Bagus BT Saragih and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jakarta/Surabaya – When workers decided that the front of the State Palace would be the main location for their rally on Wednesday, they must have taken it for granted that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would be in the neighborhood to listen to what they had to say.

But just like in the past, on this year's International Workers Day, also referred to as May Day, Yudhoyono chose to skip town and leave the State Palace empty. On Wednesday morning, as workers began to descend on downtown Jakarta, Yudhoyono and his entourage were jetting off from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in East Jakarta for Surabaya, East Java, for a five-day working visit to the province.

In Surabaya, Yudhoyono announced that as of next year May 1 would be a national holiday and he would issue a presidential decree to make it official. "So, next year we can celebrate May Day more solemnly," he said, during a meeting with workers of kitchenware company PT Maspion.

With Yudhoyono's decision, Indonesia became the ninth ASEAN country to declare May Day a national holiday. Brunei Darussalam, the grouping's current chair, is yet to adopt the policy.

At PT Maspion's compound, Yudhoyono encouraged employers and workers to have an amiable relationship for the sake of the economy. "The economy has grown and companies have made profit. Therefore, this should be the right moment to consider the welfare of workers," said Yudhoyono addressing the factory workers.

After visiting PT Maspion, Yudhoyono went to giant consumer goods manufacturer PT Unilever factory and Surabaya Industrial Estate Rungkut (SIER).

On Thursday, the President and his entourage are scheduled to witness a TNI joint-exercise in Asembagus, Situbondo Regency, to watch members of the Navy conduct an amphibian operation involving about 2,000 marines. He is expected to return to Jakarta from Malang on Sunday.

On May Day 2011, Yudhoyono traveled to Bogor, West Java, to meet workers at a ceramics factory and a water bottling plant.

The year before, the President visited carmaker PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing and PT Mesindo Putra Perkasa, a spare part company, in Karawang, West Java.

In 2009, Yudhoyono visited the PT Panasonic Electronics manufacturing plant in Bogor. In 2007, the President had lunch with hundreds of workers in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Yudhoyono actually remained at his office on May Day last year.

During his visit to Surabaya on Wednesday, the President could not escape the gathering of workers.

Around 50,000 workers from Surabaya and the surrounding towns, such as Sidoarjo, Gresik, Pasuruan and Malang, flocked to the provincial capital to observe International Workers Day. More than 32,000 personnel from the East Java Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) were deployed to secure the rallies and the President's working visit.

All quiet on the May Day front

Jakarta Post - May 2, 2013

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – With Indonesia joining more than 80 other countries by declaring May 1 a national holiday from next year, thousands of workers in Jakarta kept calm for International Labor Day on Wednesday.

Union leaders attributed the peaceful May Day to a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Presidential Palace on Monday when he promised quick resolution of many labor issues.

Abdul Latief of the Federation of State Enterprise Workers Unions (FSP- BUMN) said industrial tension would never have happened if the President had held such talks since he took office in 2004.

Said Iqbal from the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) said that workers would not strike if employers held sincere dialogues based on equal partnership.

"Workers will not just stick to their demands. We prefer win-win solutions to industrial disputes, with employers transparent and accountable," said the rally coordinator.

"Anarchy, sweeping, rallies and strikes will not happen, or can be minimized, if businesspeople commit to good industrial relations and equal partnerships with unions in dialogue, and adopt good corporate governance," he said.

Chair of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperity Trade Unions (KSBSPI) Mudhofir believes the government should be a neutral facilitator and mediator in industrial disputes.

Employers have objected to the May Day holiday which they say will cut working hours and productivity. There are already 15 national holidays on the calendar.

Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said employers repeatedly expressed their objections when the holiday was proposed.

Apindo is open to dialogue with workers and will send representatives to the national tripartite forum to settle industrial disputes. "The government and security agencies should take measures against anarchic industrial action and maintain legal confidence to protect the investment climate," he said.

Thousands of workers from the People's Movement against Capitalism (Gerak) also backed away from their plan to peacefully occupy Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with hundreds of police and soldiers guarding all access to the site.

"All unions in the regency agreed to conduct peaceful rallies on May Day and if they violate the agreement, we will certainly take stern measures," Tangerang police chief Sr. Comr. Bambang Priyo Andogo told The Jakarta Post.

More than 120,000 workers from Jakarta and the satellite cities of Depok, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi marched from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to the Presidential Palace, halting traffic and business activity at the heart of the capital.

The workers delivered their demands before forming into small groups to march on other government offices and the House of Representatives in scorching heat and torrential rain. The rally dispersed at 5 p.m.

A lively celebration was seen in Serang, Banten, as Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah and Deputy Governor Rano Karno entertained workers gathered in the city square.

At the event, the workers were involved in several activities such as blood donation, mass circumcision and presentations of scholarships to students.

As an appreciation of the workers, the governor promised them free shuttle buses, affordable housing and higher wages.

The workers in Depok, however, were not so lucky as Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail failed to meet them and went to Sukabumi in West Java instead, on an official visit.

"We decided to join the rally in Jakarta despite warnings from the police because we need to voice our demands to the government," said Wido Pratikno, secretary of the Federation of Indonesia Metal Workers Unions in Depok. (hae/tam)

[Multa Fidrus and Yuli Tri Suwarni contributed to the article from Tangerang and Depok.]

Workers commemorate May Day

Jakarta Post - May 2, 2013

International Workers Day, or May Day as it is more popularly called, was commemorated differently across the archipelago on Wednesday, ranging from entertaining performances to street rallies demanding improved working conditions and wages.

In Pekanbaru, Riau province, local workers and those from surrounding regencies including Siak and Kampar gathered at Politeknik Caltex Rumbai Square to watch an art performance and to participate in various traditional games.

The same fanfare was also evident in Dumai city, where workers held social activities and strolled along PT Pelindo Dumai's Pier D. Local unions had agreed not to stage rallies but instead organize positive activities, such as donating to workers' families or orphanages.

"This is our way of showing joy for the raise in the province's sectoral minimum wage [UMS]," said the Riau coordinator of the Federation of Indonesian Prosperity Trade Unions (FSBSI), Patar Sitanggang, referring to an 8.6 percent wage hike.

Workers in other regions protested on the streets. In Batam, Riau Islands, sweeps by unions to force workers to take part in rallies prompted engineering and construction company PT McDermott to send home its 3,000 workers, some of whom joined protestors at Alun-Alun Engku Putri Square.

In Palembang, South Sumatra, workers demanded the government ban outsourcing that disadvantaged workers and urged the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) to withdraw its challenge against province's minimum wage (UMP) at the Palembang State Administrative Court (PTUN).

In Yogyakarta, workers distributed flowers to female manual workers. "We expect a wage increase to meet our daily needs," said Tinah, one of the workers, adding that she usually worked from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. and earned a daily average of Rp 30,000 (US$3.09).

In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, workers called for better work safety and demanded local administrations force companies to implement the health and work safety program.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, non-governmental organizations and workers grouped under Central Sulawesi People's Struggle Front staged a rally to demand the government revoke the licenses of recalcitrant oil palm plantation companies and those without environmental impact analysis (Amdal) documents.

In Semarang, Central Java, workers marched on the city's main streets, rejecting fuel price increases and demanding decent wages and a ban on outsourcing.

Separately, journalists in the city urged media companies to pay more attention to the welfare of their journalists, especially those working as contributors and correspondents in the regions.

Protest coordinator Arif Nugroho said contributors and correspondents received low wages. The same call was made by dozens of journalists in Bandung, West Java.

Alliance of Independent Journalists' (AJI) Bandung chairman Zaky Yamani said many mass media outlets in the city violated the law.

"They pay their journalists less than the city minimum wage, lower than others working in other fields, despite the fact that their jobs is high risk while at the same time their companies do not give them health and accident insurance," Zaky said.

Labors urge government to meet seven-point demand

Antara News - May 1, 2013

Dhoni Setiawan, Jakarta – Thousands of labors from Welfare Labor Union Confederation (KSBSI) urged the government to meet their seven point demand when commemorating the World Labor Day (May Day) in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"Today on May 1, millions of labors demand that justice should be enforced to improve our welfare," said KSBSI President Mudhofir in his speech here, Wednesday.

The demands consist of implementation of health care benefit on January 1, 2014 as well as pension benefit program for labors on July 1, 2015.

Besides, labors also demanded a revision on Presidential Regulation No.12/2013 on health care benefit and Governmental Regulation No.101/2012 about assistant recipient.

The KSBSI also urged government to implement Manpower Minister Regulation No.19/2012 about outsource recruitment system and to take firm actions against companies that violate regulations on the outsource system in state companies (BUMN).

"We also reject the low wages regulations and the suspension of the implementation of Provincial Minimum Wages as well as City Minimum Wages," Mudhofir said.

Mudhofir said labors also demanded that the government should not increase premium gasoline price. They rejected Draft Law on National Security and Mass Organizations and demanded that the government decide May 1 as a national holiday.

The KSBSI asked the government to stop and eliminate union busting and criminalization of labors organizations. "We urge the government to revise its regulation on decent living cost, eliminate Province Minimum Wages and implement a compulsory wage scale and structure," Mudhofir said.

May Day action in Indramayu attacked by Pancasila and Golkar youth thugs

Cuplik.com - May 1, 2013

Indramayu – A peaceful International Labour Day action ended in chaos when members of the Pancasila Youth (PP) attacked protesters during a May Day action in the West Java city of Indramayu on Wednesday May 1.

The brawl broke out when protesters from the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance (KASBI), farmers, fisherpeople and several other organisations moved off from the audience hall at the Indramayu regents' official residents and headed towards the Indramayu labour office.

"Who knows what the problem was but we were suddenly attacked from behind by hundreds of Pancasila Youth members, several of our comrades were injured after being beaten and pelted by stones from the rear, initially they declared they wanted to join the action, we happily accepted, but it turned out they were lying, they attacked from behind", one of the action coordinators, Agus, told Cuplik.com.

It is suspected that the brawl was triggered by a speech by one of the workers, Sahali SH, who questioned the performance of Regent Anna Sophanah and her husband Irianto MS Syafiuddin (Yance) in relation to the regional government's policies on labour and the people of Indramayu in general.

Activists and observers believe that the PP and members of Kosgoro (Mutual Assistance Cooperative, a Golkar Party affiliated youth group) were acting as the advance guard for the administration of Sophanah and Syafiuddin, who have been in office for three terms, since 2000.

The brawl at the audience hall ended after security personnel from the military, police and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) were able to separate the two camps.

The PP however, with the help of Kosgoro members, again attacked the demonstrators near the Mambo Indramayu market around 700 metres from the audience hall. A short time later officers from the Brimob C Detachment from the nearby city of Cirebon arrived and the PP members were finally forced to retreat.

When sought for confirmation by Cuplik.com, Indramayu municipal police division head, operational police commander Dian Setiawan, said that as many as 769 police officers had been deployed.

Indramayu district military commander Asyik Rudianto meanwhile provided few details saying only that a number of military personnel had been deployed. "Just a few right, not many", said Rudianto. In response to the incident, several of the demonstrators who fell victim to the attack have reported to police.

The protesters came from a number of different labour groups including the Pantura Trade Union Federation (FSBP), the Working Partners Trade Union (SBMK), the Indramayu Trade Union (SBI), the Dwikora Independent Workers Union (SPM DWIKORA), the Indonesian Ceramic Workers Trade Union (SBKI) and the Tanker Truck Drivers Trade Union (SMAT).

Meanwhile other organisations that joined the action in solidarity included the West Java All Indonesian Fishers Association (HNSI), the Indramayu Farmers Union of Struggle (SPPI), the Indramayu Indonesian Migrant Workers Trade Union (SBMI) and the Indramayu Community Based Legal Assistance Post (PBHBM). (Gibra/wo)

Notes

Pemuda Pancasila (Pancasila Youth) was established by the army in October 1959, ostensibly to uphold the state ideology of Pancasila, but under former president Suharto the organisation became an association of notorious thugs and petty criminals who carried out dirty work on behalf of the regime. The organisation still has close ties with various factions of the military and police, and have been linked to criminal activities such as racketeering and extortion. In recent years the organisation has been involved in a number of violent turf wars with mass organisations such as the Native Jakarta Brotherhood Forum.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Thousands of workers gather in Central Jakarta to commemorate May Day

Antara News - May 1, 2013

Imam Santoso, Jakarta – Thousands of workers from Jakarta and the nearby cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Karawang, Purwakarta, Serang and Cilegon are gathering at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta to commemorate International Labour Day Wednesday.

Muhamad Rusdi, from the Indonesian Trade Union Council (MPBI) working body, said that workers from nine cities had been gathering at the Hotel Indonesia since 8am and will head off to the nearby State Palace at 10.30am.

According to Rusdi, a section of the workers would remain at the Palace until 6pm, while the rest would move off to the House of Representatives (DPR) building and a number of government offices at 1pm. These will include the Finance Ministry, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry for State Owned Enterprises, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Transmigration.

Workers from the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI), the Confederation of Prosperity Labour Unions (KSBSI) and the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), which are part of the MPBI, conveyed a number of demands at the May 1 action this year.

This included, among others, rejecting the government's planned fuel price hike that will have an impact on the price of basic goods and demanding revisions to Ministry of Labour Regulation Number 13/2012 on the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL).

The workers also rejected low wages for workers and non-procedural deferments by companies on paying the minimum wage as well as demanding the abolition of contract labour, thuggery against workers, the enactment of the Draft Law on Domestic Workers and revisions to Migrant Worker Law Number 39/2004.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Women workers sweep factory preventing employees from joining May Day

Tribune City News - May 1, 2013

Mohamad Yusuf – Scores of women furnished with bamboo sticks held a sweeping action at the company PT Hangsai 3 in the Cakung Nusantara Bonded Zone (KBN) in Cilincing, North Jakarta on May 1.

The women, who came from the Bambu (Progressive Labour Front) Squad, each carried two 30 centimeter lengths of bamboo.

They entered the factory grounds as a group carrying the bamboo sticks then struck them together creating a hit drumming rhythm. Moreover, because negotiations with the factory management were becoming difficult, the workers demolished a 1.5 metre high fence surround the factory.

The sweeping action was carried out because the company management refused to allow its workers to leave the factory to join a May Day demonstration by workers from the Cross Factory Labour Forum (FBLP).

"We asked that employees at the factory [be allowed to] participate, we asked for 500 people but were only given 100. We will be continuing the sweeping action", said FBLP negotiation team member Richi, when speaking with Wartakotalive.com at the factory on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile North Jakarta municipal police chief Senior Commissioner Mohamad Iqbal arrived at the scene to mediate between the demonstrators and the company. "Today is a labour anniversary, labour day, we ask for understanding, allow [us] to maintain the peace", Iqbal told the management.

The owner of the factory meanwhile, Noh, insisted on holding the employees at the factory. "We've released 100 people already, we're currently chasing an export [order]", Nor told representatives from the demonstrators.

As of going to print, the sweeping action was continuing. The demonstrators plan to move off to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta to join up with other workers commemorating International Labour Day.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Chaos after military and police block May Day protesters in Bogor

Merdeka.com - May 1, 2013

An International Labour Day (May Day) demonstration in Bogor, West Java, descended into chaos when police and military tried to prevent hundreds of workers from the National Trade Union (SPN) from travelling to Jakarta.

Upon arriving at the Keranggan toll road gate the workers were blocked by a joint contingent of Indonesian military (TNI) and police who asked the workers not to continue on to Jakarta.

The workers, who insisted that they wanted to join up with their colleagues in Jakarta, tried to break through the blockade. It was then that chaos broke out. West Java SPN provincial chairperson Iwan Kusmawan said they did not accept the actions by security personnel in preventing them travelling on to Jakarta.

"Security personnel should allow the workers to pass because freedom of expression and speech is protected under the law, all the more so because we will pay the toll road fee and follow prevailing regulations", he said.

After negotiations with security personnel, the workers were finally given permission proceed, although they were only allowed to pass through the Citeureup toll gate and depart in stages. "20 busses will depart every 20 minutes", he said.

Meanwhile, Bogor district police chief Assistant Superintendent Asep Syafrudin said that in order to secure May Day this year, they had deployed around 700 officers.

Syafrudin explained that police are working with the TNI, the West Java Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and Bogor regency public order agency officials to prevent frictions.

He added that police would take action against factory sweeps by workers [to pursuade other workers to join the action] because it goes against legal norms. "If there are factory weeping actions we will act firmly", he said.

[Abridged translation by James Balowski.]

Papuan students in Bandung mark May Day with call for independence

Kompas.com - May 1, 2013

Putra Prima Perdana, Bandung – Shouts of "Free Papua" resounded from a megaphone belonging to the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) in the midst of a demonstration by hundreds of workers commemorating International Labour Day in front of the Gedung Sate governor's office in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung on Wednesday May 1.

During the action, the Papuan students called for the Papuan people to be given the right to determine their own future as a democratic solution for the Papuan people.

In other words, the 30 or so students from the Land of the Cendrawasih (Bird of Paradise) called for independence for the Papuan people. The protesters showed no hesitation in displaying photographs of the victims of violence in Papua, which the students said is continuing to this day. Shouts of "Free Papua" continued until the action finished at 11am.

"If it is said that Papua is part of NKRI (the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia – Ed) then this is nonsense. The essence of the problem is, we the Papuan people simply want independence, we're not asking for anything else", said action coordinator Frans Kotouki during a break in the action.

In relation to the acts of violence in Papua, Kotouki conceded that this is one of the factors influencing the Papuan people's desire to liberate themselves.

"We want to manage everything ourselves, from human resources to the natural resources that exist in the land of Papua. We don't want to be regulated by NKRI anymore", said the youth who is a student at the Bandung College of Health.

The Papuan people's desire for independence, explained Kotouki, is not just held by Papuan students who are spread throughout Indonesia. "This call from all layers of Papuan society who are sick and tired of the violence. They are being murdered and slaughtered without mercy by rogue elements of TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (national police)", he said in a trembling voice.

Kotouki added that the action was intentionally held to coincide with International Labour Day because May 1 also coincides with the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority's (PBB UNTEA) handover of West Papua to Indonesia in 1963.

"Indonesia's presence was not automatically accepted by the Papuan people. Hundreds of thousands of Papuans died when [Papua] was declared a Military Operation Zone in 1977-1998", he explained.

In addition to this, they also condemned the murder of Papuan figures such as [independence leader] Theys Hiyo Eluay, [National Committee for West Papua leaders] Mako Tabuni and Huber Mabel, along with cases such as the bloody Biak incident [in 1998], the bloody Abepura incident [in 2006] and other crimes against humanity that have never been fully resolved by Indonesia.

In commemorating 50 years since the annexation of West Papuan into NKRI, the AMP is demanding that the UN and Indonesia immediately come up with a solution to allow the Papuan people to determine their own future and the withdrawal of all organic and non-organic military and police from the land of Papua.

"We are demanding an end to exploitation and the closure of all companies owned by the imperialists, such as Freeport, Corindo, Medco and others", asserted Kotouki.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Freeport workers mark May Day by observing moment of silence

Seruu.com - May 1, 2013

Timika – Thousands of workers employed in the PT Freeport Indonesia mining concession area in Mimika regency, West Papua, commemorated May Day by observing a moment of silence and reading out the Workers Oath at their respective workplaces.

The deputy chairperson of the Mimika branch of the All Indonesia Workers Union Chemical, Entergy and Mining Trade Union (SP-KEP SPSI) in Timika, Yopi Awom, said Wednesday that workers at Timika will not be holding a special commemoration of International Labour Day (May Day) considering the security situation in West Papua.

"Today we will not be conducting any activities at all because of the current situation and conditions in Papua, which are less than favourable", said Awom.

According to Awom, workers at Timika are still worried that if they commemorate Labour Day there could well be other parties that would disrupt the activities for other aims.

"We are endeavoring to prevent Labour Day commemorations being subverted by outside parties that could direct them towards negative issues", explained Awom.

Mimika regency has one of the largest concentrations of workers and in Papua province with the giant PT Freeport Indonesia gold and copper mine being located in Mimika.

It is estimated that more than 22 thousand workers work in and around PT Freeport Indonesia. Around 13 thousand of them are permanent workers while the remainder who work for the company are contract or private Freeport workers. (ant/mal)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Workers call on the people to abandon the elite political parties

Kompas.com - May 1, 2013

Dani Prabowo, Jakarta – Thousands of workers from the Labour Joint Secretariat (Sekber Buruh) held a protest action at the General Election Commission (KPU) building on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta at 11.30am on Wednesday May 1.

The protesters were marching from the Suropati Park area towards the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle. However the demands that they were articulating were not related to workers' welfare, but calling on the people to reject the 12 political parties that will take part in the 2014 elections.

"Abandon the elite [political] parties that are corrupt, the parties that do not place any importance on workers' welfare", shouted one of the workers in a speech. In addition to giving speeches, they also brought banners satirising the existing political parties.

As of 12.25pm the workers were still holding the action in front of the KPU building. The action resulted in the flow of traffic on both lanes of Jl. Imam Bonjol being closed temporarily.

As reported, on the commemoration of Labour Day that falls today, hundreds of thousands of workers are holding protest actions at a number of points in the capital.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

May Day protesters in Yogyakarta greet House member with shouts and boos

Detik News - May 1, 2013

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Hundreds of workers and students from a number of different organisations in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held an action commemorating May Day today. A regional house member was greeted with shouts and boos.

The action was centred on the Malioboro shopping district in the centre of the city and attended by the Yogyakarta Labour Alliance (ABY), a grouping of trade unions from various factories in Yogyakarta province, along with the Islamic Students Association (HMI), the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) and Indonesian Islamic Students Association (PMII).

When the action was being held in front of the entrance to the Yogyakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD DIY), the protesters called on house representatives to meet with them and listen to their demands. DPRD DIY deputy speaker Sukedi from the Democrat Party faction accompanied by DPRD member Janu Ismadi came out to meet with the demonstrators who were waiting on Jl. Malioboro.

Sukedi, along with a representative from the protesters then climbed up onto a pickup truck that was being used as a stage. Before hundreds of demonstrators, he introduced himself saying that he was from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling party the Democrats. The demonstrators spontaneously drowned him out with shouts and called for him to step down. "Boo Boo Boo, get down, get down", shouted the protesters.

Sukedi responded by saying that he would not continue speaking however one of the action coordinators called on the protesters to calm themselves and listen to what he had to say. After the demonstrators had calmed down, he continued his speech. "We at the DPRD DIY support the labour struggle and the commemoration of labour day. We also reject outsourcing", he said.

After the speech, Sukedi and Ismadi returned to the house. The protesters meanwhile continued the action, which had began at the Abu Bakar Ali parking lot, heading off towards the zero kilometre point at the intersection in front of the Yogyakarta central post office.

One of the action coordinators, Mahendra, said in a speech that they are calling for a national strike if the government fails to heed all of their demands. "We continue to reject low wages for workers, [call for] the abolition of outsourcing and reject [the planned] fuel price increases", he said.

Throughout the action, the protesters were watched over by Yogyakarta municipal police. Because the main street was being used by demonstrators, traffic had to be rerouted through the slow lane usually used by bikes, traditional horse-draw carriages and pedicabs. (bgs/try)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

May Day protests shut down Central Jakarta

Jakarta Globe - May 1, 2013

Indonesian workers converged on Central Jakarta in Wednesday's massive May Day rally, halting public transportation and closing down major arteries as workers and labor unions marched to the State Palace and Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration in protest of the government's planned fuel subsidy cuts and unfair labor practices.

More than 135,000 workers from three of Indonesia's largest labor unions joined the protest on Wednesday. The protestors held rallies and speeches outside government buildings, calling on public officials to put an end to the controversial practice of contract labor called "outsourcing" in Indonesia.

Outsourced workers lack the protection or benefits of regular workers. The government has curbed the practice, limiting the hiring of outsourced workers to select industries. But labor activists are fighting to outlaw the practice all together.

Union head Arif Poyuono criticized President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for failing to address the grievances of workers employed by state-owned companies. The companies, which are run by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, continue to hire outsourced workers.

"Every May 1 all the workers of the world celebrate May Day," said Arif, head of FSP BUMN Bersatu. "Indonesian workers should see it as a fighting symbol to get their welfare. During our struggle to get increase the welfare for Indonesian workers under the leadership of SBY and Boediono, none of our requests have been heard."

State-owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan joined in the protest, marching briefly alongside labor activists Wednesday morning. Dahlan, who has been the focus of repeated inquiries from the House of Representatives over the use of outsourced workers, said he had nothing else to do that morning.

"There were no guests or important meetings at the office," he said. "Because I have nothing to do... and traffic was light, I decided to walk with the workers."

Dahlan said he understood the demands of the laborers. "Workers should get better welfare each year," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Yudhoyono, who will make May Day a national holiday next year, tweeted a series of May Day messages to workers. "As the Head of State, I say Happy Labor Day to all Indonesian workers. I hope all workers get better welfare," one Tweet read.

The president met with workers in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday, discussing workers' welfare, according to the Tweets.

In Jakarta, hundreds of workers pushed their way into City Hall to demand an audience with Governor Joko Widodo. The protestors criticized the governor for allowing some companies to be exempt from paying workers the new minimum wage.

Joko raised the capital's minimum wage 44 percent to Rp. 2.2 million a month. But members of the Federation of Metal Workers Union (FSPMI) said the higher wages had yet to become a reality.

"The delay on the new minimum wage was evidence that the government is not pro-worker," M. Simanjutak, of FSPMI, said. "It's not enough that we have been paid a low wage, but now the new wage is also delayed."

Simanjutak accused the governor of being out of touch. "He doesn't know the right direction," he said. "The poor are getting poorer." The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) dismissed May Day complaints of low salaries and poor treatment as political posturing. "Those kind of speeches have a certain purposes," Apindo secretary general Suryadi Sasimta said. "[They are trying] to look for popularity for the sake of politics and money interests."

The association, a vocal critic of Joko's wage hike, is one of the nation's most powerful pro-business lobbyists. Suryadi argued that protests like these are a threat to the nation's economic growth." "If employers keep being the target of the protests, when will our country move forward into an advanced country?" Suryadi said. "If it keeps on happening, it is not impossible to think that many businessmen go outside the country"

The protests shut down public transportation along Jalan Sudirman and Jalan M.H. Thamrin, cutting off the center of the city as they marched to the Medan Merdeka Square. Commuters complained of the congestion as TransJakarta deployed officers to secure the Kota Station to Blok M corridor. "How could they use both the roads and the busway lanes too?" a driver named Arman said.

More than 25,000 Jakarta Police were deployed to provide security during the protest. Police were concerned that Wednesday's protest could turn violent ahead of the government's planned fuel subsidy cuts. But by Wednesday afternoon, there have been no reports of violence.

Workers need more than a holiday on May Day: Unions

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Labor activists have applauded the government's decision to make May 1 a national holiday starting next year but they called on the government to better uphold the rights of workers in the country.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to officially proclaim May Day a national holiday on Wednesday. Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) Said Iqbal said the plan was just the first step in a long journey to improve the lives of workers in the country.

"After more than 10 years, the government will finally establish International Workers Day as a national holiday. It is of course symbolic because making it a national holiday would not directly improve the welfare of Indonesian workers. Nonetheless, it is important to show that the state actually recognizes the labor movement in this country," Iqbal told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said that the holiday would not affect workers' productivity. "I believe that on the contrary it will encourage workers to work harder because they will feel that their existence is recognized," Iqbal said.

Separately, member of the House of Representatives Rieke Diah Pitaloka of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) urged the government to take immediate action to improve the lives of workers and not just stop at making May Day a national holiday.

"For one thing, the government should enforce the law against errant employers so that they will think twice before doing anything wrong to workers," Rieke said.

Rieke, who lost her bid for the West Java governorship recently, also urged Yudhoyono to prod his Democratic Party into supporting bills that would promote the rights of workers. "This will prove that the President doesn't only aim at polishing his or his party's image approaching the election. Prove that you actually care about workers," Rieke said.

Workers unions, including the KSPI, are set to stage rallies across Indonesia, protesting against, among other issues, cheap labor, union busting and the government's plan to increase fuel prices, which they claim will cause hardship for the country's workers.

West Papua

Indonesia, UK renew commitment after OPM brouhaha

Jakarta Post - May 7, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa summoned British Ambassador to Indonesia Mark Canning on Monday and filed a diplomatic protest against the British government over the recent opening of a Free West Papua (OPM) office in Oxford.

"This incident is not consistent with what the British government has repeatedly stated in past years about respecting Indonesia's sovereignty," Marty said after his meeting with Canning as quoted by Antara news agency.

The Indonesian government was visibly incensed by the Mayor of Oxford, Mohammed Abbasi, member of the UK parliament from Oxford Andrew Smith and former mayor Elise Benjamin, who reportedly attended the opening ceremony of the OPM office in Oxford earlier this month.

With the move, the British government was perceived as giving support to the call for Papua's independence.

Papuans living in exile set up the office in Oxford last week as part of their 44-year campaign to separate the former Dutch colony from Indonesia.

In a previous statement, Marty said that the Indonesian government strongly objected to the opening of the so-called OPM office and asked the British government to be consistent in its policy of not supporting any action related to the separatist movement in Papua and West Papua provinces.

After Monday's meeting, Canning said he explained to Marty that the UK recognized the sensitivity of this issue for Indonesia. He said that the British government respected the territorial integrity of Indonesia and did not support calls for Papuan independence.

"We regard Papua as a part of Indonesia. That has always been our view, and this recent development, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the British government, does nothing to change that. We also support the effort of those, like the Presidential Delivery Unit (UKP4), who are trying to address the problems of Papua and hope to see it enjoy the same level of peace, stability and prosperity as the other parts of this nation. I made these points to Papua governor Lukas Enembe when we met last week," he said in a press release.

Also on Monday, State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman accused the OPM of having capitalized on support from international human rights groups.

"The political front of the OPM has for a long time been based in Oxford. We know that. Benny Wenda, its leader, has continued to run his operation from there because he feels that he has support from some figures," Marciano said at the State Palace.

Marciano said that Benny's group had switched to getting support from non- governmental organizations (NGOs) after no governments formally supported their movement.

"The group has also utilized international NGOs and other groups that support such separatist groups. The group exists wherever these types of NGOs exist. But I don't think any government has given them support. I believe that the British government as well as Indonesia's Foreign Ministry have taken the necessary and proportional measures," Marciano said.

Separately, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said that the legislative body was deeply disappointed with the British parliament, whose members supported the OPM in Oxford.

"I think the UK has meddled with Indonesia's affairs too much. I would like to remind the UK government that they also have issues with Northern Ireland. I don't think they would be happy if Indonesia hosted an office for the IRA [Irish Republican Army] or encouraged Northern Ireland separatist sentiments. Therefore, please show some respect," Priyo said.

Killings in West Papua by Australian-backed anti-terror police

Deakin Speaking - May 6, 2013

Damien Kingsbury – Violence has again broken out in Indonesia's troubled province of West Papua, with the Australian-supported counter-terrorism police squad Densus 88 leading the attack.

In the latest violence, there are unverified but fairly detailed reports of 10 West Papuans being killed during flag-raising ceremonies at three locations across West Papua. Dozens have also been arrested in these otherwise peaceful ceremonies.

Densus 88 has been the subject of a number of critical reports, notably for being used to suppress political dissent and not in its primary counter- terrorism role.

The West Papua National Freedom Army (TPN-PB) – the armed wing of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) – organised flag-raising ceremonies on May 1 across the province to mark West Papua's incorporation into Indonesia. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has said in response to the violence:

"These latest incidents are unfortunate examples of the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and excessive use of force in Papua. I urge the government of Indonesia to allow peaceful protest and hold accountable those involved in abuses."

West Papua Legislative Council deputy speaker Demianus Jimmy Idjie condemned the use of violence by the police as a group of West Papuans attempted to hoist the Morning Star flag. "Seeing these people's wounds, the shooters were not trying to disperse the rally, they were actually aiming at the protesters," he said.

According to several reports, two protesters were shot dead in Sorong, on the tip of the Bird's Head Peninsula, with another three wounded and many more arrested. It is understood that four people were also killed and a further 20 arrested in the mining town of Timika, south of the central Maoke Mountain Range, and a further four shot dead in Biak, on Suipori Island, just north of the mainland, again with many more arrests.

The attacks against the protests were said to be led by Densus 88 officers, supported by conventional soldiers. Densus 88 officers arrested a further 22 activists on Saturday.

In response to this latest round of violence, a TPB-PB spokesman has called on the Indonesian government to enter into talks aimed at a peaceful resolution to West Papua's outstanding claims.

A police spokesperson, Senior Commander I Gede Sumerta Jaya, denies allegations that Densus 88 officers shot two men during the Sorong protest. However, he says the police will investigate the allegations.

"It's a hasty conclusion to condemn the police or the military as responsible for the deaths," he said, as no bodies had been found by police. Unconfirmed photos of what appear to be the bodies have been made available.

According to the UN's Pilay:

"Since May 2012, we have received 26 reports concerning alleged human rights violations, including 45 killings and cases of torture involving 27 people. While many incidents relate to communal violence, serious allegations of human rights abuses by law enforcement officials persist."

"There has not been sufficient transparency in addressing human rights violations in Papua. I urge Indonesia to allow international journalists into Papua and to facilitate visits by the Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council."

Indonesia summons UK ambassador over separatist office

Agence France Presse - May 6, 2013

Indonesia on Monday summoned the British ambassador in Jakarta to protest after a group supporting the independence of the restive Papua region set up its headquarters in England, the envoy said.

Mark Canning said he was summoned to see Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who "conveyed to me in clear terms the strong concern of the Indonesian government at the opening of a 'Free West Papua' office in Oxford."

The "Free West Papua" group last month established the headquarters in the southern English city, and the opening ceremony was attended by the city's mayor and a member of parliament.

"I explained to the minister that we recognized the sensitivity of this issue for Indonesia," said Canning in a statement. "The position of [the] British government on this matter is quite clear. We respect the territorial integrity of Indonesia and do not support calls for Papuan independence. We regard Papua as being part of Indonesia."

He stressed that the opening of the office "has nothing whatsoever to do with the British government."

At the weekend, Natalegawa issued a statement saying the office was "clearly incompatible and contrary to the friendly relations that have existed between the two countries."

The issue of separatism in Indonesia remains deeply sensitive, particularly after the bloody secession of East Timor which gained its independence in 2002.

For decades, ethnic Papuans in the mountainous and sparsely populated region have rejected the area's special autonomy within Indonesia. They have demanded a referendum on self-determination for the region's estimated population of 3.6 million.

The vast area is split into two provinces for administrative purposes, Papua and West Papua, but some – such as the group which set up the office in Oxford – refer to the whole region as West Papua.

Indonesia has strict treason laws and courts have handed down stiff penalties from 20 years' jail to life for people caught with separatist symbols such as the Papuan flag.

Around 130 people are currently imprisoned in Indonesia for peacefully promoting separatism, most of them from Papua or the eastern Maluku islands, according to Human Rights Watch.

House reminds British legislators to take hands off Papua

Jakarta Post - May 6, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The House of Representatives urged the government to officially ask the United Kingdom to not interfere with affairs in Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province.

House deputy speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said that Indonesia's legislature was deeply disappointed with the British parliament, whose members supported the Separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) in Oxford.

"I think the UK has interfered too much with Indonesia's affairs. I would like to remind the UK government that they also have issues with Northern Ireland. I suppose they would not be happy if Indonesia encouraged Northern Ireland separatist sentiments. Therefore, please show some respect," Priyo said at his office on Monday.

Protests against the UK have been mounting since late last week as Oxford's mayor and a member of the UK parliament reportedly attended a ceremony to set up an OPM office in Oxford that was arranged by UK-based Papuan exile Benny Wenda.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa summoned British ambassador to Indonesia Mark Canning on Monday to further discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, newly elected Papua Governor Lukas Enembe is also expected to meet with House leaders today to discuss separatist sentiments in the province, particularly following the opening of the OPM office in Oxford.

Police Papua shootings went 'according to procedure'

Jakarta Globe - May 5, 2013

Police in Papua have defended the fatal shooting of two pro-Papuan independence activists on Wednesday, saying that the pair tried to assault police officers as hundreds protested on the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's annexation of Papua.

"The shooting was according to procedure," Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya said on Saturday.

Sumerta said that police in Sorong, West Papua, acted in self-defense after they were assaulted with sharp weapons as they guarded the demonstration.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday expressed serious concerns over the heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrations across Papua during the anniversary.

At least 20 protesters were arrested in Biak and Timika cities on Wednesday.

Pillay added that there was a need for coherent policies and actions to address the underlying concerns and grievances of the local population in Papua.

Papua is 'a part of Indonesia'

Jakarta Post - May 5, 2013

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – British Ambassador to Indonesia Mark Canning said on Saturday that the UK government did not support the activities of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM), which claimed to have opened an office in Oxford, England.

The envoy issued the statement following a plan by the Indonesian government to summon him to clarify whether his government was supporting Papua's secession from Indonesia by allowing UK-based Papuan exile Benny Wenda to set up an office for the Free West Papua campaign, the opening ceremony of which was reportedly attended by Oxford's mayor and a member of the UK parliament.

"The views of the UK government are well known. We regard Papua as part of this country and want it to enjoy the same peace and prosperity as other parts of this nation," Canning said in a press release on Saturday.

Canning said his office had also explained the matter to his counterpart, Indonesian Ambassador Hamzah Thayeb, in London on Friday, saying that the views of the Oxford Council, as well as Benny, should not be taken as reflecting those of the British government.

"The council, like all councils in Britain, is free to support whatever causes it wishes. It is not part of [the UK] government and is not directed in any way by the government," Canning said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa would summon Canning soon to clarify the matter although, according to presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha, Marty had reported to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that it was a "one-sided claim made by activists or those supporting the independence movement in Papua".

Marty reported the incident to Yudhoyono on Friday night, Julian said on Saturday in a press release. "I look forward to explaining our position on a subject that we recognize is a sensitive one for the Indonesian government," Canning said.

While reiterating its support for Indonesia's integrity, Canning said the UK government was concerned with human rights issues that should be addressed in Papua, a concern that has been raised by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

Pillay, who visited Indonesia last year, said on Friday that she was informed the police had conducted crackdowns on mass demonstrations across Papua since April 30, as Papuans were preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Papua's integration into Indonesia. Two Papuans were reportedly shot dead during the crackdown and the police are still investigating the incident.

"I am of course aware that efforts are under way to try to improve this, as well as to address issues relating to economic and social development, and we fully support them. We keep in touch with all those who are trying to move Papua forward, including the new governor, who I met last week," Canning said, referring to Lukas Enembe.

UN high commissioner raises concerns over violence in Papua

Jakarta Post - May 4, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura/Jakarta – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has visited Indonesia and has raised concerns over the "ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and excessive use of force in Papua."

The UN official said she was informed that the police had conducted crackdowns on mass demonstration across Papua since April 30 as Papuans were preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Papua becoming a part of Indonesia.

"I urge the government of Indonesia to allow peaceful protest and hold accountable those involved in abuses," she said in a statement released on Friday. "After my official visit to Indonesia last November, I was disappointed to see violence and abuses continuing in Papua."

Two Papuans were reportedly shot dead during a clash between protesters and police officers in the city of Sorong on April 30, a day before the commemoration of Papua's integration into Indonesia on May 1. The victims have been identified as Abner Malagawak, 22, and Thomas Blesya, 22.

Following the clash in Sorong, the police also arrested six people in Ibdi Village in Biak regency for raising the Morning Star flag, a pro- independence symbol that is often used by the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM). The protesters were drawing attention the day Indonesia annexed the resource-rich region, according to the police.

West Papua Legislative Council deputy speaker Demianus Jimmy Idjie deplored the use of violence by the police in dispersing the group attempting to hoist the Morning Star flag. "Seeing these people's wounds, the shooters were not trying to disperse the rally, they were actually aiming at the protesters," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya denied allegations that the police had shot Abder and Thomas during the rally. The police, however, would investigate the allegations, he added.

He said that a team of police officers led by Papua Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw had been assigned to conduct the investigation.

"It's a hasty conclusion to condemn the police or the military as responsible for the deaths. There wasn't any dead bodies found so we have sent an investigative team to clarify such reports," Gede told the Post on Friday.

According to the police, the clash was inevitable after a group of local residents attacked a joint police-military patrol in Aimas at 00:30 a.m. local time (02:30 a.m. Jakarta time) as the patrol was securing the area due to the plan of a separatist group led by Isak Kalaibin to raise the Morning Star flag on May 1. Gede said that the officers fired warning shots before the clash.

However, according to a local resident, the security forces were to blame for the clash as they provoked the residents into defending themselves.

The UN's Pillay called on the Indonesian government to conduct a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation into incidents of killings and torture in Papua and bring the perpetrators to justice.

"There has not been sufficient transparency in addressing human rights violations in Papua," she said. "I urge Indonesia to allow international journalists into Papua and to facilitate visits by the Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council."

House of Representatives Caucus on Papua chairman Yorrys Raweyai said suspicions between Papuans and security forces marked serious, ongoing injustices in Indonesia's easternmost province.

"The problems will never be solved unless the government grants authority to local residents to build their land," said Yorrys.

Government criticized over OPM office in UK

Jakarta Globe - May 4, 2013

SP/Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy – Activists slammed the Indonesian government for weak statesmanship after a Papuan separatist group opened an office in Oxford, England.

"The fact that the government could not act more decisively against an individual diplomatic effort by a person like Benny Wenda shows how weak our diplomacy is," Girindra Sanino, the secretary general of the Indonesian Citizenship Union (SAKTI), said on Saturday, referring to the Papuan exile who founded the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

Benny established an OPM office in Oxford on April 23, and the opening ceremony was reportedly attended by Oxford's mayor and a member of parliament.

Girindra also criticized the British government for allowing Benny to set up such an office. "By letting representatives of the OPM to open an office in the United Kingdom, the British have violated Indonesian sovereignty. The government should send a complaint to Britain immediately," he said.

Girindra suggested that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should change its soft diplomacy and strictly respond to any international support for the separatist movement. He added that such lax handling of situations like this are why separatist groups still exist in Indonesia.

At the same time, he said, the Indonesian government must accelerate welfare programs and infrastructure development for people in Papua to thwart separatism.

Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said in a text message that the British government and the opposition did not support the OPM's decision to open an office in Oxford.

"The British government still formally recognizes the supremacy of the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia] over Papua," he said.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will summon the British ambassador to Indonesia, and the Indonesian Embassy in London will also arrange for a meeting with the British Foreign Affairs Ministry..." he added.

They're taking our children

Sydney Morning Herald - May 4, 2013

Michael Bachelard – Johanes Lokobal sits on the grass that cushions the wooden floor of his little, one-room house. He warms his hands at a fire set in the centre. From time to time a pig, out of sight in an annex, squeals and slams itself thunderously against the adjoining wall.

The village of Megapura in the central highlands of Indonesia's far-eastern province of West Papua is so remote that supplies arrive by air or by foot only. Johanes Lokobal has lived here all his life. He does not know his exact age: "Just old," he croaks. He's also poor. "I help in the fields. I earn about 20,000 rupiah [$2] per day. I clean the school garden."

But in a hard life, one hardship particularly offends him. In 2005, his only son, Yope, was taken to faraway Jakarta. Lokobal did not want Yope to go. The boy was perhaps 14, but big and strong, a good worker. The men responsible took him anyway. A few years later, Yope died. Nobody can tell Lokobal how, nor exactly when, and he has no idea where his son is buried. All he knows, fiercely, is that this was not supposed to happen.

"If he was still alive, he would be the one to look after the family," Lokobal says. "He would go to the forest to collect the firewood for the family. So I am sad."

The men who took Yope were part of an organised traffic in West Papuan youth. A six-month Good Weekend investigation has confirmed that children, possibly in their thousands, have been enticed away over the past decade or more with the promise of a free education. In a province where the schools are poor and the families poorer still, no-cost schooling can be an irresistible offer.

But for some of these children, who may be as young as five, it's only when they arrive that they find out they have been recruited by "pesantren", Islamic boarding schools, where time to study maths, science or language is dwarfed by the hours spent in the mosque. There, in the words of one pesantren leader, "They learn to honour God, which is the main thing." These schools have one aim: to send their graduates back to Christian- majority Papua to spread their muscular form of Islam.

Ask the 100 Papuan boys and girls at the Daarur Rasul school outside Jakarta what they want to be when they grow up and they shout, "Ustad! Ustad! [religious teacher]."

In Papua, particularly in the Highlands, the issues of religious and cultural identity are red-hot. Census data from over the past four decades shows that the indigenous population is now matched in number by recent migrants, largely Muslims, from other parts of Indonesia. The newcomers' domination of the economy, particularly in the western half of the province, effectively marginalises the original inhabitants. This immigration means that indigenous Papuans have a real – and realistic – fear of becoming an ethnic and religious minority in their own country. Stories of people taking away their children adds an emotive edge and has the potential to inflame tensions in an already volatile region.

For about 50 years, a separatist insurgency has been active in Papua and hundreds of thousands have died in their efforts to gain independence for the province. Christianity, brought by Dutch and German missionaries, is both the faith of a vast majority of the indigenous population, and a key part of their identity. Islam actually has an even longer history in Papua than Christianity, but it's of a gentler kind than what's preached in Java's increasingly hardline mosques and it's still, for the moment at least, the minority religion. But when the pesantren children return from Java, their faith has changed. "They become different persons," Papuan Christian leader Benny Giay, tells me. "They have been brainwashed".

The schools insist they recruit only students who are already Muslims, but it's clear they are not too fussy. At Daarur Rasul, I quickly found two little boys, Filipus and Aldi, who were mualaf – brand new converts from Christianity. One radical Islamic organisation, Al Fatih Kafah Nusantara (AFKN), makes no bones about its intention to convert, and to use religion for political ends. Leader Fadzlan Garamatan says AFKN has brought 2200 children out of Papua as part of his program of nationalistic "Islamicisation". "When [Papuans] convert to Islam, their desire to be independent reduces," says Fadzlan on AFKN's internet page.

In restive West Papua, the movement and conversion of young children is politically explosive. We were warned a number of times not to chase the story. It's never reported in the Indonesian press. The chief of the Indonesia government's Jakarta-based Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua, Bambang Darmono, downplays it as just one of "many issues in Papua", and the Religious Affairs Ministry's director of pesantrens, Saefudin, says he has never heard of it. But my efforts to trace the life and death of one Papuan boy has revealed that the trade goes on. And, in the service of grand religious and political aims, sometimes young lives are broken.

Elias Lokobal smiles to himself when he talks about the feisty little stepbrother he lost, but when talk turns to Amir Lani, his expression darkens. Lani is a local cleric in Megapura and the other villages surrounding the highland capital, Wamena. It was in about 2005 when he and Aloysius Kowenip, the police chief from the nearby town of Yahukimo, began approaching families to recruit their children. The pair worked to take five boys from vulnerable families in each of five villages and transport them to Java for education. Kowenip, a Christian, says it was his idea to "help" the children, and that the funding came from "the local government and an Islamic organisation" whose name he could not remember. He says he sought out children with only one living parent because "nobody guided them".

Young Yope was one such boy. Although he had a stepmother, his natural mother had died. Neither Lani nor Kowenip ever visited Yope's father, Johanes Lokobal, to explain their scheme. It still rankles. "These people should ask permission from the parents," Lokobal says. Instead, they asked young Yope himself, who was enthusiastic about this adventure. Some friends had gone the previous year and he was keen to join them.

When it came time for Yope to depart, it happened in a flash, stepbrother Elias recalls. "I went to school, and when I came back there was no one home."

Andreas Asso was part of the same group. Now a shy young man scrabbling a living in Jayapura, the capital of West Papua, he was perhaps 15 at the time. Like Yope, Andreas had only one parent. His father was dead and, though his mother was alive, he was living with his stepmother. Like Yope, he was approached directly. "They asked if I wanted to pursue my study in Jakarta for free," Andreas says. "The police chief never spoke to my stepmum but he spoke to my uncle, the brother of my father, and he agreed. I was born Christian and I'll always be Christian. The police chief just said we'd be put in a boarding house... If he had told us it would be a pesantren, none of us would have wanted to go."

When the day came to leave, Andreas says a group of 19 boys were loaded into an Indonesian air force Hercules C-130 aircraft in Wamena. By some accounts, the youngest of them was just five. The plane was crewed by men in uniform. It has been difficult to verify whether the military was officially involved, but a former Papuan army chief says civilians are permitted to buy cheap tickets to fly on military aircraft as part of the military's "corporate social responsibility". "We didn't speak to the soldiers," Andreas recalls. "We were afraid."

It took two days for the plane to reach Jakarta and, "we were not fed or offered drinks. A few, especially the little ones, got sick... a few vomited," Andreas says. "When they came to my village, I thought I wanted to go. But when I was in the aeroplane, all I was thinking was, 'I want to go back to my village.'" When they landed in Jakarta, the boys were driven about three hours to their new home – the Jamiyyah Al-Wafa Al-Islamiyah pesantren, high on the slopes of the volcano, Mount Salak, behind the regional city of Bogor. The head of the Al-Wafa school's foundation, Harun Al Rasyid, remembers Andreas Asso and the boys from Wamena, and the men who brought them, Amir Lani and Aloysius Kowenip, whom he knows as "Aloy". The two men had come and "offered the students" in 2005, he recalls. "Aloy was ambitious in politics, and bringing children to my pesantren was a way to improve his standing or image in society," Al Rasyid says.

Andreas Asso's account and his differ on many points but they concur on one: the boys from the village in the wild highlands of Papua simply did not fit in. "It wasn't like a real school because in school they have classes," Andreas says. "In this one, we just went to a big mosque and all we learnt about was Islam, just reading the Koran. Sometimes they slapped us on the face, beat us with a wooden stick. They just told us we Papuans were black, we have dark skin."

The food and education at Al-Wafa were free but the religion was strict. It has Yemeni teachers and Saudi funding and its website describes it as Salafi sholeh, or "pious Salafi". Its purpose: "Setting up a cadre of preachers and people who can call others to Islam." Andreas insists that, like him, some of the other boys were Christians, and that the head of the school changed five of their names to make them sound more Islamic – allegations Al Rasyid denies. For his part, Al Rasyid says the Papuans were an unruly rabble who exhausted the teachers "because their cultural background was different".

He says the boys urinated and defecated on the school grounds and stole the crops of neighbouring farmers. He admits punishing them by "scolding" and hitting them "with rattan on the foot". About two or three months after they arrived, one sickly boy, Nison Asso, died.

"He was 10 years old," says Andreas. "He was already sick in Wamena but... he passed away. The body is still there in Bogor because the boarding school didn't have the money to send the body back, though his parents wanted the body sent back."

Al Rasyid will not comment on Nison's fate. After less than a year, it was clear to both the boys and the school that the experiment was failing, so Amir Lani was summoned. Andreas says he pleaded with Lani to take him home, but was refused. Instead, Lani took them to Jakarta to another Papuan man, Ismail Asso, who himself had been an imported student whose name was changed. Ismail told the boys there was not enough money to return them to Papua. Their parents, it seems, were never consulted.

Some of the students were found a new pesantren in Tangerang, near Jakarta. Later they were to be expelled from there, too, because, according to Ismail Asso, "These children were already bad children in Papua." But Andreas stayed out of school and instead teamed up with another boy, Muslim Lokobal, "who was also a Christian but was given the name 'Muslim'". The pair went to make their own way in the big city. A persistent problem in researching this story has been pinning down details – names, times and ages. Names have been changed, roots erased, and village children rarely know their own age. The tragic end to Yope Lokobal's story suggests, however, that he may be the same boy whom Andreas Asso knew as Muslim Lokobal.

Andreas says that one night Muslim got drunk. There is no eyewitness to what happened next, and it's the subject of five or more differing, second-hand accounts. Andreas's is the most gruesome. "On the way back to the boarding house, Muslim made trouble with the local people, so they beat him up and killed him. They put his body inside the boarding house. And because they hated him, they took out one of his eyes and put a bottle in the eye socket." Does this awful scene describe Yope's death? Or was Muslim a different boy?

Back in the village of Megapura, they can shed little light. "There was a call from Jakarta to the mosque at Megapura, and the people from the mosque gave us the news," Johanes Lokobal recalls. "There was no explanation about how Yope died." Says stepbrother Elias: "It was 2009 or 2010. We just held a mourning ceremony at home, praying." Nobody knows where Yope's body is buried.

The rest of the boys from that Hercules would be in their early 20s by now. Last time Andreas Asso heard from them, they were in Jakarta as little better than beggars – "street singers or working in public transport – the drivers' assistant, collecting the passengers," he says. It's not known how many groups of children Amir Lani and Aloysius Kowenip organised to take away. Teronce Sorasi, a mother from Wamena, says she was approached in 2007 or 2008 by "the police chief", who asked her to send her daughter, Yanti, who was then five, and her son, Yance 11, to Jakarta, even though "we are a Christian family". "I said, 'no' because my husband had just passed away and we were still mourning," Sorasi says.

Amir Lani still lives in a villa in the hills near Megapura. According to Elias, whenever people ask him about the lost boys of Wamena, "he just avoids them". When I reach Aloysius Kowenip by telephone, he boasts of his scheme. "If any one of them has become somebody, then, as a Papuan, I am proud of that." But when asked about those who died or failed, Kowenip abruptly ends the call. A few days later, his friend Ismail Asso phones in a fury, then issues two threats via SMS. "I remind you... not to dig out information about the Muslims of Wamena," he writes, otherwise the "provocative foreign journalist" will be "deported from Indonesia", or "axed, killed by the [people of] Wamena".

Internal transportation of children has a long and dishonourable history in Indonesia. Around 4500 children were removed from East Timor over the 24- year Indonesian occupation to serve, in the words of author Helene Van Klinken in her book Making Them Indonesians, a "proselytising Islamic faith", and to bind the region closer to Jakarta. Children, she wrote, were chosen because they were "impressionable and easily manipulated to serve political, racial, ideological and religious aims".

Papua has been a target in the past, too. In 1969, former president Suharto proposed transferring 200,000 children of the "backward and primitive Papuans, still living in the stone age" to Java for education. Another Saudi-backed group, DDII, used to bring children from both East Timor and Papua. And today, AFKN, which is linked to the thuggish, hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), is actively seeking children to recruit.

Daarur Rasul is half pesantren, half building site in a satellite city of Jakarta called Cibinong. Here, 100 boys from the lowlands in Papua's western half crowd up to the heavy bars of a gate to greet us. The gate is locked because, according to one member of staff, "they like to escape". Forty or so girls live downstairs with more freedom of movement. School principal Ahmad Baihaqi insists he teaches moderate Islam, and the children are at least seven, but some look younger. He doesn't deny they are locked up, but says it is only during study hours "to put discipline on them".

In 2011, four boys did escape and claimed not only that they'd been forced to work on the construction site, but that at the school, they had been left hungry, given unboiled water to drink and were taught only Islam, Indonesian language and maths. Baihaqi insists the boys exaggerate, saying they had been "naughty" from before they arrived. He agrees that sometimes his students do work on the construction site, but says they enjoy it. The boys' lessons begin at 4am with prayers. School continues, with breaks and an afternoon nap, until 9pm, during which there are seven hours of prayer and Koran reading and only 3 1/2 hours for "natural sciences, social sciences, reading and writing".

Baihaqi says he recruits new students in Papua every year and swears parents give their consent. But the children only travel home every three years. They don't miss their parents, he says, and the parents knowingly agree to the arrangement.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the head of Indonesia's non-government child protection group Komnas PA, says separating children for that long "means erasing their cultural roots", particularly if their names and religion are also changed. "It is very dangerous," he adds. But Indonesia's powerful Religious Affairs Ministry has no problem with it. It's encouraged, in fact, says pesantren division director Saefudin, because, "The longer you stay [in a pesantren], the more blessing you'll get."

The Indonesian government's Child Protection Commission, KPAI, is also sanguine. Deputy chairman Asrorun Ni'am, who is also a senior member of the Fatwa Council of the MUI, the government's Islamic advisory body, was more worried about the "religious sentiment" we might stir up by writing the story. "It's against all efforts to build harmonious atmosphere," he warned us.

The law is clear. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Indonesia is a party, says children should not be separated from their families for whatever reason, even poverty. And Indonesia's Child Protection Act includes a five-year jail penalty for those who convert a child to religion different from their family's. In West Papua, religious leaders have little doubt that removing children is part of a broader effort to overwhelm the indigenous population; "It is Indonesia's long-term project to make Papua an Islamic place," says the head of the province's Baptist church, Socratez Yoman. "If Jakarta wants to educate Papuan children," says Christian leader Benny Giay, "why don't they build schools in Papua?"

We could not confirm if the government of Indonesia or its agencies were active in the movement of children. But some organisations have high level support. AFKN is funded by zakat (Islamic alms) delivered through the charitable arm of state-owned Indonesian bank BRI; Aloysius Kowenip talked of "local government" funding; Daarur Rasul's donors include "some police officers and military officers" acting personally, and at least one group was moved by a military plane.

Perhaps, like the well-documented movement of children in East Timor, the Papuan operation has no government endorsement but enjoys quiet consent at high levels of Indonesian society. Andreas Asso survived to tell his tale, but remains furious at how he was duped into leaving his highland home, then abandoned to his fate.

"I could have had an education there in Wamena. Some of my friends who stayed have graduated from school... My dream job is to become a policeman. But I look back, and I've achieved nothing."

Workers at Freeport's Indonesian mine end strike

Agence France Presse - May 3, 2013

Hundreds of workers at Freeport-McMoRan's Indonesian mine returned to work on Friday after a three-day strike over pay, the US firm said, ending the latest bout of industrial action to hit the operation.

Some 1,100 workers, employed by three contractors and not directly by Freeport, downed tools on Tuesday at the Grasberg mine in easternmost Papua province, one of the world's largest gold and copper mines.

But the workers from the contractors Jasti Pravita, Osato Seike and Srikandi Mitra Karya, most of whom are working on an expansion of the mine, returned to work on Friday after reaching a deal on salaries, a spokeswoman for Freeport's Indonesian unit said.

"Three contractors... have reached an agreement over the pay matters of their workers," spokeswoman Daisy Primayanti told AFP. "We are pleased that their workers are returning to work." She did not disclose details of the pay deal.

A three-month strike over wages by thousands of those directly employed by Freeport crippled production at the mine in 2011 and only ended once the firm agreed to a huge pay hike.

However, the latest strike caused only minimal disruption to the mine's overall operations and production, as those who walked out were a small number of the more than 24,000 people who work at Grasbeg, said Primayanti.

Industrial action is on the rise in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, with foreign companies in particular targeted, as the cost of living increases and workers demand a greater share of the nation's economic success.

UN High Commissioner airs serious concerns over Papua violence

Jakarta Globe - May 3, 2013

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has expressed serious concerns over the crackdown on mass demonstrations across Papua since Tuesday, which reportedly includes arrests and the excessive use of force by police officers.

"These latest incidents are unfortunate examples of the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and excessive use of force in Papua," Pillay said in a statement obtained in Jakarta on Friday. "I urge the government of Indonesia to allow peaceful protest and hold accountable those involved in abuses."

The statement cited reports as indicating that on Tuesday police shot and killed two protesters in Sorong who were preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Papua becoming a part of Indonesia. At least 20 protesters were arrested in the cities of Biak and Timika on Wednesday.

"After my official visit to Indonesia last November, I am disappointed to see violence and abuses continuing in Papua," Pillay said. She added that there was a need for coherent policies and actions to address the underlying concerns and grievances of the local population in Papua.

Since May 2012, she said her office has received 26 reports concerning alleged human rights violations in the restive region, including 45 killings and cases of torture involving 27 people. While many incidents relate to communal violence, serious allegations of human rights abuses by law enforcement officials persist, the statement said.

"International human rights law requires the government of Indonesia to conduct thorough, prompt and impartial investigations into the incidents of killings and torture and bring the perpetrators to justice," the High Commissioner said.

"There has not been sufficient transparency in addressing serious human rights violations in Papua," she said. "I urge Indonesia to allow international journalists into Papua and to facilitate visits by the Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council."

As of March 2013, at least 20 political prisoners remain in detention in Papua, including prominent activist Filep Karma who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for treason in May 2005 after leading a ceremony to raise the West Papuan Flag.

In 2011, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Karma's detention was arbitrary and requested that the government take all necessary steps to release and compensate him in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Indonesia is party. So far, the government has not complied with the request.

"During my mission to Indonesia last November, I expressed concern over Papuan activists being imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression," Pillay said, reiterating that dissent is not a crime.

"It is disappointing to see more people arrested for peacefully expressing their views and I call upon the government to release all prisoners in custody for crimes that relate to their freedom of expression."

The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) have consistently raised concerns regarding violence and freedom of expression in Papua and made concrete recommendations to the government.

"I encourage the government to implement the recommendations made by Komnas HAM and Komnas Perempuan," the high commissioner said, emphasizing the vital role these national institutions play in the protection of human rights in Indonesia.

Pillay encouraged the government to continue supporting them as independent bodies and to strengthen their financial support.

UN rights chief asks Indonesia to open Papua to international journalists

Jakarta Post - May 3, 2013

Jakarta – The latest violence carried out by the security forces in Papua and West Papua provinces on April 30 and May 1, 2013, have been met with a strong response from the United Nations.

Among other things, the UN has asked Indonesia to allow international journalists to enter the country's easternmost province.

The UN's high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, expressed deep concern on Thursday over a police crackdown on demonstrators in Papua and West Papua in recent days that reportedly left several people dead.

"These latest incidents are unfortunate examples of the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression and the excessive use of force in Papua," Pillay said in a statement received by tabloidjubi.com.

Media reports state that police shot and killed two protesters in the city of Sorong, West Papua, who were preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Papua becoming part of Indonesia, while at least 20 demonstrators were arrested in the cities of Biak and Timika on May 1, the statement said.

"There has not been sufficient transparency in addressing serious human rights violations in Papua," Pillay said, urging Indonesia to allow international journalists and UN observers into the province.

Head of the Papua branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Victor Mambor, said earlier that there was no judicial regulation to prevent foreign journalists from entering Papua.

In practice, however, they are always refused entry by a number of ministries, such as the Foreign Ministry and the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry.

"This is strange. There is no judicial regulation, but the government prevents them [foreign journalists] entry with a variety of reasons, like visa and security issues," Victor said.

"If a few happen to enter Papua, they go undercover as tourists or with a tight escort from the security apparatus, such as BIN" he said, referring to the National Intelligence Agency.

Police arrest 6 separatists in Papua

Jakarta Post - May 2, 2013

Jayapura – While people all over the world commemorated May 1 as a day for workers, residents in Papua celebrated on Wednesday the integration of Papua province into Indonesia.

In Jayapura, residents celebrated the integration of Papua into Indonesia by holding a float parade while introducing national heroes from Papua: Frans Kaisipeo, Marthen Indey, Silas Papare and Elieser Yan Bonai.

The police, however, arrested six people in Ibdi village in Biak regency for commemorating the day as Papua's annexation by Indonesia and raising the Morning Star flag of the separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM).

"The six people were arrested because they were flying the banned flag," Papua Police chief spokesman Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya said in Jayapura.

Some 50 other people were provoking the crowd to secede from Indonesia, he said. Sumerta added that when police were trying to disperse the crowd, they tried to seize firearms from the officers. The police were forced to fire warning shots.

In Sorong, West Papua, one soldier was injured when security officers tried to break up a crowd commemorating the annexation. The crowd refused to disperse and instead attacked security personnel using sharp weapons.

Papuans mourn 50 years of Indonesian occupation

West Papua Media - May 1, 2013

Alex Rayfield – For many people around the world the first day in May is a time a celebration, a day to remember how ordinary people won the right to the eight hour working day. But in West Papua May Day is a day of national mourning.

Fifty years ago on 1 May 1963 the United Nations abandoned West Papua. After a brief nine months administering the country the United Nations pulled out of West Papua to allow the Indonesian government to rule the territory on behalf of the International Community.

Fifty years later the Indonesian security forces are still in West Papua and a free and fair referendum on West Papua's political status is yet to take place. Here's a rundown of how West Papuans across the country commemorated the day.

Sorong

Grief took on new intensity as the Indonesian security forces shot dead two Papuan protesters in Sorong and wounded two others. According to human rights defenders from Elsham, the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua, who also have an office in Sorong, shortly after 10pm on Tuesday night police from Aimas Police station together with Indonesian soldiers arrived at the home of Ishak Klaibin (49). In a report obtained by West Papua Media Elsham Sorong reports that Papuan activists were holding a meeting to prepare for demonstrations the following day.

According to Mr Klaibin a number of Papuans got into an argument with the police and soldiers who shot dead Abner Malagawak (22) and Thomas Blesia (22). Malagawak was shot in the shoulder while Blesia was shot in the back of the head. Three other people, Salomina Klaibin (31), Herman Lokmen (18), and Andreas Safisa (24), were wounded in the attack.

Jayapura

Despite the killing of the Malagawak and Blesia the night before in Sorong and knowing the risk to their safety given the refusal by the Indonesian police, military and recently inaugurated Papuan Governor, Lukas Enembe, to grant official permission for peaceful demonstrations, Papuans from across the country continued with planned nonviolent demonstrations.

In Jayapura, the capital of West Papua, the demonstration was jointly organised by the West Papuan National Parliament and the National Federated Republic of West Papua, and the march led by Buchtar Tabuni. The West Papua National Committee (KNPB), West Papua National Authority and Melanesian Women of Papua - all came together to support civilian based protest.

The activists gathered outside the University student dormitory, Asrama Nayak, and proceeded to march towards Abepura, a university suburb in Jayapura – Five hundred West Papuan activists accompanied by drums, flautists and banners marched. They sang, cried out "Free Papua" and carried banners denouncing fifty years of occupation by the Indonesian military. The protesters held banners declaring "Fifty years of lies, manipulation, torture and killing", "Not Integration; Annexation", "The Indonesian occupation is illegal", "Enough is Enough" and "Stop violence against Papuan women". Many of the banners were decorated with the photos of Papuan victims of torture by the Indonesian security forces.

Human rights defenders from Elsham, who were present monitoring the demonstration reported that as the protesters passed the military command at Padang Bulan, the name of neighbourhood where the Elsham office is located, soldiers fired their weapons seven times into the air.

Around the same time local stringers at the protest reported that several activists walking on the street in Jayapura were seized by security personnel, forcibly loaded into a military truck and driven some thirty kilometres away to an army base at the foot of Mt Cyclops. The activists later managed to escape when the truck was forced to stop near Sentani. Papuan citizen journalists also told New Matilda and West Papua Media that during the march in Jayapura Indonesian police attempted to arrest Markus Yenu, a well-known protest leader from Manokwari. However, they were prevented from doing so when activists nonviolently positioned themselves between Yenu and the police. According to eyewitnesses Yenu promptly disappeared into the crowd and is now reported to have gone into hiding.

According to West Papuan journalist Okto Pogau writing for Suara Papua (The Voice of Papua), water cannons, tear gas cannons and hundreds of heavily armed police and military were positioned in several sites between the centre of Jayapura and Sentani, a further 50kim away. In Sentani, beside the memorial site of West Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay, and in Kampung Harapan (the village of hope), a pro-independence stronghold, there was a heavy police and military presence. KNPB media reported the determination of the organisation to defy Indonesian police attempts to destroy them. Despite the presence of the security forces, peaceful demonstrations, speeches by KNPB chairman Viktor Yeimo and a worship service went ahead in Sentani. However, the security forces did manage to break up a KNPB demonstration in Waena, an outlying suburb of Jayapura.

In Jayapura Indonesian police, soldiers and citizens organised a counter demonstration. They drove through the streets of Jayapura in vehicles emblazoned with giant Red and White flags, the Indonesian national flag, honking their horns.

Biak

In Biak forty pro-independence activists led by Oktofianus Warnares (46) raised the Morning Star flag. According to Elsham staff in Biak the demonstration was forcibly dispersed by police and an unknown number of activists were arrested. Also in Biak, the West Papua National Committee, whose activists were recently accused of bomb-making - a charge they deny - led a prayer service. Local KNPB activist, Mnumumes, said that "1 May is the day that colonialism entered West Papua and that West Papua continues to be colonised until today."

Fak-Fak

In Fak-Fak, a town on the North West Coast, Elsham staff report that the Morning Star flag was raised at three locations, at the Inpres Wagom Mountain Primary school, at the Second Middle School and in front of the North Fak-Fak District Office.

Paniai

In Nabire, the district capital of Paniai, Human rights defenders and church workers, under the banner of the Coalition of Papuan People from Nabire (Koalisi Rakyat Bangsa Papua Kabupaten Nabire) held a press conference commemorating the 50 year anniversary of West Papua's annexation by the Indonesian state.

The speakers at the press conference all declared that "West Papua's incorporation into Indonesia, the Act of Free Choice in 1969 (a shame referendum), Special Autonomy, the Unit for the Acceleration of Development in West Papua were all problems that remained unresolved." The speakers, who included Rev. Esebius Pigai,

Daniel Zonggenau (A tribal leader from Meepako), Theo Mirip (a senior chief from the Nduga tribe), Mrs Pina Jagani (a Papuan woman's leader), Frans Madai (a youth leader) and Yones Douw (a human rights activist), were dismissive of a new policy package called Special Autonomy Plus recently announced by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono. Douw and the other Papuan leaders in Nabire demanded that "the Indonesian government immediately begin political talks with the Papuan people, mediated by an international third party."

Timika

Viktor Mambor from the independent West Papuan media outlet, Jubi reported on events in Timika. According to Mambor, Papuans raised the Morning Star flag in front of the new Mimika Presidential primary School. The protest was dispersed by police shortly afterwards. Mimika Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Rontini Jeremias, quoted by the Antara news agency on Wednesday (01/05), said that ten residents were arrested and a Morning Star flag, betel nut tree flag pole and rope were seized.

"We follow the rules of the state, not the citizen's rules. Who is at fault remains our process, "said Commissioner Rontini.

Benny Pakage, a human rights activist from Timika/Mimika said that police detained 15 people. Pakage also mentioned that a number of security forces were hit, but that no one was killed.

Beyond West Papua There were also reports of demonstrations by Papuans in Java and solidarity demonstrations as far away as Noumea, Kanaky (also known as French Caledonia) where the National Kanaky Socialist Liberation Front (FLNKS) has backed West Papuan's call for a seat at the table of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

One thing is certain: protest in West Papua shows no sign of letting up. As the Indonesian government continues to refuse to countenance talks West Papua becomes a bigger political problem.

Police, separatists clash on 50th anniversary of integration of Papua

Jakarta Globe - May 1, 2013

Banjir Ambarita & SP/Robert Isidorus, Jayapura & Sorong – The Indonesian government's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the integration of Papua on Wednesday was shadowed by pro-independence flags being raised across the province and a case of separatist activists being shot dead by police.

Police allegedly killed two activists and arrested six others after reporters witnessed them raising the Free Papua Organization's Morning Star flag on Jalan Raya Adibay, Biak, on Wednesday morning.

"There is information that two people were shot, but we're still investigating it by gathering our members who detained them," Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya said on Wednesday.

He denied that residents hoisted the flag, instead saying that police were called in to break up a mob that was provoking local residents. "There was no Morning Star [flag] hoisting in Biak, only dozens of people delivering oration," Sumerta said. "There's no report about [Morning Star flag hoisting]."

The spokesman said that when police tried to break up the gathering, members clashed with the officers and tried to steal their weapons. Sumerta said members of the group darted to the forest, but police detained six of them. They also confiscated a pistol, five machetes, seven arrows and 39 bullets.

The pro-independence flag was raised in many towns across Papua and West Papua on Wednesday. In Fakfak, West Papua, police hauled down a Morning Star flag that a school raised around 4 a.m. In Yokari, Jayapura, the National Liberation Army of the Free Papua Organization (TPN-OPM) raised the Morning Star flag at 3 a.m. in Kemtumilena hamlet.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government celebrated the integration of Papua with a ceremony led by Papua Armed Forces chief Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua in Sorong.

While the government has been under criticism for failing to ensure the welfare of residents of the province, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono introduced new policy proposal for Papua.

In a meeting with Papua Governor Lukas Enembe and other officials, Yudhoyono said that he wanted to redesign Papua's special autonomy status. He said that the old law on Papuan autonomy will be revised to give Papua "special autonomy plus," but did not elaborate on the details. Yudhoyono said he will seek the input of local stakeholders and residents when drafting the revision, which is scheduled to be completed in August.

But doubts linger on how effective the government's latest attempt to bring welfare to both Papua and West Papua will be. The government had already disbursed around Rp 40 trillion ($4.12 billion) in total to the provinces since 2001, but violence, security concerns and poverty still mar the area. This year, the central government gave the provinces Rp 7 trillion. The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) plans to monitor the funds.

Poengky Indarti, the director of human rights organization Imparsial, told Suara Pembaruan on Wednesday that the problem in Papua was that policies were implemented from the top, without considering input from the residents. He said Papuans feel that their concerns are not heard for decisions that will effect their lives.

"Beside that, the most important is to punish the officials and elites in Papua who corrupted [the regional budget] while punishing those who committed violence," Poengky said.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representative Priyo Budi Santoso from Golkar Party said that he did not understand government's new concept of "autonomy plus."

"It probably was meant for good, but the concept is not clear. How far should the Papuan autonomy extension go? Even the implementation of the current Papua special autonomy and its consequences could not be totally comprehended by the government," Priyo said on Tuesday, adding that the president seems to disregard the involvement of lawmakers in the special status revision.

Lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Puan Maharani said that the government should come up with a comprehensive solution for Papua, instead of addressing each problem separately.

"The problems of security, unity and welfare in Papua should be tackled as a single item. It should not be seen or solved separately," she said. "It's even more worrying that both Papua and West Papua are two provinces with highest poverty rate in Indonesia. Is it normal for provinces with rich natural resources to have poor people?"

Based on the data from the Center Statistics Agency (BPS), 27 percent of people in West Papua and 30 percent of people in Papua live below the poverty line. "Fifty years ago, we as a nation agreed and united to free Papua from the shackles of colonialism and return it to Indonesia, so Indonesian people from Sabang [Aceh] to Merauke [Papua] could receive welfare and independence," Puan said.

"So it is our obligation, especially the central government and the two provincial governments, to improve the welfare of Papuans in reality. This needs a heart-to-heart approach to accompany the physical development so Papua will be known not only with its natural resources but also with its prosperous population."

[Additional reporting by SP/Carlos Paath, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Ezra Sihite.]

Security forces conduct sweeps, detain scores ahead of demos in Jayapura

West Papua Media - May 1, 2013

Indonesian police and army units have conducted heavily armed security sweeps across Jayapura ahead of mass demonstrations to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Indonesia's annexation of West Papua.

Thousands of members of civil society organisations are today converging on Jayapura, West Papua, to hold the demonstrations, however, reports from West Papua Media stringers on the ground in Jayapura have documented a series of brutal raids to prevent public participation in the planned rallies.

Led by a coalition of pro-independence networks including activists from the National Federated Republic of West Papua (NFRPB) and the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), the demonstrations are intended to "show a peaceful expression of continued and universal opposition to Indonesia's colonial violence against indigenous West Papuans," and continue to call for self-determination for Papua's people, a basic human right now denied by Indonesia with the May 1 50-year anniversary of Papua's annexation, according to organisers from the NFRPB.

Organisers have also called for rolling and widespread strikes, particularly amongst Papuan members of the Indonesian civil service, and for Papuan university and high school student to join the rallies and use May 1 as a "public holiday for West Papuan people's future".

The raids began at 0300 (3am local time) on April 30, after the new Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe endorsed a decision by Chief of the (Indonesian) Papua Police, the Australian-trained former head of the notorious counter- terror unit Detachment 88, Inspector General Tito Karnavian, to criminalise all public gatherings for May 1. Karnavian made significant public statements in both Indonesian and Papuan press saying that he will not tolerate dissent to be publicly expressed today, despite this ban being a breach of the of freedoms of expression and association guaranteed under the Indonesian Constitution.

Police have announced to Jayapura residents and rally organisers, that if demonstrations occur, Police will first attempt to use persuasion to disperse the approach of rally participants, and if rally participants ignored persuasion, then they would use force and "destroy" any gatherings.

Organisers have reported that on top of the extra thousand heavily armed police announced by Karnavian, hundreds of heavily armed plain clothes special forces police and soldiers have arrived in the city, with most moving around on motorbikes. In addition, hundreds of soldiers from the Indonesian Army (TNI) were yesterday witnessed riding on motorbikes whilst in full battle kit in a clear show of force and intimidation against Papuan civilians.

Several student dormitories housing rally delegates from various centres across Papua were raided by heavily armed police on April 30, allegedly including Australian-trained members of the counter-terror Detachment 88 attached to the Jayapura ResKrim (Criminal Investigation Branch), as part of a sweep to capture key organiser and West Papua National Authority Manokwari Governor Markus Yenu. In one raid, police from ResKrim detained for 15 hours an elderly former political prisoner named Alfred Kapisa (72), beat, interrogated and subjected him to violence, because according to human rights sources, he was found with a rally flyer on his kitchen table and was suspected of being involved as an organiser.

A raid on the Manokwari student dormitory at 1442 local time, where Yenu was present with the Manokwari rally delegations, ended with police left empty-handed after the students told the police that the delegation were the student's official guests.

After Yenu and the Manokwari delegation moved to the Mamberamo dormitory, the Abepura police chief allegedly pressured the Chairman of the GKI (Indonesian Christian Church) Synod Alberth Yocku to issue an eviction demand for delegates to vacate the dormitories, managed by the GKI. A platoon and several carloads of heavily armed Police then arrived in the courtyard of the dormitories, and gave the delegates an hour to vacate, upon threat of arrest. The GKI had often come under criticism from Papuan civil society, churches and even Papuan politicians in the Indonesian parliament as being no more than a puppet of Jakarta.

Meanwhile, Indonesian civil society organisation National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS) has condemned the Papuan police decision to ban public dissent, saying in a statement that the ban "represents a reactive, paranoid and discriminative approach of the Indonesian government that limits the exercise of the civil and political rights of Papuans."

"Furthermore, the decision would undermine the existing processes and initiatives to find a peaceful solution for Papua conflicts," NAPAS coordinator Zely Ariane said in the statement.

"The ban to commemorate the 50th anniversary event illustrates the Indonesian government position that aims to monopolies the interpretation of Papuan history for the sake of the state, not for Papuans," Ariane said.

"When both the Governor of Papua and the Chief of Police of Papua deliberately ban any activities of Papuans to commemorate this historic moment, history repeats itself. Papuan's rights of free speech of free speech and freedom of movement and of assembly were not protected and guaranteed then and now. Therefore, we question both the local authorities in Papua and the national authorities of Indonesia whether they treat Papuans as citizens or just inhabitants," said Ariane.

Credible sources in Jayapura have reported to West Papua Media that members of the military and police are very wary of KNPB involvement in the 50 year anniversary demonstrations, after these sources spoke with Kopassus officers posing as ojek (motorbike taxi) drivers. Indonesian security forces have long blamed KNPB members for major acts of violence including "unknown persons" (OTK) shootings, though no credible evidence has ever been proven.

However, organisers have reported to West Papua Media that consolidation and planning meetings for today's commemorations were held between all participant components of Papuan civil resistance, and successfully developed an understanding for joint action, highlighting the goals of Negotiations, Referendum and Recognition as three points of an agreed campaign pathway agenda. Additionally, all components have reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful actions and non-violence as a strategy for all civil resistance mobilisation.

Activists are pressing on with their plans to hold rallies and commemorate today's anniversary. Whilst activists are expecting a violent police response, they are prepared with a diversity of civil resistance and non- violence tactics to maximise the strategic backfire on Indonesian security forces.

Reports from the ground in Jayapura have detailed fears of a major escalation in repression by security forces. Currently over a thousand police have illegally set up a camp on the Papuan land that is the gravesite of Indonesian assassinated Papuan independence hero Theys Eluay. Human rights sources have expressed concern that this military occupation of one of Papua's most important sacred site for self-determination and freedom expression is a deliberate provocation by the military to create outrage and potential violence in public gatherings today.

Elsewhere in Papua, unconfirmed reports have emerged from Sorong that a May 1 rally being held there has already been forcefully broken up by police. Human rights sources have reported that two civilians, Tomas Blesia and Abner Malagawak were shot dead, and Salomina Klaibin and Herman Lokden were wounded by security force gunfire, reportedly as people gathered peacefully for the rally. Conflicting reports have claimed that the victims were members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN), but West Papua Media has not been able to independently verify this claim.

TNI looking to enlist Papuans for service

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Biak – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is inviting native Papuan high school graduates to enlist as cadets in the military.

Enrollment officer Navy Col. Yuddy Subiantoro said that 29 positions in the new intake had been earmarked this year for Papuan high school graduates for selection and training as cadets for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

"Native Papuans that pass the selection process will be trained for four years according to the military branch they're assigned to," Yuddy said on Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.

Registration will be opened to candidates in Biak and Jayapura in Papua, and Sorong in West Papua. From the 29 cadets, 20 would be trained in the Army, four in the Air Force and five in the Navy, he added. (asw)

New strike hits Freeport's Indonesian mine

Agence France Presse - May 1, 2013

Hundreds of workers at Freeport-McMoRan's Indonesian mine have gone on strike demanding better pay, the US firm said Wednesday, in the latest industrial action to hit the operation.

Some 1,100 workers, employed by contractors and not directly by the company, downed tools on Tuesday at the Grasberg mine in eastern Papua province, one of the world's largest gold and copper mines, Freeport's Indonesian unit said.

A three-month strike over wages by thousands of workers directly employed by Freeport crippled production at the mine in 2011 and only ended once the firm agreed to a huge pay hike.

Workers from contractors Jasti Pravita, Osato Seike and Srikandi Mitra Karya, were involved in the latest action, according to Freeport. They were mostly construction workers hired to work on an expansion of the mine, their union said.

"The strike of course could slow down Freeport Indonesia's activities, but we don't anticipate any direct impact to the overall mining operation and production," the company said in a statement.

Mining union Mimika, which represents those involved in the strike, said the action "would hurt the firm's operation".

Union official Virgo Solossa said the workers were threatening a month-long strike. "But we hope the workers and the firm can reach a deal on pay before that," he added.

An official from the union representing workers directly employed by Freeport said none of them was involved in the action and had no plans to strike.

Aceh

Banda Aceh deputy mayor moves to criminalize same-sex relationships

Jakarta Globe - May 7, 2013

Camelia Pasandaran & Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Homosexual men and women living in Indonesia's strictly conservative Aceh province would be publicly lashed 100 times under a new bylaw backed by the provincial capital's deputy governor.

Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal called homosexuality "a social disease that should be eradicated," as she pushed for harsher bylaws against sexual behavior that runs counter to the region's adherence to Islamic Shariah Law.

The Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) is discussing proposed changes to the province's bylaws, including a bylaw criminalizing homosexuality. The proposed bylaw received the support of the deputy mayor, who bemoaned the fact that police were unable to punish same-sex couples under current regulations.

"There is no law that could be used to charge them," Illiza said. "The existing [regulations] only stipulate about khalwat [being in close proximity] for intimate relations between unmarried males and females."

Banda Aceh's Shariah Police have struggled to crack down on same-sex relationships, Illiza said. Couples meet in rented rooms and pursue relationships under a veil of secrecy, she said.

The deputy mayor said she was prompted to action by a 2012 survey on at- risk communities and HIV/AIDS transmission rates in Aceh. Illiza told the Jakarta Globe she didn't remember the specifics of the survey's findings, but was concerned that some respondents told surveyors they were gay.

"If we ignore it, it will be like an iceberg," Illiza said. "Even if one case of homosexuality found, it's already a problem... we are really concerned about the behavior and activities of the gay community, because their behavior is deviating from the Islamic Shariah."

A gay rights advocate called the proposed bylaw "a move backward for civilization," adding that Islam was open to interpretation.

"We're living in 2013, not in the Middle Ages," said Hartoyo, secretary- general of Our Voice, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy group. "It's sad to have a deputy mayor who could think that way... other countries have started to allow homosexual marriage, why coming up with such idea to punish the LGBT [community]?"

Hartoyo doubted the Shariah Police could find enough evidence to properly convict same-sex couples under the proposed bylaw.

"[Even] the definition of adultery under Islam is hard to prove," Hartoyo said. "To punish the adulterer there should be four witnesses who saw with their own eyes the penetration. How could we find four witnesses who clearly saw that?"

He accused Illiza of failing to understand the issue and called the bylaw's punishment – 100 lashes with a rattan cane – antiquated.

"Caning as a sentence is a punishment from the old ages," Hartoyo said. "People are born as transgenders and homosexuals. What's the reason to punish them? Punishing them means she could not appreciate God's creations."

Illiza told the Jakarta Globe she planned to push ulemas to preach against practices condemned by Allah.

Hartoyo said he plans to send the deputy mayor a letter detailing the flaws in her statements.

"I will probably send her a warning letter [saying] that what she did only publicly showed how stupid she is," he said. "She's intellectual and has access to the Internet and other resources. To come up with that way of thinking is embarrassing."

Aceh court says cancellation of plantation firm's permit illegal

Jakarta Globe - May 3, 2013

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The Banda Aceh Administrative Court on Friday ruled in favor of a palm oil company in its lawsuit against the Aceh governor's revocation of its permit to clear and operate on a 1,605-hectare land in Rawa Tripa, a lush forest and peatland region in the province's Nagan Raya district.

Presiding Judge Yusri Arbi said that Aceh Governor Zainal Abdullah's decision in September 2012 to revoke the permit for plantation firm Kallista Alam, following an order from the Medan High Court, was not legally binding because the court decision was being challenged in the Supreme Court.

Kallista Alam obtained the permit to open the plantation from then Governor Irwandi Yusuf in August 2011. But the governor's decision was met with protests by environmental activists who said that the area was the habitat of Sumatran orangutans, which are critically endangered, and other rare animals.

The Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) dragged the governor to the Aceh state administrative court but the court rejected Walhi's suit on April 3, 2012. Walhi then appealed the ruling to the Medan High Court. On Aug. 30, 2012, the Medan High Court ordered the governor, now Zainal Abdullah, who was elected in April 2012, to pull the permit.

The Ministry of Environment and the Attorney General's Office later filed a case against Kallista Alam for crimes conducted in Rawa Tripa.

Kallista Alam, however, as an affected party, filed an appeal against the Medan court decision with the Supreme Court. At the same time, it filed a lawsuit with the Banda Aceh Administrative Court contesting the revocation of the permit.

The head of the legal bureau for the Aceh government, Edrian, said the government would file an appeal against this latest verdict with the Medan High Court.

"The Aceh government's stance is clearly to file an appeal because the governor's decision to revoke the business permit of Kalista Alam was to follow the decision of Medan High Administrative Court," he told Jakarta Globe on Friday.

"The panel [of judges] should consider the environmental impact created by Kallista and the impact to the residents around Rawa Tripa before deciding to grant their lawsuit. Moreover, Rawa Tripa was once under international spotlight concerning forest burning when clearing the land."

Edrian claimed that based on investigation of the Aceh government, Kallista Alam's initial operations had damaged the environment and led to conflicts with residents.

Walhi Aceh director T.M. Zulfikar said the verdict was a set back in the efforts to conserve the peatland and protect the orangutans in Rawa Tripa. "Walhi Aceh will also file an appeal to the Medan High Administrative Court," Zulfikar said.

He said that Kallista Alam should not have been able to contest the revocation as the Aceh government had full authority to issue or revoke business permits as part of its extended authority as a special region.

"We hope the Supreme Court will issue a verdict as soon as possible on the appeal filed by Kallista [Alam] so the problem won't drag on," he added.

Aceh political candidates fail Koran test

Jakarta Globe - May 1, 2013

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Dozens of legislative candidates vying for the 81 seats in the Aceh provincial legislature in the 2014 general election have flunked a Koran proficiency test – one of the requirements under a local bylaw for running for public office.

Akmal Abzal, a commissioner with the Aceh Independent Elections Commission (KIP), said that 42 of 1,231 people from 12 political parties failed the test. "There were only three political parties whose members all passed the Koran proficiency test 100 percent," Akmal told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

However, Akmal, who is also the chairman of the test committee, refused to disclose the names of the politicians who failed the test or what political parties they were from, citing ethical reasons.

"One thing is certain: There were legislative candidates from a nationalist Islamic party who couldn't read the Koran. There were also legislative candidates from a local party," he said.

The 2014 general election will see 15 parties participate in Aceh, including three local parties – the Aceh Peace Party (PDA), the Aceh National Party (PNA) and the Aceh Party (PA). The rest are national-based parties.

Aceh is the only province in the country allowed to have local parties and the only one that requires the Koran proficiency test for prospective candidates. Akmal said the test was held for three days from Saturday until Monday.

"There was no intervention in the results from anyone because the team of judges worked independently and professionally. Their decision is unanimous and cannot be challenged," said Akmal, adding that the judges were all past winners of Koran recital competitions.

Akmal said that the KIP had held a plenary meeting on the legislative candidates who failed the test and that it would soon notify political parties about their candidates who did not make the cut.

"The parties may replace their legislative candidates who failed the Koran proficiency test with other candidates before the deadline," he said.

Akmal added that 83 out of the 1,231 legislative candidates who were registered did not show up on various excuses, such as falling ill, being on a minor pilgrimage, or umrah, and other reasons.

"We are in the process of verifying their reasons to see whether they hold up. If not, we will drop the candidates," he said. "For those who couldn't show up due to a strong reason, they will be given the chance to take the Koran proficiency test from May 9 to 22 this year."

Akmal added that those who had taken the test but flunked would not have another opportunity to take the test because they had failed to meet the requirement to stand in the election.

Aceh's controversial flag is legal, Constitutional Court chief says

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Constitutional Court chief Akil Mochtar said on Tuesday there was no need to fret about Aceh's official flag, which resembles the flag of the now-defunct separatist group, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Akil, a former Golkar Party lawmaker, said the use of the GAM symbol as Aceh's provincial flag was in line with the 1945 Constitution. "The Constitution stipulates that our national standard is the red-and-white flag. However, it also recognizes special regions, such as Papua and Yogyakarta," he said, adding that Aceh had the right to use regional symbols, including a flag, insignia and hymn as stipulated by Law No. 11/2006 on Aceh Government.

Akil made the statement following a meeting on Tuesday with Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah, regarding the matter, which had raised the hackles of political leaders in Jakarta.

Zaini said that the GAM flag was not meant to replace the republic's red and white flag. "The flag is just to show a specialty of Aceh. There is nothing sinister about it. This is no different to flags in other special regions such as Yogyakarta, Ternate and Jakarta," he said.

"We have no intention of seceding from Indonesia. We live in peaceful conditions under the Unitary Republic of Indonesia," he said. "It is only a matter of differences in viewing the GAM flag. These are frictions that we do not need to worry about. We hope that we can find the wisest solution."

The Aceh Provincial Legislative Council passed a local bylaw in late March making GAM's flag as the provincial flag.

Aceh Deputy Governor Muzakir Manaf, a former GAM commander, said the flag was a symbol of the struggles and sacrifices of the Acehnese, and it was natural for it to become the province's flag.

The central government rejected the flag as it violated Government Regulation No. 77/2007 on regional symbols, which stipulates that the design of a regional symbol and flag must not be in part, or as a whole, the same as the symbol and flag of any banned organizations or separatist movements within the Republic.

Akil assured the governor that use of the GAM symbol did not break any regulations, but acknowledged the reasons behind the government's objection.

"The objection from the central government probably centers on the substance. This should be discussed thoroughly by the central government and the Aceh administration," he said. "Let us just say that it might be considered a threat to the sovereignty of the country."

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has told the people of Aceh to abide by the law and only to fly the Indonesian flag.

The central government sent a letter to Aceh early this month asking for clarification within 15 days and to ensure that it did not run counter to the national laws. The President also warned against a recurrence of the decades of armed insurgency launched by GAM.

Zaini argued that they actually had no deadline to reach the best solution as long as they were able to maintain a peaceful ambience, saying that he had tried to tell the people of Aceh to be patient.

The governor may meet with Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi again on Wednesday to seek pursue this "best solution". The minister visited Banda Aceh recently to discuss the flag issue with the local government.

Separately on Tuesday, Gamawan said that the central government insisted Aceh would not fly a flag inspired by a former separatist movement. "Tomorrow, there will be a solution; we will offer them a concept [...] which does not resemble the GAM flag," Gamawan said.

Human rights & justice

Family of bullet stray victim seeks justice

Jakarta Post - May 4, 2013

Jakarta – The sluggish pace of a police investigation has led the family of Safira Raudatul Janah, 14, a victim of a stray bullet in Jl. Cideng, Gambir, Central Jakarta, to question the credibility of law enforcers to handle cases that allegedly involve one of their members.

"We just want the police to find the suspect soon and make him acknowledge his responsibility for it," Safira's father Muhammad Istiadi told reporters on Friday in a press conference at National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), in East Jakarta.

It has been almost two months since Safira's family filed a report on March 10 to the Metro Gambir police precinct, but there has been no progress, Istiadi said.

Komnas PA chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said the commission would assist the family in seeking justice for Safira.

"We'll escort the victim's family and ask for clarification from the police office. If there's no progress we will file a new report to the Central Jakarta Police office," Arist said.

The stray bullet incident took place at around 1 a.m. on March 10 when Safirah and nine of her friends were on their way home riding five motorcycles after playing futsal (indoor soccer).

"I was waiting in front of a gas station on Jl. Cideng with friends. One of us went fill up on gas. A couple of guys on motorbikes passed in front of us and shouted 'police!' Suddenly, a guy in white and a black jacket got out of an Avanza car and fired two gunshots, one to the air and one to the ground," Safira said.

She realized she had been shot when her friends saw her left foot bleeding. She was rushed to Fatmawati hospital but had to wait 15 hours for surgery.

Arist said the officers at the hospital were reluctant to operate because it was a shooting incident. In processing such cases, the hospital required an official statement from the police to say Safira was not shot while committing a crime.

Contacted separately, Metro Gambir Police precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Tatan Dirsan said the police had dismissed a street chase on Jl. Suryopranoto in Gambir, Central Jakarta as being connected to the incident. He said the police had secured the bullet and the CCTV footage from the gas station as evidence.

Istiadi said the police alleged the bullet might belong to a police officer, but there had been no follow up.

Safira's mother, Endang Susanti, went to the police office on March 14 to establish progress in the case. "Pak [Mr.] Tatan handed me Rp 4.4 million [US$461]," she said.

Tatan confirmed the transaction but said he forgot the exact amount. "It was just due to my compassion for her. There was no other intention behind it. The police will still continue to investigate the case professionally," he said. (hrl)

Four dead as police and protesters battle in South Sumatra

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani and Ansyor Idrus, Jakarta/Palembang – The National Police say two senior generals have been sent to investigate the deadly clash on Tuesday between protesters and police officers in Musi Rawas, South Sumatra.

General Supervision Inspectorate chief Comr. Gen. Imam Sudjarwo and Internal Affairs Division (Propam) chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan will lead investigators probing the deaths of four civilians during a rally in favor of a new regency in the north of Musi Rawas.

National Police Insp. Gen. Suhardi Alius said that Musi Rawas Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Barly Ramadani and local officials moved to disperse the crowd, which started to gather on Monday evening and blocked the Trans- Sumatra Highway.

"They brought kecepek [homemade guns] and machetes. At around 9:30 p.m. on Monday night, the mob started throwing things at our personnel. Our members then started to react," Suhardi said.

The situation continued to deteriorate, with demonstrators setting fire to two police cruisers at Rupit police station later in the evening.

A witness identifying himself as Eka said that the police fired shots as the protesters ran amok. "The police fired shots until they ran out of bullets. And then the mob fought back."

Four people reportedly died from gunshot wounds in the clash: Son, 35; Fadilah, 40; Suharto, 20; and Rinto, 18. Five police officers were injured. Dozens of injured protesters were taken to Sobirin Hospital in nearby Lubuk Linggau for treatment.

Suhardi promised a thorough investigation of the deaths. "We will be transparent in investigating the case in order to find out who was involved in the clash."

Tension remained high in Musi Rawas on Tuesday night, as protesters continued to block the highway, which connects major cities in Sumatra.

A representative of the South Sumatra Police said that five platoons from the provincial Police Mobile Brigade special operations unit had been deployed to the regency.

"We have not yet arrested any suspects, because we are still focusing on restoring order in the area around the Trans Sumatra Highway," South Sumatra Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. R Djarot Padakova said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a representative of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said that the commission would launch its own investigation of the deaths. Komnas HAM commissioner Nurcholis said that the commission would talk with local leaders and relevant institutions to discover the roots of violence.

Following the clash, South Sumatra Legislative Council (DPD) member Abdul Azis called on the House of Representatives to expedite creation of North Musi Rawas regency.

"The proposal was submitted three years ago. Now, we are just waiting for House Commission II to give its approval," Abdul said. Commission II oversees regional autonomy, among other issues.

The House previously said that it could not approve the formation of a new regency following a moratorium issued by the Home Ministry that expires in 2015. Azis said that formation of the district had been met by opposition from politicians who did not want to lose control of Suban IV, a region rich with natural gas.

Earlier this year, South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin stated that Suban IV was a concession of Musi Banyuasin regency.

Earlier in March, almost a hundred soldiers from a training center in Baturaja, Ogan Komering Ulu, attacked the police offices in connection with the killing of a soldier in January.

The assault was triggered by a false rumor that Brig. Wijaya, a traffic policeman who shot First Pvt. Heru Oktavianus, had been sentenced to five years in jail. In fact, the local police were still preparing the case dossier.

Sexual & domestic violence

Koran teacher arrested for child molestation

Jakarta Globe - May 3, 2013

A Koran teacher in Cakung, East Jakarta, has been accused of sexually harassing 14 of his students.

"Every time the perpetrator [sodomized his students], he always gave them between Rp 1,000 and Rp 2,000," Comr. Didik Haryadi, a spokesman for the East Jakarta police, said on Thursday as quoted by Detik.com.

Didik said the teacher, 28-year-old Abdul Aziz Salam, chose his victims randomly and sodomized them after lessons were completed.

"He told other students to go home and then asked one of them to massage him. Afterward, he would massage the victim's waste and roll down their trousers," Didik said.

He committed these acts from December 2012 until April 2013, and he told his students not to tell their parents what he did.

However, in April, one of the students complained to his parents that he felt a pain in his backside and revealed to them that he was violated by Abdul. The confession sparked outrage amongst other parents, who asked their own children if they too were victims of the instructor.

Five parents of eight of the victims decided to bring the case to the police. The neighborhood unit chief then called the Cakung police to arrest the perpetrator, who was almost beaten by an angry mob.

Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Soleh, another spokesman with the East Jakarta police, said that medical examinations proved that the 14 boys were sexually harassed.

Last month, a Koran teacher was placed on the police's wanted list for allegedly raping and molesting three children in Ciputat, South Tangerang. The man, identified as Muhammad Firman, 25, worked as a teacher at a Tangerang mosque.

Labour & migrant workers

Workers, locals attack 'slave' factory

Jakarta Post - May 6, 2013

Tangerang – In response to the enslaving of workers at a kitchen utensils factory in Sepatan Timur, Tangerang, workers and local residents ran amok and damaged the factory's facilities on Monday.

The workers, grouped under Benteng Leather, Garment and Textile Workers Association (SPTSK) and the All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI), damaged tools and ruined the building's fence.

The mob later damaged a house belonging to Juki Irawan, the factory's owner before targeting the home of Mursan, the village head who is a relative of the factory owner.

They also held a motorcycle convoy to Lebak Wangi village administration office in search for Mursan, who was out of the office and so they continued to his residence.

Sepatan Police officers defused the situation, but not before the mob had started pelting stones at the house. The officers evacuated four of Mursan's children and a housemaid.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Affan Rikhwanto said that Sepatan and Tangerang regency police were less responsive to the "slavery" case allegedly involving a TNI (Indonesian Military) and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers from Serang.

Officials could be involved in Tangerang 'slavery' case

Jakarta Post - May 6, 2013

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – The National Police has launched an investigation into the practice of "slavery" at a waste-recycling factory in Tangerang, Banten, including an allegation that members of the Tangerang Police were involved in providing protection for the perpetrators.

Head of the Tangerang Police detective unit Comr., Shinto Silitonga, said that some of the victims, who were forced to work in hellish conditions, told investigators that they had witnessed three police personnel providing protection for the illegal practice at the factory.

Shinto said that the police were also investigating other irregularities including the forgery of documents used to set up the plant. "The crime scene is in Sepatan Timur subdistrict, but the company permit was issued for a location in Cikupa, which is quite far from here," Shinto said.

Late on Friday night, 34 workers from a factory in the East Sepatan district of Tangerang regency were freed from the torturous working hours and treatment meted out to them by their employer for two years.

Tangerang regency police named Juki Irawan, 40, along with the firm's four foremen, Tedi, Tio, Dirman and Poldes, as suspects for depriving the 34 individuals of their liberty and torturing them. Two other suspects were still at large.

The workers were forced to work 18 hours with only two meals a day and no pay, although they were promised a Rp 600,000 (US$62) monthly wage. Their cellular phones, clothes and wallets were confiscated and they were placed in a 6 by 8 meter room with no windows and forced to share a bathroom.

Other workers said that they were crammed into a single bedroom where they had to rest after a long day at work. Some workers told horrific details about their incarceration with some saying that they had to use detergent to wash.

Activists from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that some of the victims suffered from serious burns to their skin for working very close to a furnace used to boil tin that was used to produce a traditional frying pan.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto, however, denied that members of the police could have any involvement in the criminal act.

"We did not find information from the questioning," he said. Rikwanto added that currently the local police in Tangerang are playing a mediation role in a dispute between the victims and their employers.

A member of the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal and human rights, Eva Kusuma Sundari of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), called on the local police chief to start a probe into the possible involvement of security authorities in the area.

"The police should also question soldiers and policemen assigned to villages in the area because the illegal practices had gone on for months. I doubt if they did not know about it," Eva said.

Eva also said that local officials in the area were complicit in the matter. "I received information that the factory owner has ties with a local leader in the area. The police should investigate the allegation that there are people who did not want this practice to be exposed," she told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Separately, Muji Handaya, the director general of the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry's Development and Supervision department (PPK), said that the ministry is now working with local police to investigate the case.

Muji said that the ministry will press separate charges against the factory owner. "We are investigating possible violations of Law No. 13/2003 on Manpower. Law No. 5/1984 on Industrial Relations and Law No. 23/2003 on Child Protection," Muji said.

As of Sunday evening, Muji said that all 34 had arrived in their hometowns in Cianjur, West Java and Lampung. "Most of them were suffering from malnutrition and anemia. The hospital's medical staff had given them medication before they allowed these workers to go home," Muji said. (ogi)

Police bust Tangerang factory for forced child labor

Jakarta Globe - May 4, 2013

Police in Tangerang sealed a frying pan factory and arrested its owner, who allegedly held his underaged workers in captivity while forcing them to work without pay.

"The workers have been working for four months in the factory. Some of them escaped because they couldn't stand the torture and the owner's behavior. They did not receive the rights they deserved," Tangerang Police Detective Unit chief Comr. Shinto Silitonga told Indonesian news portal Detik.com on Friday.

Some of the laborers' families decided to report the case to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). The commission, along with the Tangerang police and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), raided the factory, located in Lebak Wangi village.

Six workers – some of whom were underage – were found locked in a room. "They were treated inhumanely," Shinto said. "They factory owner gave them no access to health services, and they couldn't communicate with other people."

Shinto remarked that the workers were in very bad condition when the police discovered them. They were suffering from various skin conditions due to the fact that they hadn't changed their clothes in months and were exposed to heavy metals.

The workers were also locked inside a damp room without any sleeping accommodations. "Their cellphones, wallets and clothes were confiscated by the factory owner and his wife. They also never received any pay, even though they were promised Rp 600,000 a month," he said.

The factory owner and his wife have been arrested and will face charges. The police also detained 25 workers for questioning. "The factory did not have an operational permit from the city of Tangerang," Shinto added.

Komnas HAM Commissioner Siti Noor Laila stated that the case was uncovered when two workers – Andi Gunawan, 20, Junaidi, 22 – managed to escape the factory after working there for three months.

She said the workers were forced to work from 6 a.m. until 12 a.m. every day. After coordinating with Tangerang Police, Komnas HAM busted the factory and freed 46 workers.

Labor activists face rights struggle

Jakarta Post - May 4, 2013

Jakarta – Khotiah, a factory worker, said she never expected her back- breaking work spanning 11 years at the Siliwangi Knitting Factory in North Jakarta to end with her dismissal for forming a labor union.

"We formed a labor union in April 2010. We demanded that the factory be responsible for our financial welfare," she said.

The factory fired her on Dec. 28, 2010, after they had tried to persuade her to dissolve the union by offering her a "better position" as an assistant in the human resources department. "I refused the offer and chose to stay committed to the union," Khotiah said.

Twenty years ago, a factory worker named Marsinah also formed a union at PT Catur Putra Surya in Sidoarjo, West Java, the watch factory where she worked. She demanded that the company raise the laborers' wage by 20 percent, and she prompted a labor strike on May 5, 1993.

Later that day, Marsinah disappeared. Her body was discovered in a rice field on May 9 after she had been missing for four days. People believe she was killed for her activism and that the military was involved in her death.

Her rape and murder remain unsolved and in one week the case will exceed its statute of limitations, which means it will be closed permanently with no legal recourse possible.

Today, 20 years after Marsinah, a labor movement icon, was killed, blue collar workers may not experience violence but may still face intimidation and discrimination.

Kudil, a laborer at PT Supra Visual Advertising, said that discrimination still existed in his company, with people who avoided the union retaining their benefits, while those who supported the union lost the rights they were entitled to.

"After we joined the union, we could no longer stay in the employee boarding house and no longer receive our meal allowances," Kudil said.

Human rights activist Maria Catarina Sumarsih said that after the New Order era, workers might not experience violence similar to what happened to Marsinah.

"During the Soeharto era, the military was very repressive. Whoever dared to challenge the regime would be crushed. The late Feisal Tandjung, who was the military commander at that time, was really tough on people," Sumarsih said.

"Today, although such kinds of violence might not happen anymore, the state still needs to do extra work to guarantee the fulfillment of laborers' rights. Recently, we observed the case of Luviana, a journalist from Metro TV who was fired because she formed a labor union," Sumarsih added.

Aside from being dismissed, today's workers also experienced more "subtle" discrimination when they formed unions, like the intimidation of family members.

"The company told our family members that if we joined the labor union, our living costs would increase substantially because they would scrap our meal and housing allowances," Kudil said.

Law No. 13/2003 guarantees the rights of workers to form labor unions.

Participants in this week's Kamisan silent protest demanded that the president name Marsinah as a national hero of labor rights.

"People should remember that Marsinah was killed because she had advocated for the rights of her fellow laborers. We need to remember this case so the state will be more serious in guaranteeing the rights of blue-collar workers," Sumarsih said. (ogi)

Political parties & elections

Activists laud new election funding rule aimed at better transparency

Jakarta Globe - May 6, 2013

Carlos Paath & Rizky Amelia – Activists have welcomed a new regulation that will allow greater scrutiny of the way political parties and legislative candidates receive and spend campaign funds, saying such legislation was long overdue.

Last week, the General Elections Commission (KPU) said it was formulating a regulation that would require legislative candidates and political parties to disclose all their finances, including records of their bank accounts.

"I think the idea of campaign funding [transparency] is very good," Titi Anggaraini, executive director of election watchdog the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), said on Sunday.

Indonesia Budget Center researcher Darwanto noted that 15 ministers and many regional leaders were vying for the 550 seats in the House of Representatives in next year's legislative election, saying if campaign funds continue to go unrecorded, the hopefuls could tap state and regional coffers to finance their campaigns.

In the months leading to the 2009 legislative elections, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested dozens of lawmakers, governors and district heads for embezzlement and bribery allegedly committed to finance their political campaigns.

Darwanto predicted similar incidents might occur as the 2014 election draws near.

KPK prosecutors recently told the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court the money from a bribe linked to the beef import quota scandal that allegedly went to former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq was destined for his party.

The KPK alleges that Maria Elizabeth Liman, president director of Indoguna, the company embroiled in the scandal, had promised to provide the PKS with Rp 40 billion ($4.1 million), provided Luthfi help her company secure an additional 8,000-ton beef import quota for 2013.

IBC's Darwanto said regional coffers are most vulnerable to embezzlement, with the central government recently having introduced the so-called "de- concentrated funds" aimed at aiding development in the regions. "Corruption now mostly affects the regions," he said.

Another IBC researcher, Sri Niliwati, said the legislature was unlikely to monitor these funds. With 90 percent of legislature members eying re- election, most will be too busy campaigning, she said.

Indonesia Corruption Watch researcher Abdullah Dahlan earlier said the KPU should have issued the regulation before political parties submitted their list of candidates participating in the 2014 legislative election.

The ICW researcher argued that by not formulating the regulation earlier, the KPU has allowed those expenses already incurred by political parties when choosing candidates to go unrecorded, because the KPU regulations are not retrospective.

Abdullah highlighted cases where hopefuls pay party officials to be included in the list of candidates, as well as cases where candidates buy votes during the election.

Although it is unclear what form the final KPU regulation will take, Abdullah said "the bank accounts of all legislative candidates must be subjected to public scrutiny," adding that political parties and candidates must also disclose their campaign funding sources.

"We don't want funds from criminal activities being used to finance political campaigns."

More of the same expected in the House of Representatives in 2014

Jakarta Globe - May 6, 2013

Carlos Paath – Next year's legislative election is unlikely to yield any dramatic improvement in the quality of members of the House of Representatives, because political parties have selected candidates based on popularity rather than ability, an activist says.

An Indonesian Voters Institute (LPI) analysis of the list of candidates submitted by the 12 parties participating in next year's legislative ballot has found most contenders are either already lawmakers, or are celebrities.

LPI director Boni Hargens said 91 percent of current House members are seeking another term.

"We don't see a tight screening process on these incumbent legislative candidates, so those who are lazy... and those facing [legal] problems are renominated," Boni said on Sunday.

"The LPI thinks that the character and the quality of the 2014-2019 House of Representatives will be not much different from today. There will be no significant changes."

The House has been criticized for passing too few laws, with many of those enacted later revoked or changed by the Constitutional Court. Last year, the House passed only 16 pieces of legislation – its target was 70, the same as this year's goal.

The House has also been accused of wastage, with many legislators traveling overseas and earmarking large amounts of money for their own procurement and renovation projects.

Since its establishment in 2003, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has jailed nearly 50 former and current House members.

Boni said those political parties attempting to bring new members into the legislature were mostly turning to actors, actresses, musicians and celebrities with few political credentials.

Legislative candidates "must qualify to be leaders... but fundamentally they must have the capabilities like formulating laws, budgeting, lobbying and so on," he said.

"It is alright for artists to become politicians, but if the celebrities don't have the capability [to be lawmakers] how can they translate [people's] aspirations into public policies?"

Wily Aditya, deputy secretary general of the National Democratic Party (NasDem), said as a newcomer, his party would introduce a new generation of politicians, who he said was committed to change.

"We put people who are capable first and then base them on acceptability and electability," he said. "We accommodate many legislative candidates from universities and the party backs them up... with campaign teams."

Boni said the ruling Democratic Party's list of candidates was "the most problematic" of all parties participating in next year's election, with 15 percent of its candidates "mentioned in corruption cases both locally and nationally."

Teuku Rifky Harsya, chairman of the Democratic Party's central leadership board, said many current lawmakers and senior politicians wanted to continue in the legislature. This includes those implicated in legal cases, but Teuku said that none of the candidates have been convicted in court.

More than 6,000 candidates are vying for the 550 seats in the House of Representatives. There are currently nine parties represented in the House, with six part of the governing coalition.

Much of the work in the House takes place in powerful committees, which scrutinize particular areas of public policy and have the power to question government ministers and civil servants.

Surveys & opinion polls

Seventy-Two percent of Indonesian muslims favor shariah law: Pew Forum

Jakarta Globe - May 1, 2013

Arientha Primanita & Ethan Harfenist – Despite being touted as the Muslim world's largest democracy, a new survey released by the Pew Research Center on Tuesday revealed that 72 percent of Indonesia's Muslim population would favor an Islamic legal code as the "official law of the land" if given the option.

The survey, which focused on 39 countries and interviewed 38,000 people, found that most followers of the world's second-largest faith want their religion to shape not only their personal lives, but also their social and political interactions as well.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Indonesia is home to roughly 216 million Muslims, or 86.1 percent of the country's population.

"Most Muslims believe Shariah [Islamic law based on the teachings of the Koran] is the revealed word of God rather than a body of law developed by men based on the word of God," the report read.

The survey revealed, though, that most countries were selective in which aspects of Shariah they wanted to implement, and 44 percent of Indonesians said that there were "multiple interpretations of Shariah."

In Indonesia, half of those who wanted Shariah enforced in the archipelago said that it should be applied to both Muslims and non-Muslims, and only 18 percent held the belief that one should be put to death for leaving Islam.

The study also found that Muslims, especially in Indonesia, are generally more comfortable with applying Shariah to their family lives than in the public sphere.

For instance, 93 percent of Indonesian Muslim men and women surveyed expressed the view that a wife is always obliged to obey her husband. However, 81 percent stated that a woman should be able to decide for herself whether or not to wear a veil.

When asked if sons and daughters should receive the same inheritance rights, 76 percent of Indonesians championed equal shares for men and women.

Fewer than half of Indonesian Muslims (45 percent) polled who advocated for Shariah as the law of the land were in favor of dishing out punishments like amputations for thieves and robbers.

Ismail Hasani, a senior researcher at the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, was skeptical of the results of the Pew Forum's survey.

He said that although the survey was conducted by a prestigious organization, he believed that it might not actually represent the true opinions of Indonesians.

By his count, Ismail predicted that if a domestic survey was taken, no more than half of Indonesians would advocate for the implementation of Shariah Law

"I believe that if people were asked directly, 'Do you want Shariah Law to be imposed by the state?' the amount who would say 'yes' would be less than 50 percent," Ismail told the Jakarta Globe in a phone interview on Wednesday.

He added that Indonesians view Shariah Law and the country's other laws in an equal light. "Setara has noted that Indonesians are comfortable with the current situation, with Pancasila as the state's ideology," he said.

Ma'ruf Amin, the chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), welcomed the results of the survey.

The head of the body's fatwa (a ruling on a point of Islamic law), Ma'ruf commented that many aspects of Shariah have been implemented by the central government into the country's general laws, such as the Hajj Law and various anti-pornography measures.

"Most of the country's population are Muslims, so I think it represents the desires of most Indonesians to have more Shariah Law," he told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

Furthermore, he added that if Shariah is what the people want, the government should respond to their wishes. He argued that Shariah is not antithetical to Pancasila and would not disrupt Indonesia's diversity.

"With the application of Islamic law, non-Muslims rights must not be reduced. They must have the same rights. Shariah Law includes general regulations that are beneficial to everybody, and the specialized rules outlined [in the Koran] would only be applied to Muslims," he said.

Meanwhile, despite the archipelago's seeming commitment to religion in all spheres of life, the Pew survey reported that 78 percent of Indonesian Muslims communicated a fear of religious extremist groups having a presence in their country, though only 19 percent of those surveyed said that strains between more and less devout Muslims are an issue for the country.

Though Muslims the world over are in agreement that theirs in the one true faith, Indonesians stray from the pack in their view of proselytizing others.

Sixty-five percent of Indonesian Muslims do not feel it is their religious obligation to convert others to Islam, though 31 percent think that they should make an effort to do so. Furthermore, only a third of Indonesian Muslims (36%) consider conflict between religious groups a serious national issue.

Mass organisations & NGOs

PP wants to turn over new leaf, officials say

Jakarta Globe - May 2, 2013

Fana F.S. Putra – A mass organization notorious for its gang-related activities says it wants to shed its reputation for physical violence and extortion and become a force for social good.

Arifin Siregar, an official with the Jakarta chapter of the Pancasila Youth (PP), said on Wednesday that the organization had always received a bad rap, even though it boasted many leading public and community figures in its membership.

"The PP has this reputation for being thugs and vigilantes with a tendency for violence and who are only concerned with controlling street parking," he said.

"But few people realize that our members also include mayors, district heads, governors, legislators, doctors and lawyers. If people could see this, I hope it would change their perception of the PP."

Roberto Rouw, the head of the PP's Jakarta chapter, said that whereas the organization was previously "80 percent brawn and 20 percent brains, we're now going to flip it around and be 80 percent brains."

"We've got a lot of members who have been successful at the national level," he said, adding that he hoped their example would change people's perceptions about the PP and paint the organization as one that nurtured individuals' aspirations to work for the betterment of the country.

The PP is notorious for running protection rackets in neighborhoods over which it claims control, and is frequently used by politicians to draw large crowds to rallies or protests.

Media & journalism

Increasing violence against media highlighted on World Press Freedom Day

Jakarta Globe - May 4, 2013

Dyah Ayu Pitaloka & Yuli Krisna, Malang/Bandung – Reporters and activists highlighted the lack of protection for journalists in Indonesia to mark World Press Freedom Day on Friday.

In Malang, journalists and students sporting clothes and hats made from folded newspapers gave roses to police and military officers and government officials.

Eko Widianto, chairman of the East Java city's chapter of the Alliance for Independent Journalists (AJI), said there had been a rise in the number of cases of violence against journalists, with 55 cases recorded from May 2012 to April this year, compared with 43 cases during the preceding year.

"In Malang, a case of violence was experienced by a female journalist in early 2013.... Freedom of the press is hampered by violence," Eko said.

Student journalists are among those who have been targeted. The Malang chapter of the Indonesian Student Press Association (PPMI) said staff at campus publications had received verbal abuse from students and university officials. He said the incidents were a sign of low public awareness of journalism's function in society and inadequate protection for free speech.

"Sometimes [university officials] ask [campus publications] directly not to write bad things about the campus. Dozens of press unions inside universities are also restricted while covering events. News we write must also pass the selection [process of the university] before it is printed," PPMI secretary Dhedy Baroto said.

In Bandung, the local chapter of AJI and the Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI) marked World Press Day by remembering journalists killed while doing their job or murdered because of their work.

"Since 1996, according to AJI records, there have been 10 journalists who were killed because of their work. We want to celebrate [World Press Day] by reminding everyone about the dire situation facing the Indonesian press," Zaki Yamani, chairman of the AJI in the West Java capital, said on Friday.

Zaki said that of the 10 cases, only one resulted in a conviction, with the alleged killers walking free in the other cases.

In February 2010, the Denpasar District Court handed down life sentences to one-time legislative candidate I Nyoman Susrama and two codefendants for the premeditated murder of Radar Bali journalist Anak Agung Narendra Prabangsa a year earlier.

The killing was motivated by Prabangsa's coverage of alleged graft in construction of an international kindergarden, elementary school and other projects in the Bangli district's education office.

"Ensuring the freedom of the press and stopping violence against journalists is actually simple: Just enforce the Press Law and the Transparency of Public Information Law. For the media industry, enforce the Labor Law," Zaki said.

Indonesia ranks 139th out of 179 countries according to the 2013 Press Freedom Index by Paris-based advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. While journalists in big cities tend to operate safely, those working in smaller city and towns are more vulnerable.

Journalists, activists demand justice

Jakarta Post - May 4, 2013

Bambang Muryanto and Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Yogyakarta/Bandung – The commemorations to mark World Press Freedom Day, which fell on Friday, were as varied as the journalists and NGO activists that organized them.

In Yogyakarta, a local police headquarters was the location of a demonstration calling for a thorough investigation into the suspicious deaths of journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, alias Udin, almost 17 years ago. Protesters came from the Press Legal Aid Institute (LBH Pers), the local branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and the People's Coalition for Udin (KAMU).

"This month we sent a petition regarding Udin's case to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights [AICHR] to reopen the case," LBH Pers Yogyakarta director Aloysius Budi Kurniawan said at the Yogyakarta Police headquarters.

The group shared the petition with the police's community counseling director Sr. Comr. Stephen M. Napiun and spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti. Both individuals acknowledged that 23 different press freedom supporter organizations – both domestic and international – had given their support to the petition.

Udin was assaulted at his house in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Aug. 13, 1996, he died three days later from his injuries, he never regained consciousness.

The police arrested Dwi Sumadji, alias Iwik, on the suspicion that he had murdered Udin over an affair the deceased allegedly had with Iwik's wife. Iwik was later acquitted because of a lack of evidence. There have been no other suspect arrested since.

Udin was known for his reports on corruption, fund misappropriation and incidents involving local government officials; many believe he was murdered because of this.

In response to the protesters' demand, Sr. Comr. Stephen M Napiun said would arrange a meeting with Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Haka Astana to discuss the case.

The demand for a thorough investigation into Udin's death was similarly expressed in Padang, West Sumatra.

"The case is due to expire on Aug. 16, 2014. We don't want the case to end like that," LBH Pers Padang director Rony Saputra told The Jakarta Post. He called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to give the case attention.

In the petition, the pro-press freedom organizations wrote that Indonesia is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is legally bound to respect, guarantee and uphold the right to freedom of expression protected by Article 19 of the Covenant, which includes the obligation to ensure that; attacks on journalists are vigorously investigated in a timely fashion, the perpetrators are prosecuted and the victims – or in the case of death, their representatives – receive appropriate forms of redress.

Separately in Bandung, West Java, to mark World Press Freedom Day journalists from the AJI and local branches of the Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI) made a declaration to reject violence against journalists.

The declaration – made in response to the high number of incidents of violence against journalists in Indonesia – also involved a number of chief editors from printed and electronic media.

AJI Indonesia, according to Zaky, recorded no less than 49 cases of violence against journalists between December 2010 and December 2011, 56 cases during the same period of 2011 and 2012 and 10 cases from January to April this year.

[Arya Dipa contributed to this story from Bandung.]

Two journalists assaulted while covering Musi Rawas clashes

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Jakarta – An unidentified group of people assaulted two journalists on Tuesday. The journalists were covering clashes between residents and police officers in Musi Rawas regency, South Sumatra, clashes in which four people have been shot dead.

A video camera carried by Jumadi Dedi, a Kompas TV journalist, was seized as he was taking footage of the clashes. Another journalist, Zainul, was also attacked receiving injuries to both hands. Their motorbike was also stolen.

Residents of Muara Rupit district blocked the Trans-Sumatra Highway on Tuesday following bloody clashes with the police.

The clashes were sparked on Monday by the road blockade, which was being held in protest at the absence of a clear government program to establish a new regency, North Musi Rawas. The action caused severe traffic congestion along the highway, which links South Sumatra and Jambi.

Dedi said that the assault took place at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The two journalists went to the location of the clashes when suddenly a group of about ten armed men intercepted them on motorcycles.

"When we were on our motorcycle all of a sudden we were confronted by a group of people, and straight away they assaulted us with sharp weapons cutting Zainul's hands," Dedi said via cellular phone, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Dedi said that he and Zainul were rescued by local residents near a plantation in Noan Baru village, Rupit district, Musi Rawas regency.

The two journalists have reported the incident to Rupit Police precinct. (asw)

Jakarta journalists' pay below standard: AJI

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Ina Parlina – A survey by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) found that the majority of journalists in Jakarta are underpaid, a condition that could have an adverse impact on their independence especially ahead of the 2014 elections.

In the survey, conducted earlier this year, the Jakarta branch of AJI set the benchmark for the salary of a journalist who has worked for at least one year at Rp 5.4 million (US$555) a month.

However, AJI Jakarta discovered in the survey that most media companies in Jakarta paid their journalists between Rp 3 million and Rp 4 million. AJI Jakarta found that several media companies paid their journalists Rp 2.2 million per month, the provincial minimum wage.

The watchdog group also found that corporate spending on journalists' salaries was still very low compared to total sales.

The wage bill for journalists with the Jawa Pos Group, one of the largest media conglomerates in the country, for instance accounts only for eight percent of its total sales. Tempo Media Group meanwhile spent 12.39 percent on journalists' pay in 2012.

"Those are far below Singapore Press Holdings, with a journalist wage bill of 29.3 percent of total sales and Star Publication in Malaysia with 37.12 percent," AJI Jakarta said in a statement.

With most journalists on such low pay, AJI Jakarta was concerned that ahead of the 2014 elections, the media would be prone to abuse by political parties.

"This situation, coupled with the low welfare of journalists, puts the impartiality of newsrooms in great danger as media ownership is in the hands of a few businessmen and politicians," AJI Jakarta chairman Umar Idris said on Tuesday. "Journalists will be the one who are disadvantaged the most."

AJI Jakarta was also concerned about the media being abused by their owners to pursue their political goals. "The owners must keep their media outlets independent," Umar said.

Environment & natural disasters

Sumatran orangutans' rainforest home faces new threat

Agence France Presse - May 5, 2013

Angela Dewan – Sibolangit. A baby Sumatran orangutan swings playfully on a branch at an Indonesian rescue center, a far cry from the terror he endured when his pristine rainforest home was razed to the ground.

Now alarm is growing at a plan activists say will open up new swathes of virgin forest on Sumatra island for commercial exploitation and lay roads through a vital ecosystem, increasing the risk to many endangered species.

The plan, which Aceh authorities say aims to open up a small amount of forest for communities to develop, is set to be approved by Jakarta despite its moves towards extending a national moratorium on new logging permits.

Green groups say such policies illustrate how the ban can be circumvented to open up new areas for deforestation, threatening to boost Indonesia's already high emissions of carbon dioxide.

"This plan is a huge threat to species living in the forest, especially orangutans, tigers and elephants that live in the lowland forests that will likely be cleared first," Ian Singleton of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program told AFP.

Environmentalists warn that some one million hectares – around the size of Cyprus – could be opened up in Aceh province for exploitation by mining, palm oil and paper companies. Officials dispute that figure.

There are particular fears about part of the project which would lay roads through the Leuser ecosystem, an area of stunning beauty where peat swamp and dense forest surround waterfalls and mountains poking through clouds.

The area, mostly in Aceh, is home to around 5,800 of the remaining 6,600 critically endangered Sumatran orangutans as well as elephants, bears and snakes including King Cobras.

Singleton warns that cases like that of the baby ape, rescued from Leuser, would rise dramatically if the road project goes ahead, as orangutan populations need long, uninterrupted stretches of forest to survive.

Named Gokong Puntung after the Chinese monkey god, the young ape had been living in an area where several companies cleared the land despite the tough protection it was supposed to have been afforded.

The primate was left stranded and clinging to his mother in a lone tree with no others to swing to. His mother was beaten by a group of passing men, and the baby was sold to a plantation worker for $10.

He was rescued in February and taken to the center run by Singleton's group across the Aceh border in Sibolangit district, North Sumatra province.

"Genetic experts say you need 250 to 500 orangutans minimum to have a population that's viable in the long term without too many bad inbreeding effects," said Singleton. "We've only got about six of those populations left, and every time you put a road through the middle of one, you effectively cut it in half."

Aceh forestry department planning chief Saminuddin B. Tou insists the roads will help link remote communities to the outside world – although activists say there are few buildings in the area and the network mainly helps big companies with access.

A murky web

Jakarta has signaled it will sign off on Aceh's plan in the coming weeks, even as it is expected to extend the moratorium on new logging permits which expires on May 20 and has been in force for two years.

There is also strong support in the Aceh parliament which has the final say, and officials say they hope it will pass soon.

Although it seems to fly in the face of the national moratorium, the project is possible because it hinges on Aceh's decision to overturn its own deforestation ban which was introduced at the local level six years ago. The ban, stronger than the national measure, was brought in by the previous local administration – but it will be scrapped under the plan.

Environmentalists say it is one of the more glaring examples of how officials are using a murky web of local laws and technical explanation to push through new deforestation in defiance of the national moratorium.

"Companies and local governments have found all sorts of ways to get around the ban," Friends of the Earth forest campaigner Zenzi Suhadi said.

However, the head of the Aceh forestry department, Husaini Syamaun, said in a statement that the plan "was not aimed at the development of mines and plantations" and did not break any laws.

The administration insists it will only free up around 200,000 hectares of new forest for exploitation. But in reality a much larger area will be opened up, activists say.

Prior to the local ban, many mining and palm oil companies were granted concessions to chop down virgin rainforest in Aceh, but they had to freeze their activities when the province's moratorium came in.

Officials argue that the plan will simply "reactivate" these areas of forest that had been open for logging in the past, so do not include them in their calculations.

Tou also insisted most of the project was an "administrative change" as a lot of forest had in reality been cleared by local communities already. "It's not still virgin forest, it's already been converted by the people," he said.

Graft & corruption

KPK summons the sexy new faces of graft

Jakarta Post - May 7, 2013

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – Graft cases in Indonesia follow an all-too- familiar routine: Greying politicians in batik shirts arrive at the front of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) before meeting interrogators.

However, the nation's graft scandals have a new face, following the debut of two adult magazine models and a sexy coed at the commission's headquarters at Kuningan, South Jakarta. The women have been questioned in the KPK's probe of the beef import scandal that has implicated former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq.

The glamorous ladies of graft include Maharani Suciyono, a lissome 20-year-old college student who KPK investigators found naked in a hotel room with Luthfi's aide, Ahmad Fathanah, after he allegedly accepted a bribe for his boss.

The 43-year-old swimsuit model and film actress Khadijah "Ayu" Azhari and swimsuit model Vitalia Shesya have also made the rounds at the KPK.

Vitalia, a model for a local men's magazine, was the last to show up at the KPK headquarters on Monday, returning a Honda Jazz car and a Rp 70 million (US$7,210) watch given to her by Fathanah.

"A couple days ago, the KPK confiscated a white Honda Jazz car and a Chopard watch that are allegedly linked to AF [Ahmad Fathanah]," KPK spokesman Johan Budi said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Vitalia told interrogators during questioning that Fathanah gave the car and the watch as gifts for "a friend", Johan said.

Fathanah's reputed largesse has few limits: Maharani was allegedly paid Rp 10 million as an escort to accompany Fathanah for two hours as he lingered in the hotel room after he allegedly accepted a Rp 1 billion bribe from two directors of meat importing firm PT Indoguna Utama.

The commission has said that Fathanah was a middleman delivering the bribe to Luthfi, who was expected to use his PKS position to influence beef import quotas at the Agriculture Ministry, which is currently headed by Suswono, a fellow senior member of the PKS.

Last week, the investigation took a salacious turn when Ayu was grilled about her relationship with Fathanah. During six hours of questioning, Ayu told investigators that Fathanah had offered her gigs to sing at several events during regional elections in West Java and South Sulawesi, according to the KPK.

Two days later, Ayu returned to the commission's headquarters to hand over $1,800 and Rp 20 million in cash that she claimed she received as a down payment from Fathanah for the PKS events.

Separately, several politicians from the PKS, an Islamist party that previously touted its clean and graft-free image, were quick on the defense. "As far as I know, the PKS never invited Ayu Azhari," Refrizal, a member of the party's central board, said.

Ayu, a bombshell star known for her bold performances in the glory days of local B-movies in the 1980s, was one of the nation's highest-paid soap opera stars in the early 2000s. In 2010, she dropped out of the race to be deputy regent in Sukabumi, West Java, after her sex videos circulated on the Internet.

Charta Politika political analyst Yunarto Wijaya said that the exposure of the role that the women have played in the scandal could further contribute to the plunging popularity of the PKS.

"The beef import graft scandal itself has hurt the PKS' image as a clean party. The involvement of women in the case, in particular, will create doubt among the party's supporters, especially those who are devout Muslims," he said.

Actress returns money for PKS events to KPK

Jakarta Post - May 4, 2013

Jakarta – Actress Khadijah Azhari, popularly known as Ayu Azhari, returned money she received from graft suspect Ahmad Fathanah, a close aid to former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday.

The money, US$1,800 and Rp 20 million, was paid by Ahmad to Ayu as a down payment for performances planned for PKS events, KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said on Friday at a press conference at the KPK headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Ayu, who arrived at the KPK accompanied by lawyer Fahmi Bachmid, said that she was only there to submit copies of her bank statements.

When asked whether she had received money from Ahmad, she vehemently denied it saying "I never accepted a single penny."

Ayu denied rumors that Fathanah had bought her an apartment. "What apartment? The one where I live? I've lived there since 1997. It has nothing to do with Fathanah," she said.

Throughout the interview, she apparently gave statements that contradicted previous ones. When asked how Ahmad got her number, Ayu said that she gave it when she met him at Plaza Indonesia.

Previously, she said she met Ahmad first at Plaza Indonesia, only to later say that it was Plaza Senayan. She also said that she only met Ahmad once, while previously claiming she met him several times.

Indonesian youth pleased to turn a blind eye to graft

Jakarta Post - May 3, 2013

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Raymond Prasetya, a 24-year old employee at a Japanese company, was driving alone on Jl. Pasteur in Bandung, West Java, during one weekend last year when he saw a traffic light go from green to yellow.

Thinking that he would be able to speed through the intersection, he went full throttle. Unfortunately for him, the light turned red before he was able to make it past the intersection. Right after that, a police officer stopped his vehicle and there ensued the following conversation.

"I saw you pass the red light, show me your driver's license," the officer asked. "Well, I'm sorry but you have to go to the court. However, I can help you if you pay Rp 50,000 (US$5)." Faced with the opportunity to bribe his way past the law, Raymond decided to pay the officer. "I'd rather pay him than have to go through a trial that would waste my time," he said.

Such a scene is the norm in Indonesia, which comfortably sat at 118th from 174 countries in the 2012 Corruption Perception Index, according to a recent survey called "Youth Integrity Survey" by Transparency International Indonesia (TII).

The survey, conducted from July to Dec. 2012 with 2,000 respondents aged 15 – 30 in Jakarta, found that corrupt practices are still rampant among Indonesian youth.

Some 50 percent of the respondents said that it was okay to lie or cheat during a difficult situation involving themselves or their families. "When they are in a gray area, there is a tendency for them to be unethical," said Lia Toriana, a research coordinator at TII, during a press conference in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

Raymond confirmed the survey's finding, saying that bribing a police officer to avoid a ticket was just a way for him to buy time with money. "We have to differentiate between major graft practices, which could lead to massive state losses and the little ones that could benefit me and not harm anyone else," he said.

According to the survey, 30 percent believed that breaking the law was a display of solidarity when it was meant to support families and friends in need, while 20 percent said that they would engage in corrupt practices if they involved only a small amount of money.

The survey also showed that 22 percent of the correspondents tolerate corrupt practices, despite major antigraft campaigns launched by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the mass media in the past few years.

According to the study, youngsters were most likely to be involved in corrupt practices when they wanted to avoid police tickets, with 47 percent saying that they had bribed police officers in the past, followed by 20 percent who said that they paid extra money in order to get past the country's red tape and obtain official documents or permits.

Other common corrupt practices among the youth were cheating to pass exams (11 percent), cheating to get jobs (9 percent) and bribing to get services (8 percent).

The survey, however, does not mean that there is a lack of awareness among the youth. The survey showed that 93 percent and 94 percent believed that corruption was harmful for themselves and state development respectively.

"Their awareness, however, does not translate to their commitment to combat corruption," Lia said.

According to the study, 47 percent of respondents said they would not report corruption to the authorities. Some of them (36 percent) said that it was not their business and some others (32 percent) argued that there was no use in doing that since the law enforcers were also corrupt.

Raymond is among those who doubt that reporting a corruption case would make a difference. "Even if I file a report, I'm not sure it will be followed up," he said.

Following the survey, TII called on all stakeholders to improve youth understanding on the subject through education. "We have to strengthen education that instills virtue. The government, educational institutions and families play an important role in its realization," Lia said.

Susno surrenders, now in detention

Jakarta Globe - May 3, 2013

Graft convict Susno Duadji is now in detention after surrendering to authorities on Thursday evening.

"That's correct. He came last night and is now being detained in Cibinong," Comr. Gen. Sutarman, the National Police's chief of detectives, told BeritaSatu.com.

Previously, Susno, a retired chief of detectives at the National Police, was declared a fugitive after successfully eluding prosecutors. AGO prosecutors arrived at Susno's Bandung, West Java, home on April 24 to force the former West Java Police chief to honor a two-year-old jail sentence.

Instead, Susno fled the scene under the protection of the West Java Police and the Crescent Star Party's (PBB) Hizbullah Brigade and disappeared.

The South Jakarta District Court convicted Susno of two counts of corruption in March of 2011, sentencing the once-prominent cop to three years, six months in prison.

He was found guilty of misappropriating Rp 8 billion ($823,000) in security funds in 2008 for the West Java gubernatorial election when he served as chief of the provincial police force. He also accepted a Rp 500 million bribe to influence the outcome of a legal dispute over the ownership of a Riau fish farm in 2009.

Susno filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court's ruling but failed to issue an order to detain the convict. Susno has been able to remain free for two years, arguing that police and prosecutors had no right to arrest him.

The Constitutional Court closed that loophole in November, ruling that prosecutors don't need a detention order to arrest convicted felons.

On Friday, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a top official with the PBB, said he received a text message from Susno which explained the reason behind Susno's decision to hand himself over.

"[I turned myself in] because the purpose of bringing to the nation's attention the injustices committed by arrogant law enforcers was achieved... I took sympathetic steps by coming to the Cibinong penitentiary, even though the legal basis is wrong," Yusril quoted the text message from Susno as saying.

Yusril recalled a saying by national political figure Prawoto Mangkusasmito, which stated that if someone is being put in jail, then it must be accepted as fact.

"However, 'fact' does not mean 'truth.' Susno surrendered because he was facing the state, not because he thought it was the truth. He was up against power and popular opinion," he said.

Attorney General Basrief Arief explained how Susno ultimately surrendered.

Basrief said that on Thursday afternoon he was visited by a man named Untung Sunaryo, Susno's family attorney, who told Basrief that Susno was willing to be processed, though only by executors appointed by the Attorney General.

"I welcomed and appreciated Susno's [willingness]," Basrief said at a press conference at his office on Friday.

Untung told Basrief that Susno wanted to be detained at the Cibinong penitentiary. The Attorney General proceeded to discuss the matter with the chief of the Jakarta High Prosecutor's office, Didik Darmanto, and acting South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office head Amir Yanto about how to process Susno.

"I only told four people about the plan – I didn't even inform the deputy attorney general, the deputy attorney general for specific crime [Jampidsus] and the deputy attorney general for intelligence. Because I respected Susno's decision, I had to commit to the agreement I had with Untung," he said.

He then kept monitoring the process when the four people he appointed arrived at the Cibinong penitentiary. "Susno arrived at 11:10 p.m. The administration process went smooth and was completed at 11:30 p.m," he said.

Meanwhile, Didiek mentioned that Susno said that his presence at the penitentiary was proof that he did not escape. "He [Susno] said 'we proved that we... followed through with the law."

Swimsuit model questioned in PKS beef scandal

Jakarta Post - May 2, 2013

Hans Nicholas Jong – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) questioned swimsuit model and actress Khadijah Azhari, popularly known as Ayu Azhari, as a witness on Wednesday in the beef importation case involving Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) members.

Ayu was questioned about her relationship with Ahmad Fathanah, aide to former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chair Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq, and a suspected money launderer.

Ayu, who wore a brown shirt, long blue skirt and a hijab, told investigators during six hours of questioning that she met Fathanah in December, when she was offered gigs singing at several events during regional elections. "He was a coordinator for those events," Ayu told reporters later.

Ayu's lawyer Fahmi Bachmid said that she was introduced to Fathanah in a meeting at Plaza Indonesia in Jakarta on Dec. 3 last year.

Fathanah promised Ayu, who recently joined the National Awakening Party (PKB), shows in West Java and South Sulawesi. "I was also introduced to some of his clients, but I don't know their names," Ayu said.

Ayu never performed in any of the proposed concerts as there was no follow through from the meeting. "I have become a victim of his promises," she said, raising her voice. Fahmi added that Ayu had never received any money from Fathanah.

When asked if she knew Maharani Suciyono, the college student caught with Ahmad in a hotel room during a raid by the KPK in January, Ayu said, "No, but I was introduced to her by Fathanah." Fahmi quickly corrected that statement, saying that Ayu was in fact referring to Fathanah's wife Sefti Sanustika.

Besides money laundering, the KPK has charged Ahmad with accepting Rp 1 billion (US$102,900) in bribes from meat importers PT Indoguna Utama.

The money was supposedly meant to be delivered to Luthfi, who was to use his position in the PKS to influence the decision on beef import quotas at the ministry headed by Suswono, a fellow senior member of the PKS.

Terrorism & religious extremism

Radical rallies in Jakarta call for deadly jihad in Myanmar

Jakarta Globe - May 3, 2013

Bayu Marhaenjati & AFP – Hundreds of members of radical Islamic groups on Friday called for "jihad in Myanmar" during rallies in front of the Myanmar embassy in Menteng, Jakarta, to protest growing violence against Rohingya Muslims.

"It has been [going on for a] long [time], our brothers in Rohingya have been tortured by Myanmar military, Buddhist monks and Buddhist people in Myanmar. There is no other way for our Muslim brothers in Rohingya, we have to wage jihad," said Islamic Defender Front (FPI) chairman Rizieq Shihab during a protest at Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

The FPI, along hundreds of members of the Islamic People Forum (FUI), Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, Islamic Reformist Movement (Garis), Indonesian Committee for World Muslim Solidarity (Kisdi), Islamic Preaching Council (DDII), Indonesian Muslim Brotherhood Movement (GPMI) and Taruna Muslim (Muslim Youth), marched to the heavily guarded Myanmar embassy on Friday, brandishing banners that read "we want to kill Myanmar Buddhists" and "stop genocide in Myanmar."

Rizieq, shouting through a loudspeaker to whip up the crowd, called on all Indonesian people to wage jihad against violence in Rohingya.

"Let's pray for the crime there," Rizieq said. "We're obliged to help. Those who can pray, please pray, send them food, clothes, drink and medicines. Those who can give their lives, let's go there. We will do fund-raising to buy food, drink and weapon for our brothers there."

The incidents highlight the growing anger in Muslim-majority Indonesia over a string of religious clashes in largely-Buddhist Myanmar, that have left many minority Muslims dead and tens of thousands displaced.

"We will besiege Myanmar embassy for explanation, but no violence please," Rizieq said. "We agreed to take action based on Akhlak Kharimah [good moral], but consistent with the flaming spirit of jihad. Please do as told by the rally coordinator. If he says sit, please be seated. If he says attack, please attack."

At least one person was killed when mosques and homes were attacked in central Myanmar this week, the latest anti-Muslim unrest to cast a shadow over political reforms in the formerly junta-run country.

"Our Muslim brothers and sisters are being attacked in Myanmar – they are being raped and murdered," said Bambang, a 37-year-old street vendor. "I want jihad in Myanmar. Anyone mistreating Muslims should be killed."

Protest coordinator Bernard Abdul Jabbar requested the police to mediate a dialogue between the protesters and the Burmese ambassador. "There are 10 representatives that want to meet [the ambassador], please facilitate us to meet him," Bernard said.

When the protesters reached Jalan Agus Salim on their march, Bernard asked the police to open the way so they could protest in front of the embassy.

"Incredible, we're guarded by hundreds of police officers. We're not planning a war, sir. We're staging peace rally. We're not terrorists. We, Islamic people, only want to question Myanmar's responsibility," he said.

Detik.com reported that the rallies caused traffic jams along Jalang Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin on Friday as protestors parked their motorcycles on the roads.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto told Vivanews that police had deployed 1,654 officers to the rally locations.

He said that they would beef up security around the Burmese embassy in Menteng, after police on Thursday arrested two people who were planning to bomb the embassy. "Requested or not, it's our responsibility to secure embassy building," Rikwanto said.

Myanmar embassy spokesman Deddy R. Guritno told Vivanews that the embassy had sent most of its staff home. Only three diplomats were in the office on Friday, while Myanmar ambassador U Nyan Lyn attended an event elsewhere.

Clashes in Rakhine state last year between Rohingya and Buddhists left around 200 dead, and tens of thousands displaced. In March a flare-up in Buddhist-Muslim violence in central Myanmar left at least 43 people dead.

A man admitted in September to planning a suicide bomb attack against Buddhists in Jakarta in response to Myanmar's treatment of Muslim minorities, particularly Rohingya. Indonesia has been a vocal supporter of Muslim minorities in Myanmar, and in January pledged $1 million in aid to Rakhine.

[With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse.]

Bali terror leader calls for jihad against Myanmar

Sydney Morning Herald - May 3, 2013

Michael Bachelard – Islamic terrorists in Indonesia have a new target after militant godfather Abu Bakar Bashir threatened holy war against the Buddhists of Myanmar.

Just hours after the threat was reported on radical site Voice of al-Islam on Thursday, two men were arrested carrying pipe bombs on their way to the Myanmar embassy in central Jakarta.

The report quoted Mr Bashir, who motivated the Bali bombers in 2002, saying Myanmar was conducting genocide against Rohingya Muslims in the Arakan state in the country's west, and that jihad was the only solution.

"These events are all due to our own mistakes because we don't want to do jihad," Mr Bashir is quoted as saying. "The Muslims in the Philippines are strong because they want to do jihad."

The leader, who is serving a 15-year jail term on terror offences, called upon Indonesia's "mujahideen," (fighters of holy war) to destroy Myanmar as they had destroyed the communist USSR by throwing them out of Afghanistan.

"With the permission of Allah we will treat you and your people just like (we treated) communist Russia, which has gone to pieces, or just like America, which will perish soon (God willing)," he is quoted as saying.

"The Buddhist teaching of love is just a nonsense because in reality it is the Buddhists who have slaughtered the Muslims of Rohingya."

On Thursday night, Indonesia police arrested two men who were allegedly carrying five home-made bombs, as they made their way towards the Myanmar embassy. Two others were arrested later after anti-terror police raided a property in South Jakarta and seized more explosives.

Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said those arrested were seeking revenge for the treatment of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

At least 200 Muslims were killed and more than 125,000 chased from their homes in the Arakan state of Myanmar last year. Human Rights Watch accused Rakhine Buddhist groups of instigating the violence and the state authorities of failing to intervene.

On April 5, eight Buddhist fishermen were killed in a clash with Rohingya muslims at a detention centre in Sumatra, Indonesia, after the Buddhists raped and harassed three muslim women.

Freedom of religion & worship

Rights groups reject religious freedom award for Yudhoyono

Jakarta Post - May 7, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang and Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – A coalition of victims of religious discrimination and rights groups have urged New York- based interfaith organization Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF) to drop its plan to give President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono the World Statesmen Award in recognition of his work to support human rights and religious freedom in the country.

The foundation has scheduled the award presentation for May 30 in New York, when the President will be on a working visit.

The coalition, which includes the Shia and the Ahmadiyah minority sects and the Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) and the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church congregations, all of which have suffered discrimination, staged a rally in front of the United States (US) Embassy in Jakarta on Monday to protest the ACF's choice of Yudhoyono for the 2013 award.

It said that Yudhoyono did not deserve the award because he had failed to protect the rights of minority groups in the country. "How could SBY be given the award while we are being discriminated against and even attacked when performing our basic religious rights?" Filadelfia's Rev. Palti Panjaitan said.

The protesters demanded the US Embassy relay their message to President Barack Obama and the ACF.

Local rights groups have also criticized the move, saying it was an insult to victims of religious prosecution.

"We are deeply disappointed at ACF's decision. We object because the President has failed to enforce the law to protect religious minority groups. He appears to have also ignored the conduct of state officials who have blatantly rebelled against the law, such as in the case of GKI Yasmin," Choirul Anam of Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) said, referring to a Supreme Court ruling stipulating that the building permit for GKI Yasmin was legal and ordered the Bogor administration to reopen the place of worship.

Building permit issues have been the most cited reasons to justify discrimination against religious minorities, while another reason is blasphemy, of which Islamic minorities have been continuously accused, such as the Shia and the Ahmadiyah.

Authorities, including the police, seem to take the side of the perpetrators after attacks on the Shia and the Ahmadiyah by not strictly applying the law to the attackers but instead relocating the victims for safety reasons, which ultimately leaves them living in limbo for years.

The government's reluctance to take firm action against vigilante groups has emboldened others to attack minority groups elsewhere, such the weekend ransacking of the Ahmadiyah village of Tenjowaringin in Tasikmalaya, West Java, and the Shia community in Sampang, East Java, last year.

Members of the Sampang Shia community, who were forced to take shelter in a local sports stadium after being attacked by the majority Sunni for so- called blasphemy, are struggling to survive as the local administration stopped suppling their daily needs as from May 1 due to budget constraints.

"There has to be something wrong with the process of making the choice because I believe that Rabbi [Arthur] Scheiner [ACF's founder] will consider the sufferings of religious minority groups as he is a campaigner for human rights," said Choirul Anam of the Human Rights Working Group.

Teuku Faizasyah, presidential spokesman for foreign affairs, said on Monday that Yudhoyono deserved the award for his achievements in contributing to the global interfaith movement. "Some cases of religious intolerance do happen, but that should not blind his critics to the President's achievements," Faizasyah said.

Victims of anti-Shiite attack in Sampang lose witness protection

Jakarta Globe - May 7, 2013

The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has stopped providing security to victims of a mob attack driven by religious intolerance in Sampang, Madura, which claimed the lives of two people.

Teguh Soedarsono, a member of the agency, said in a press conference on Tuesday that the duty of protecting the victims had been transferred to the East Java government.

"The East Java government has taken over the responsibility and told the Political and National Unity Office [Kesbangpol] that the case is taken over fully by the East Java government and Sampang district government," Teguh said.

The East Java government has guaranteed that the witnesses and victims of Sampang case would still be protected. Teguh added that local police officers will be deployed to prevent further conflicts between the minority Shia and the mainstream Sunni Muslims.

The witnesses and victims, who for months have been living as refugees at the Sampang Wijaya Kusuma sport stadium, will be relocated to their own homes, reportedly by the end of the month. They have rejected the East Java government's earlier plan to move them to low-cost apartments in a different village.

Teguh said that the other reason why the agency decided to stop the protection is because the legal proceeding on the case had ended. The Surabaya District Court recently acquitted Nahdlatul Ulama figure Rois Al- Hukama of all charges. He had been accused of provoking a mob to attack the Shia community. The court argued that no witnesses directly saw the Sunni leader participate in the deadly anti-Shiite rampage.

A mob of 500 Sunni Muslims rampaged through a village in Sampang's Omben subdistrict last year on Aug. 26, hacking one Shiite Muslim to death and setting fire to more than 30 homes. The brutal attack drove the beleaguered Shiite community from their homes.

Those who remained in the region, or refused to convert to Sunni Islam, were forced to live in spartan conditions in the sports complex. Few, including several lawmakers with the House of Representatives, have offered to extend aid to the displaced community.

The LPSK had protected 40 four witnesses and victims shortly after the attack in August 2012. They were taken to a safe house and given food and daily provisions.

Problems will disappear if Ahmadiyah disappear, says West Java governor

Jakarta Globe - May 7, 2013

Just days after hard-line Islamic group members tore down the homes of an Ahmadiyah community in his province, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said violence against the beleaguered minority group would stop if the religion disappeared.

"Of course we want religious tolerance to go properly but the Ahmadiyah have committed a violation by spreading a deviant belief. The problem will disappear if the belief disappears," Ahmad told Indonesian news portal Kompas.com on Tuesday.

Early on Saturday morning, a mob of 400 hard-liners attacked an Ahmadiyah community in Sukamaju village, Singaparna district, leaving dozens of houses in shambles. Some 60 police officers guarding the village were outnumbered and rendered powerless against the assailants.

The Ahmadiyah community has faced years of discrimination in Indonesia, where the sect's branch of Islam has been named "deviant" by a prominent Islamic organization. Last month, 30 Ahmadiyah members were sealed in the Al-Misbah mosque when the Bekasi government shuttered the building.

Religious intolerance is on the rise in Indonesia, where minorities find themselves targeted by members of an increasingly vocal hard-line fringe. In few places is intolerance more routine than West Java. In recent months, Christians and Ahmadiyah have found their houses of worship targeted by the government amid pressure from hard-line groups.

While he condemned the violence in Sukamaju, Ahmad said a joint decree signed by three ministers clearly stipulated that believers of "deviant" religions were not permitted to spread their teachings.

"But to bring Ahmadiyah back to Islam we should use a good way, we should not use violence," he said.

Life still tough for believers in minority faiths in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - May 6, 2013

Nivell Rayda, Bandung, West Java – Java's indigenous faith practitioners have faced hardship for generations and a visit to one of their enclaves confirms that not much has changed recently.

The morning mist started to disappear, revealing kilometers of green rice fields lit by the sun's golden rays as scores of factory workers set off for work in motorcycles, rickshaws and horse-drawn carriages, clogging a tiny pot-holed road.

I took a turn off the beaten track, away from the town of Ciparay, in the industrial outskirts of the West Java capital of Bandung. The traffic started to ease as I inched closer to my destination, a small hamlet named Pakutandang.

There my host, Ugan Rahayu, 64, a village elder and Sundanese musical maestro, awaited me sporting a white cotton garb and a headband made from a piece of brown batik cloth. He was sitting inside an unassuming building covered in teal green paint that the locals call Pasewakan.

The 17-by-17 meter building is a culture center, hosting a collection of intricately decorated gamelan instruments. It is a place where traditional dances, music and puppet shows are performed.

The Pasewakan is also known as a gathering place for practitioners of the Sunda Wiwitan, a belief system indigenous to West Java.

Ugan sat down at one end of the room surrounded by rows of bonangs (kettle gongs), sarons (Indonesian xylophones) and a set of kendang drums made from jackfruit wood.

He lit a clove cigarette sticking out of an old smoking pipe made from bone that had turned yellowed with age.

In a soft voice, Ugan related the building's sinister history and how he was born in exile because the Wiwitan practitioners were on the run from gerombolan (the villainous bunch), militiamen from armed rebel group Darul Islam that aspired to establish an independent Islamic state. They were on the hunt for non-Muslims.

"By the time I reached 5, more and more Wiwitan practitioners came to Pakutandang," Ugan said. "But the gerombolan eventually caught up with us."

Under the cover of night the gerombolan came, armed with machetes, sickles and torches. A group of Wiwitan practitioners who were reciting a traditional song called "Gunung Leutik" suddenly found themselves trapped and surrounded as the militiamen set fire to their homes and began attacking them.

Some 22 Wiwitan practitioners were massacred in the very room we were sitting in now nearly 60 years ago, he said. Ugan and his parents survived, but an entire community had been reduced to rubble and ash.

Ugan's grandmother was burned alive, his uncle had his throat cut while his older brother, 24 at the time, was fatally attacked with a sickle.

A new threat

Peace was eventually restored to West Java in the 1960s but it was to be shortlived. The Wiwitan community and believers in hundreds of other indigenous faiths were accused of being atheists, targeted in an anti- communist purge in 1965 that killed up to 2 million people nationwide.

Since then, practitioners of indigenous religions have found it hard to obtain jobs, have their marriages recognized by the government and overcome the deep stigma that comes with being perceived as animists and atheists. For the first time, a proposed legislative amendment – to the national Criminal Code (KUHP) – threatens to penalize their way of life.

The draft of the revision was submitted by the government to the House of Representatives for deliberation in March. For the first time the code includes harsh sanctions for couples living together outside of marriage, a crime carrying a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

Also a first, those found guilty of adultery or witchcraft will face up to five years in jail.

But the one article practitioners of traditional faiths are most anxious about is the inclusion of propagating atheism as a criminal offense, punishable of up to four years imprisonment.

"The likelihood of practitioners of local religions being penalized under the new Criminal Code is great," Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of religious freedom advocacy group the Setara Institute, told Jakarta Globe.

Article 354 warranted a maximum of four years in jail for "anyone who publicly, in any form or shape, urges others to abandon religions observed in Indonesia." "This creates much ambiguity. The KUHP will be open to multiple interpretations," he said. "This makes [local faith practitioners] vulnerable to being accused of blasphemy or atheism."

Bonar said the government had historically been reluctant to provide local faith practitioners with recognition and tended to favor majorities when they were in conflict with minority religious groups.

Hardship endured

A five-hour drive northeast of Ciparay is the village of Cigugur, home to a century-old building complex called the Paseban, which is two stories tall and made from wood and boulder rock with a tiled roof.

Inside, I met a Sundanese royal named Djati Kusumah, who sat on a red velvet sofa intricately decorated with gold leaf patterns in front of a wall bearing an image of his grandfather, Madrais, and a principality insignia painted in gray and black. Djati struck a commanding pose, his wrists resting on a dragon-headed walking cane.

Jailed twice by the national government, Djati, now 85, is living testament to how practitioners of indigenous religions are often attacked over perceived blasphemy, witchcraft and atheism.

He told a story of how Madrais, who began a revival of ancient traditional religion in 1908, was arrested by the Dutch because Sunda Wiwitan was seen as a symbol of Indonesian nationalism, and how his father Tedja Buana had to convert to Catholicism to escape persecution during the height of the anti-communist purge.

"My father once had a dream that in order for the Sunda Wiwitan people to survive they must shade themselves underneath a white pine tree, which he thought was a Christmas tree [in snow]," Djati said.

As a respected community leader, Tedja's conversion led an entire community of Wiwitan practitioners in Cigugur to embrace Catholicism, including Djati.

"But for me, to rest underneath a Christmas tree is just temporary. So when peace was finally restored in the 1980s I renounced Catholicism," he said. "Word soon spread and people came up to me and told me that they too want to convert back to Wiwitan."

This upset a local Catholic priest, and Djati was reported for blasphemy and arrested by the police.

Djati, earlier jailed for officiating the wedding of several Wiwitan couples, said police eventually let him go for lack of evidence, although the Wiwitan community was banned from practicing its annual thanksgiving celebration, the Seren Taun.

"For 17 years we have had to tone down celebrations and practice Seren Taun in secret," he said. "Every year we would gather, but there would be heavily armed police and government officials ready to crack us down."

Legitimizing oppression

Setara's Bonar said the new code will legitimize oppression of practitioners of local religions much like the 2008 joint-ministerial decree on Ahmadiyah.

The decree banned only the Muslim minority from proselytizing, and paved the way to more attacks and harassment toward the group.

Rumadi, a professor in Shariah law at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta (Jakarta Islamic State University), is also opposed to penalizing blasphemy and atheism.

"It is too naive to think that a law fashioned by men could be designed to protect something absolute and divine," Rumadi said recently.

"The blasphemy section [of the code] is open to multiple interpretations. Judges will usually conform to the views observed by the majority so [the code] could lead to more oppression against non-mainstream religions."

Eliyadi, a practitioner of the Kapribaden faith indigenous to East Java, Central Java and Yogyakarta, said his community had also been accused of atheism and witchcraft, with many of its members slaughtered during the 1965 purge as well as witch hunts in East and Central Java in 1997.

"As far as the people are concerned we pray using incense and meditation instead of going to church or praying in mosques so our religion must be mystical and wicked in nature," he said.

Takmat Diningrat, who practices Bumi Segandu, a belief system found only in several small and isolated communities in the north coast of West Java, said his group was recently harassed by hardline Muslim groups for using Arabic characters in its scripture.

Deputy Minister for Justice and Human Rights Denny Indrayana hailed the KUHP amendment as a step forward, saying that for the first time in 49 years, Indonesians will have a penal code that reflects legal developments and Indonesian values.

"Every act deemed unacceptable by society will now be penalized," the former legal activist said. "So this penal code is the embodiment and formalization of unwritten rules society has adopted.

But Eva Kusuma Sundari, a lawmaker from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), called the new code "a step backward."

"We are sad that this criminal code is not progressive. We are sad that the code penalizes acts that shouldn't be penalized. What is at stake is the rights of minorities, freedom of religion and freedom of expression," she told the Jakarta Globe.

"How can you criminalize an ideology? How is that hurting anyone? The code should just focus on crimes causing losses to someone, something tangible, easily proven by scientific methods, not by assumptions, opinions and loose interpretations."

The new provisions came after prosecutors struggled to find charges to lay against famous pop singer Nazril Irham, known as Ariel who was arrested in June 2010 after several videos were posted online showing him having sex with his then girlfriend and also with a married woman.

Law enforcers also struggled to prosecute Alexander Aan, a civil servant from West Sumatra who was sentenced to more than two years for posting "God does not exist" on Facebook. Ahmad Yani, a lawmaker from the conservative United Development Party (PPP), backed the provisions on blasphemy, atheism, adultery and cohabiting, saying they protected "the Indonesian way of life"

"This code is based on the norms accepted by society. The new Criminal Code unifies other laws into one, particularly laws passed after the code was last revised," he said.

Next month all nine factions in the House of Representatives are scheduled to present their alternative drafts of the KUHP. Eva said her PDI-P has prepared an inventory of problems with the government's version.

Battle for recognition

The government officially recognizes just six religions: Islam, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

But in the 2010 census, 270,000 Indonesians listed their religion as "other." Many struggle to get marriages recognized by the state or have their children considered legitimate.

Followers of minority faiths and observers say their actual number adds up to several million.

Although not a native of West Java, Okky Satrio is an avid observer of Wiwitan. For 11 years he struggled to get his marriage to Djati's daughter Dewi Kanti recognized by the state.

Okky said that when he and Dewi decided to get married in 2002, they insisted on doing it according to their faith but witnessed and blessed by a Muslim cleric as well as Catholic, Protestant, Hindu and Buddhist priests.

But when the couple registered their marriage with local authorities, they were denied, and for the 11 years since they have been legally considered single.

"The priests were all ready to issue a written letter officiating our marriage, and according to authorities all we had to do was choose which religion our wedding would be recognized by," he said. "But for us this is like bowing to an act of oppression."

Article 458 of the new code is set to penalize cohabiting. But the article does not provide explanations as to what constitutes as cohabition saying only that "anyone who lives together as husbands and wives out of a legal wedlock are punishable."

For Engkus Ruswana of the Budidaya tradition and chairman of the Coordinating Body for Indigenous Faith Organizations (BKOK), which groups more than 100 indigenous religions in Indonesia, the only thing that can save local faith practitioners from being penalized is the government recognizing their religions officially.

"The government's position on traditional faiths is odd. We are recognized only by the Tourism Ministry, as if our faith is some kind of tourist attraction," he said.

Rapidly vanishing community

It seems hard for Wiwitan and other indigenous religions to survive, let alone thrive.

The young choose to abandon the old faiths, considering them backward, rural and outdated, while the rest find it hard to obtain jobs, which is why today the faith is associated with peasants and villagers, intensifying prejudice.

For the Wiwitan in Ciparay, music provides a clear escape from poverty. With children being taught to play the gamelan and perform traditional dances since they are 4, most end up as accomplished Sunda music maestros like Ugan. "Get your friends here," Ugan shouted to the children who had peeped through the dirty windows of the Pasewakan during our meeting.

One by one the children took their place in the gamelan set, picking up wooden beaters to hit the bonangs and the sarons while Ugan picked up the rebab, a two-stringed Sundanese fiddle.

Ugan and his pupils played song after song but there was one song Ugan refused to recite, "Gunung Leutik," the last song the fallen Wiwitan played the night they were massacred.

Since that fateful night, the song is only played once a year, according to the Sundanese lunar calendar, in a ceremony to honor the dead.

For the Ciparay community, a chance to honor the dead, practice their faith and receive government recognition are enough; they are not seeking justice for the perpetrators of the brutal massacre nor any restitution.

The possibilities

In Cigugur the community has become a model for tolerance, with the village seemingly the only heterogeneous community in West Java, which has survived waves of intolerance, conservatism and calls to implement the Shariah law.

Cigugur is home to a large Catholic, Muslim and Wiwitan community and Djati's eight children all observed different faiths. Djati is convinced indigenous religions will not meet their demise.

"No, I don't believe we will fade away," he said with a penetrating stare, his right hand gripping his walking cane tightly.

He broke his stare, gazing out the brightly lit windows across the Paseban's vast hall as if contemplating a challenge to his previous statement.

"We have gone through such adversities in the past, decades of oppression. "And yet," he said after a long pause, "here we are."

Mob ransacks Ahmadiyah village

Jakarta Post - May 6, 2013

Arya Dipa, Bandung/Jakarta – No one was injured as unknown assailants attacked an Ahmadhi hamlet in Tenjowaringin village in Tasikmalaya, West Java, early on Sunday morning. "There were no fatalities. Only windows and doors were damaged," Dodi Kurniawan, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyah community in Tenjowaringin, said over the telephone on Sunday.

Members of the minority Muslim sect were a majority in Wanasigra hamlet, where they comprised 95 percent of the local population, Dodi said. Tenjowaringin was 80 percent comprised of Ahmadhis, he added.

According to the spokesman, 29 buildings were damaged in the attack, including a mosque, a mushola (small mosque) and an elementary school.

The attacks were apparently connected to a meeting of the local branch of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) on Friday and Saturday that was attended by 2,700 Tenjowaringin residents, Dodi said.

Tasikmalaya Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wijonarko said that the meeting, which was conducted under guard by police, ended after ashar prayers in the late afternoon on Friday and resumed on Saturday.

"The activity stopped after dzuhur on Saturday, Wijonarko said, referring to noon prayers. "People who were against Ahmadiyah, however, got information saying that the activity was still going on."

Police met members of the mob, who descended on the hamlet from outside Tasikmalaya around 1 a.m. on Sunday to ensure that the meeting had ended, according to the police chief.

"We prevented the mob from vandalizing the village. When they found out that the gathering had indeed stopped, the mob responded by throwing stones," Wijonarko said.

Dodi said the attack on the community had gone on for about 15 minutes. "But it seemed that there was someone giving the commands."

The Ahmadhi spokesman said that police officers on scene did nothing to stop the rampage and that no one had been evacuated after the attack.

The incidence of violence directed at followers of Ahmadiyah has been more frequent after the issuance in March 2011 of a provincial regulation banning Ahmadiyah activities in West Java.

Some mainstream Muslims have deemed Ahmadiyah a heretical sect for its belief that founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet.

Contacted separately, liberal scholar Ulil Abshar Abdala and former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid paid a visit on Sunday to Al-Misbah Mosque in Bekasi, West Java, where 19 Ahmadiyah followers have been barricaded for more than a month.

The mosque was sealed on April 4 by the Bekasi municipal administration, which justified its actions using the 2011 gubernatorial regulation and a 2008 joint ministerial decree that banned members of Ahmadiyah from propagating their beliefs.

"The Constitution says that each citizen has the freedom to practice their beliefs or religious faith without any pressure or violence and the state has to protect this freedom. Unfortunately, reality speaks otherwise," Ulil told The Jakarta Post over the telephone.

Ulil said that Bekasi was an area where the number of radical religious groups had increased rapidly, potentially threatening the rights of the adherents of minority religions.

Sinta blamed the ministerial decree for what had happened to Ahmadis. "The decree says that the state does not ban Ahmadiyah's followers but limits their practice. People mostly use this argument to prohibit Ahmadis from practicing their belief," she told the Post over the phone.

According to the security coordinator of the Bekasi congregation, Ahmad Maulana, the Ahmadis will stay at the mosque until the administration lifts the seal. "We believe the seal is against the law because there has been no such order from the court," he said. (tam)

Recent attack against Ahmadiyah followers

Feb-April, 2013: Bekasi officials seal Al-Misbah Mosque three times in Pondok Gede.

Oct. 25, 2012: Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) celebrations in Bandung marred by hard-line FPI members who attack An-Nasir Mosque, home to hundreds of Ahmadis, damaging the building and preventing the Ahmadis from celebrating Idul Adha.

April 20, 2012: A crowd of Islamic groups and local residents vandalize Baiturrahim Mosque, used by Ahmadis in Singaparna, Tasikmalaya, West Java.

Feb. 17, 2012: Crowd vandalizes Nur Hidayah Mosque used by 200 Ahmadis in Cianjur, West Java.

Feb. 6, 2011: Three Ahmadhis are killed in a brutal attack in Cikeusik, Banten. Serang District Court later sentences killers to light sentences.

Islamic hard-liners attack Ahmadiyah community for Koran recital

Jakarta Globe - May 5, 2013

Dessy Sagita – An Ahmadiyah community in Tasikmalaya, West Java, was left in shambles on Sunday after hundreds of Islamic hard-line group members destroyed homes in their village.

Asep Taufik Ahmad, a member of the Sukamaju village in the Singaparna subdistrict, said some 400 hard-liners from a mass organization stormed the village at 1 p.m. and damaged dozens of houses belonging to followers of a minority sect of Islam, Ahmadiyah.

"It all started with our decision to hold a Koran recital event to commemorate Isra Mi'raj [the birth of prophet Muhammad]. We already informed the local police about our plan," Asep told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.

The police tried to persuade the villagers to not go through with their plan, citing security issues.

"The police said we should cancel the event for our own safety, because a mass organization, I won't say which one, was apparently unhappy with our activity, but we proceeded anyway because it was a religious activity," he said.

Some 60 police officers were standing by to secure the event. However, Asep said that hundreds of hardliners came to the village Sunday afternoon and broke past the police barricade.

"The police were outnumbered, everything happened so fast. Suddenly they managed to get into our village and started to attack our houses with stones and sticks while chanting 'Allahu Akbar' ['God is great']. There was not much the police could do to stop them, they were totally out of control," he said, adding that the assailants left the village about two hours later.

"Fortunately there was no fatality or casualty, even though many of our belongings were damaged and people here are still traumatized," he said.

Tasikmalaya Police chief Sr. Comr. Wijonarko told Indonesian news portal portalkbr.com that the attackers were not only from Tasikmalaya but also from Bandung and Ciamis. He said even though the attackers did not wear any identifying articles, the police believe they were members of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI).

Asep denied reports that the hard-liners set an Ahmadiyah mosque on fire. Ahamdiyah men have been guarding the village since last night, Asep added.

"We did not have a wink of sleep since last night, we are still too scared because we heard that more hard-liners from Majalengka will come to attack us," he said.

Asep said on Sunday around 3:00 p.m. that police officers were standing by in the village, but no additional personnel had been deployed since the attack.

Singaparna Police chief Comr. Nono Suyono told Indonesian news portal Detik.com that the police were investigating the attack. "The case is now being handled by Tasikmalaya Police," he said.

Previously, hundreds of members of radical Islamic groups on Friday called for "jihad in Myanmar" during rallies in front of the Myanmar embassy in Menteng, Jakarta, to protest growing violence against Rohingya Muslims, another minority sect of Islam.

Halting of supplies to Shiite refugees 'inhumane': Activist Group

Jakarta Globe - May 3, 2013

Activists slammed the Sampang government in East Java for halting food and clean water supplies en route to displaced Shiites who had to evacuate their village after religious extremists killed one person and burned down dozens of homes.

Hertasning Ichlas, the executive director of Universalia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHU), said the government's decision to stop the donation from reaching the sheltered refugees was inhumane and unconstitutional.

"YLBHU demands the Sampang government to immediately provide food and clean water supplies to the refugees because they deserve it," he said.

Hertasning said the Sampang government should also start returning the displaced Shiites to their villages because they've been forced to abandon their livelihood while living in the shelter.

The refugees' coordinator, Iklil, said refugees have been living in a Sampang sports center for nine months with very limited facilities with very little assistance from state institutions.

He said the refugees' efforts to return to their villages in Omben and Karang Gayam have been hampered by the regional government and that the social affairs office has tried to convince to them to move elsewhere.

"Of course we rejected the idea [of moving somewhere else]. We still want to go home, because our land, home and cattle are there, our whole livelihood is in our villages," Iklil said.

Human rights group calls out persecution of Bekasi church leader

Jakarta Globe - May 2, 2013

In an open letter to three UN Special Rapporteurs, the Human Rights Working Group-Indonesia decries the unfair legal process against and the criminalization of Rev. Palti Panjaitan of a beleaguered Protestant church in Bekasi, West Java, and increasing religious intolerance in Indonesia.

In a copy of the letter obtained in Jakarta on Thursday, HRWG deputy director Choirul Anam called out what he said was the latest case of criminalization against a victim of religions violence in Indonesia, the case of Palti, the priest and leader of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan Filadelfia congregation in Bekasi.

"He has been criminalized because he was defending himself from the violent attack perpetrated by intolerant group when he held a mass prayer on 24th December 2012 in Bekasi," the open letter said.

The letter was sent to Heiner Bielefeldt, the special rapporteur on freedom of religion; Christof Heyns, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and Maina Kiai, the special rapporteur of peaceful assembly and association.

The incident took place when an intolerant group came to the HKBP Filadelfia church, which had already been sealed by the local government, and threatened the congregation, it said.

They threw foul water, rotten eggs, animal feces, rocks and soil at members of the congregation. Palti then asked his congregation to disband for safety reasons and ensured that they all went away.

But when he and his wife tried to get on their motorcycle to leave the scene, Abdul Aziz, who led the protest, tried to attack him. Palti got off his motorcycle to protect his wife and stopped the blow with his hand, the letter said.

"Ironically, Palti Panjaitan was reported to the Bekasi city police by Abdul Aziz who claimed he was beaten by Panjaitan," the letter said, adding that the report was filed later that day.

Following the report, investigators from the Bekasi Police issued a summons to Palti and six other members of the HKBP Filadelfia, on Jan. 28 and Feb. 12. On March 20, the police declared him a suspect and ordered him to report to police station.

"It cannot be ignored that certain members of the state apparatus have become active actors in the increasing intolerance in Indonesia, by issuing discriminative regulations and making intolerant public statements," the HRWG letter said.

It added that since 2011, there have been at least four community leaders prosecuted for defending themselves from mobs attacking them for their beliefs.

The letter also named Ahmadi member Deden Sudjana, Jayadi, a member of the lawyer team for the GKI Yasmin church, and Tajul Muluk, a Shiite leader in Sampang, as other persecuted individuals.

"Looking to all these cases, there is a need for the International community to know, and to take action to make Indonesia a better place for the life of religious minorities," the letter said.

Religious intolerance poisoning Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - May 2, 2013

For the 13th year in a row, Indonesia has been included on a watchlist of countries with appalling religious freedoms.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said that Indonesia's tradition of pluralism had been strained in recent years by "ongoing sectarian tensions, societal violence and the arrest of individuals considered religiously deviant."

Dwindling religious tolerance in Aceh, which has adopted its own interpretation of Shariah law, is specifically highlighted in the report, including the closure of 29 churches and five Buddhist temples in the district of Singkil and the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, during the past year.

The report also mentions last November's attack on an allegedly heretical sect in Aceh's Bireuen district that killed the sect leader, Tengku Ayub Syakuban, and one of his students. None of the around 100 people participating in the attack have been arrested.

The impunity enjoyed by the people behind the Bireuen attack is not unique, with hard-line groups operating freely with few consequences, harassing religious minorities, destroying places of worship and pressuring local officials to detain and restrict those accused of blasphemy and proselytizing minority faiths, the report says.

Last month, the Surabaya District Court in East Java acquitted Rois Al- Hukama of orchestrating a deadly anti-Shiite rampage in Sampang district, Madura Island, that left two people dead in 2012.

A mob of 500 Sunni Muslims rampaged through a village in Sampang's Omben subdistrict on Aug. 26, hacking one Shiite Muslim to death and setting fire to more than 30 homes. Those who remained in the region, or refused to convert to Sunni Islam, were forced to live in spartan conditions in an unadorned sports complex. Nearly one year on, the community still lives in exile.

Although President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has publicly supported religious tolerance, members of his cabinet "sometimes send mixed messages on religious freedom," the report states.

The US commission, appointed by the government, noted that Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali had publicly supported provincial bans on the Ahmadiyah group and suggested that religious tolerance could only be attained by converting Ahmadiyah and Shiite members to the mainstream form of Sunni Islam.

The commission recommended that the US government create programs to increase the capacity of Indonesian human rights defenders, members of the provincial Joint Forums for Religious Tolerance (FKUB), as well as judges and law enforcement officers, so that they could mediate and address sectarian conflicts and religiously charged violence.

It also urged the Indonesian government to repeal a 2008 joint ministerial decree banning the Ahmadiyah from proselytizing, a 2006 decree that regulates the building of houses of worship, and Article 156 of the Indonesian Criminal Code, which outlaws blasphemy.

An Indonesian pro-democracy organization, the Setara Institute, cited 264 instances of violence directed at religious minorities last year alone.

Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, likened the archipelago's increasing levels of intolerance to "a form of toxic osmosis." "It can and will spread and become a much more serious problem," he said in a recent report.

Armed forces & defense

Germany approves tank sale to Indonesia: Industry source

Reuters - May 3, 2013

Sabine Siebold, Berlin – The German government has approved the sale to Indonesia of about 100 used Leopard 2 tanks and 50 armored personnel carriers but has put off a decision on a tank sale to Saudi Arabia, a defense source said on Friday.

Germany's national security council, which includes Chancellor Angela Merkel and some cabinet ministers, must approve large arms sales and the government never comments on its decisions.

Indonesia, southeast Asia's largest economy, had previously indicated it would buy 130 Leopard tanks from Germany's Rheinmetall AG as part of a $15 billion five-year campaign to modernize its military.

The German source did not say how much the deal was worth but Indonesia said last year the value of the initial agreement to buy 130 tanks was $280 million.

Indonesia, which has economic growth of above 6 percent, is wary of being left behind as China, Vietnam, Thailand and other Asian nations ramp up defense spending. This year it announced plans to buy more than a dozen Russian Sukhoi fighter jets as well as domestically made, missile-equipped patrol ships.

The industry source said Berlin would delay a decision on whether to sell tanks to Saudi Arabia until after the federal election in September. It is a sensitive issue in Germany where the opposition criticizes sales to some Middle Eastern countries because of their human rights record.

Former TNI chief slammed over comments

Jakarta Post - May 2, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – An activist criticized former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret.) Endriartono Sutarto on Wednesday for defending the TNI following a series of crimes in which soldiers have been implicated.

Operational director of human rights watchdog Imparsial, Al Araf, said it was inappropriate for Endriartono to blindly defend the military by saying that crimes committed by soldiers were related to the government's decision to close down military businesses.

"The handing over of military businesses has nothing to do with the criminal acts by soldiers. The decision to end the military's role in business is part of the armed forces' internal reform. A professional military must not do business nor be involved in politics," Al Araf told The Jakarta Post.

He also said that Endriartono's argument that the military businesses had improved soldiers' welfare was unacceptable. "In the past, the businesses mainly benefitted generals and contributed very little to low-ranking soldiers' incomes," Al Araf added.

In an interview with the Post on Tuesday, Endriartono suggested that soldiers committed crimes because the government did not provide enough incentives for them.

"We all know that the state budget, which is the ultimate funding source for the military, cannot provide everything needed by the military, such as proper housing and incentives," said Endriartono, who led the TNI between 2002 and 2006.

He also said that soldiers were depressed as they had been unable to voice their political aspirations after the fall of Soeharto's New Order regime in 1998.

The TNI has been under public scrutiny for a string of crimes implicating its members. The most recent case was the arrest on Monday of Semarang naval base commander Col. Anter Setiabudi by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in Semarang, Central Java, for the alleged possession and consumption of crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy pills.

Other incidents include the murder of four inmates by 11 of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commandos in Yogyakarta and attacks on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) headquarters by a group of soldiers in Jakarta.

Last week, the Bandung Military Court handed down the death sentence to Second Pvt. Mart Azzanul Ikhwan for the murder of a pregnant woman and her mother in Garut, West Java. (dic)

Indonesian president vows to outgun Australia

ABC News - May 2, 2013

George Roberts – Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says his country should strive to have a more powerful military than Australia.

About 16,000 Indonesian troops are preparing for joint military exercises in East Java.

Meeting with military commanders, Mr Yudhoyono told them that Indonesia's military should be bigger and more modern than countries like Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Indonesia's military boasts 470,000 active troops, while the Australian Defence Force has just over 80,000 full-time personnel and reservists.

It has also embarked on a military upgrade program, building warships and drones, as well buying fighter jets, helicopters and rockets.

Bad apples raise TNI concerns

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih and Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – A string of criminal acts committed by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the first four months of 2013 have raised concerns over the deteriorating level of discipline in the armed forces.

The arrest of Semarang Naval Base commander Col. Anter Setiabudi by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in Semarang, Central Java, on drug charges is the latest of many scandals to hit the TNI.

The most recent incident comes at a time when the military is trying to regain public trust after the murder of four inmates by 11 Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commandos in Yogyakarta and attacks on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) headquarters by a group of TNI soldiers in Jakarta.

TNI commander Adm. Agus Suhartono admitted that training and supervision of military personnel should be improved.

"Those who break the law will be tried and receive proper punishment. Aside from that, the personnel development and supervision, at the hands of commandants, will be improved," Agus told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Anter was arrested along with Brig. Rahmat Sutopo, a police officer from Central Java Police intelligence division, for selling and consuming crystal methamphetamine, according to the BNN.

"[Rahmat] was arrested at 1 a.m. on Monday when he was about to deliver crystal meth to [Anter] at the Ciputra Hotel in Simpang Lima, Semarang," BNN deputy Insp. Gen. Benny Mamoto said at a press conference at the BNN headquarters in Jakarta.

After his arrest, the BNN forced Rahmat to confess who the narcotics were intended for. The disgraced police officer then assisted BNN agents raid a room at the hotel where the Naval commander was found taking crystal meth. The agency found eight ecstasy pills and 0.3 grams of meth in the room, allegedly belonging to Anter.

Both suspects were brought to Jakarta but the case against Anter was handed over to the Navy Military Police later on Tuesday.

The Navy said Anter was the first middle-ranking officer to be charged with drug abuse. Navy spokesman First Adm. Untung Surapati said Anter had been dismissed from his post following his arrest.

Former TNI commander Gen. (ret.) Endriartono Sutarto suggested that soldiers committed violent acts because the government did not provide enough incentives for them.

"At the beginning of reformation era, businesses handled by the TNI were eradicated. All TNI expenses now come from the state budget. But, in reality, the state budget cannot cover many things, such as housing for soldiers," he said in a telephone interview.

Endriartono, who led the TNI between 2002 and 2006, said that soldiers were depressed as they had been unable to voice their political aspirations after the fall of Soeharto's New Order regime in 1998. "We used to have the TNI faction at the House of Representatives. When they dissolved the faction the government offered no substitute."

He added that the government should allocate a higher budget for the military, particularly to upgrade its obsolete military equipment. "Give the military their toys," said Endriartono, who now chairs the NasDem Party's advisory council.

Senior analyst from the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), J Kristiadi, suggested that the cases involving military personnel may only be the tip of the iceberg "If a middle-ranking personnel like the Naval commander in Semarang committed crimes, the iceberg might be huge," he said.

Kristiadi urged the TNI to evaluate the quality if its education and training. "Punishment is important, but internal evaluation is equally important," he said.

The TNI has been under the media spotlight for a number incidents, ranging from assault to murder. Last week, for instance, the Bandung Military Court II-09 handed down the death penalty for 23-year-old Second Pvt. Mart Azzanul Ikhwan for the murder of a pregnant woman and her mother in Garut.

[Ainur Rohmah contributed to the story from Semarang.]

Judicial & legal system

Minorities wary of mixed signals from court

Jakarta Post - May 3, 2013

Ina Parlina – While many citizens are enjoying new freedoms, minorities are still persecuted.

The court's past rulings present a mixed picture of how much minorities can hope for from the legal system. Beleaguered religious minorities still face bleak prospects, as the court upheld the Blasphemy Law.

The 1965 law has been used to justify policies favoring the mainstream schools of the nation's five recognized faiths: Balinese Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism and Islam.

Early indications of the views of several recently inaugurated justices may be bellwethers for future rulings touching on minorities.

Arief Hidayat, a new justice and law professor from Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, for example, said that atheism and same-sex marriage should be prohibited in Indonesia for contradicting the state ideology of Pancasila and the Constitution.

Arief made his comments during his "fit-and-proper" test before lawmakers at the House of Representatives.

He also said that Indonesia should implement human rights appropriate to the "local context", instead of unconditionally adopting the standards of the United Nations.

The fact that Arief was selected reflects how his views have resonated with people, despite worrying and confusing others, particularly as Indonesia has ratified many international conventions on human rights.

Arief's controversial views on atheism, however, were not extraordinary for Indonesia. A court in West Sumatra, a Muslim-majority province noted for its piety, sentenced Alexander Aan to two-and-a-half years imprisonment for violating the 2008 law on cyber crimes by "inciting animosity and hatred" through a Facebook posting that proclaimed that he was an atheist.

Meanwhile, Arief's views on homosexuals prompted an openly gay citizen, Hartoyo, to write the justice an open letter quoting on the Constitution's provisions for freedom from discrimination. Hartoyo said that he and his partner had been tortured in his hometown in Aceh, the only province allowed to issue bylaws based on sharia.

Other observers have lauded Justice Maria Farida Indrati for her pluralist views, for instance, in dissenting to the nation's controversial Pornography Law, which she said would be prone to misinterpretation.

Maria was also praised for her dissenting opinion on the annulment of election laws requiring that parties nominate more women candidates. The justice said that the quota for women would be balanced by appointing election winners based on votes received, while the majority ruled otherwise.

Maria also dissented against a ruling that upheld the Blasphemy Law, saying the state should not intervene in matters of faith.

Such dissenting opinions have at least given a voice to minority perspectives.

Women in informal marriages have also gained hope for their children through a landmark ruling issued in February 2012 that gave civil rights to children born out of wedlock whose biological fathers could be identified. The decision resulted from a judicial review request filed by dangdut singer Machica Muchtar, who claimed that the father of her son was the late Moerdiono, a former aide of president Soeharto.

The ruling was praised by the National Child Protection Commission (KPAI), which has said that an estimated 50 percent of children do not have birth certificates, principally due to unregistered marriages. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) disagreed with the ruling, which it said might be construed as an endorsement of adultery.

Although the nation's jurists must have pluralist views to ensure that Constitutional rights are preserved in a diverse nation, according to Wahyudi Djafar of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the pluralist views of the court have often been questioned.

Justice Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi said that the challenge was "how to place the law into the context of a living constitution", requiring its guardians on the court to use their wisdom in the face of changing times.

Foreign affairs & trade

Australian defense plan targets Indonesian ties

Jakarta Globe - May 4, 2013

Laura Dawson – Australia is looking to deepen its ties with Indonesia in order to better ensure its own security, according to the Australian 2013 Defense White Paper released on Friday.

The document, released by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Defense Minister Stephen Smith, represents the government's long-term strategic interests in peacefully managing and controlling the Indo-Pacific region.

Indonesia, the paper emphasizes, remains the country's "most important regional strategic relationship."

The defense document states that Indonesia's and Australia's security issues are linked, with both countries sharing the goal of maintaining a stable and economically prosperous region.

Australia and Indonesia signed a Defense Cooperation Arrangement in September 2012, providing an official framework for practical defense cooperation. Last year, defense forces of the two countries took part in the biggest joint military training exercises since the mid-1990s.

The document calls for even greater defense and security cooperation, seeking to expand the existing program of cooperation on counter-terrorism, maritime isues, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. This will include expanding bilateral training exercises as well as increasing the frequency and scope of personnel and unit exchanges.

Professor Aleksius Jemadu, Dean of Universitas Pelita Harapan's School of Social and Political Sciences, said it was in Australia's interest to focus so much attention on Indonesia.

"Australia wants to see Indonesia become a strong, democratic and stable ally as it is an immediate neighbor of significant influence in the region," he said.

"The more democratic Indonesia is, the better the chance of it cooperate with Australia." He continued that Australia wants to guarantee Indonesia as a stable democracy through closer cooperation and support on all levels.

When it comes to counterterrorism, Australia "aims to ensure the Indonesian forces have the skills, training and equipment to engage in effective and efficient counterterrorism efforts," Aleksius said

The defense document further refers to Indonesia's opportunity to strengthen regional and global stability as the country's influence and capabilities evolve.

The 2013 paper also tones down its rhetoric on the need to balance a rising China. Instead, the document claims Australia "welcomes China's rise", regionally and globally, primarily because of the economic benefits it has delivered worldwide.

Australia, Indonesia boost security, defense ties

Jakarta Post - May 4, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The second annual "2+2" dialogue between the defense and foreign ministers of Australia and Indonesia on Wednesday reaffirmed the good, comprehensive and strategic cooperation, particularly in the defense and military sectors, between the two neighboring countries.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the meeting managed to reflect the broad nature of Australian-Indonesia relations, which had seen so many ups and downs in the past years.

"It was a very constructive and useful discussion. We exchanged views on regional and global issues, such as Southeast Asia and the South China Sea, among other things," Marty told a joint press conference after the meeting at the Foreign Ministry.

Topics discussed spanned from peacekeeping operations, disaster relief, maritime joint patrols, army and navy joint operations, counter-terrorism, as well as tackling people smuggling and human trafficking.

"Indonesia and Australia has a comprehensive and strategic partnership that is good at every level. Our defense relationship and cooperation have never been stronger," Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said. "There's no country in the region more important to Australia than Indonesia."

The inaugural 2+2 meeting was held in Canberra in March, 2012. In the meeting, Australia also offered to sell Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules transport aircraft at a bargain price, less than the six previously reported by the Indonesian Military (TNI), including "a simulator and some spare parts," Carr said.

This would be the second deal after Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and his Australian counterpart, Stephen Smith, signed agreements on defense cooperation in Darwin, Australia, last year, which included a grant of four refurbished C-130Hs.

"The discussion between Smith and I concerned defense to defense cooperation, particularly the implementation of the Lombok Treaty. We also discussed joint exercises, which include [Army Special Forces], as well as other army-to-army and navy-to-navy cooperation," Purnomo said.

The Lombok Treaty, which came into effect in February 2008, provides a modern framework for intensified bilateral cooperation across all areas of defense, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, maritime security and humanitarian and disaster relief.

In September 2012, Purnomo and Smith signed a defense cooperation arrangement, providing a formal structure for practical defense cooperation under the Lombok Treaty.

In 2012, Indonesia and Australia engaged in a coordinated maritime patrol of the two countries' shared maritime borders, while the Indonesian Air Force participated in Exercise Pitch Black for the first time.

In a statement, Carr said that Australia also offered cooperation in officer- and English-language training, with some 160 positions in Australia to be offered to Indonesian military personnel this year under the bilateral Defense Cooperation Program.

After the meeting, Carr and Smith paid a courtesy call to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. According to Marty, Yudhoyono expressed his concern over the latest situation in the Korean Peninsula before his Australian guests.

Carr was also slated to deliver a speech to the Indonesia-Australia Defense Alumni Association (IKAHAN).

Mining & energy

Never-ending debate on fuel prices goes back to square one

Jakarta Post - May 1, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih and Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has prolonged the uncertainty over subsidized fuel, saying he needs time to discuss relief for the poor with the House of Representatives.

"When will we increase the price of subsidized fuel? The answer is when the compensatory funds and the social security funds are ready. The government will prepare them in the 2013 State Budget," he said. Increasing the price of subsidized fuel with no assistance for those with very little income would have repercussions on social, security and economic matters, he said.

"The government, together with the House of Representatives, will discuss this in May, although I hope we can speed up the process," he said. "When the amount of compensation is ready, then we can increase the price."

The President acknowledged that asubsidized price for Premium gasoline of Rp 4,500 (46 US cents) per liter was far too low when compared to the true market price of around Rp 10,000. The government has no intention of bringing the price in line with the market, Yudhoyono said.

Cabinet members have surmised that Premium will rise to Rp 6,500 for private cars only, but according to the President no decision has been reached, which hints at the possibility of an outright increase.

Yudhoyono defended his vacillation. "Critics said that the government has been tardy and hesitant to increase the price of subsidized fuel. My answer: I am consistent – for the government, increasing the price of subsidized fuel should be the last resort when there is no other option."

Discussing the issue with the House, SBY might encounter the same issues as in April last year, when lawmakers rejected adjustment of fuel prices to counteract nationwide protests. The 2013 State Budget Law allows the President to adjust the fuel subsidy fuel unilaterally.

"Waiting for House approval will be a difficult and lengthy process, because lawmakers will make decisions, not only on an economic basis, but from a political perspective," economist Ahmad Erani Yustika said on Tuesday. Huge economic costs are being incurred because of the uncertainty surrounding fuel subsidies, Erani said.

Citi Research economist Helmi Arman warned that cutting fuel subsidies later "may cost extra political capital" especially with Ramadhan approaching in July, when inflation usually rises as Muslims increase their spending on food and clothes.

The State Budget revision process is normally lengthy. Any decision on fuel could take up to two months, a situation certain to breed further uncertainty, Bank Danamon economists led by Dian Ayu Yustina announced on Tuesday.

Indonesia Land Transportation Owners Association (Organda) chair Eka Sari Lorena said businesspeople would inevitably increase the land transportation tariff by 35 percent when the fuel price rises, because operational costs would naturally increase.

"The price of spare parts has been climbing since 2009 but we have not adjusted the tariff. This time, we will have no choice. This fuel price hike will hurt us badly," she told reporters, predicting the impact would be considerable as people switched to private vehicles that caused congestion, particularly in Jakarta.

"If we do not raise our tariff, we will suffer losses and operators will begin to gradually slow down their operations" she said. She also said the diesel shortage that brought long lines to gas stations in many regions had forced around 25 percent of land transportation operators halt their operations.

[Nurfika Osman contributed to this story.]

Economy & investment

Economic growth loses steam

Jakarta Post - May 7, 2013

Tassia Sipahutar and Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Declining consumer spending and lower investment have unexpectedly caused a drag on the country's economic growth, leading to its slowest pace in more than two years.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Monday that gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.02 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, its lowest level since September 2010.

While the central bank and the Finance Ministry remain upbeat over this year's growth target of 6.5 percent, the first quarter outcome was below Bank Indonesia's forecast of 6.2 percent.

Domestic consumer spending, the primary growth engine for the economy, grew by 5.17 percent from a year ago, down slightly from 5.38 percent in the fourth quarter last year. "The trend is slowing. What propelled the consumer growth in the first quarter was spending by middle-class consumers on household goods," said BPS chairman Suryamin.

Consumer spending slowed due to food-price inflation during the quarter. "But we do not expect this to be persistent. Even if the government raised the subsidized fuel price, consumption would slow down further but might only last for about two quarters," said Bank Danamon economist Dian Ayu Yustina in a note.

"Furthermore, it should be offset by rising spending in preparation for the general election. Pressure on domestic consumption should also be limited by the better absorption of the labor market."

The slowdown in economic expansion was also exacerbated by lower than expected government spending despite measures already put in place by government officials to help speed it up.

Government spending only grew by 0.42 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The figure dropped by 42 percent compared to the fourth quarter last year. "There seems to be no end to the slow cycle of government spending in the first quarter," said Suryamin.

In the first quarter this year, the government only disbursed 5.6 percent of the Rp 194 trillion (US$20 billion) of funds allocated for capital expenditure, which comprises spending on assets and infrastructure projects needed to solve distribution bottlenecks, create jobs and propel economic growth, according to the Finance Ministry.

In response to the easing in the rate of growth, acting finance minister Hatta Rajasa said that the government would find new ways to accelerate spending to help spur growth. "We will try to seek ways to accelerate the spending but without compromising principles of good governance," said Hatta.

Failure to end the protracted slow channeling of government funds is partly attributable to the sluggish pace of reform within the government finances and bureaucracy.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgraded Indonesia's rating on Thursday to BB+ stable from BB+ positive, because of concerns over the stalling reforms. "Slow progress in improving critical infrastructure, along with legal and regulatory uncertainties and bureaucratic obstacles, detract from Indonesia's growth potential, thus, delaying poverty reduction and economic development," said S&P.

Aside from weaker household and government spending, the easing in economic growth was also attributable to declining investment expansion. According to the BPS, investment grew 5.9 percent in the first quarter compared to the 9.9 percent recorded during the first quarter of 2012.

"In the past few years, companies invested a lot in machinery and equipment. Now they have limited their investments and are beginning to use what they purchased," Suryamin said. The BPS revealed that investment in plant and equipment was down to 0.17.

"This may be a second-round effect of the drop in commodity prices in 2012. Monthly trade data shows a strong year-on-year drop in dumper truck and heavy equipment imports in the second month of the year. Meanwhile, growth in construction also slowed but was still above 7 percent year-on-year," said Citi economist Helmi Arman in a note.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Chatib Basri said that he was certain Indonesia could still post strong investment growth.

"In the first quarter, we posted a 30 percent rise in investment realization. I think everything should be okay up until the end of the first half. Capital goods imports will also decline in the fourth quarter," he said.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan described the economic outlook for this year as "quite challenging" because foreign direct investment, currently the second key driver of economic growth, was likely to decelerate in the second half of the year.

In addition to this, external trade will be at risk due to continuing weak overseas demand for Indonesian exports. At the same time, the sizeable consumption of oil and gas due to the subsidized fuel policy could boost imports significantly.

However, amid such concerns over trade imbalances, the BPS also announced that net exports unexpectedly improved, growing by 17 percent year-on-year, mostly driven by the sharp drop in the rate of imports.

[Raras Cahyafitri contributed to the story.]

Analysis & opinion

Rocks of Papua hope

Fiji Times - May 1, 2013

Padre James Bhagwan – At next month's Melanesian Spearhead Group meeting in New Caledonia, leaders from Melanesia will be asked to respond to the cry for liberation by their brothers and sisters in West Papua.

For the past half century the people of West Papua have struggled for their call for self-determination to be heard and responded to.

When Dutch colonial rule ended on December 1, 1961, they agreed to grant West Papua self-rule.

When the Dutch left, they handed West Papua over to the United Nations and then to Jakarta, in a transfer agreement which stipulated that West Papuans would be able to decide within six years whether to accept incorporation into Indonesia.

Many West Papuans saw the Dutch departure as a chance for complete independence. But within a year, forces from Jakarta had annexed the region and claimed it as part of Indonesia

This opportunity came and went – and many Papuans, as well as human rights groups, have questioned why the region has still not been allowed a vote for independence.

From the time Jakarta first annexed the province, there have been sporadic clashes between poorly armed independence supporters and Indonesian security forces. Over the years there have been serious abuses committed by the Indonesian security forces. Accusations of torture and rape persist.

The Free West Papua Campaign website claims: "Over 500,000 civilians have been killed in genocide against the indigenous population. Thousands more have been raped, tortured, imprisoned or 'disappeared' after being detained. Basic human rights such as freedom of speech are denied and Papuans live in a constant state of fear and intimidation."

Last year, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill broke with tradition and publicly admonished the Indonesian government's response to continuing state violence, human rights violations and failure of governance in West Papua. Moved by 4000 women from the Lutheran Church, O'Neill said he would raise human rights concerns in the troubled territory with the Indonesian government.

The Pacific Media Centre notes "Melanesian support for a free West Papua has always been high. Travel throughout Papua New Guinea and you will often hear people say that West Papua and Papua New Guinea is "wanpela graun" – one land – and West Papuans on the other side of the border are family and kin.

Earlier this year politicians in Papua New Guinea also were heard to lend their voice to the cause of a free West Papua.

According to the Pacific Media Centre in Auckland, Powes Parkop, Governor of the Papua New Guinea's National Capital District, recently insisted that "there is no historical, legal, religious, or moral justification for Indonesia's occupation of West Papua".

Governor Parkop, who is a member of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua, which now has representatives in 56 countries, then went on to formerly launch the free West Papua campaign.

In April, West Papua National Coalition for Liberation visited Noumea and presented its official application for full MSG membership to Victor Tutugoro, the executive of the FLNKAS and the incoming MSG chairman.

According to Radio New Zealand, "New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS has pledged its full support for the cause of the West Papuan people for freedom and independence".

Mr Tutugoro said the MSG is only for Melanesia and Liberation Movements within it, and the FLNKS leadership would be happy to welcome West Papua as a new member in the Melanesian family.

Last week, Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo met officials from the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) in Honiara.

According to the Solomon Star newspaper, during the meeting Mr Lilo "expressed his support for the West Papuan agenda to be discussed at the MSG level. He said this would be included in the next Melanesian Spearhead Group Summit". Mr Lilo said he was aware of the West Papuan struggles, which is now more than 50 years.

Vice chairman of the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation, Dr Otto Ondawame, expressed his delight after the assurance by PM Lilo. Dr Ondawame said given the important role that MSG plays in regional politics it is vital that the West Papuan issue is discussed at the leadership level.

He said they were also rallying for support in Melanesia and beyond to ensure that their West Papuan issue was discussed at all opportunities available at the regional and international level.

Support from the Solomons and Kanaky seem to be part of a changing tide of political engagement within Melanesian countries on the issue of independence for West Papua.

In Vanuatu, opposition parties, the Malvatumari National Council of Chiefs and the Anglican bishop of Vanuatu, Reverend James Ligo have been urging the Vanuatu government to change its position on West Papua.

Last month Vanuatu PM Moana Carcasses and Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nipake Natapei pledged Vanuatu's support for the West Papua request to grant and admit West Papua as an observer status to the MSG.

The issue of West Papua's Independence was also on the agenda of this year's Pacific Conference of Churches General Assembly in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The PCC Assembly resolved to address human rights abuse and independence in West Papua. It will incorporate the human rights situation in West Papua as a strong focal point of PCC's programmatic work on self- determination for non-self-governing territories and communities and peoples who yearn to be free. Pacific churches will designate an annual Freedom Sunday to pray for island countries and people who are not free.

Given our nation's close bond with Papua New Guinea and leadership role in Melanesia, yet at the same time, its recent strengthening of ties with Indonesia, Fiji's leadership may have to look beyond the short term and the government's own interests to support the cause of West Papuans who only ask for the same rights that the current draft constitution aims to provide for Fijians.

The late Father Walter Lini, Vanuatu's first prime minister, once said "Melanesia is not free until West Papua is free". The cry of West Papuans continues to be, if not now, when?

As the people of Oceania – Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia to continue struggle for control of their destiny, the plight of West Papua and Maohi Nui (in what is known as French Polynesia) are reminders that liberty, justice and peace are not just ideals but are non-negotiables for every human being. They are rocks from which islands of hope grow.

Those who physically or spiritually join in the weekly Peace Vigil at Suva's Holy Trinity Cathedral every Thursday between 12.30pm to 1.30pm may wish to spend some time reflecting on West Papua as we reflect on our own political journey.

[Reverend JS Bhagwan is a Masters in Theology Student at the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea. The views expressed are his and not of this newspaper.]

Book & film reviews

Review: From the dark side

Inside Indonesia - April-June, 2013

John Roosa – At times one comes close to feeling sorry for Pak Wanandi. So little in his life worked out as planned. The book, unlike so many je ne regrette rien autobiographies of Suharto-era officials, is filled with misgivings. He helped bring Suharto to power in 1965-66 and then regretted that the general stayed in power for so long. He rebuilt Golkar in 1970-71 and was later disappointed to see the organisation become the tool of Suharto's personal power. He led the international PR campaign justifying the 1975 invasion of East Timor but then lamented the army's brutal counterinsurgency tactics.

As a Chinese Indonesian, Wanandi particularly regrets the Suharto dictatorship's blocking of his community's access to government jobs. He changed his name from Lim Bian Kie in the spirit of assimilation only to be treated as part of a quasi-alien nation. Wanandi's initial enthusiasm for the Suharto regime – with its promises of economic growth, political stability, and cultural tolerance – waned in the 1980s as its personalised, nepotistic, and racist character became entrenched.

Despite the author's readiness to profess regrets, it is difficult to summon up any sympathy for him. He laboured for years on the dark side, helping the Suharto dictatorship commit a variety of crimes, and he remains proud of his work as the protege of one of its most loathsome dirty-tricks intelligence officers, Ali Moertopo. His insider accounts of the decision- making behind various massacres are often self-serving and inaccurate.

The mass killing with which the regime began in 1965-66 was a 'horrible mistake'. Unlike many of his New Order peers, who have either remained silent about the killing or offered full-throated justifications of it, Wanandi is at least willing to see something wrong: 'We can never legitimise, gloss over, or forget those acts'. He even calls for investigations that can 'bring up' – a nicely chosen verb invoking excavations of mass graves – 'the truths about those tragic events'.

Still, how can he call the slaughter of unarmed, defenceless detainees 'a mistake' rather than a crime? He can by doing what he asks us not to do. He glosses over them. He explains them with a fanciful story that blames, of all people, Sukarno. Bung Karno is supposedly at fault for not immediately banning the PKI in early October. People 'took matters into their own hands'; in some regions, the army 'took the initiative'. This blame-the- president story has been told before. Notosusanto and Saleh presented it in their famous 1967 tract on the September 30th Movement: 'the public', demanding the PKI be punished, ran amok when Sukarno tried 'to protect the party'. The story is nonsense. Suharto and his clique of army officers sidelined Sukarno and proceeded to do what they had already planned to do. They would have used a presidential ban to legitimate their murderous assaults, just as they used his Supersemar to legitimate their March 1966 coup.

Wanandi nearly concedes as much. He claims, with remarkable frankness, that the 'killing campaign' in Central Java 'was led by Sarwo Edhie', the RPKAD commander sent there to attack the PKI in mid-October. Wanandi unfairly casts him as the sole agent of extermination. He omits Suharto's role. And he seems oblivious to the perversity of his depiction of Sarwo Edhie's motivations: 'He had a personal grudge against communists to avenge the death of Achmad Yani, his friend and patron.' Tens of thousands of ordinary civilians in Central Java, people who had nothing to do with Yani's murder at Lubang Buaya, had to be slaughtered because Sarwo Edhie wanted to avenge the death of his old buddy from Purworedjo? Was the current president's father-in-law that pathological? Wanandi does not mention that the student movement in Jakarta, of which he was a prominent leader, feted Sarwo Edhie as a great war hero when he returned after the killing spree.

Wanandi's account shows how closely the student movement worked with the army. The students knew in early October that they were in no danger. The PKI put up no resistance as they rampaged through the streets, ransacking and burning houses, offices, and schools. But still they pretended as if they were brave heroes at war risking their lives. Wanandi notes in passing, without an expression of regret, that the students of the Indonesian Student Action Front (KAMI) forced people to join their demonstrations: 'We would send civil defence (Hansip) personnel around to people's houses, advising them that they would be regarded as PKI if they did not attend our meetings.'

Wanandi doesn't explain precisely how and why Ali Moertopo, whom he calls Pak Ali, recruited him. He mentions that he first met him at a Kostrad 'seminar' in 1963 at which army officers declared that China and the PKI were their main threats, not the Western imperialist powers that Sukarno identified. (With such views being expressed, it must have been a secret, invitees-only gathering.) It was a fateful meeting: 'I was not to know then what a great influence he was to have over my life.'

His account of Moertopo's Opsus, the secret organisation inside Kostrad, to sabotage Konfrontasi, is as revealing as it is confusing. He claims Opsus began in mid-1965 during a meeting between Moertopo and Suharto (of Kostrad) and Yani, the army commander. But then he claims that Moertopo began contacting Des Alwi and other Socialist Party of Indonesia (PSI) figures, living abroad after their support for the failed 1957-58 rebellion, in September or October 1964. Perhaps the meeting with Yani was in mid-1964. He casually mentions, as if it was a routine matter, that Moertopo smuggled 'rubber and other goods' to generate money for Opsus and accumulated $17 million in banks in Singapore and Malaysia. Was the PKI's term 'capitalist bureaucrat' (kabir) entirely inaccurate?

Moertopo appears in this book as a clever servant of Suharto's. In the film about an English manor, Gosford Park (2001), a servant explains that she has to anticipate, to know what the masters want 'before they know it themselves'. Wanandi saw Moertopo's 'strength' in his ability to anticipate: 'He always felt he had to prepare the old man [Suharto] in advance, before events happened.'

Wanandi joined Moertopo's staff in 1967 just as the colonel became Suharto's point man for Papua. For two years, starting in mid-1967, Wanandi was involved in the preparations for the holding of the Act of Free Choice in Papua. The strategy, according to him, was seduction. He brought in boatloads of tobacco and beer so that the Papuans would look kindly upon Indonesia. Wanandi does not discuss the coercive and deceitful tactics to win the vote, avoiding an engagement with the kind of documentation found in John Saltford's 2003 book The United Nations and the Indonesian Takeover of West Papua, 1962-1969: The Anatomy of Betrayal, and remains silent on the terrors that Indonesia has inflicted on the Papuans since 1969. (Much of the section on Papua has already appeared in an essay Wanandi published in Inside Indonesia in 2009.

The 'success' in Papua emboldened Suharto's men to attempt a similar strategy in East Timor. One of the longest sections of the book concerns Wanandi's role in annexing East Timor in 1974-75. He is desperate to clear his name, especially now that the country has won independence, two truth commissions have issued reports exposing the Indonesian military's atrocities and some Australian embassy files referring to his role have been declassified.

He insists that his strategy was again, merely seduction. Moertopo's group started Operation Komodo in April 1974 for 'gathering intelligence and peddling pro-Indonesia propaganda' and training East Timorese to fight Fretilin on their own. They hoped to annex East Timor 'through diplomatic means' and then hold some kind of act of self-determination, after about seven years, once Indonesia had prepped the East Timorese so that they would vote the right way, as in Papua. The East Timorese would come to see that 'the only logical path was to become part of Indonesia'.

As his story goes, their strategy lost out as General Benny Moerdani, the military intelligence chief, started Operation Flamboyan in early 1975, which sent Indonesian-trained East Timorese across the border to take the country by force. Then that operation lost ground to Operation Seroja in August 1975, when the military commander, Panggabean, proposed to use Indonesian troops to take East Timor. It was, Wanandi opines, a 'stupid' plan. Fretilin's military victory and its declaration of independence in November provoked Suharto into opting for Panggabean's plan. 'The whole thing went haywire.'

While depicting Moerdani and Panggabean as the villains, Wanandi unintentionally indicts himself. At no point did his Moertopo faction envision a genuine act of self-determination for the East Timorese. The plan from the start was to annex East Timor and the debate with the other factions was only over the method.

Once the Indonesian troops launched a full-scale invasion in December, Wanandi made the diplomatic rounds: 'It was a PR job, and not a nice one, because we didn't agree with what was happening.' He was in Washington DC coaching the people Indonesia sent to testify to the US Congress, explaining to them how they could not admit that the troops had 'invaded'.

Wanandi has the remarkable ability to acknowledge a crime and then blame the victims for it. He admits Indonesian troops shot and killed five foreign journalists in Balibo to eliminate witnesses to the invasion: 'it could not be known that they were invading'. So here is a clear admission to a war crime: the deliberate murder of non-combatants. Then he blames the journalists themselves for putting themselves in a war zone: 'They thought it would be a picnic and of course they were shot.' Of course.

This memoir allows us some glimpses into the depraved mindset of Suharto- era officialdom. Wanandi and his fellow Golkar leaders engineered electoral victories every five years by intimidating people. They sent civil defence personnel house-to-house to inform people that a vote against Golkar would be construed as a vote for the PKI. They organised a civil servants association as a 'tool of Golkar to win elections'. They mobilised street toughs, the preman. Wanandi is proud of the electoral victories and is not troubled by the underhanded methods to achieve them. Pak Ali assigned him tasks and he completed them successfully. Asal bapak senang (as long as the boss is happy). Moertopo famously called commoners 'a floating mass'; they had to be manipulated and directed because they were too stupid to think for themselves. Wanandi takes that premise for granted.

Moertopo arranged the funding for Wanandi's think-tank, CSIS, in 1971 by calling up various Chinese Indonesian businessmen, cukong (a term Wanandi euphemistically translates as 'patron'), and asking for money: 'that was all that was needed'. With CSIS, Wanandi styled himself as an intellectual and cultivated contacts with foreign academics, all the while serving as a Golkar boss and intelligence operative. CSIS was another seduction strategy, this time targeting foreigners who were influential in shaping international opinion about the Suharto regime. It was also a way to monitor and punish the recalcitrant ones, like Benedict Anderson. (Anderson has written about his run-ins with Wanandi in his 1996 article in the journal Indonesia, 'Scholarship on Indonesia and Raison d'Etat'.)

Wanandi would like readers to think he has a heart; that his work on the dark side has only left him streaked with grey and not dyed jet black. He recounts his lobbying in the 1970s to get political prisoners released and allow the Red Cross into East Timor. This work seems to have been greatly motivated by the need to placate foreign criticisms of the regime. I was surprised to find Wanandi flattering my book about the September 30th Movement 'as the best explanation of who was behind the coup and why it failed'. The praise is accompanied by a silence on my condemnation of the army's reaction to the movement. As is his habit, he blames the victims. The movement was 'a terrible blunder that opened the floodgates to retribution'. The PKI was responsible for the violence against it. He invokes the old cliche: the atmosphere of the time was 'kill or be killed'. That specious depiction of the time conveniently exonerates the perpetrators who cowardly executed people who were already tied up and then made them disappear. As the recent film The Act of Killing (2012) reveals, the best way to dispel the perpetrators' myths is to let them describe precisely what they did.

Wanandi ends his book in Candide-like fashion, bereft of the optimism that animated his early enthusiasm for the Suharto regime, writing about his think-tank as the little garden he cultivates. By the end of the book I felt like going outside and cultivating a real garden as a relief from reliving the grey-on-grey nightmare of Suharto-era officialdom.

Jusuf Wanandi, Shades of Grey: A Political Memoir of Modern Indonesia, 1965-1998 (Singapore: Equinox, 2012).

[John Roosa (jroosa@mail.ubc.ca) is Associate Professor of History at the University of British Columbia and author of Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Suharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006).]

Reviews: Flipping the national story of 1965

Inside Indonesia - April-June, 2013

Gerry van Klinken – The most extraordinary achievement of the New Order might have been the tenacity of its ideology. Fifteen years after Suharto was forced to resign by the democracy movement, there is still no national monument to the hundreds of thousands of citizens murdered by the military and their right-wing allies in the years 1965-68. No school textbook describes what happened. Not one museum confronts visitors with the greatest national tragedy in the history of the nation. No national day of remembrance mourns the dead and those imprisoned without trial. No state institution is attempting to record the names of the victims, the identities of family members who require compensation for their suffering, or the locations of the thousands of mass graves scattered over the archipelago. No one has been prosecuted for crimes against humanity. 'Imagine if the Nazis had won and then they finished the Holocaust and they went back to ordinary business, doing business with the rest of the world that they were unable to conquer,' director of internationally award- winning 1965-1966 documentary, The Act of Killing (2012) American Joshua Oppenheimer said recently. 'That's what Indonesia is like.'

That callous tenacity, which has for half a century, dehumanised millions of citizens now seems about to crack. Many ex-political prisoners have freely published their memoirs since 1998. The National Human Rights Commission last year handed a report on the events to the public prosecutor, urging him to commence criminal proceedings against those responsible. The national weekly Tempo about the same time produced a thick special edition on the episode. Mainstream televisions stations have shown documentaries. President Yudhoyono is said to be considering a national apology.

The three publications under review suggest that a new generation wants to make a break with militarist ideology. To them, 1965 is no longer a threatening 'now' but an exotic moment in a past that they want to explore. The New Order narrative of the six generals whose death justifies the murder of countless civilians no longer makes sense to them. Today's prosperity makes yesterday's fears of political apocalypse seem unreal. Perhaps more important than anything else is a geopolitical shift. Where China was once seen as a communist devil and America as a generous aid donor, the current generation sees America as an arrogant, anti-Islamic military power and China as a model of disciplined, civilised economic growth. Golkar works with the Chinese Communist Party. Moreover, young people are beginning to realise that the social justice projects they are excited about were pioneered by the communists in the early 1960s.

New Perspectives on the 1965 Violence in Indonesia is a collection of papers presented at a conference of mainly young Indonesian activists held at the Australian National University in February this year. It records a fascinating inter-generational meeting being repeated all over the country today. NGOs in Solo (Central Java) and Palu (Central Sulawesi) have brought survivors together into regular discussion groups, where they exchange experiences, discuss books about what others have done, and make their voices heard in the community. The most moving moment of the conference for me was to hear Nurlaela AK Lamasitudju tell how the mayor of Palu apologised to the victims, on his own behalf and that of the city. Compensation is being arranged. This is a first in Indonesia, and the idea is spreading. The organisation Women Speaking Out (Tutur Perempuan) has been holding such meetings in towns in East Kalimantan, Jakarta, Central Java, and Bali since 2005. Discussions are straight from the heart. 'I want to know where my father is. Where is he? If he did something bad, what was it?', asked one woman.

Several groups are building audio archives containing hundreds of interviews with survivors. An important aim of the conference was to seek ways of preserving such archives and making them more widely accessible. Others presented their research results on a great variety of topics. One researcher spoke about female prisoners who gave birth and cared for children in detention; another about the bureaucratic procedures by which people were detained for years in Indonesia's Gulag. Others talked about providing history teachers with more adequate audiovisual materials; about including perpetrators in the oral history archives as well; and about the urgent steps Indonesia's public prosecutor now needs to take.

The Indonesian-language book Memori-memori terlarang (Forbidden memories) is one of the most intimate records of the inter-generational meeting between young researchers and ageing survivors that have been published so far. The area in and around Kupang, in eastern Indonesia, saw appalling violence in 1965-67, yet public discussion of the subject has always been taboo. The book will come as a bombshell into this conservative majority- Christian provincial society, because it turns the New Order narrative upside down. At its core are the stories of dozens of extraordinary village and small town women, who were imprisoned or whose husbands were murdered. Photographs show the places where torture took place, where bodies were buried, where murderers reigned. These stories are moral barbs aimed at the provincial establishment of Kupang, which seems to have changed little since the 1960s. The civil service is one target; it inflicted precipitous downward mobility on alleged communists who were purged from schools, hospitals and offices around the region. The church is another; in 1965 it ostracised all those associated in any way with the hitherto legal communist party. The petty aristocracy are also guilty. Privileged under the colonial Dutch, they had seized peasants' lands and then collaborated with soldiers to persecute those who protested in the 1960s. 'This book does not simply present lessons from the past, but asks us to enter into that past and try to bring about healing,' writes the Protestant theologian Andreas Yewangoe in the foreword.

The Contours of Mass Violence brings together historical research by foreign and Indonesian scholars. It is well-edited, and will make great university classroom material. International complicity in the crimes becomes devastatingly clear in a chapter by Bradley Simpson. A series of regional studies by both well-known and younger scholars bring to light a wealth of new material. While centrally ordered, the 1965 killings varied in different regions, reflecting class and ethnic relations there. Whether or not the area had a history of mass violence also seemed to play a role. The violence in East Java, for example, was exacerbated by tensions between liberals and conservatives within the religious organisation Nahdlatul Ulama. Once sure they had official backing, the latter acted out their hatred with such savagery that the military actually had to rein them in.

Two chapters most directly address the question of whether the New Order narrative on the killings might crack. The first is John Roosa's on the history of that narrative. In the late 1960s it was not easy to explain to the Indonesian public why it was necessary to kill so many ordinary people in order to reset the nation's geopolitical posture. Those who tried inevitably became tangled in contradictions. The narrative(s) they wrote were not designed to withstand serious scrutiny and open debate. It is difficult to imagine how they can survive in today's democratic Indonesia.

The second is Katharine McGregor's evocative closing chapter on mass graves and memorialisation. In some countries, victim organisations have succeeded in reversing a long-accepted national narrative about the past. Argentina's confrontation with its Dirty War is a good example. 'New Perspectives on the 1965 Violence in Indonesia' proves that Indonesia's victim organisations do not lack courage. But are they about to persuade all of Indonesia to turn down an Argentinian path? Or will Indonesia continue to resemble Guatemala or Russia – two other countries where Oppenheimer's 'victorious Nazi' scenario seems frighteningly real? Several Indonesian victim organisations have attempted to open mass graves, but in every case violent men linked to conservative religious groups and the military stopped them.

One thing is certain: 50 years on, this story is only just beginning.

'New Perspectives on the 1965 Violence in Indonesia', proceedings of a conference held at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, 11-12 February 2013. [Listen to an SBS radio interview with conference organiser, Sri Lestari Wahyuningroaem; and for queries about the papers presented at the conference she can be contacted directly at sri.wahyuningroem@anu.edu.au.]

Douglas Kammen and Katharine McGregor (eds.), The contours of mass violence in Indonesia, 1965-1968. Singapore: NUS Press for the Asian Studies Association of Australia, 2012.

Mery Kolimon and Lilya Wetangterah (eds.), Memori-memori terlarang: perempuan korban & penyintas tragedi '65 di Nusa Tenggara Timur. Kupang: Yayasan Bonet Pinggupir, 2012. An English translation is in process as part of the Herb Feith Translation Series, sponsored by the Herb Feith Foundation.

[Gerry van Klinken (Klinken@kitlv.nl) is researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (www.kitlv.nl) and professor at the University of Amsterdam.]