief.
"My personal ethical standards, which run in harmony with the party's integrity pact, led me to quit my job as party chief once the KPK had named me a suspect. I officially announce my resignation from the post," Anas told a press conference on Saturday.
Anas then thanked everyone in the party for their support throughout the last two-and -a-half-years. He expected that whoever would replace him as party chairman would be able to perform better than he did.
Commenting on his legal status as a graft suspect, Anas unveiled that despite the accusations of his involvement in graft cases, he was confident that he would be cleared.
Anas said that he had nothing to worry about simply because he had nothing to do with the accusations, which were mainly made by former party colleague Muhammad Nazaruddin, who had been sentenced to prison over graft accusations.
"I knew that I would be named a suspect after the two were announcements made, the first announcement urging the KPK to immediately define my legal status and the second going even further by ordering me to focus on my legal problems, as if I had already been named a suspect," he said.
Anas was referring to Democratic Party chief patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who made the two announcements.
Therefore, Anas rest assured that his legal status was the result of political work rather than law enforcement. "It doesn't take a genius to be able to see that my case is more political action than legal action," he said.
Anas then cited that from a political perspective, his legal status could be seen as the climax of the internal resentment that he had sensed from the moment he claimed the chairman post in 2010. "I have felt that my chairmanship was actually unwanted," he said.
But then he refused to elaborate, saying that there will be a proper time for him to unveil the rest of the story.
At the end of his speech, Anas said that what has happened to him was only the beginning, and was still very far from the end. "This is like opening the first page of a book. There are so many pages waiting to be unveiled," he said.
The statement then opened the possibility that more party officials could be found guilty in days to come. (dic)
Ina Parlina More people are turning to the Constitutional Court to challenge the 2008 Presidential Election Law, which they believe sets the bar too high for members of the public who want to run for the country's top office.
Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD told reporters on Wednesday that it appeared the public no longer expected changes to come from members the House of Representatives, who were likely to retain the 20 percent presidential nomination threshold to minimize competition in the upcoming elections.
"Currently, many people see political parties as being high-handed. They believe they are controlled by a few elites. That's why many people challenge the Presidential Election Law."
On Wednesday, the court heard two different judicial review requests against the law, only a day after it rejected a similar request.
University of Indonesia political communications expert Effendi Gazali among those who want the law annulled. During the court hearing, Effendi told the court he knew the law had been reviewed before, but added that he was challenging it on different legal grounds.
He focused his criticism on Article 3 in the law, which stipulates that presidential and legislative elections should be held on different occasions. He argued that the original intent of the 1945 Constitution required that the two elections be held simultaneously for the sake of efficiency.
Therefore, the article requiring a political party or group of parties to control at least 20 percent of the seats in the House to nominate a presidential hopeful was unnecessary and should be scrapped.
Mahfud said the court was still studying Effendi's argument. "If accepted, it would change our political map. There will be no label of big or small party [in the presidential elections]. It will be a competition between political figures," he said after the hearing.
Labor activist Sri Sudarjo, another petitioner for the judicial review of the law, said the right to nominate a presidential candidate should not rest with political parties alone. She said labor group representatives should also be allowed to enter the presidential race too.
Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta Several Islamist organizations are demanding that the House of Representatives enact a law to make it difficult for foreign organizations to operate in Indonesia.
The conservative group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), for example, urged lawmakers on Thursday to pass a mass organizations bill to regulate foreign agencies in Indonesia, as well as their local partners, to prevent campaigns that might threaten the nation's unity.
Hizbut Thahrir member Muhammad Rahmat Kurnia described the current draft of the bill as inadequate for controlling foreign NGOs. "It will legitimize their efforts to provide funding to local groups to run their spy operations in the country."
Rahmat claimed that some NGOs were promoting liberalism, communism and separatism in Indonesia, encouraging the House to develop a bill that would target foreign NGOs and their affiliated local mass organizations.
"I am not saying that we must prohibit foreign agencies from operating here. We must be very strict toward them, because I think Indonesia is among a very few countries where foreign agencies can freely operate," Rahmat said.
A representative of another Islamist group said that the mass organization bill must prevent foreign NGOs and their local partners from spreading Christianity.
"Some of these groups that promote early education in the country, for example, have funded local groups to teach Christianity to Muslim children in Semper, North Jakarta," Nurdiyati from the organization Muslim Women said.
"Their ability to draft program proposals has helped them survive and grow in power. Most Islamic organizations lack such skills," she claimed.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Amidan, encouraged lawmakers to protect local Islamist mass organizations.
"We must have the freedom to manage our own affairs. Don't let the rules from the New Order regime make a comeback," Amidan said, referring to the outlawing conservative Muslim organizations under president Soeharto.
According to the MUI, around 60 Muslim mass organizations in Indonesia could come under threat if the current bill is enacted, something that lawmakers are expected to do sometime next month.
Separately, rights activists have said that the bill would deny people their rights of free assembly and expression.
A senior lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) supported the concerns voiced by the Islamist groups.
Hidayat Nur Wahid, the leader of the PKS faction in the House, said that the current bill needed to be revised to protect Muslim organizations in the nation and to reduce the influence of foreign groups and their local affiliates.
"We will reject the bill if it is too restrictive," Hidayat said in a meeting with the representatives from the Islamist organizations.
The PKS announced that it would regularly consult with the groups as the bill was deliberated in the House.
The bill was introduced by the government to keep tabs on more than 65,000 local mass organizations and foreign NGOs said to be operating in Indonesia.
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Depok Hundreds of housewives and their children staged a protest outside the Depok municipality office on Wednesday over the implementation of the administration's healthcare (Jamkesda) program, which they perceived to be unfairly distributed.
The residents, as part of the Depok Residents Health Council (DKR Depok), said at least 180,000 poor residents had yet to receive their Jamkesda cards that would give them access to free healthcare at several hospitals and clinics both public and private-owned.
They said that since the program was launched early last year, those individuals on the priority list for the distribution of the cards were members of the municipality's family welfare movement (PKK) program, which is chaired by the mayor's wife.
"We want Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail to straighten things up and not let these problems go unsolved. We are residents and we are aware of our civic rights," said Maryati, a resident of Sawangan, who joined the protest together with her children and grandchildren.
The protest turned chaotic as the police pushed people away from trying to climb the locked gate of the mayor's office on Jl. Margonda Raya. No officials met with protesters.
Idupyati said that she had been a resident in Pancoran Mas for 15 years but had not received her Jamkesda card. As a wife of a cleaning service worker, she said the family could not afford medical expenses.
"We don't understand how to register for the card. We usually go to the community health center [puskesmas] if we fall ill, but when doctors say we must go to hospital for further treatment, we prefer to stay at home because we don't have the money to pay for it," she said.
DKR Depok coordinator Roy Pangharapan said the difficult access faced by poor residents was due to a limited budget allocated by the administration to the Jamkesda program.
This year, he said, the administration had only allotted Rp 18 billion (US$1.85 million) for health programs out of a total Rp 1.7 trillion budget. The amount was less than the budget allocated to the program last year, which amounted to Rp 29 billion.
"The 2009 Health Law regulates that the regional administration must allocate 10 percent of its budget to health programs. Depok should have a Rp 170 billion budget for its health programs alone," said Roy.
Depok General Hospital director Lies Karmawati acknowledged that the hospital could not provide a satisfying service to Jamkesda cardholders due to limited facilities. The hospital only has 36 in-patient rooms and is not equipped with any intensive care unit facilities.
"We've received Rp 9 billion from this year's administration budget to expand the hospital. We will add 80 rooms, 60 of which will be dedicated for the Class III service covered by Jamkesda. We have requested help from the Health Ministry to upgrade the hospital," she said.
Indonesia is seeking to boost its community mental health services in an effort to end the lockdown and shackling of thousands of mental health patients.
"The practice of shackling mentally-ill people still exists and eliminating it is one of our priorities for 2013," Diah Setia Utami, director of mental health at the Health Ministry, told IRIN, noting that the country's "serious" shortage of mental health professionals has been one of the biggest obstacles.
The government aims to provide 30 percent of the country's 9,000 community health clinics and 1,700 general hospitals with staff to provide basic mental health care by 2014, Utami said.
The Health Ministry estimates 19 million people nationwide have various mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression, and another one million have severe psychoses.
Currently, 33 specialized mental health hospitals and 600 psychiatrists offer public mental health care. "These hospitals are adequately equipped to treat mental patients, but in the future, patients will be encouraged to have treatment outside [the] hospital under the care of families and community caregivers," Utami added.
The Health Ministry estimates some 18,000 people with mental disorders, mostly in rural areas and bereft of any mental health services, are still subjected to pasung (shackling) to prevent them from attacking others. In villages, people with mental disorders are typically chained behind their homes, while in cities, limited space and stigma confine a number of them to small rooms.
Opposition to the practice has grown along with local media reports of people at times undiagnosed wasting away after years in chains.
Yusuf said people still resort to pasung banned since 1977 because they cannot afford mental health care and to escape stigma associated with mental illness.
A psychiatric consultation costs on average $25, not including drugs. The government plans to implement nationwide universal health coverage in 2014, which is expected to cover most mental health costs.
In 2011 the Health Ministry launched the Menuju Indonesia Bebas Pasung program (Toward a Shackle-Free Indonesia), but lack of trained health professionals and funding have stalled progress, officials say.
Nova Rianti Yusuf, a member of a parliamentary health commission, noted the lack of data and research on pasung, with the exception of two recent studies of 49 shackled mental health patients that showed 90 percent of them had schizophrenia and 70 percent were receiving improper treatment.
The country's decentralized health care system accounts for uneven attention to mental health care across the country's 34 provinces, Utami said. "There are some regional governments that pay little or no attention to mental health and, therefore, allocate little or no budget."
But, in some places, there are signs of improvement. Asmarahadi, a psychiatrist at the state-run Soeharto Heerdjan mental hospital in Jakarta, said mental health care has improved there "significantly" over the past 10 years.
"People used to call the place a prison, but now it's like a hotel at least a one-star hotel." The hospital receives 150 patients daily and has a policy of not turning anyone away even if they cannot pay, he said.
"People in Jakarta and its surrounding areas are increasingly aware of mental problems," he said. "Mental health care is not expensive and even atypical, third-generation anti-psychotic drugs are accessible at affordable prices," he said. "Treatment failure is usually caused by a lack of patients' compliance and family support," he said.
This is if someone seeks formal medical treatment at all. Large pockets of the country still believe magic spells cause mental illness, with families turning to shamans and religious leaders for cures.
Under the 2013-2020 World Health Organization global mental health action plan, 80 percent of member countries are expected to update their mental health policies and laws by 2016, while allocating at least 5 percent of public health expenses to mental health care by 2020.
It also seeks to decrease the number of beds used for long-term stays in mental hospitals (which medical studies link to poor treatment and human rights abuses) by 20 percent by 2020, and increase the availability of places for community-based residential care and supported housing.
"The government has the responsibility to provide mental health care for the poor and it should do so by involving local communities," Yusuf said.
The WHO plan also calls for doubling the treatment of severe mental disorders. Up to 85 percent of such disorders are not currently treated in low- and middle-income countries, WHO estimates.
Jakarta National Mandate Party (PAN) deputy chairman Drajad Wibowo criticized on Thursday the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) plan to question Sri Mulyani, former Indonesian finance minister, in the US in connection with the investigation into the Bank Century bailout in 2008.
Drajad accused KPK of treating Sri Mulyani, currently a World Bank managing director, as a golden girl.
"This is a misuse of state budget. The KPK has treated her as a golden girl by using the public funds," Dradjat said as quoted by Tribunnews.com on Thursday.
"Actually it's easy for KPK to summons her. Just send her a summons. If she doesn't meet the summons, send her the second one, with copies to all the World Bank directors," said Drajat.
Drajad believes that, as an obedient Indonesian citizen, Sri Mulyani would obviously abide by the summons. "I believe she would come to Kuningan [to the KPK headquarters]," he said.
"Will KPK investigators go to the US using their personal funds, their supervisors' or their spokesman's? Of course not! They certainly will be using publlic funds," Drajat said.
Drajat reminded the KPK to not to misuse funds for overseas travel. "There is no need to go overseas, just summon her to come back to Indonesia rather than going abroad using the state budget," Drajat added. (nfk)
Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday to get tough with the Religious Affairs Ministry and Forestry Ministry, which have appeared at the top of the antigraft body's list of most corrupt ministries.
KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas said that Yudhoyono had yet to summon Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali or Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan as a follow-up to the KPK's concern that corruption at the two ministries would only worsen if no immediate action was taken.
"We have forwarded the results of our survey to the President, along with suggestions on the methods that could be applied to prevent future corruption within the two ministries. It is up to the President to choose which of those suggestions he wants to use," Busyro told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
In its report on corrupt ministries, the KPK recommended that the Religious Affairs Ministry suspend its registration of prospective haj pilgrims as currently there were around 1.8 million applicants.
The KPK is also looking into irregularities in the management of an Rp 80 trillion (US$8.29 billion) haj pilgrimage fund. The antigraft body previously announced that it had discovered irregularities in the management of around Rp 1.7 trillion in interest payments from deposits submitted by haj pilgrims to the ministry in 2011.
The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has also found irregularities within the ministry. The BPK discovered that the ministry had failed to account for Rp 16.62 billion out of the Rp 2.7 trillion earmarked for the ministry's Islamic Education Directorate General last year.
According to the KPK, the Religious Affairs Ministry was the most corrupt institution of 22 government agencies it surveyed in 2011.
The ministry received 5.37 points out of a possible 10, below the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, which received 5.44 points, and the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry, which received 5.52 points.
The KPK also found many irregularities at the Forestry Ministry. Busyro said that the Forestry Ministry had yet to report on the use of 89 percent of the total 157,000 hectares of protected forests throughout the country.
According to Busyro, the ministry was only able to provide a completed report on the use of 11 percent of the total area of protected forests.
"This is a serious problem. We have presented this finding to the President and other relevant officials [including from the Forestry Ministry]," Busyro said.
The BPK filed criminal reports on Tuesday against 26 mining and plantation companies with the National Police's criminal investigations division (Bareskrim). According to the reports, some of the mining companies, including both private and state-run firms, operated in protected forest areas without permits from the Forestry Ministry.
The Religious Affairs Ministry's inspector general, M. Jasin, did not return a call from The Jakarta Post when contacted on Wednesday.
House lawmaker Hasrul Azwar, who is a member of Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma's United Development Party (PPP), dismissed the KPK report. He said the ministry had submitted a complete report on the management of the haj fund.
"I personally think the Religious Affairs Ministry has been transparent in managing the haj funds. Therefore, I don't understand how the KPK conducted its study," Hasrul, who chairs the PPP faction a the House, told the Post. "The ministry always provides the best service for haj pilgrims," he added.
Jakarta The lineup for the ethics board tasked to investigate the leak of a classified document within the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was unveiled on Monday with the antigraft body's commissioner, Bambang Widjojanto, former KPK chairman Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean and former commissioner Abdullah Hehamahua, who is currently an advisor to the commission, serving as members.
Also sitting on the board are Muslim intellectuals Anies Baswedan and Abdul Muhfti Fajar. Although Bambang is an active commissioner with the KPK, he was selected as he is considered a neutral figure within the antigraft body.
"The KPK leadership has agreed that he has no conflict of interests," KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas said in a press conference to announce the lineup.
The leaders of the KPK agreed to establish an ethics panel to investigate the commission's involvement if any in the leak of a classified document, a draft letter ordering the investigation of former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum for allegedly accepting a luxury car as a gratuity from state-owned firm PT Adhi Karya.
The investigation of Anas turned political after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the party's chief patron, pleaded with the KPK to make a final decision as to whether Anas should be charged or cleared.
The leaked document circulated for several hours before Yudhoyono announced he would take over the party's leadership from Anas.
The leak sparked speculation on a widening rift among the KPK's commissioners, and fears that its independence may have been compromised for political interests.
Abdullah said that the board would begin its work next week. "We will first have a meeting with the KPK leaders and determine our agenda," he said.
He said the board would summon all individuals who had information leading to the identity of who leaked the classified investigation document.
Separately, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the antigraft body was ready to launch an investigation into allegations that members of President Yudhoyono's family were involved in graft.
"We will verify any information, however scant, with evidence other than what has been said in statements," Johan said responding to reports that Yudhoyono's youngest son, Eddhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, received US$900,000 from former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin between Jan. 18 and Dec. 29, 2010.
The allegation first came to light in a Twitter feed by a user who identified himself as Abimanyu Abiputra, who wrote "It is just a matter of time before Ibas becomes a suspect. It is obvious that he received $900,000 from Nazaruddin." The feed was written on Feb. 22.
In other feeds, Abimanyu said that Nazaruddin wired $500,000 to former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng and $5 million to First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.
An aide to Yudhoyono, Heru Lelono, said the statements on social media sites were slanderous. "It has to be proportional. We need to avoid slander and smear campaigns," Heru said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Heru said the KPK should not make its move based on slanderous statements on social media. "If the KPK uses the feeds as evidence in its investigation, then we will see law enforcement motivated by jungle law," he said.
In his speech to announce his resignation from the Democratic Party, Anas Urbaningrum warned that the battle had just begun and that his downfall was not the end of the ongoing political struggle within the ruling party.
Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta Evidence has been presented to The Jakarta Post that may implicate yet another Democratic Party politician in a kickback scandal.
The allegations involve Democratic Party lawmaker Supomo, who was summoned by the House of Representative's ethics council last week to discuss allegations he accepted bribes to disburse state money to the Cianjur Regional Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).
Also in the hot seat in the scandal, which involves kickbacks totalling Rp 1.2 billion (US$124,177) allegedly paid to expedite the disbursement of the funds, may be another Democratic Party lawmaker Gondo Radityo Gambiro.
A copy of a money transfer receipt obtained by The Jakarta Post may indicate that Gondo, a deputy chairman of the House Commission VIII overseeing religion and social affairs, allegedly received Rp 21 million, ostensibly for expediting disbursement of the money.
The money, wired to the bank account of Gondo's special assistant, Hardian Haryanto, was sent by Endah Maryanisari, an aide to Cianjur BNPB official Muhammad Sukarya, in June 2011.
Written on the slip were the words "untuk Bpk. Radito G", or for Bapak Radito G. The chairman of the House ethics council, M. Prakosa, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PSI-P), said that the council would summon Gondo and Hardian next week to discuss the allegations.
"There is proof of a money transfer, indicating that both parties [Gondo and Sukarya] communicated with each other," Prakosa said. "We need to summon Gondo and his aide as well as other witnesses to get comprehensive information on the allegations," Prakosa added.
The council is also expected to summon Supomo and his former staffer Haris Hartoyo again this week. Haris allegedly demanded the kickbacks from Sukarya on behalf of Supomo in 2010.
The ethics council would also ask for the assistance of the National Police in finding Haris, who has been missing since he was fired by Supomo on Feb. 14, Prakosa said.
"We've tried to call Haris to ask him to have a meeting with us. We will ask the police to help search for him and bring him here if we continue to fail to find him," Prakosa added.
After a two-hour closed door meeting with the council last week, Supomo told reporters that he was innocent, claiming that his decision to fire Haris was proof that his former aide was guilty of abusing his good name.
Gondo said he had no knowledge of the allegations. "I don't even know who this Sukarya is," Gondo told the Post on Sunday. "My staffer also told me that he had never received any money from anybody linked to Sukarya. I don't know what's behind these allegations."
Gondo said that his fellow Democratic lawmakers in the House had given him their support. "I fully trust the Democratic Party faction at the House to help me with this, because I'm sure I'm innocent. I'm ready to be questioned by the ethics council anytime, and I will tell them about everything that I know," he added.
Sukarya filed a complaint with the council late last year after his office had yet to receive the funds, claiming that Supomo had promised him that the funds would be disbursed in late 2011.
A source close to the council who declined to be named to discuss the issue said that complaints on kickbacks related to the disbursement of aid funds was one of many cases involving lawmakers.
"Many more are left unreported, because parties have their hands full on projects that have closed deals, such as one in Ternate [Maluku]," the source said.
Markus Junianto Sihaloho Anti-corruption activists installed a symbolic gallows at the National Monument (Monas) on Sunday as a macabre reminder for former Democratic Party chair Anas Urbaningrum.
Anas stepped down from his post as chairman of Indonesia's ruling party on Saturday, one day after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) publicly charged him with allegedly accepting bribes.
Anas, who was once seen as a promising member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party, famously promised to hang himself from Monas if he was found guilty of corruption.
The Anti-Corruption Youth Movement (Gepak) said they were cleaning up Monas to remind Anas of his promise.
"We are trying to help Anas keep his promise," said Toriq Mahmud, the organization's leader. "We have prepared facilities for him to realize his promise by proving a hanging pole and a rope."
The activists gave Anas a second option: publicly apologize to the people of Indonesia. "But he must bluntly reveal who was really involved in the Hambalang corruption cases," Toriq said.
Anas was charged with allegedly using bribe funds to purchase a high-end Toyota SUV. He reportedly received the funds from construction companies Adhi Karya and Wijaya Karya in exchange for the contract for the Hambalang sports center in Bogor, West Java.
He faces between four and 20 years in prison if convicted. Anas maintains his innocence and claims the accusations are part of a plot to oust him from the Democratic Party.
Michael Bachelard, Jakarta Indonesia has experienced a "sharp uptick" in religiously motivated violence, with Islamic gangs regularly attacking Christian churches as well as "deviant sects" of their own faith, a strongly worded new report has warned.
The report by Human Rights Watch warns that the Indonesian Government, police and military are "passively, and sometimes actively" condoning these new extremists, in contrast to the way they "wrestled to the ground" the terrorists of Jemaah Islamiah in the past decade.
The organisation accuses Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of responding "weakly" to the threat, with "lofty but empty rhetoric".
"With JI they saw a clear and present danger," said Human Rights Watch's deputy Asia director, Phelim Kine.
"Now, the government is failing to recognise this less spectacular but equally corrosive and dangerous strain of religious intolerance." Mr Kine said there were "worrying echoes" of Pakistan's state of siege against minority Islamic sects, and if intolerance and violence continued to increase in Indonesia, "the confidence of investors in the country... might not hold".
The report, In Religion's Name, says there were 264 violent attacks on religious minorities in 2012, a 20 per cent increase on 2010. It documents violence against the Ahmadiya, a minority sect of Islam which Indonesia's Religious Affairs Ministry has declared "heretical", and Shiite Muslims, as well as atheists and moderate Muslims. Since 2005, more than 430 churches have been forced to close.
But Wahyu, a spokesman for Indonesia's Religious Affairs minister, Suryadharma Ali, denied the thrust of the report, saying Indonesia was "the example, or the laboratory of religious harmony".
"It has the best religious harmony in the world. We can judge that because... we make all big days of the recognised religions in Indonesian holidays," Wahyu said.
Neither Mr Yudhoyono's office nor the police would comment before the report was released.
Many acts of violence were committed by a number of hardline groups such as the aggressive Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which emerged from the Sunni Islam majority after the fall of former president Suharto in 1998, the report says.
FPI recruits among the poor and disenfranchised and might be able to field 100,000 supporters. It was allegedly set up by police during unrest in 1998 to attack protesting students. Its official events have since been attended by the former governor of Jakarta, the national police chief and the religious affairs minister.
The country guarantees religious freedom in the constitution, but 156 statutes, regulations, decrees and by-laws subject "minority religions to official discrimination", They include the 1965 blasphemy law, the 2006 ministerial decree on building houses of worship and the 2008 anti- Ahmadiyah decree.
In recent years the judicial system has often taken a harder line against minorities who are the victims of religious violence than against the perpetrators.
In 2011, when five Ahmadiyah followers were injured and three killed by an Islamist mob, police stood by, smoking and watching. The killers were not charged with murder, but "assault causing death" and were given sentences of six months or less. An Ahmadiya survivor and witness in their prosecution was later charged with provoking the attack and also given a six-month jail sentence.
A professed atheist, Alexander Aan, was last year sentenced to prison after being attacked by a mob, none of whom was punished.
But Wahyu, the spokesman from the Religious Affairs Ministry, one of the best-funded and most powerful ministries in the government, denied that recent controversies signalled a problem.
A Christian church barred by local officials from opening despite a Supreme Court ruling was "not about religious tolerance, it's a land dispute"; violence against Ahmadiyah was not a religious problem because, "it's not a religion, it's a sect"; and a violent attack on a Shiite group in East Java was simply "a personal problem, it's not about religion", Wahyu said.
Jakarta Indonesia's government, security forces and courts must do more to protect religious minorities from growing episodes of intolerance and violence, an international rights group said in a report Thursday.
Human Rights Watch cited a steady increase in brutal attacks over the past few years due to the government's failure to confront thuggish harassment against Christians, Shia Muslims and the Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect. It also noted that discriminatory regulations have not only affected those minorities, but also Sunni Muslim communities in some Christian-dominated areas of eastern Indonesia.
Indonesia, a secular country, is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. The majority of its 210 million Muslims are Sunni and most practice a moderate form of faith.
The New York-based organization called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to adopt a "zero tolerance" policy for discrimination and violence against religious minorities.
The government responded to the report by saying religious harmony remains strong in Indonesia, and it was unfair to generalize all attacks on minorities as being linked to intolerance.
The report alleged building permits for houses of worship have been denied, police have failed to stop violent attacks, prosecutors have sought weak punishment and in two cases, local authorities refused to honor Supreme Court decisions allowing religious minorities to build places of worship.
The 107-page report was based on research between August 2011 and December 2012, interviewing 115 people, including 71 victims in 10 of Indonesia's 34 provinces.
"The Indonesian government's failure to take decisive action to protect religious minorities from threats and violence is undermining its claims to being a rights-respecting democracy," said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director.
The watchdog organization also cited reports from the Jakarta-based nonprofit Setara Institute, which recorded 264 attacks last year, up from 244 cases the previous year and 216 in 2010.
However, Bahrul Hayat, Secretary General of Indonesia's Religious Affairs Ministry, said a government survey completed at the end of last year indicated that religious harmony in Indonesia is still very strong.
"We noted that a few violations happened, but please don't generalize that intolerance has increased in Indonesia," he said, adding that in some cases religion is blamed as the cause of conflicts when instead some disputes are actually motivated by social, political, economic or even cultural or family issues.
He said most religious issues involve the closing or building of places of worship, but it that is not an issue unique to minority religions.
"Not only churches are having problems in gaining construction approval, but also mosques in some areas," he said. "If they don't meet the requirements of a permit to build the house of worship, the government's permit will not granted.... This should be understood by people of all faiths."
In the Human Rights Watch report, the hardline Islamic People's Forum and the Islamic Defenders Front were singled out as seeking to justify violence by labeling Ahmadiyahs and Shiites as "blasphemers" and most non-Muslims as "infidels."
The report insisted on the need to enforce national laws and to map out a comprehensive strategy to combat rising religious intolerance.
It also criticized the government for not disciplining cabinet members, including Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who encouraged abuses with discriminatory statements such as calling for the Ahmadiyah to be banned in 2011 and proposing one year later that Shia Muslims convert to Sunni Islam.
Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta A transnational movement has entered Indonesia to destroy the Shia sect, which has existed in Aceh since the fourth century, a scholar has said.
Azyumardi Azra of Syarif Hidayatulah State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta said that after the success of the 1979 Iran revolution and the emergence of Saudi Arabia as a petro-dollar country, a movement had begun to fund the anti-Shia Wahhabi movement.
"The Wahhabi movement in Indonesia runs independently and enters different groups," Azyumardi said after giving a keynote speech at an international conference on Shia held in Yogyakarta earlier this week
One of the groups that has been aggressively against Shia, according to him, is the Salafi group, an off-shoot of Jafar Umar Thalib's Laskar Jihad. "The Salafi group has networks in Saudi Arabia," Azyumardi said.
He called on the government to be firm with both groups in regards to violence. "The law has to be reinforced. There is no impunity for groups committing violence," Azyumardi said.
On the recent conflicts between Shia and Sunni in Sampang, Madura, Azyumardi said the case did not involve religious matters. The case was triggered by political and economic interests, and it grew bigger and uncontrolled because the security authorities had failed to act firmly against the group that had committed violence.
Shia and Sunni Muslims, according to Azyumardi, actually share many common beliefs.
The Iran Ambassador to Indonesia, Mahmoud Farazandeh, who also attended the conference, said that Shia and Sunni in Indonesia had culturally united and peacefully co-existed for thousands of years. "They are inseparable," he said.
Another speaker at the forum, Siti Maryam of Kalijaga UIN in Yogyakarta, said that traces of Shia in Java could be easily found.
Among other examples is the tradition of cooking porridge during the month of Sura, according to the Javanese calendar and the symbol of the Cirebon Kingdom that uses the image of the sword of Sayyidina Ali (bin Abi Thalib).
"In Java, Sunni and Shia acculturation occurs mostly in areas far from the reach of the 'control' of the religious authority such as in the domain of art and culture," Siti said.
Observations conducted by Agus Sunyoto of Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, strengthened Siti's view. Agus said the kenduri (thanksgiving) tradition had come from Iran. The tradition of commemorating the 40th day of the death of a loved one was influenced by Shia and not by Hinduism, as widely believed.
Other examples include the tradition among Javanese people to not hold wedding parties during the month of Sura, which was also the same month of the death of Sayyidina Ali. Javanese believe that having parties during Sura would bring them bad luck.
"Islam in Indonesia cannot be seen as black and white, between Shia or Sunni, as both have influenced each other," said Agus who claimed to have conducted extensive research on Shia.
Separately, Siti Samsiatun of the Indonesia Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), which organized the conference expressed hope that the forum would inspire mutual understanding between Shia and Sunni Muslims in Southeast Asia. Shia, which is also present in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, has been banned in Malaysia.
"There has been misunderstandings due to the lack of communication. This conference will hopefully help bring peace among the people," Siti said.
Primus Dorimulu & Camelia Pasandaran Just days before a provincial election, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan has signed a deal with the hardline Islamic Defenders Front in which he has reportedly agreed to ban the activities of the minority Islamic Ahmadiyah sect if he is reelected.
But analysts said the act would likely backfire on the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) candidate, with moderate voters shying away from him in Sunday's poll.
"If the media blows this up in the coming two days, it will help solidify support from the hardliners but he will be abandoned by moderate groups," University of Indonesia political analyst Andrinof Chaniago warned.
"The number of moderate and tolerant groups is bigger in West Java compared to the small number of vocal groups that share the views of the FPI [Islamic Defenders Front]," he said.
Ahmad signed an agreement with the FPI in which he reportedly agreed to implement a gubernatorial decree that would ban Ahmadiyah activities in the province. Ahmad was also said to have agreed to issue Shariah-based bylaws.
The agreement was signed in Bandung on Thursday by Ahmad and West Java FPI chairman Abdul Qohhar NZ al-Qodsy.
Last year, Ahmad threatened to suspend the FPI's permit to operate if it continued to ignore his warning about attacking Ahmadiyah mosques.
Andrinof said that although there are many fanatical groups in West Java, education and migration to big cities have changed the attitudes of many people toward religion.
"He [Ahmad] misunderstood the anti-pluralists and only sided with one interest," the academic said. "He could have still accommodated the hardliners even without inking a deal. He violated the messages that he delivered during his own campaign about unity."
Ahmad denied that he agreed with the FPI's request to issue Shariah-based bylaws. He said he only agreed to maintain an "Islamic environment," which he defined as promoting the ethics and worship practices of Muslims.
"I didn't agree to [issue] Islamic-based bylaws as reported," Ahmad told BeritaSatu.com on Friday.
He acknowledged meeting with the group, saying that as provincial leader he was obliged to meet with a wide range of organizations, including the FPI.
Ahmad said he respected the country's mantra Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) and the Constitution, in which the state guarantees religious freedom.
He said that in his five-year term as governor, he had sought to strengthen democracy in the province. "I fought for every citizen so that they could be equal before the law, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or race. I also respect human rights," he said.
He said maintaining an Islamic environment did not mean reducing the rights of people from other religions to express their faith, and the Islamic environment in West Java already existed because the majority of the population is Muslim.
"Because the requests were like that, I agreed. But remember, as a state official I have the obligation to protect all citizens as mandated under the Constitution," Ahmad said. Ahmad is currently polling first or second in surveys by opinion assessors.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan The Humbang Hasundutan Police on Tuesday detained 31 people involved in vandalism during a clash with PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) security guards in an incense forest in Pollung district, Humbang Hasundutan, North Sumatra.
Humbang Hasundutan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Heri Sulismono said 16 of the 31 detainees had been named as suspects. He added that the suspects were directly involved in the clash with the security guards.
"The 16 suspects were caught carrying sharp weapons during the clash. They also vandalized and set fire to a truck owned by TPL," Heri told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Hundreds of residents from Pandumaan and Sipituhuta villages were involved in a clash with TPL security guards in the incense forest in Pollung district on Sunday. No casualties were reported in the clash.
The next day, the police arrested 16 residents involved in the clash. The police continued to arrest residents until early Tuesday, and arrested 15 more people, who Heri said were witnesses.
Delima Silalahi, the coordinator of a team providing advocacy to the residents, filed a complaint with the police on account of its alleged brutal treatment of residents. Delima said the 15 residents were forcefully taken from their homes as while they were asleep.
She said the conflict between residents and TPL had been going on since 2009 over the status of local customary land, which TPL claimed as part of its assets.
The disputed customary land, more than 4,000 hectares, had been declared as status quo by the National Commission on Human Rights in 2010 and strengthened by a local consultative forum in 2011. However, TPL has continued to operate there.
TPL spokesman Chairuddin Pasaribu said the disputed land was actually part of TPL's concession land that had been granted by the government through the Forestry Ministerial Decree No. 493/KPPS-II/92 dated June 1, 1992.
"The concession land given by the government measures 269,060 ha," he said. He claimed that Sunday's clash had stemmed from the continued efforts of locals to prevent TPL from harvesting eucalyptus trees on its concession land.
Markus Junianto Sihaloho Unfazed by the harsh public criticism that has consistently greeted each overseas trip by lawmakers, the House of Representatives Commission X is planning to send teams to Greece, Turkey and India next month to help prepare a draft law on culture and books.
Dedi "Miing" Gumelar, a member of the Commission X, which oversees education and sports affairs, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said on Wednesday that the three teams will leave for the six-day trips on March 17.
"These visits are being done in the context of preparing the Draft Law on Culture and Books," Dedi said, adding that the draft law had already been on hold for too long.
Anticipating comments that comparative research could be done online, Dedi said that culture was not something that could be studied merely through the Internet and should also be backed by empirical data from field visits.
"I will be going to Turkey. We chose Turkey because of its success in maintaining the Islamic civilization," he said.
Dedi also said the public should be wiser and not always be critical of overseas trips by lawmakers, as there was a clear legal umbrella allowing such trips.
"And I think there is no [legal] product that comes without costs," he added.
Critics have said that the overseas study trips by lawmakers were waste of public money, especially when they did not lead to concrete contributions to the process of lawmaking or when what they sought to know was readily available through the Internet.
The fact that their agenda usually included sightseeing and trip participants often included spouses only fueled harsher criticism.
Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta The House of Representatives has once again come under the spotlight for giving a lifetime retirement pension to its former members, although their positions were purely political.
House secretary-general Winantuningtyas said Thursday that former lawmakers would receive between 6 and 75 percent of their salary depending on how long they had served, for the rest of their lives.
"Those who served for ten years, for example, will get around Rp 4.2 million (US$432.90) per month in addition to 10 kilograms of rice. Those with lesser service terms will of course get less," Winantuningtyas said.
She said that the pension given to lawmakers for the past three decades was stipulated in Law No. 12/1980 on the financial rights of members and former members of the state's executive and legislative bodies and the Government Regulation No. 75/2000 which gives details on their basic salaries.
Anti-graft activists have criticized the scheme saying that it has insulted their sense of fairness.
Uchok Sky Khadafi of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) said that lawmakers did not deserve the pension as they were already awash with cash and luxury goods in spite of their mediocre performance.
"I think they don't deserve it because their terms lasts only 10 years at the most. Besides, they often skip House sessions for unknown reasons. With such a poor performance, it's more than enough for them to earn tens of millions rupiah every month in addition to a great deal of facilities," Uchok told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
FITRA recorded that the House annually spent around Rp 511 billion for the salaries of 560 lawmakers, with each of them taking more than Rp 60 million per month depending on their positions.
The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) expressed similar concerns, saying that the policy had given rise to excessive government spending. "The government already spent too much on the lawmakers, but their contribution is minimal," Abdullah Dahlan of ICW said.
The House has often been criticized for proposing budgets for foreign trips, for example, and for the lavish reconstruction of the House compound. Lawmakers earn extra money from their overseas trips or trips that they make during recess periods.
According to Law No. 12/1980, each member of the House will receive a monthly pension if they are not dishonorably discharged from their position. The payment will stop if they die or become government officials.
To specifically set basic standard for lawmakers' salaries, the 2000 regulation stipulates that leaders of the House and the People's Consultative Assembly will earn Rp 5.04 million per month; while their deputies get Rp 4.62 million. Regular members get Rp 4.2 million.
Several lawmakers have supported the proposal to drop the pension scheme. "I personally think that we, lawmakers, should be excluded from the benefit," House deputy speaker Pramono Anung from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told reporters.
Pramono further encouraged the public to file complaints to urge the House and the government to amend the 1980 law, which he said was outdated.
Martin Hutabarat from the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party supported the proposal, arguing that the law has unfairly treated lawmakers who resigned only after briefly serving their terms.
Other lawmakers have rejected proposal to amend the 1980 law. Sutan Bhatoegana of the Democratic Party said that lawmakers, just like any government officials, have worked hard to bring prosperity to the people.
"Don't try to link the pension benefit with the discipline of lawmakers. Many of state officials have also posted poor performance and discipline but they get their pension benefits. Why shouldn't we get the same?" he said.
The head of Cisarua subdistrict in the Bogor highlands has backed a plan by Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo to buy up and destroy all the holiday villas illegally built in the Puncak watershed area.
Teddi Pembang, the subdistrict chief, said he "very much" supported the plan as part of efforts to restore the Puncak area's function as a watershed and thereby prevent flooding downstream in Jakarta.
"If all these villas were to be bought and destroyed, we could reforest the area with hardwood trees and restore the soil's ability to absorb rainwater runoff," he said as quoted by Antaranews.com.
Teddi added there were around 600 such properties in the area, which is a popular weekend destination for Jakarta residents. He also said his administration would volunteer to grow the seedlings needed for the reforestation program.
However, he noted that cracking down on the illegal properties would be difficult, given that most of them were owned by wealthy or influential Jakarta residents and officials. "Let's hope the owners can realize the importance of restoring the watershed function of Puncak," he said.
The main river passing through Jakarta, and the one responsible for most of the flooding that paralyzed the capital in mid-January, is the Ciliwung, which winds through Puncak but has seen its watershed area reduced considerably as a result of deforestation and the illegal construction of private homes.
The area originally drained by the river and its tributaries is around 29,186 hectares, according to Forest Watch Indonesia, an environmental group.
However, the amount of that area still covered by forest is just 3,565 hectares, or 12 percent of what it should be. The rest of the river's watershed has been deforested or developed on, thereby severely diminishing its capacity to absorb rainwater.
The Public Works Ministry said last month that it would re-evaluate zoning bylaws in the Greater Jakarta area, including in the Puncak and Cianjur highland areas that are the sources of the capital's main rivers, in light of the severity of the flooding that hit Jakarta and left dozens dead.
It attributed the inability of the ground to absorb high rates of rainfall on the unfettered development of buildings and paved areas in both the upstream and downstream areas of major waterways such as the Ciliwung, and said planning authorities had failed to ensure each new development's compliance with a minimum required proportion of open green space.
Andi Hajramurni and Novan Iman Santosa, Makassar/Jakarta Two out of the six Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 jet fighters ordered by the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) arrived at Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base in Makassar late on Friday evening.
A spokesman from the base, Maj. Muliadi, said on Saturday the two jet fighters were part of an order of six Su-30 MK2s arriving in batches. "The remaining four jet fighters will arrive in June and July," he said.
The Russian-made jet fighters arrived onboard An-12-100 Ruslan strategic transport aircraft in disassembled condition and without engines. The engines are scheduled to arrive on Feb. 27 for the entire six jet fighters, totaling 12 engines.
In addition to the two jet fighters made by Komsomolsk-na Amure Aircraft Production Association (KNAPO), 17 technicians from the aircraft manufacturers will assemble the jet fighters.
Muliadi said the assembly process would take two weeks to complete, including test flights.
The Su-30 MK2 is a twin-engine, dual-seater jet fighter with a range of some 3,000 kilometers and is able to carry a payload of some eight tons.
As with previous shipments, the jet fighters do not come with weapons, other than internal cannons. "The weapons will be purchased separately after the jet fighters are assembled, just like other batches," Muliadi said.
Defense analysts have criticized the separate acquisition of the jet fighters, which do not include weapons such as bombs and missiles. The government, however, said budget constraints had limited its ability to buy a complete package.
With the two jet fighters, now Indonesia has six single-seater Su-27 SKMs and six Su-30 MK2s. The Su-27/30 jet fighters are known as "Flankers".
By the end of this year, there will be 16 jet fighters of this type under the command of the 11th Squadron.
The fighters have been arriving in batches since 2003, starting with Su-27 SKM, which arrived at Iswahjudi Air Force Base in Madiun, East Java.
The home base of the fighters was then moved to Makassar in 2005, making the deliveries of the heavyweight jet fighters direct to Makassar since 2009, 2010 and 2013.
The government is currently improving its air force assets both in jet fighter and transport roles to augment and replace ageing aircraft.
Other than increasing the number of Flankers, the TNI AU is also expecting the delivery of 24 F-16 C/D Block 25, granted by the US. Indonesia will be responsible for bearing the cost of modernizing the lightweight, multi-role aircraft.
Indonesia currently has 10 F-16 A/B Block 15 OCUs, in the Third Squadron, which were acquired in 1989. These jet fighters will also undergo modernization.
In September, the TNI AU received four EMB-324 Super Tucano ground attack aircraft out of 16 ordered from Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer. Joining the 21st Squadron, the aircraft are a replacement for the legendary American-made Rockwell OV-10 Bronco.
Another new acquisition is the T-50 Golden Eagle lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) aircraft from the Korean Aerospace Industry, to replace the British-made BAE Hawk Mk 53 in the 15th Squadron.
Indonesia will receive four C-130H Hercules heavy lift transport aircraft granted by Australia and will buy another six. Indonesia currently has two squadrons of Hercules, the 31st and 32nd.
Indonesia has also received two C-295 medium lift transport aircraft out of nine aircraft ordered from Spain-based Airbus Military in cooperation with state aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia, which will make the aircraft in Bandung The C-295 will join the CN-235 and Fokker F-27 in the second squadron.
Ina Parlina, Jakarta The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it backed a proposal to scrap the "fit-and-proper" test session at the House of Representatives in the selection of justices.
"Questions on whether justice candidates should undergo fit-and-proper tests at the House should be raised," Supreme Court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur told reporters on Thursday.
"The selection process at the commission is already comprehensive, while the interview at the House is only around one-and-a-half hours. If they try only to find candidates' mistakes, one wrong comment can be fatal."
Last week, the Civil Society Coalition for a Professional Judiciary filed a judicial review with the Constitutional Court against Article 8, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5, of the 2009 Supreme Court Law, as well as Article 18, paragraph 4, and Article 19, paragraph 1, of the 2011 Judicial Commission Law.
The articles set the ratio of three justice candidates for each post and gives authority to the House to select justices instead of simply approving or rejecting candidates on the list.
Under the 2011 law, the judicial commission is tasked with assessing, selecting and forwarding candidate lists according to the ratio to the House which would later pick one from every three hopefuls.
The fit-and-proper test at the House would make people hesitant to enter the selection, Ridwan added, following the recent embarrassment of Daming Sunusi's controversial "rape joke" during a fit-and-proper test in January.
At the judicial commission, the candidates will be put through a five-stage process, including an administrative test, competency assessment, psychological test, medical check-up and interview.
The Supreme Court also wants a revision to the one-of-three policy, as it is not easy to find the right people to become justices. According to the Supreme Court, there are only 41 active justices right now, while the court is allowed a maximum of 60, according to the law.
In late 2012, chief justice Hatta Ali lamented the declining number of cases handled in 2012 after they lost 10 justices, leaving them with only 44 at that time. Of the 10, eight retired, one died and one was dismissed.
Of over 12,000 cases before the court between January and November 2012, it managed to rule on only about 9,500 cases, or 18.6 percent less than the same period in 2011.
As of Thursday, entering the final two days of the 15-day registration for the latest justice selection, only 55 people have applied to fill seven empty slots. Of the applicants, 40 are career judges and 15 come from non- judicial backgrounds.
"If we look at the number, it is actually quite a lot. However, the commission will decide tomorrow whether or not to prolong the registration," Judicial Commission spokesperson Asep Rahmat Fajar said.
Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said Wednesday that there was no 'political pressure' behind his nomination as the Bank Indonesia (BI) governor.
He played down the notion that politicians and politically-wired businessmen with whom he was frequently at loggerheads as Finance Minister that had influenced President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"There is no political pressure behind my nomination as BI Governor," said Agus at an economic conference in Jakarta on Thursday.
Agus is the sole candidate for BI Governor to replace Darmin Nasution, whose term ends in May. Many analysts expected Darmin to be re-elected or other candidates would come from inside the central bank.
Agus said that being nominated as BI Governor did not mean that he was assigned to a less prestigious post. "I think it is an honor for me," he said.
As reported earlier by The Jakarta Post, sources in the House and the Cabinet claim that Yudhoyono's decision to nominate Agus as the BI Governor was triggered by lobbying.
It was widely known that Agus has deep disagreements with Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie over the government's decision to purchase 7 percent of gold miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara where a Bakrie company has a vested interest.
The minister also opposed the Sunda Strait Bridge project handled by influential tycoon Tomy Winata through his Artha Graha Group. (ebf)
Zakir Hussain Congested streets and growing consumer demand suggest that Indonesia's robust economic growth continues to benefit many.
But officials and observers are concerned that, rosy indicators aside, the country is losing ground in tackling the problems of poverty and a widening income gap.
"Inequality continues to be more acutely felt. This is politically corrosive and socially divisive, and needs to be a top priority for all local leaders," H.S. Dillon, the presidential special envoy for poverty alleviation, said in an interview.
If the gap between the rich and poor grows even wider, he fears "this will engender social unrest."
Poverty and widening inequality have surfaced as issues at local elections amid labour unions' clamor for higher minimum wages.
Government statistics show that the decrease in the official poverty rate is slowing from 12.3 percent of all Indonesians in September 2011 to 11.7 percent a year later.
The government missed its initial target of bringing this figure to between 10 percent and 11.5 percent last year, and has to catch up, National Development Planning (Bappenas) Minister Armida Alisjahbana said last week.
This means 28.6 million people still live on less than 260,000 rupiah ($27) a month. Many more are vulnerable to slipping into poverty.
There are also concerns that efforts to improve the lot of the poor a mainstay of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's reform agenda seem increasingly elusive.
Media Indonesia daily said in a recent editorial that poverty fell only 0.6 percentage point a year from 2002 to last year. But Vivi Alatas, senior economist at the World Bank, said it is tougher getting the chronically poor out of poverty.
"When poverty was 20 or 30 percent of the population, there were many people living just under the poverty line, so moderate increases in income brought a large number out of poverty," she said.
In a speech to district leaders last week, Yudhoyono said job creation was the most effective way to reduce poverty, but admitted this was difficult for the extremely poor, especially those without skills.
"If we just say they have to get back on their feet, we won't see results," he said. Hence, the state was committed to helping them through free schooling and health care, subsidized rice and handouts, he added.
But observers note that a significant number of the poor fail to get the help they need. As for jobs, Vivi said, "The pace of job creation has not kept up with the growing workforce looking for better jobs in the formal and non-agricultural sectors."
More than half of the workforce are informally employed one in three is in agriculture, and one in four is in services and industries. She said labor laws must be less rigid and workers need to be better protected should they fall ill or out of work.
Dillon said bosses who gain from the economy should give workers a fairer deal. "The tools are there. We can achieve all-encompassing equity and sustainability if we would just stop our profit-seeking mentality and combat our insecurities," he said.
"What we really need is the political will and commitment to really put our money where our mouths are."
Satria Sambijantoro and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta At a time when far- sighted policies are needed amid prolonged global economic uncertainties, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to nominate Agus Martowardojo, 57, to be next governor of the central bank may expose the nation to economic risks and hamper reform at the Finance Ministry.
Yudhoyono recently nominated Agus, widely acclaimed for his integrity and toughness, to lead Bank Indonesia (BI), and denying a second term to Darmin Nasution, whose current appointment ends in May.
The move means that the pace of reform may be slowed at the Finance Ministry and that BI is set to lose Darmin, who has been internationally acclaimed as one of the world's best central bankers.
Economists have said that strong monetary and fiscal coordination between Agus and Darmin has helped the economy retain robust economic growth rates despite the global slowdown.
"With many economic challenges going forward, the President should not have changed the current composition of his economic team," Tony Prasetiantono, an economist from Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, said.
A Cabinet member who declined to be named to discuss the issue said on Sunday that Agus had fallen victims to pressures applied by politicians and influential business executives whose interests had been impaired by Agus' prudent policies.
"It's hard for the President to keep Agus. The pressure has just been too great from many sides," the Cabinet member said.
Since Agus was appointed finance minister in May 2010, he has garnered a reputation for his commitment to reform and for his strong stance against politicians and politically-wired businessmen looking to benefit from the state budget and fiscal policies.
The praise given to Agus has been similar to that given to his immediate predecessor, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a reform icon who was ousted as finance minister after less than five years in office.
After Sri Mulyani bickered with the Bakrie family, whose chief patron Aburizal Bakrie is the chairman and presidential candidate of the Golkar Party; Yudhoyono endorsed her appointment as a World Bank managing director, leading to her resignation from government.
Agus has also had a history of run-ins with Golkar politicians and the Bakries over the government's purchase of a 7 percent stake in gold miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara in which the Bakries had also been interested.
Agus, a former president director of state-run Bank Mandiri, also ruffled feathers when he opposed the construction of the Sunda Strait Bridge, a megaproject with a US$10 billion price tag, unless it complied with existing private-public partnership regulations.
The project is managed by influential tycoon Tomy Winata through his Artha Graha Group. Controversy over the project has also triggered disputes between Agus and Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, who is also the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Hatta, whose daughter is married to Yudhoyono's son, along with several other ministers have long supported the project which some have said would be Yudhoyono's greatest legacy.
Agus also recently came in the cross hairs of several senior Democratic Party politicians who have blamed Agus for failing to insulate Andi Mallarangeng from graft allegations that forced his resignation as youth and sports minister.
Andi, who has been named a graft suspect in the Hambalang scandal, was a top Democratic politician and a member of Yudhoyono's inner circle.
"Agus was blamed for not warning Andi on the prudent use of the state budget, and for providing testimony that was not supportive of Andi to the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission]," said a lawmaker on House of Representatives' Commission XI for financial affairs who declined to be named to discuss the issue.
Agus has also confronted internal opposition following his decision to continue the reforms started by Sri Mulyani at the ministry, such as the daunting task of ending the culture of corruption at the tax office and customs and excise office.
Indonesia Corruption Watch coordinator Danang Widoyoko was critical of the decision to appoint Agus to the central bank, saying that the nomination showed that Yudhoyono was no longer comfortable with a minister of high integrity.
"There seems to be an alliance between Yudhoyono and the owners of capital, particularly for the preparations leading up to the 2014 general election," Danang said. "The weaker the minister, the better for the vested interests."
The position of finance minister, who oversees more than 60,000 employees, is considered more prestigious than that of BI's governor, who supervises only around 5,600.
The central bank, which is independent of the Cabinet, has also been slated to have its teeth pulled, and will give its oversight role for the nation's banking system, known to be a source of illicit funds for BI officials, to the Financial Authority Agency (OJK) over the next couple of years.
Several officials have been touted as Agus' successor as minister, including Darmin and tax directorate chief Fuad Rahmany.
This is not the first time that the President has proposed Agus to lead BI: The House rejected his candicacy in 2008.
If the House rejects Agus as central bank chief again, it is likely to trigger a political crisis in the Cabinet, as the finance minister will have lost credibility among politicians, raising the specter that Agus will have to resign.
Last week's ambush in two remote Papua areas that killed eight Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers and four civilians is a strong reminder to the nation that peace remains elusive in the natural resource-rich province.
If deadly attacks target security personnel, who are normally fully armed while on a stint in Papua, it is not exaggerating to jump to the conclusion that unarmed civilians will become easy prey to the gunmen.
Prior to the incidents, Papua had seen repeated attacks on police and military personnel believed to be perpetrated by Free Papua Organization (OPM) rebel group members. It is ironic and, therefore, begs the question: Does separatism remain alive in the province after almost 50 years of integration with the Republic?
As a sovereign state, Indonesia has the right to keep its territorial integrity intact through any legitimate means, including military operations, an option the country last used to end protracted rebellion in Aceh. The westernmost province came under a martial law during the tenure of president Megawati Soekarnoputri whose top security advisors included her coordinating minister for security and political affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, now the President of Indonesia.
It was the peace talks with Aceh rebels that paid dividends and won compliments from the international community. Compromises, including the implementation of sharia which is not recognized in the Constitution, were unavoidable, but that was the price Indonesia had to pay to maintain Aceh as an integral part of its territory.
Strangely, the Yudhoyono administration has never taken the Aceh way into account when dealing with Papua, despite the fact that two provinces have many similarities, especially when it comes to independence aspiration and records of human rights abuses. Aceh and Papua are the only provinces that enjoy wide-ranging autonomy and, hence, whopping autonomy funds.
Yudhoyono opts for what he calls the welfare approach to address the decades of separatist movement in Papua. In 2013 alone his government allocated Rp 4.3 trillion (US$443 million) in special autonomy funds for Papua and Rp 1.8 trillion for neighboring West Papua. The package excludes tens of trillions of rupiahs the central government will disburse for infrastructure development in the two provinces.
Various reports, including those from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), have found, however, much of the special autonomy funds have never reached the people who need them the most, evidenced by the province's high poverty rate. A number of Papua public officials have been convicted or accused of misusing the funds. Many appear to have wrongly implemented the "welfare approach", which has turned out to enrich the elites.
Although claiming to avoid the "security approach", the government has practically condoned the use of hard power, evident in the Army's decision to expand two sub-province military commands in Papua under officers with a rank of brigadier general and future plan to form its third division of Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) strike force in Papua.
Worse, the government has maintained the restriction of foreign journalists' access to Papua for safety reasons, which not only indicates the province's lack of security but also the government's attempt to hide the truth about Papua from international exposure.
The government's latest effort to bring long lasting peace to Papua took shape with the establishment of the Papua and West Papua Development Acceleration Unit (UP4B), led by former Aceh martial law commander Bambang Darmono. Apart from coordinating development in the two Papua provinces, the unit has reportedly approached rebel leaders to win their hearts and minds.
But with violence recurring and more lives lost, why does President Yudhoyono look reluctant to emulate the successful Aceh way in solving resentment in Papua once and for all?
Mimin Dwi Hartono, Jakarta Violence returned to Papua as 12 people were shot dead on Feb. 21, eight of them soldiers. The government claims to suspect the Free Papua Movement (OPM) was behind the attacks.
The shooting shocked us because so many lives were taken, but also because it occurred when the government is pushing for peaceful dialogue and development in the easternmost province.
During the past year, there have been 14 shootings in Papua, and 22 people have been killed. The victims have been civilians, police officers and military personnel. In every case the police and military have failed to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
Some of the alleged perpetrators were shot dead, preventing the police from unearthing the motive behind these attacks. According to the government, the latest attack was a dispute over a local election.
The repeated violence constitutes a violation of civil rights, namely the right to life of the victims. It also infringes of the economic, social and cultural rights of Papuans. Their right to development has been curtailed by the conflict and by the absence of security.
The systemic violence in Papua has many origins. The first is the long- standing controversy over Papua's integration into Indonesia through the Act of Free Choice in 1969, which most neutral authorities agree was the subject to rampant manipulation. There were reports of violence prior to the vote, but many have also claimed that the actual ballot itself was conducted in a fair and democratic manner.
The government has always underlined that Papua's integration is final and there can be no compromise on it. Authorities are open to dialogue with the relevant actors in Papua, as long as it is not about the issue of independence.
The second cause of these violent events is unjust and uneven development in Papua. The government granted Papua special autonomy in 2001 and set up the special autonomy fund to improve the welfare of Papuans and empower their culture.
However, the special autonomy scheme has failed to bring prosperity to Papua because the fund was allegedly stolen by the local elites but Jakarta let it happen.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's establishing of the Unit to Accelerate the Development of Papua and West Papua (UP4B) through Presidential Regulation No. 66/2011 is meant to improve development based on the Papuan's needs and desires, but it is unlikely to do much for the development and prosperity of Papuans.
Undoubtedly, Papuans need and want peace and just development, but government approaches to Papua emphasize security rather than participatory development based on human rights.
Third, the problem in Papua is not only about development, it is also about the past. Past human rights violations remain unresolved and violations continue. According to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the root of the problems in Papua are marginalization and discrimination against indigenous people, human rights violations, failing development and integration of unfinished history.
Human rights principles demand that the state respect, protect and fulfill these rights. Human rights as the central issue in Papua's development must come from the political will of the state.
The state must admit that rights violations are among the causes of the violence. Real steps must be taken to address and redress past abuses to build the Papuan people's trust.
The state cannot hide from the fact that it remains unable to uphold justice to Papua. Human rights violations occur repeatedly due to the absence of accountability. The state must abandon reactionary, partial and short-term policies, and shift to comprehensive and concrete policies that uphold the basic rights of Papuans.
The human rights approach, implemented through dialogue and involving people from all segments of society is the best way to address the problems of Papua. The operational framework must meet the principles of participation, empowerment and non-discrimination. The involvement of a wide range of people will minimize the bias toward elite groups.
Participation from the level of individuals within family and tribal groups must be built to provide all citizens the opportunity to participate in decision making. Non-discrimination principles must be upheld by providing equal opportunities for Papuans to stand equal before the law and development.
The Papuan society should be fully involved in development, without discrimination, to encourage and build the capacity of Papuans.
Human rights violations that occurred must be addressed proportionally, fairly and in a transparent manner. A system of preventing human rights violations must be established to prevent further infringements.
At the same time, the government must take tough measures against, prosecute and bring to justice armed groups who cause social and political disturbance and who have killed so many people. Improvement to defense and security in remote areas is also pressing to protect the military and police from sudden, deadly attacks.