ID/Novy Lumanauw – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday surprised world leaders on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, by singing and strumming out "Happy Birthday" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin, who turned 61 on Monday, arrived at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport midday. He then went to a lunch at the Sofitel Hotel with all 20 heads of state participating in the conference.

As other leaders extended their birthday greetings to the Russian president, a guitar-wielding Yudhoyono appeared with Indonesian media mogul Chairul Tanjung, who was holding a cake in his hands.

"I'm sorry – I didn't immediately receive intelligence information about your birthday," Yudhoyono told Putin. "I should have sung a song for you with my guitar as soon as you arrived in Bali." The Indonesian president then proceeded to carefully croon "Happy Birthday."

Putin, obviously touched by the display, blew out his candles, shook hands with Yudhoyono and brought him in for an embrace. Putin said that he was delighted by the "surprise" and thanked Yudhoyono for the song.

Putin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Oct. 7, 1952. Yudhoyono is known to have a penchant for singing. He has released three albums in collaboration with local musicians and penned most of the songs himself.

Hard-liners protest Obama visit

Jakarta Globe - October 3, 2013

Yuli Krisna, Bandung – The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit set to commence in Bali this weekend is part of the US government's efforts to control developing countries, a hard-line group said in a protest against US President Barack Obama, who is set to attend the event.

"Partnerships such as APEC are a reflection of global governance, which puts the United States as a controller with authority over developing countries, including Indonesia," Muhammad Riyan, chief of the West Java branch of hard-line group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, said during a press conference in Bandung on Wednesday.

The group said APEC had become the world's main economic power, with 40 percent of the world's population living in the region and with its domination of 44 percent of the world's trade activities.

"But that seemingly sweet macro-[economic] outlook is not in line with the facts for the people of Indonesia," Muhammad said. He added that since the signing of the free-trade policy by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, thousands of local businesses have had to close due to their inability to compete with foreign products.

Muhammad said that data showed 6,123 industries were undermined between 2007 and 2010 and that the free trade and investment liberalization agreement agreed upon through APEC would only worsen the situation.

"APEC is presented as something that aims to develop its member countries, but its main mission is for more developed countries to sharpen their free trade and open market agenda to dominate the world's economy," Muhammad said.

Other groups have also expressed resentment toward President Obama's upcoming visit. Roinnul Balad of the West Java Islamic Dakwah Council said efforts to welcome Obama to Indonesia, which include the deployment of five warships, were unnecessary.

"This country has been unnecessarily subjected to excessive welcoming efforts for that colonizing nation. The five warships show the world that Indonesia is not safe," Roinnul said.

Ahmad Anhary from Indonesia Sarekat Islam called on the public to reject Obama's arrival in Indonesia. "We should promote our rejection and make it our main issue. This is a serious issue for our nation and Muslims because we have the courage to say no to a powerful figure," he said.

Economist Rulli Indrawan said the opposition towards Obama was irrelevant as Indonesia's economic issues stemmed from the government's weaknesses.

"There are partnerships that show our position as weak, such as import policies that have made us dependant on foreign materials," he said. "So don't blame other countries because most of it should be blamed on our own weaknesses."

Activists oppose APEC Summit

Jakarta Post - October 1, 2013

Desy Nurhayati, Denpasar – Activists on Monday criticized the ongoing APEC Summit as a way for developed countries to imperialize and exploit Indonesia's natural resources.

The Indonesian People's Alliance (IPA) and the Alliance of Students Against APEC advocated their slogans "fighting the global cooperation program that is against people's interests" and "fostering fair trade for the sake of the people".

They blamed the government's MP3EI (Masterplan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Development) for causing massive land conversion that deprived farmers of their rights, and massive exploitation of natural resources by investors.

Jhonny Nugros, IPA representative, criticized the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy, saying it had threatened farmers. "Under the SEZ scheme, the government has the right to take over people's land to be managed by state-owned enterprises and private companies. This is not fair."

"The expansion of large plantations and mining areas has been oriented to exports, for the sake of imperialism. In fact, it has deprived poor people of their livelihoods," he said, adding that that kind of development perspective did not represent people's interests at all.

Dewa Angga, representative of the Alliance of Students Against APEC, said that the alliance aimed to advocate "a different perspective of development that is in favor of people, not investors".

"This movement is to educate people, to make them aware and criticize what is behind the APEC agenda, what are the political deals, the trade agreements, and whether they would have direct positive impact for the people, while there are thousands or even millions of farmers and laborers that had been badly affected by 'the liberalization of investment'," said the president of the Udayana University executive body.

Indonesia holds the rotating summit chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific bloc, which accounts for about 55 percent of the world's gross domestic product and some 44 percent of global trade.

At least 11 leaders have confirmed their attendance for the summit, including US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. As many as 7,000 delegates are expected to attend the summit, including hundreds of CEOs of global corporations. The event will get coverage from some 3,000 journalists.

The APEC Summit this year prioritizes three objectives: attaining the Bogor goals of maintaining momentum for trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, achieving sustainable growth with equity, and promoting connectivity.

Sindhu Andre, from the Alliance of Students Against APEC, said that the alliance called on the leaders to design and implement policies based on the real conditions and needs of the people, and not for the sake of the investors' interests and building political image.

Despite their harsh criticisms, the activists assured that they would not hold anarchic protests, saying their movement would mostly be conducted through discussion forums. On Oct. 8, they plan a peaceful demonstration in front of the US Consulate in Denpasar. "We will not hold any rallies around the Nusa Dua area as the security would be very tight," Sindhu said.

The National League of Students for Democracy (LMND) in their statement criticized the APEC forum as "detrimental to the nation's economy". "There have clearly been veiled interests from advanced countries to succeed in the liberalization of investment in developing nations under the agreements made during APEC. Indonesian leaders have to adhere to the principles of our 1945 Constitution in deciding policies, for the sake of the people, not the investors."

West Papua

Abbott backs Jakarta over West Papua issue

Australian Associated Press - October 7, 2013

Tony Abbott says activists who want to "grandstand" against Indonesia are not welcome in Australia.

The Prime Minister today reiterated his support for Indonesia's sovereignty over West Papua while insisting three activists who breached the walls of the Australian consulate in Bali left the compound voluntarily.

The three men – Rofinus Yanggam, Markus Jerewon, and Yuvensius Goo – climbed the walls of the consulate in the early hours of yesterday morning to highlight claims of abuse and ill-treatment of West Papuans in the restive Indonesian province.

The men, who hoped to gain the attention of world leaders in Bali for the APEC summit, left the compound before 7am but it has since been alleged they were threatened with arrest by Australian Consul-General Brett Farmer.

Mr Abbott today insisted the activists left of their own accord after a "lengthy discussion" and warned Australia would not be party to protests aimed at undermining Indonesia's authority over West Papua.

"We have a very strong relationship with Indonesia and we are not going to give people a platform to grandstand against Indonesia," he told reporters on the sidelines of the APEC summit. "And people seeking to grandstand against Indonesia, please, don't look to do it in Australia. You are not welcome."

Mr Yanggam claimed consular officials threatened to call the Indonesian military unless the trio of protesters left. "We don't accept you to stay here. If you stay here for five minutes, I will call the Indonesian army to come and take you out", Mr Yanggam quoted Australian officials as saying.

Australian Greens Senator Richard Di Natale said the three "effectively had a gun to their head". "After hearing directly from the West Papuans involved, we now know the truth is that they only (left) after being threatened with being handed over to the Indonesian police," he said in Melbourne.

Senator Di Natale, the founding co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of West Papua group, said West Papuan protesters would face imprisonment if handed over to the Indonesian authorities.

Indonesia, which took control of Papua from the Dutch in 1963, has for a long time fought a separatist movement in the province and faced various allegations of systematic abuse of the native population.

There have been numerous incidents of torture committed by the Indonesian military, while the local population also complains that much of the wealth generated in the resource-rich province flows back to Jakarta while West Papuans remain poor.

Mr Abbott says the "situation in West Papua is getting better not worse". "I want to acknowledge the work that President (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono has done to provide greater autonomy, to provide a better level of government services and ultimately a better life for the people of West Papua," he said.

The protest had threatened to overshadow what was Mr Abbott's first involvement in a meeting of world leaders since he was elected Prime Minister last month.

Crossbench Support for West Papuans

The Australian - October 7, 2013

Rowan Callick, Deborah Cassrels – Crossbench politicians are demanding that the Abbott government back the calls of three West Papuan activists who in the early hours of yesterday morning scaled the wall of the Australian consulate in Bali – and left soon afterwards in controversial circumstances.

They had quit the consulate by 8am, defusing a potentially awkward distraction for Tony Abbott who is attending the APEC summit in Bali today.

But independent senator Nick Xenophon said the students were forced to leave after being warned by a consular official that the Indonesian police would otherwise be called to arrest and remove them.

The student activists, Rofinus Yanggam, Markus Jerewon, and Yuvensius Goo, called for at least 55 political prisoners in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua to be freed and that international journalists should be allowed to report there without restrictions.

Mr Yanggam said before scaling the wall: "I want to see West Papuans treated like Balinese. I don t want to see West Papua always kept closed from international visitors.

The three are members of the Alliance of Papuan Students in Java and Bali, whose co-ordinator Rinto Kogoya said that Mr Abbott and other leaders at APEC should join the call for the release of political prisoners in Indonesia.

Senator Xenophon said: "I am really worried about the safety of these guys. The Australian government saying they left voluntarily is just laughable. It is just outrageous and now we can t find them.

Greens senator Richard Di Natale urged the government "to immediately offer sanctuary to these brave West Papuans.

DLP senator John Madigan said: "I fully support their calls. It s about time our government had the courage to stand up to Indonesia.

Mr Abbott, after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta last week, said he had pledged "Australia s total respect for Indonesia s sovereignty, total respect for Indonesia s territorial integrity.

[Additional reporting: Sarah Martin.]

West Papuans now in hiding

ABC News Lateline - October 7, 2013

Reporter: Emma Alberici

Human rights lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, who has been working with West Papuan asylum seekers for ten years discusses why three West Papuans scaled the fence to the Australian Consulate in Bali over the weekend and where they are likely to be now.

Emma Alberici, presenter: The three West Papuans who entered the Australian consulate in Bali over the weekend are now said to be in hiding in fear for their lives.

Exactly what happened after they scaled the two-metre high fence of the Australian compound in the early hours of Sunday morning remains the subject of debate.

Prime Minister Abbott insists the activists left of their own accord after delivering a letter. Reports from those in touch with the men say the Consul-General Brett Farmer warned that the Indonesian Army would be called if they didn't leave.

Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson has been working with West Papuan asylum seekers, including leader-in-exile Benny Wenda, for more than a decade. She's a member of the group International Lawyers for West Papua and she's the director of legal advocacy at the Bertha Foundation in London. She joins us now from our office in Westminster.

Jennifer Robinson, welcome to Lateline.

Jennifer Robinson, Int. Lawyers for West Papua: Thanks for having me, Emma.

Emma Alberici: The West Papuan issue is on our doorstep and involves our biggest and most important neighbour. How much recognition does the independence cause have in the rest of the world?

Jennifer Robinson: It is increasingly gaining recognition, I think, particularly within the Melanesian Spearhead Group and other countries within the region. But historically, Australia has always supported Indonesia's claimed territorial integrity. The background context to this current dispute is of course the disputed territory of West Papua, which was annexed by Indonesia in circumstances that international law academics have said amount to a grave breach of the right to self-determination. Since that time, it's estimated that more hundreds of thousands of West Papuans have been killed by Indonesian forces. And that repression and discrimination continues today. So it's in that context that the three West Papuans entered the consulate seeking protection from Australia and seeking that Australia starts raising human rights concerns in light of this ongoing human rights abuse.

Emma Alberici: Now you represent the leader of the Free West Papua movement, who now has political asylum in Britain. He recently said the entire province had been enslaved by the Indonesian military and he described the situation as genocide. What's the evidence for that?

Jennifer Robinson: It's not just Benny Wenda who's making the claim of genocide. Academics at Sydney University have also made the claim that it is a slow-moving genocide. This is on the basis that it's a heavily militarised region, and as I said before, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or disappeared by the Indonesian forces. Today the situation remains incredibly difficult. Peaceful activists who dare to speak out against human rights abuse, or more sensitively for Indonesia, raise concerns about asking for a referendum for self-determination, are routinely arrested, beaten and tortured. This is a very serious situation and one that the international community has not to date paid sufficient attention to.

Emma Alberici: I know you haven't spoken directly to the three West Papuan men who entered the Australian consulate in Bali over the weekend, but what do you think they were hoping to achieve by their act?

Jennifer Robinson: I understand that they are now in Bali in hiding out of concern for their safety. It is clear from the face of the open letter that they published – that has been published in The Guardian that they were seeking that the Australian Government raise human rights concerns in West Papua and ask Indonesia to allow international observers and foreign journalists entry to West Papua to verify what's going on. Now, they were not going to ask for independence; they were going to seek these very legitimate concerns. It is within the power of the Australian Government, and indeed other governments in the region, to raise these legitimate human rights concerns with Indonesia. If the situation is, as Tony Abbott said today, getting better and not worse, then it shouldn't be a problem. It's only logical that they ought to have foreign observers and international organisations in there to verify that fact.

Emma Alberici: What was your reaction to the Prime Minister's other comments today that people seeking to grandstand against Indonesia are not welcome in Australia?

Jennifer Robinson: Prime Minister Abbott's responses, both on his trip to Indonesia last week and more recently in response to this request, show that he has no commitment to free speech. Mr Abbott has promised Indonesia that he will take harsh measures against protestors in Australia, and last time I checked, we were a free country in Australia, unlike Indonesia, and free to speak out publically on matters of political opinion and indeed to peacefully protest. So that Mr Abbott would make those assurances to Indonesia is merely an empty promise and would only serve to reinforce Indonesia's mistrust of Australia. Either that, or he's proposing to undermine the free speech protections that we enjoy in Australia.

Emma Alberici: Australia though has responsibilities under the Lombok Treaty it signed with Indonesia in 2006 to be a good neighbour and not to interfere in Indonesia's internal affairs.

Jennifer Robinson: That's correct. But asking about human rights concerns and asking for international observers to have access to West Papua is not only consistent with our supposedly human rights-based foreign policy, but it's in Indonesia's own interest. If, as Indonesia claims, that West Papua is a safe place, that there are no human rights abuses in West Papua, then it should not be a problem to have access for international organisations. If – again, if Mr Abbott is going to claim that the situation in West Papua is improving, then let us see proof of that. If he is indeed relying on Indonesian Government assurances, we know from the past, for example, the Indonesian Government asserted that there were no political prisoners in Indonesia, but we know for a fact that there are at least – more than 50 political prisoners in Indonesian prisons in West Papua at present. So Mr Abbott ought not be relying entirely on Indonesian Government assurances of that fact.

Emma Alberici: And just by way of background, Jennifer, a referendum on the takeover of West Papua was held in 1969, but the members of the Free Papua Movement have long argued that that was rigged by the Indonesian military. What role has the United Nations played in trying to resolve this issue that's now more than 40 years on?

Jennifer Robinson: Shamefully, the United Nations turned a blind eye at that time to Indonesia's whitewash in that vote for self-determination. As a matter of international law, Indonesia was required to provide the people of West Papua a vote for self-determination which complied with international law, which meant that every person over the age of 18 had a vote. In that vote, only 1,000 people were rounded up and forced to vote in favour of integration with Indonesia under threat of violence. UN officials that were present at the time have since admitted that it was a whitewash, and as I said before, international academics have said that it was a grave breach of international law. The Free West Papua campaign and indeed a widespread civic-led movement within West Papua are calling on the UN to revisit that referendum and to provide them the vote they ought to have been provided in the late '60s. And it is Indonesia's sensitivity towards the risk of this happening, that is why they don't want international observers and they don't want foreign journalists in the province.

Emma Alberici: We're out of time. Jennifer Robinson, thanks so much.

Jennifer Robinson: You're very welcome.

Abbott told in advance about plan to break-in to Australian Bali consulate

The Australian - October 7, 2013

Simon Benson – Tony Abbott was warned in a phone message from a Victorian Senator that a group of activists were planning to break into the Australian consulate in Bali to stage a protest against the Indonesian Government ahead of the Prime Minister's arrival last night for the APEC summit.

But he didn't get the message until after three West Papuans had climbed the wall of the building to deliver a letter to Mr Abbott calling for Australia's intervention in the disputed territory.

Sources have confirmed that DLP Senator Michael Madigan had left a message on the Prime Minister's mobile phone over the weekend warning him that some form of action involving West Papuan protestors and the Australian consulate could take place during his APEC visit in what was another potential diplomatic incident between Australian and Indonesia.

But the warning was not received until after the incident, which took place despite tight security in Bali ahead of the arrival of world leaders including the Russian and Chinese Presidents.

It is unclear what involvement, if any, Mr Madigan may have had with the three activists who called for greater freedoms in a territory formerly known as Irian Jaya where Indonesian sovereignty is still under challenge from an Independence movement.

But Mr Abbott last night reportedly called Mr Madigan back and warned him that he would not tolerate any form of anti-Indonesian protests. He said the government would not tolerate protestors using Australian buildings to "grandstand" against Indonesia.

Mr Abbott only last week told Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that Australia would crack down on anti-Indonesian protestors in Australia. The PM also told Mr Madigan that the situation in West Papua was improving, not worsening.

The West Papuans who scaled a two metre wall to gain access to the consulate on Sunday morning left the compound after the consul-general allegedly warned them that the Indonesian army would be called.The activists had asked the Australian government to apply pressure to Indonesia for the release of who they claimed were political prisoners.

The Greens accused the Australian government of putting the protestors live at risk by forcing them to leave the building but the government said they had left voluntarily. Independent Senator Nick Xenephon called for an immediate explanation.

"These three young men were not asking for West Papuan independence from Indonesia. All they were asking for is entirely consistent with the Lombok Treaty of 2006, signed by both Australia and Indonesia," he said.

"Instead of getting sanctuary and help, the Australian government effectively threatened them and now there is serious concern over the activists' safety.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement claiming: "We can confirm that three individuals from Indonesia's Papua provinces delivered a protest letter at the Australian consulate-general in Bali this morning to Australia's consul-general. The three men left the consulate voluntarily before 7am."

Tony Abbott clashes with senators over West Papua comments

The Guardian (Australia) - October 7, 2013

Katharine Murphy – Tony Abbott has bought himself a fight with a key Senate kingmaker after declaring that West Papua is better off under Indonesian rule.

On Monday, Abbott told reporters in Bali that "the people of West Papua are much better off as part of a strong, dynamic and increasingly prosperous Indonesia".

The Australian prime minister appeared to shrug off reports of human rights abuses in the troubled province, arguing the situation in West Papua was "getting better, not worse", courtesy of reforms implemented by the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Abbott's remarks were part of a response to questions about an incident in Bali where three West Papuan students occupied the Australian consulate on Sunday morning to protest about conditions in the province.

The prime minister was implicitly critical of the incident. "Australia will not give people a platform to grandstand against Indonesia," Abbott said. "We have a very strong relationship with Indonesia. We are not going to give people a platform to grandstand against Indonesia. I want that to be absolutely crystal clear."

Abbott has been looking to soothe tensions in the Australia-Indonesia relationship prompted by the Coalition's policy on unauthorised boat arrivals.

The prime minister has used a state visit to Jakarta and his subsequent visit to the Apec conference in Bali to send public messages that Australia respects Indonesia's sovereignty in its waters and its territory. He said on Monday he wanted the pro-Jakarta messages on billboards, and up in "flashing lights".

But the remarks from Abbott on Monday prompted a swift retort from Democratic Labor party senator John Madigan, one of the crossbench senators Abbott will have to court to achieve his legislative agenda in government.

Madigan is a strong supporter of West Papuan independence. The DLP senator has already called on the government to give the students involved in Sunday's incident sanctuary in Australia.

"I'd like to know what evidence has been presented to Mr Abbott for him to be so adamant that the situation in West Papua is getting better, not worse," Madigan told Guardian Australia on Monday. "Is he simply taking the Indonesian president's word for it? I certainly hope not.

"If Mr Abbott is so sure that things are improving in West Papua, why won't he support calls for international journalists and human rights observers into the region? It just doesn't add up."

Madigan was joined by the South Australian independent senator Nick Xenophon, who said the students involved in Sunday's protest were simply making "modest and respectful" demands of Australian consular officials. "I'm not supporting separatism for West Papua but I am supporting the close monitoring of human rights," Xenophon said. "Why aren't journalists allowed into West Papua?"

Abbott also received criticism on Monday from businessman Ian Melrose, owner of the Optical Superstore chain and a prominent human rights campaigner. Melrose bankrolled a series of pro-West Papua TV advertisements for Madigan earlier this year.

Melrose told Guardian Australia: "The reason journalists aren't allowed into West Papua is because of human rights abuses.

"If Tony Abbott is 100th the Christian he tells the public he is, he wouldn't be doing what he is doing and and saying what he is saying. He would be standing up for human rights in West Papua and he's not."

The businessman praised the "bravery" of the West Papuan students involved in the protest at the Australian consulate.

Forces 'intimidate' Papuan students in Bali

Jakarta Post - October 7, 2013

Bagus BT Saragih, Nusa Dua, Bali – Students in Bali from the restive province of Papua have become the targets of raids by security forces that could view them as threats to Indonesia's image during the prestigious APEC Summit.

While security officers were trying to prevent students from staging rallies during the summit to demand Papua's independence from Indonesia, three Papuan students trespassed into the compound of the Australian Consulate General in the provincial capital of Denpasar.

The Australian Embassy confirmed the incident took place early on Sunday, saying the three were from Papua and West Papua provinces. The embassy refused to detail how the students had entered the high security facility.

"We can confirm that three individuals from Papuan provinces delivered a protest letter at the Australian Consulate General in Bali this morning to Australia's consul-general. The three men left the consulate voluntarily before 7:00 a.m.," Ray Marcelo, a spokesperson from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post.

"The circumstances of the incident and issues associated with the security of the consulate general are being reviewed," he added. Ray also reiterated the Australian government's position on Papua. "It is clear, we recognize and support Indonesia's sovereignty."

A release by the Papuan Students Alliance (AMP) claimed that the three, identified as Markus Jerewon, 29, Yuvensius Goo, 22 and Rofinus Yanggam, 30, scaled the two-meter high fence of the Australian compound in Bali's Renon district.

The AMP said the Papuans did not demand the independence of Papua. They only asked Australia to help push the Indonesian government to "treat them like human beings" and "release all Papuan political prisoners and open the secretive province to foreign journalists."

In the hand-written letter, the three wrote that they wanted to "seek refuge and to deliver our message to the APEC leaders in Bali, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott."

Contacted over the phone, Melkias Dagai, the coordinator of Papuan students in Bali, said he did not recognize the three "intruders". "I am also shocked to hear this news from you," he told the Post.

Hours after information about the incident circulated in Nusa Dua, the Papuan students' dormitory in Bali was raided by the police. "They intimidated us," Melkias said.

Contacted by the Post in the afternoon, Lt. Gen. Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus, commander of the APEC Summit's joint security operation, said he was still verifying the issue.

The Papuan students earlier complained about impromptu arrivals by people they believed to be intelligence officers. "They have terrorized us at least five times since August," Melkias said.

Lodewijk said last week it was not appropriate for students and activists to stage rallies during the summit, and launched attempts to prevent the rally. "If your house is about to receive special guests, then it is obvious to sweep the floor of your house and do some cleaning to please your guest. Right?" said Lodewijk.

Activist Ni Luh Gede Yastini from the Bali Legal Aid Foundation said the plan to hold rallies on Monday and Tuesday to protest at the APEC Summit was still on the table.

"We're still finalizing it," she said, adding that US President Barack Obama's absence and threats from security officers had not pressured them to call off the plan.

West Papuans 'tortured, terrorised'

Melbourne Age - October 7, 2013

Jenny Denton – Indonesia has been accused of using torture as a "mode of governance" in West Papua – security forces have committed at least one incident of torture, on average, every six weeks for the past half century, a study has found.

The research, which collected documentation on 431 cases of torture from 1963 to 2010, found that most West Papuans tortured were "innocent civilians" targeted as part of a "policy of terror". In only 0.05 per cent of torture cases reviewed were the accused found to be members of the armed resistance. Victims were most commonly farmers and students.

A low-level separatist insurgency has been waged in the former Dutch colony since Indonesia took control of the province in 1963.

Researcher Budi Hernawan, a Catholic brother, said he believed the incidences of torture over the 48-year period were much higher than the 431 cases he drew on.

His findings came to light as three West Papuan activists climbed into the Australian consulate in Bali on Sunday to deliver a letter to Prime Minister Tony Abbott calling for international journalists to be allowed into West Papua and for the release of political prisoners from Indonesian jails.

Last week Mr Abbott told journalists he was confident West Papuans could have "the best possible life... as a part of an indissoluble Indonesia".

Dr Hernawan, who worked with the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in the West Papuan capital of Jayapura for more than a decade, collected the information on torture from the records of local and international human-rights organisations, churches and anthropologists.

Human-rights researchers affirmed the key finding of the study, which was conducted as part of Dr Hernawan's PhD, that "torture has been deployed strategically by the Indonesian state in Papua as a mode of governance". The study says Indonesian forces carried out torture as a public spectacle to achieve "maximum terrifying impact" on the civilian population in the Papuan provinces, doing so with "almost complete impunity".

Torture included beating, kicking, burning, stabbing, shooting, rape, starvation, forced exercise and public humiliation and was carried out by military personnel and to a lesser extent police officers.

In response, the Indonesian embassy in Canberra said: "Budi's [Hernawan] research at the ANU and the conclusion he arrives at adds to the rich and open discourse of Indonesian history, but any allegation of torture would be met swiftly by the Indonesian people and media themselves, who are ever more critical of any human-rights abuses and the slightest government improprieties."

Human-rights researcher Abigail Abrash Walton, from the University of Antioch in New England, said torture was a "systematic strategy for dealing with guerilla warfare" and had remained the same regardless of changes in Indonesian leadership.

Torture in Papua made international headlines in 2010 when Fairfax Media published a mobile phone video showing two men, Tunaliwor Kiwo and Telangga Gire, being interrogated by Indonesian security forces, one with a knife to his throat and the other screaming as a burning stick was poked at his genitals.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the action and promised a transparent investigation, but the three soldiers each received a sentence of less than a year.

Mr Abbott's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Consul-General denies threatening Papuan activists in Australian consulate

ABC Radio Australia - October 7, 2013

Australia's Consul-General in Bali has denied making threats to three West Papuan protesters who sought refuge inside the consulate.

Student activists Rofinus Yanggam, Yuvensius Goo and Markus Jerewon climbed the wall of the consulate in the early hours of Sunday morning, but left later in the day.

The men were calling for the release of at least 55 political prisoners jailed in Indonesia's disputed Papua region, and open access to the area for journalists.

The protesters said they were "seeking refuge" in the consulate, but left after Australian officials told them they would be arrested by Indonesian authorities if they stayed.

But a Foreign Affairs Department spokesman says Consul-General Brett Farmer did not make threats, and explained to the three men they were free to leave voluntarily.

Trade Minister Andrew Robb, who is in Bali, had earlier said the men did not seek asylum and left the complex voluntarily.

Academic overheard 'threats', says protesters feared for their lives

However, Associate Professor Clinton Fernandes, an expert on West Papua, has a different interpretation of events.

He says he heard a phone conversation in which an Australian official threatened the trio, leading them to fear for their lives if they were handed over to Indonesian authorities.

"They had the phone on while they were being berated by whoever it was, with an Australian accent," he told ABC News Breakfast.

"It was very, very threatening – the word threat is accurate. There was not a polite conversation.

"They were being threatened with having the military called in and the police. They feared for their lives."

"They [Australian authorities] tried everything, they did everything they could to get them out of the consulate before [Tony] Abbott arrived this morning."

The Prime Minister is in Bali for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Associate Professor Fernandes says the three men are still in Bali.

"They're in hiding, they're fearful for what will happen to them after the APEC circus moves on, but they're safe at the moment," he said. Greens say Government's explanation 'doesn't make sense'

Greens senator Richard Di Natale is calling on the Federal Government to explain the circumstances under which the protesters were asked to leave.

"The idea that these three West Papuans would go out, stick their necks out in the way that they did, make international headlines and simply leave the consulate and expose themselves to great danger just doesn't make sense," he said.

"In fact the reports indicate that they were threatened with being handed over to the authorities." He says he will raise the issue in Parliament when it returns.

"I intend to pursue this matter through the Parliamentary process, we have the opportunity to get this detailed information through the estimates process," he said. "I'll be writing to the Foreign Minister demanding a full explanation of what happened."

West Papuan human rights tragedy mocked by new Australian PM

Al Jazeera - October 6, 2013

Kristian Lasslett – Barely two weeks into office and Australia's prime minister, Tony Abbott, has committed his government to upholding an appeasement policy that has seen Australia entangled in some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable in the neighbouring region of West Papua, where a struggle for independence has been waged for over four decades.

The Abbott government's intentions, in this respect, were loudly signalled following the arrival of seven West Papuan refugees in the Torres Strait Islands last week. The asylum seekers told Australian government officials they feared persecution at the hands of the Indonesian authorities after supporting a Freedom Flotilla, which had set sail for their province.

The West Papuan group were allegedly informed that they would be flown to the Australian mainland. Instead, the asylum seekers were shuttled off to Papua New Guinea (PNG) – which became standard practice under the ousted Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd – and cut adrift in the capital, Port Moresby.

Precarious fate awaits

Their fate in PNG will be a precarious one. A large community of displaced West Papuans currently reside on abandoned drainage lands in Port Moresby, where floods and water-borne diseases are constant threats. The community was dumped on the land by the PNG government after their homes in the eight-mile district were bulldozed to make way for a new property development.

Yet far from displaying a hint of sympathy for the West Papuan seven and the bleak fate awaiting them, Prime Minister Abbott celebrated his government's actions at a press conference this week in Jakarta: "We are fair dinkum about doing what we can to help Indonesia in every way and you might be aware of the fact that there were some people who turned up in the Torres Strait last week wanting to grandstand about issues in Papua. Well, very swiftly... they went back to PNG."

"Grandstanding", "issues", if ever apologetic words have been uttered in defence of systematic persecution these are it. Indeed, following West Papua's forced annexation to Indonesia in the 1960s, its native Melanesian population has faced a sustained campaign of state violence.

According to criminologist Elizabeth Stanley, Indonesian "security forces have killed as many as 200,000 Papuans since 1963.... Terror has been made routine rather than exceptional". Stanley explains, "Papuan people have been systematically ill-treated, arbitrarily detained, raped and tortured. These violations, undertaken under the rubric of countering subversive or terrorist forces, have been dovetailed with all kinds of social controls. Indonesian officials have placed restrictions on group gatherings, imposed curfews, forcibly displaced populations, conducted house and mail searches, monitored cultural events, and refused 'outsider' access to the regions".

Condemning or combatting these actions are not on the current Australian government's agenda. Abbott argues, "We want to do everything we reasonably can to demonstrate to the [Indonesian] government and the people of Indonesia that we respect Indonesia's sovereignty". Woe betide the West Papuan people then.

Abbott continues, "We want to work with Indonesia to ensure that Indonesia is strong in the years ahead because Indonesia is a future global leader and we want to be its trusted partner on this journey."

So there you have it, partnership with the Indonesian state trumps the defence of a persecuted ethnic group. Sadly this is something of a bipartisan tradition among Australia's two biggest political politics.

Labor's complicity in Indonesian state crime

Earlier this year, before the Australian Labor Party (ALP) lost office, the Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, staged an incredible attack on West Papuan supporters during a senate estimates hearing.

"The people who fly Papuan flags and the people who talk the language of secession and independence. They are planting in the minds of people who actually live in the place the notion that this campaign has some kind of international resonance," Carr opined. He added, "that is a cruel deceit by self-indulgent people safe in their own beds, safe in a democracy. It is a cruel deceit about the potential of a demand for secessionism. Australia and the world recognise Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua."

In a salute to Australia's colonial era, Carr evokes the image of a docile native people whipped into a frenzy by mischievous outsiders. Nothing could be further from the truth – West Papuans are more than capable of articulating and driving a struggle for civil and political freedom. Of equal absurdity is the suggestion that those who express solidarity with West Papuans somehow bear responsibility for the province's parlous human rights situation. That 'distinction' lies with the Indonesian security forces, their political masters and foreign benefactors.

Though we shouldn't be surprised by Carr's political position, after all it was the former ALP Prime Minister, Paul Keating, who proudly eulogised Indonesia's former ruler, General Soeharto, a man who helped engineer two epic bloodbaths in 1965 and 1975 respectively. In The Age Keating remarked, "Soeharto, by his judgement, goodwill and good sense, had the greatest positive impact on Australia's strategic environment and, hence, on its history."

The accolades do not stop there, "Soeharto took a nation of 120 million people, racked by political turmoil and poverty, from near disintegration to the orderly, ordered and prosperous state that it is today."

Ever the moral compass Keating assured us, "The descriptions of Soeharto as a brutal dictator living a corrupt high life at the expense of his people and running an expansionist military regime are untrue. Even Soeharto's annexation of [East] Timor was not expansionist. It had everything to do with national security and nothing to do with territory."

Of course this is what one might expect a government figurehead to say, given Australia's deep military, economic and diplomatic ties with the Soeharto regime. Allan Behm, who once served as head of the Australian Defence Department's International Policy and Strategy Division, observes:

"By the mid-70s, Australia and Indonesia had established a substantial and diverse defence cooperation program. During the subsequent decade, the defence cooperation program funded the transfer of some 23 ex-RAAF Sabre fighters and seven Attack-class patrol boats to Indonesia, and some tentative links between the Special Forces of the two countries that were largely confined to unit-level visit exchanges, long range patrol training, and some special training in counter-terrorist and counter-hijack skills."

'Silent genocide'

The actions of the Australian government have nothing to do with the interests of the Indonesian people. Indeed, the Australian state readily lent its military support to the Soeharto regime, which persecuted the Indonesian people for decades. The Abbott government's position on West Papua has everything to do with insular conceptions of the Australian national interest held by foreign policy makers in Canberra; conceptions that rarely get discussed or debated outside discrete policy circles, which have something of an echo chamber quality to them.

Compounding matters many Australians know little about the depth or breadth of the atrocities that have occurred, and are occurring, in West Papua, or their government's role in the suffering. Indeed, the West Papuans call their plight "the silent genocide". But perhaps silence is too kind a word, it is the censored genocide. Communications and movement in and out of West Papua are under constant surveillance by the Indonesian military. Consequently reporting on the atrocities is a notoriously dangerous task for journalists and activists alike.

So the silence continues, and sadly it is aided by major regional powers like Australia which once again stands complicit in one of the great crimes of our age.

[Kristian Lasslett is currently Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Ulster and a member of the International State Crime Initiative's Executive. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.]

Xenophon demands Papuan trio explanation

Australian Associated Press - October 6, 2013

Independent senator Nick Xenophon says West Papuan activists were "effectively threatened" to leave the Australian consulate in Bali ahead of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's arrival for the APEC summit.

Senator Xenophon is demanding an immediate explanation for the departure of the three men, after they scaled a wall into the mission early on Sunday morning. He alerted AAP to the incident after being contacted by human rights groups.

It's understood Australian officials persuaded the trio – Rofinus Yanggam, Markus Jerewon and Yuvensius Goo – to leave the consulate about 7am local time.

The three men were calling for international journalists to be allowed into the troubled Papuan provinces and for the release of at least 55 political prisoners from Indonesian jails, including Filep Karma, who has been jailed for 15 years in Abepura prison.

The security breach came ahead of Mr Abbott's arrival for the APEC leaders' summit on Sunday.

Senator Xenophon called on Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to provide a detailed timeline and explanation of what occurred.

"Instead of getting sanctuary and help, the Australian government effectively threatened them and now there is serious concern over the activists' safety."

Senator Xenophon's calls were backed by Professor Clinton Fernandes of the University of NSW, who has written extensively on West Papua and the Australian/Indonesian relationship.

He said when the media circus had moved on after APEC, the trio "may be tried, most certainly they will be beaten, and at some point might be disappeared".

Mr Yanggam told the Guardian Australia he left the consulate in fear for his life after the consul-general, Brett Farmer, told them the Indonesian police and army would be called.

"They told us: 'We don't accept you to stay here. If you stay here for five minutes, I will call the Indonesian army to come and take you out'," Mr Yanggam said. "I know that if I am arrested then my life will be over. So better to get out now."

In a letter addressed to the Australian people, the trio said they wanted Mr Abbott, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Secretary of State John Kerry to stand up for Papuan rights. "We want these leaders to persuade the Indonesian government to treat Papuan people better," the handwritten letter said.

Many of their colleagues had tried to have their voices heard but had ended up in prison, they said.

"These political prisoners committed no crime. They are explicitly committed to non-violence," the letter said. "The Indonesian government arrested and jailed them for discussing their political human rights beliefs."

The trio ended the letter with a plea for help. "We seek refuge and plead for our safety."

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the trio had left the consulate "voluntarily" at 7am Bali time after delivering a protest letter. Interim Labor leader Chris Bowen said he had full confidence that the consul-general and Australian officials were acting appropriately.

Three West Papuans occupy Australian consulate in Bali

The Guardian (Australia) - October 6, 2013

Marni Cordell and agencies – Three West Papuans who entered the Australian consulate in Bali overnight have left the compound after being warned by the consul-general that the Indonesian army would be called, the group says.

Markus Jerewon, 29, Yuvensius Goo, 22 and Rofinus Yanggam, 30, scaled the two-metre high fence of the Australian compound in Bali's Renon district at 3.20am local time (6.20am AEST) on Sunday morning.

They called on the Australian government to pressure Indonesia to release all Papuan political prisoners and open the secretive province to foreign journalists.

But Yanggam told Guardian Australia the group left in fear for their lives after the consul-general, Brett Farmer, told them the Indonesian police and army would be called. The group understood the Indonesian authorities would be able to enter the consulate only on invitation from Australia.

"They told us: 'we don't accept you to stay here. If you stay here for five minutes, I will call the Indonesian army to come and take you out,'" Yanggam said. "I know that if I am arrested then my life will be over. I will have no control over my life any more. So better to get out now."

The independent senator Nick Xenophon called on foreign minister Julie Bishop to provide a detailed timeline and explanation of what occurred, AAP reported.

"Instead of getting sanctuary and help, the Australian government effectively threatened them and now there is serious concern over the activists' safety."

Xenophon's calls were backed by Professor Clinton Fernandes of the University of NSW, who has written extensively on West Papua and the Australian/Indonesian relationship.

He said when the media circus had moved on after APEC, the trio "may be tried, most certainly they will be beaten, and at some point might be disappeared". The Australian consulate in Bali and Bishop did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement: "We can confirm that three individuals from Indonesia's Papua provinces delivered a protest letter at the Australian consulate-general in Bali this morning to Australia's consul-general. The three men left the consulate voluntarily before 7am."

In an open letter to the Australian people, which was handed to consulate staff on Sunday morning, the threesome wrote, "We're writing to inform you that we had [sic] entered the Australian consulate in Bali to seek refuge and to deliver our message to the APEC leaders in Bali including US State Secretary John Kerry and Australian prime minister Tony Abbott.

"We want these leaders to persuade the Indonesian government to treat Papuan people better.

"Human rights abuses are our routine," they wrote, before asking Australia to demand that all Papuan political prisoners be released. Dozens of Papuans are in jail for expressing political opinions. The crime of "treason" carries a long jail term in Indonesia.

"We [also] want the Indonesian government to lift the 50 year restriction it has imposed on West Papua," the letter said. West Papua has been closed to foreign journalists since Indonesia acquired the province under controversial circumstances in the 1960s.

"We want foreigners, including journalists, diplomats, observers and tourists to be able to visit West Papua freely without asking for special permits."

In an exclusive interview with Guardian Australia before he scaled the wall, Yanggam said, "the Indonesian army is killing our families, and taking them to jail. This is the best thing we can do in order to expose the situation in Papua. We want to survive.

"I'm not [disrespecting] the Indonesian people, I'm just saying that we want treatment from the Indonesian government like human beings."

He told Guardian Australia that two of his brothers had been killed by the Indonesian military – and that one had died just last week.

Asked why he was prepared to risk his own safety to bring awareness to the situation in West Papua, he said "I feel it is important for not only him, but other Papuan people also. We don't feel safe in Papua."

The independent senator Nick Xenophon said before the men left the consulate it was "critical that the Australian foreign minister gives these three young men sanctuary", AAP reported. "To expel them would potentially put their lives at great risk."

Xenophon said the trio's requests deserved to be considered and they should be given sanctuary in the Australian consulate "unless their safety can be guaranteed by Indonesian authorities".

"They're not seeking independence," he said. "They are simply asking for political prisoners to be released and for international journalists to have access to West Papua as journalists have access to other provinces of Indonesia."

A spokesman for the group, Rinto Kogoya, who is co-ordinator of the Alliance of Papuan Students, said it was time the world understood what was happening inside the province, which was officially acquired by Indonesia in 1969.

"The international community doesn't know the reality in Papua. The military oppresses the civil society – we're not free to do anything – and I think this is the moment to open democracy to Papua," he said. "People are jailed [if they] ask about rights. This is a struggle for our right to a free life."

Asked why the group had chosen the Australian government, Kogoya said, "Australia is one of the powerful countries in the world. I think they have a strong power to push the Indonesian government to release the political prisoners in West Papua and to push the Indonesian Government to open access to international journalists."

"More than 200,000 people have died in West Papua, killed by the Indonesian military. International journalists must come to Papua. They will see the reality of life for the Papuan people," he said.

Yanggam told Guardian Australia the group intended to stay inside the consulate until their demands were met. They feared for their lives if they were expelled by Australia. "We need your help. We seek refuge and plead for our safety," he said.

An open letter to the people of Australia from three West Papuans

In a letter handed to the Australian consulate staff in Bali, the three demand that Indonesia treat them as 'human beings'

Dear brothers and sisters,

We're writing to inform you that we had (sic) entered the Australian Consulate in Bali to seek refuge and to deliver our message to the APEC leaders in Bali including US State Secretary John Kerry and Australian prime minister Tony Abbott.

We want these leaders to persuade the Indonesian government to treat Papuan people better.

Human rights abuses are our routine. Many of our colleagues protested and sought their political aspiration heard. But they ended up [in] prisons.

These political prisoners committed no crime. They are explicitly committed to non-violence. The Indonesian government arrested and jailed them for discussing their political human rights beliefs.

We want the Indonesian government to lift the 50 year restriction it has imposed on West Papua. We want foreigners, including journalists, diplomats, observers and tourists to be able to visit West Papua freely without asking for special permits.

We need your help. We seek refuge and plead for our safety.

October 4, 2013 Sincerely, Markus Jerewon, Yuvensius Goo, Rofinus Yanggam

Morrison dilutes PNG deal to deport West Papuans

SBS News - October 5, 2013

They arrived in the Torres Strait from Indonesia after transiting for two days in PNG, saying they feared they would be killed if captured by the Indonesian military.

A 2003 Memorandum of Understanding between the Australia and PNG allows deportation of asylum seekers back to PNG only if seven or more days are spent there in transit.

Refugee activists say the deportation was illegal. West Papuans seeking asylum arriving in Australia's Torres Strait via Papua New Guinea is not unprecedented, but it has been rare in the past decade.

Last week, seven West Papuans, including a pregnant woman and a child, turned up on Boigu island and were immediately deported to PNG. How they were dealt with under a 2003 Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and PNG concerned Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul.

"The 2003 Memorandum of Understanding requires that, for someone to be sent back from Australia to PNG, that they've been in PNG for seven days, and that clearly wasn't the case with these people. So, I think they have been unlawfully removed from Australia to Papua New Guinea, and, in that process, the Government has ignored their right to make asylum application here and has also jeopardised any possibility of getting permanent protection in PNG, because PNG doesn't provide permanent protection to West Papuans."

The West Papuans say they only spent two days in PNG before crossing by boat into Australia.

After not commenting on the deportation for over a week, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has finally addressed the issue at a media conference.

"They were taken to Papua New Guinea under a Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments, which is of some long standing, and a concession agreed between the PNG government and Australia." (SBS:) "Is that the 2003 one?" (Morrison:) "Yes."

And Mr Morrison confirmed that concession was a relaxation of the seven-day threshold for deportation. "There was a concession agreed between the two governments." (SBS:) "You say there was in this case?" (Morrison:) "Hm."

The Memorandum of Understanding's intention was to catch asylum seekers coming to PNG in hopes of crossing into Australia via the Torres Strait, in far-north Queensland. Ian Rintoul says there are two known cases of West Papuans being returned in 2006 and 2007 under the agreement.

"It has to be said that we haven't been able to verify those conditions in the previous instances where we have had concerns about the seven-day issue and the situation in which they were being removed for precisely the same reason."

Ian Rintoul says refugee advocates are now looking at their legal options. "We're certainly pursing our enquiries in that respect, and our immediate concern now, though, is focused on what is happening to them in PNG. So, we have made the call for them to be brought back to Australia, and they should be brought back to Ausralia so their protection applications can be assessed."

Professor Damien Kingsbury is director of the Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights at Deakin University in Victoria. He believes the chances of a legal case against the removal of the West Papuans succeeding are slim.

"If the challenge were in Australia, I would expect it to go nowhere. If the challenge were in Papua New Guinea, it's possible that it could be successful, but then that would, again, depend on how the governments chose to deal with the matter. As we've seen in the past, because the courts make a determination doesn't necessarily mean that that's what ends up applying. And I think, in this case, if the PNG Government is in agreement with the Australian Government that the asylum seekers should be returned to PNG, then, ultimately, I think that's what would happen."

Australian Catholic University law professor Frank Brennan says the decision to invoke the 2003 memorandum, rather than the more recent agreement to send asylum seekers to PNG, is significant.

"If the seven Papuans were sent back by the new MOU negotiated under the Rudd Government, then Papua New Guinea would be obliged not to send them back to West Papua. And if having determined through transparent processes that they were, in fact, refugees, (they) would have to offer them citizenship in Papua New Guinea and would have to accord all of the extra provisions which were there in the 2013 memorandum, none of which are contained in the memorandum of 2003."

Call on UN to respond to Australia's deportation of Papua asylum seekers

Radio New Zealand International - October 4, 2013

Refugee advocates in Australia want the United Nations to take action over what they say is the government's failure to abide by the Refugees Convention.

This comes amid campaigns to have seven West Papuan asylum seekers from Indonesia assessed for refugee status in Australia, after the government flew them from Queensland to Papua New Guinea last week.

Canberra claims its actions are allowed under a memorandum of understanding with PNG, but refugee groups say the agreement does not apply in this case.

Izzy Brown from the Freedom Flotilla to West Papua says they want the seven brought back to Australia and for an assessment of their claims for asylum to begin immediately. And she says the UN needs to step in and remind the Australian government of its obligations.

"It's really unfortunate that Australia thinks it can send asylum seekers offshore without due process or just blatantly illegally deported like in this case here and we really want to try and draw the world's attention and especially the UN's attention to Australia's behaviour in this matter."

Calls for Australia to revisit plight of seven Papuan asylum seekers

Radio New Zealand International - October 4, 2013

The Netherlands-based advocacy group Foundation Pro Papua says the seven Papuan asylum seekers deported from Australia should be given the option to test their legal rights under the Refugee Convention to claim asylum and protection in Australia.

The seven asylum seekers from Indonesia who Australia deported to Papua New Guinea rejected a PNG ultimatum on Thursday to either be returned to West Papua or claim asylum in PNG.

Foundation Pro Papua group says it's shocked to learn of the deportation of the West Papuans asylum seekers from Australia's Horne Island.

In a letter to the Australian ambassador in the Netherlands, the group say they believe that this action is in breach of Australia's obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the humanitarian principles that underlie international law and practice on refugee matters.

The Pro Papua group say they understand that all in the group clearly stated that they were seeking asylum in Australia from political persecution in West Papua.

The Dutch NGO says the Australian authorities should revisit the situation involving the group of seven asylum seekers.

Freeport Indonesia union says reaches tentative deal on wages

Reuters - October 2, 2013

Jakarta – Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc reached a tentative agreement with Indonesian union workers on Wednesday over wages and pensions, a union official said, raising hopes that a strike will be averted with just two days left of talks.

Contract talks between workers and management at Freeport's Grasberg mine in Papua, which is the world's second-biggest copper mine, have entered their fourth month and are scheduled to end on Friday with or without a deal.

"We can say that in principle we have reached an agreement on pay talks with Freeport management including on wages and pensions," Juli Parorrongan, spokesman for the workers' unions, told Reuters. "The final agreement has not yet been reached because there are still several points to be discussed further."

He said strike action was still an option for the union if a final agreement was not reached this week. Freeport's Indonesian unit could not be reached immediately for comment on Wednesday.

The negotiations, which are seeking agreement on workers' wages, benefits, rights, obligations and pensions, were suspended in May when a tunnel collapse killed 28 people, and then resumed in June.

Late last month, the talks stalled despite the high level involvement of Freeport Indonesia CEO Rozik Soetjipto and Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson.

"All the points that we have agreed with Freeport management have to be written into a joint work agreement between both the union and Freeport," said Parorrongan. "As long as the new joint work agreement is yet to be signed, everything can happen."

Freeport Indonesia employs about 24,000 workers, including contractors and staff. About three-quarters are union members.

Relations between Freeport and unions have been strained in recent years following a three-month strike in 2011, May's deadly tunnel collapse and a series of minor spats.

HRW lashes out at police for firing on Papua protesters

Jakarta Post - October 1, 2013

Indonesia must immediately conduct an investigation into the alleged excessive use of force by police against protesters during a demonstration in Papua on Sept. 23 when a student, Alpius Mote, was shot dead, New York- based Human Rights Watch said in a statement released on Monday.

"Indonesia's security forces have a history of using excessive force with impunity against civilians in Papua," said Phelim Kine, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"A transparent and impartial investigation into the Waghete shootings is necessary to prevent even greater distrust of the security forces."

During a demonstration in Waghete, southwest of the provincial capital, Jayapura, last week, police allegedly used excessive force to disperse rock-throwing protesters, the statement said.

"The Indonesian government needs to explain why police officers found it necessary to fire directly into a crowd of protesters throwing rocks," Kine said. "Lethal force may only be used as a last resort to protect lives."

Witnesses told HRW that officers with the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) arrived at a hospital where the wounded were taken and prohibited doctors and nurses from taking photographs of the victims.

The police also posted guards who required visitors to leave mobile phones at the entrance. Police reportedly confiscated the phone of one nurse who had apparently taken photographs of the victims.

The Brimob actions at the hospital seemed more designed to limit evidence gathering about injuries than to secure the facility, Human Rights Watch said.

Therefore, Kine said, there should be an inquiry into harassment of victims, medical personnel and witnesses. There were also unconfirmed reports that police beat and arbitrarily detained Yance Pekey, a teacher at the Tigi High School attended by Alpius Mote, after Pekey confronted police in protest at Mote's death. Police have accused Pekey of provoking unrest and he remains in detention.

The government had deployed military forces in Papua since 1963 to counter a long-simmering independence movement and restricts access to international media, diplomats and civil society groups by requiring them to obtain special access permits, which are rarely granted.

Tensions heightened in Papua following an attack on Feb. 21 on military forces by suspected elements of the armed separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM), resulting in the deaths of eight soldiers.

Australia accused of breaking its laws in deporting Papuans

Radio New Zealand International - October 1, 2013

The Refugee Action Coalition says the Australian government has acted unlawfully in transferring seven West Papuans, who had fled Indonesia and sought asylum in Queensland, to Papua New Guinea.

Its spokesperson, Ian Rintoul, says the government claimed it acted in line with a 2003 Memorandum of Understanding, which allows Australia to return asylum seekers to PNG if they have come through PNG.

But Mr Rintoul says the MOU requires those people to have been in PNG for seven days or more, and the West Papuans were there for just two. He says the MOU also requires those who are returned to have their refugee processing done in PNG – but there are questions as to whether PNG has the intent or ability to do this.

"We have seen them act unlawfully. They've certainly acted unethically. While that Memorandum of Understanding is there, there's no reason that the government needs to rely on that, it knows the situation of West Papuans and it should be willing to actually process them here. They know the people who are coming here are deserving of protection and yet they've sent them back to Papua New Guinea."

Australia says it admires Indonesia's autonomy moves for Papua

Radio New Zealand International - October 1, 2013

The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, has restated that Canberra has total respect for Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Speaking in Jakarta, Mr Abbott has told his hosts that he admires what Indonesia has done to improve the autonomy and life of people in West Papua.

He says he is confident that they can have the best possible life and the best possible future as a part of an indissoluble Indonesia.

Papua is the scene of human rights abuses and largely closed to foreign media.

Last week, Australia deported seven Papuan asylum seekers from Queensland to the Papua New Guinea capital, allegedly after refusing them access to a lawyer. The group claimed to be persecuted by Indonesia's security forces. Australia's immigration minister, Scott Morrison, says the seven were sent to PNG under a concession provided by the PNG government under a 2003 memorandum of understanding.

Mr Morrison says he has reached a formal agreement with his PNG counterparts to ensure the prompt return of other asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by similar circumstances.

Concern Australian government is ignoring West Papuan asylum seekers plight

ABC Radio Australia - October 1, 2013

An Australian activist group says the Australian government is doing its best to wash their hands of the plight of a group of West Papuan asylum seekers, which have been transferred from the Torres Strait to Papua New Guinea for processing.

A spokesman for Freedom Flotilla, Ruben Blake says the asylum seekers took part in a welcoming ceremony involving the handover of sacred water and ashes from Australian Aboriginal elders in the Indonesian province of West Papua.

He says as a result they faced a crackdown from Indonesian security forces, which led to them seeking asylum in Australia.

The West Papuans were intercepted in the Torres Strait on Wednesday and sent to PNG on Thursday. Mr Blake has told Pacific Beat the Australian government has handed them over to PNG authorities.

"What the Australian government seems to be pushing for is that they will be resettled along with a population of West Papuan refugees numbering 10 thousand or more in PNG where people in Port Moresby have been reported as being seem recently," he said. "The situation is there is really squalid conditions."

Mr Blake says the Australian government is attempting to stop the asylum seekers from gaining access to legal representation. He says it has a responsibility to consider the West Papuan's claims for asylum.

"We believe they still have a right, as they have claimed asylum in Australia and the Australian government still have a responsibility to hear their claims for asylum and to settle these people who would clearly be recognised by any court as refugees."

Group of seven West Papuan asylum seekers feel powerless

Radio New Zealand International - October 1, 2013

The group of seven West Papuan asylum seekers deported by Australia to Papua New Guinea say they feel powerless and afraid about what will happen to them.

The seven, who arrived in the Torres Strait last week claiming to be fleeing persecution by the Indonesian security forces, were transferred to Port Moresby by Immigration officials.

The International Organisation for Migration says PNG Immigration officials are handling the process to determine the basic details of the group.

One of the group, Yacob Mandabayan, says that since they reached Australia a week ago, they've been denied access to a lawyer and left in the dark about what's happening.

"We are feeling afraid because a lot of Indonesian people here (in PNG). So we are afraid of everything because until today we have had no contact from Australian Immigration." Yacob Mandabayan says they are afraid of being repatriated.

Aceh

When rebels retire in Indonesia

IRIN News - October 7, 2013

Aceh/Jijiem – Joining a rebellion is not a typical career move. Yet up to 26,000 people in Indonesia spent years working for a separatist rebellion that lasted nearly 30 years in Aceh. Children followed their parents into battlefields and war rooms. Sons went abroad for training. Upon leaving the force, a number received payment. But any similarities with gainful employment end there.

In May 2003 Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared martial law in Aceh to flush out the fighters, leading to a period of "extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, beatings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and drastic limits on freedom of movement," according to Human Rights Watch.

An estimated 15,000 lives (from both sides) were lost during the war, which caused nearly US$10 billion in damage – roughly twice that of the 2004 tsunami. Shortly after the tsunami hit the archipelago (the epicenter of the earthquake causing the tsunami was just west of the conflict zone, which bore the heaviest death and damage toll from the tsunami in the region), the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) declared a ceasefire.

IRIN met four former rebels to learn where they are eight years after GAM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government that granted Aceh (now "Special Region of Aceh") control over most areas of governance, excluding defense, foreign affairs and justice, among others.

The region is entitled to 70 percent of revenues from natural resources (land and sea). The peace deal pledged new local elections and identity cards. It was hailed as a success internationally, and eight years later, delegations are still coming from Sudan, Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka to learn how to broker peace after protracted fighting.

As part of the 2005 deal, 3,000 fighters (the number according to the pact) turned in 840 weapons and were each paid $2,500 (at the December 2005 exchange rate).

In addition, the government paid another near $1,000 to 10,000 fighters who surrendered before the MOU signing. Research conducted for the European Union (EU)-led Aceh Monitoring Mission that followed the implementation of the peace pact calculated a total of 14,000 front-line fighters in 17 districts under GAM control, and another 12,000 people who played supporting roles in fighting.

The university spy: Eliyani binti Wahid, 29

Where she is now: A married stay-at-home mother of three, occasional small business shopkeeper and tutor for a program to help other former rebels pass secondary-school certification exams.

Where she was then: Shortly before her father, a rebel commander, was killed in a government crackdown that started in May 2003, he sent her to the University of Medan in north Sumatra where she studied political science, while gathering sensitive information from military and police officers who did not suspect her GAM ties.

"I married in 2004. My husband [not affiliated with GAM] had no idea. There were lots of women in my [mountain village of Tangse] who joined the rebellion. Some fought, but most of us carried out intelligence work. I had weapons training from my father's friends, but I never fought...

"Was it worth it? We did not get 100 percent of what my father was fighting to get. I would say we got about 30 percent. Even though we don't have independence, our lives have improved. It is good enough. His death was not in vain."

The child soldier: Irwansyah, 39 (nom de guerre: Teungku Machsalmina)

Where he was then: Joined GAM at the age of 10, rising through the ranks to become a central commander and, after the 2005 ceasefire, a rebel representative in the 2005-06 EU-led monitoring mission.

Where he is now: Founder of a breakaway political party in Aceh (National Aceh party) and law student.

"The 2005 peace deal has worked militarily. We all disarmed and the military pulled out of Aceh – but still there is no justice. The 70/30 split in revenues does not identify what types of revenue qualify. There is not yet truth and reconciliation, or any accountability for human rights abuses...

"When other governments ask me why we were willing to disarm, I tell them that we trusted our political leaders, and that it's important to involve people from civil society in the peace deal discussions rather than just rebels and the government...

"We did not achieve independence, but that does not only mean statehood, but also freedom of press and speech as well as justice. That is also independence. And we are still fighting for it, just through different means. I am not tempted to take up arms again. With democracy, we don't need to. But if we don't get things right, it is imaginable that our children will need to take up arms again."

The low-ranking fighter: Mohamed Jafar, 32

Where he was then: Dropping out of his final year of secondary school, he joined GAM at age 17 because he "admired the fighters."

Where he is now: A farmer living in the Acehnese village of Jijiem, which was GAM's headquarters. He earns $100-$200 monthly from selling rice and nuts in his village, where he lives with his parents and five siblings.

"Roads have not improved, but our livelihoods have, because farmers can go to paddies without fear of fighting. But there still is not much development here even though it is the heart of GAM's [former] command center.

"I fought for independence and though things did not turn out as I had hoped, I am not sure where to turn to demand change. The commanders don't care. I am upset, but I am just a low-ranking fighter, so I accept. Life would be better if we won independence. It would be easier to get work, and revenue earned here would be for the Acehnese.

"I never received any money as part of the peace deal or any job training. Maybe my commander kept my money. I tried to get it from him, but he does not care. That's just how things are. I can't demand what I wasn't given."

The deputy: Kamaruddin Abubakar, 47 (nom de guerre: Abu Razak)

Where he was then: A second-generation rebel, he was sent to Libya in 1988 for weapons training for 15 months where he stayed on as a personal guard to then President Muammar Gaddafi before returning to Aceh to recruit and train fighters. He moved up to deputy commander when the top field leader, Abdullah Syafi'ie, was killed in 2002.

Where he is now: Following the peace deal signing, he farmed cocoa and palm sugar for two years, before joining politics as deputy chief of Aceh Party, comprised mostly of former rebels. He still manages his farm and has a business distributing sugar and fertilizer in Aceh, for which he earns from $90 up to $9,000 monthly.

"When the government declared martial law [in 2003] the army hunted for me, even tracking down my wife to her classroom where she taught. I went into hiding in the jungle and sent my family [wife and three children] to the city for safety. When the tsunami hit [in 2004] all my family was killed...

"It is hard to believe any fighters did not receive money. Some people claimed to be former GAM on the day after the agreement was signed. We call them 'GAM 16' [agreement signed on 15 August]...

"Criticism is free for all parties and government. This is what a democracy is. It is not true we ignore former fighters. The military structure exists even though we are not at war. They still follow us."

Human rights & justice

Supreme Court reduces sentence for Munir's murderer

Jakarta Post - October 7, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Supreme Court has reduced the sentence of Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, the convicted murderer of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, from 20 years to 14 years.

The Supreme Court stated in its official site on Monday that the petition was granted on Oct. 2 over Munir's murder and falsifying documents.

Three of the total five justices, including Dudu D. Machmudin, Sri Murwahyuni and Zaharuddin Utama, have approved the judicial review Pollycarpus filed on December, 2011.

Meanwhile, two other justices – Salman Luthan and Sofyan Sitompul – dissented over "sense of justice". "It [Pollycarpus' request] has violated the sense of justice," Salman told The Jakarta Post over a telephone interview.

The Central Jakarta District Court initially sentenced Pollycarpus to 14 years in prison for his role in the murder of Munir. He later appealed the verdict, but the Jakarta High Court rejected the appeal and upheld it.

In a surprise move, the Supreme Court acquitted Pollycarpus of the murder charges and sentenced him to two years imprisonment for falsifying documents. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) later challenged the ruling, and was successful increasing the sentence to 20 years.

Film on 60s purges free online so nation can see its bloody, obscured past

Associated Press - October 4, 2013

Margie Mason, Jakarta, Indonesia – Everyone in Bulumulyo village knew the mass grave was there, but no one dared to visit.

Relatives of accused communists slaughtered there nearly a half-century ago thought it was safer to forget since the killers still lived among them. Some resented the dead for the stigma that continues to brand their families. Others believed what they were taught: That the deaths were justified to save the nation.

A new American-directed documentary, "The Act of Killing," challenges widely held views about hundreds of thousands of deaths carried out across Indonesia from 1965 to 1966 in the name of fighting communism. It explores the country's darkest open secret by allowing former mass killers to re- enact their horrors on screen.

Bulumulyo residents recently screened the film at the mass gravesite, and this week the producers made it available online across the country, slowly beginning a long-overdue conversation.

"Most of the families of the victims are still frightened and traumatized because they lived under suppression and intimidation for three decades," said 73-year-old Supardi, who spent 14 years in prison camps before settling in the Central Java village with many other suspected communists.

International film critics have hailed the award-winning production, calling it chilling and surreal. But most people in this Southeast Asian country of 240 million have never heard of it, even though it was shot entirely in Indonesia and in the local language.

The film offers an unorthodox – and sometimes downright bizarre – window into the mass killings of suspected communists, Chinese and leftists committed by the army, paramilitary units and gangsters. The slayings were sanctioned by longtime military dictator and US Cold War ally Suharto as he seized power from founding President Sukarno.

"The Act of Killing" focuses on a group of low-level, aging gangsters in the North Sumatra capital of Medan who were part of the death squads. They have never been accused of any crimes and enjoy hero-like status while rubbing elbows with high-ranking officials.

In an unsettling twist, these men take on the role of actors. They spackle their faces with thick, bloody makeup, ride horses like cowboys and dress in drag to perform dance numbers, all to play out their version of a Hollywood movie depicting their murderous past.

"The Act of Killing" has received more than 1,000 underground screenings in Indonesia, and must-watch reviews in some of the nation's biggest newspapers, but it has not appeared in theatres because it was never submitted to the government film board. The creators were concerned the film would be banned, setting off violent protests or attacks against venues trying to show it.

Instead, director Joshua Oppenheimer, Drafthouse Films and other partners took the unusual step of making the picture free online to everyone nationwide beginning Monday, the anniversary of the event that kickstarted the killings. The 159-minute version of the film was downloaded thousands of times the first day alone and is geo-blocked without subtitles to restrict the audience to Indonesia.

"The film is an invitation for Indonesians to confront painful aspects of Indonesia's realities that, in fact, most Indonesians in some ways know about but may be too afraid to discuss," Oppenheimer said by phone from Finland.

Relatively few Indonesians are even old enough to remember the purges. Half of the country is younger than 30.

"I often thought when I was making the film with so much time passing that no one will care anymore," Oppenheimer said. "But I think, on the contrary, because so much time has passed, people are ready to open up to this conversation in the same way that maybe time had to pass in Germany before the Germans were ready to look at what happened dealing with what their parents had done in World War II."

Yet the topic also remains sensitive enough to keep Indonesians who worked on the film from listing their names in the credits for fear of retribution.

The killings began after Suharto blamed the deaths of several high-ranking generals on an alleged coup attempt by members of the Indonesian Communist Party, known as PKI, on Sept. 30, 1965. The event's buildup was dramatized in Christopher Koch's novel "The Year of Living Dangerously" and its 1982 film adaptation, which was banned in Indonesia until 1999.

Indonesia's mass killings were aided by the West – the US Embassy in Jakarta handed over the names of thousands of suspected communists – when America was also battling the spread of communism in Vietnam. The deaths were downplayed outside Indonesia at the time and never drew the same level of international outrage as atrocities elsewhere, such as Cambodia's killing fields.

The main figure in "The Act of Killing," Anwar Congo, demonstrates in one disturbing rooftop scene how he garroted victims with a wire to avoid making a mess that would later smell. Then he breaks into a little jig, singing and dancing the cha-cha in white pants and a bright green tropical shirt.

Though the film captures moments of regret, Congo and his cohorts boast proudly of their past. "War crimes are defined by the winners," says Adi Zulkadry, one of the documentary's admitted killers. "I'm a winner. So I can make my own definition."

Congo declined to talk to The Associated Press, saying without elaborating that many reporters had "cornered" him in the past.

Suharto was overthrown 15 years ago after three decades of tight-fisted rule, and memories of the killings were quietly buried in a country still new to freedom of expression and democracy. But many of today's elite benefited from the previous era and continue to prosper from those connections – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's late father-in-law played a major role in crushing the communists.

For years after the purges, every Sept. 30, children were forced to watch a brutal propaganda film demonizing communists for massacring the nation's heroes. Even now, the official version of the 1965 coup attempt is memorialized: Flags are lowered to half-mast and the president presides over a ceremony. History textbooks teach a whitewashed account of patriotism where good overcomes evil.

The film includes a recent clip from a local TV talk show in which a smiling female host enthusiastically introduces Congo, hailing him for developing a "new, more efficient system for exterminating communists."

Last year, Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission released a report concluding that the mass killings constituted gross human rights violations. It was dismissed by the government, which refused to examine it further.

"I think it's too late for justice: The main perpetrators are all dead. What is important now is the truth," John Roosa, an expert on the 1965 atrocities at the University of British Columbia, said in an email. "The state has all along not wanted public discussions about the killings: it has only wanted to condemn the PKI.... It has pretended like they never occurred."

But the film has put cracks in the silence that has always supported this notion. After watching it in Bulumulyo village with some of the known killers, survivors and family members cleaned the mass grave and began offering prayers for the dead. A sign that some Indonesians are ready to start talking about the country's best-known secret.

[Associated Press writers Ali Kotarumalos and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta.]

RI set to ratify UN forced disappearances convention

Jakarta Post - October 3, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has opened deliberations on adopting the United Nations convention against involuntary disappearances more than three years after the government signed a treaty pledging to do so.

In the first hearing, held on Wednesday, the House, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), all agreed that the international convention should be adopted into a national law.

Head of the TNI legal division Maj. Gen. S. Supriyatna said the TNI supported ratification of the convention. The TNI, however, demanded that the convention not be applied retroactively.

"There needs to be a guarantee that alleged perpetrators in cases from the past will not be brought to court, even after victims of the crime are found," he said.

Under the convention, the government must first find the whereabouts or remains of the victims – a requirement that Supriyatna said could be used to prosecute forced disappearances from the past.

Komnas HAM said in a 2003 report that the abduction of pro-democracy activists in 1997 and 1998 constituted a gross violation of human rights

The Komnas HAM investigation concluded that former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, currently chief patron of the Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, and then TNI commander Gen. Wiranto, now chairman of the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, were responsible for some of the human rights violations that occurred during the 1998 riots that preceded the fall of former president Soeharto's regime.

A report from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) estimated that more than 50,000 people were recorded missing between 1965 and the early 2000s. Elsam reported that 32,774 people went missing during the 1965 anti-communist massacres; 14 were kidnapped between 1982 and 1985; and another 23 disappeared during the Tanjung Priok riot in 1984.

Supriyatna of the TNI said ratification of the UN convention could mean the TNI and its members could be unfairly blamed for every missing persons case.

"People can go missing for any number of reasons, from natural disasters to social conflicts. That's why we need to carefully discuss each of the provisions in [the convention]," he said.

Some lawmakers supported the TNI's stance by proposing to adopt only parts of the convention. Susaningtyas Kertopati from Hanura said that partial adoption of the convention could defend the interests of the TNI.

"People will easily blame abduction or other rights violations on the TNI. We tend to forget certain rogue elements in the society could have played roles in the forced disappearance cases," she said.

Deputy chairman of the House Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs Tubagus Hasanudin of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) insisted that the House had to adopt the convention in its entirety. "We have signed the convention. There should be no turning back, we must show our commitment," he said.

Komnas HAM commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said that the retroactive principle from the convention could be a stumbling block to the passage of a bill.

"I want to emphasize that the convention will not be applied retroactively. It will only apply to cases that occur at least 30 days after the convention becomes law," Roichatul said.

To date, 21 countries have ratified the convention and 88 others have signed a commitment to do so. Indonesia signed the treaty on Sept. 27, 2010.

New LPSK expected to step up services for 1965 survivors

Jakarta Post - October 2, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The seven recently elected commissioners of the Witness and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK) were confirmed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday. The agency is mandated to help resolve past human rights abuses and to combat extraordinary crimes such as corruption, drug abuse and terrorism.

Four of the seven commissioners elected by the House's Commission III overseeing law and human rights were incumbent commissioners: Abdul Haris Semendawai, Lies Sulistiani, Lili Pintauli Siregar and Teguh Soedarsono.

The three newcomers to the agency are Edwin Partogi Pasaribu, an activist with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), and legal experts Askari Razak from Hasanuddin University in Makassar and Hasto Atmojo Suroyo of the National University in Jakarta.

The House Commission III took a vote on Monday night, in which Semendawai and Edwin got 51 votes. Lili came in second place with 48 votes, followed by Hasto with 47 votes, Askari with 45 votes, Lies with 33 votes and Teguh with 27 votes. Commission III members were allowed to vote for more than one candidate.

In the plenary session, the House ordered the agency to step up its efforts to support victims of past human rights abuses.

"The selected members must move fast to improve services for victims of human rights violations of the past, particularly of the 1965 anti- communist purge because they are getting older and older. We must wait no longer to restore their rights," Commission III lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said.

Law No. 13/2006 on the protection of victims and witnesses mandates the LPSK to provide physical and psychological assistance to them.

Semendawai said that currently the LPSK provided such assistance to around 300 victims human rights violations that took place during the 1965 anti- communist purge and the May 1998 riots. Semendawai also said that years of deadlock on probes into past rights abuses had prevented the LPSK from helping survivors.

The commissioner for the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Nur Kholis, said that the LPSK could now continue its work unfettered, as the rights body and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) had agreed on some issues.

"Both Komnas HAM and the AGO have agreed to establish a joint investigation team to review and follow up on all cases of human rights abuses. It's clear that both institutions aim to resolve the problem," said Nur, who led an investigative team on the 1965 anti-communist purge.

"We hope that the new LPSK members can further help rehabilitate the rights of the survivors of the 1965 purge, as well as other past rights abuses. We really hope that they can get close with the survivors and stand for their rights because that is the main purpose the LPSK," he added.

Under Nur's leadership, Komnas HAM conducted a four-year investigation on a number of past rights abuses and concluded that the state-sponsored anti- communist purge in 1965 could be deemed as a gross violation of human rights, comprising murder, extermination, slavery, forced disappearances, limits on physical freedom, torture, rape, persecution and forced prostitution.

According to the investigation, officials from the Operational Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Kopkamtib), which was first led by then Gen. Soeharto, were involved in the systematic and widespread killing of members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and countless other civilians suspected of having ties to the party.

The Act of Killing' skirts censors with online download

Jakarta Globe - October 2, 2013

Director Joshua Oppenheimer has made his acclaimed documentary "The Act of Killing," based on Indonesia's 1965 anti-communist purge, available as a free download in the hope that the controversial film will reach a wider domestic audience.

The documentary, previously only seen in underground screenings, can now be downloaded from theactofkilling.com. Oppenheimer stated on the home page that the crew came together to make "The Act of Killing" free for all Indonesian people.

"It's to fight forgetting the cruelty of the 1965 genocide. From today on, ' Jagal' [the Indonesian title of the film] can be downloaded freely," the director said. "We would like you to play it, discuss it, and spread it to your friends across the country," he added.

Oppenheimer said that he and his crew had worked for seven years to make the movie so there would be room for discussion without fear, with the hope that it would help in the country's fight for truth, reconciliation and justice.

The chilling documentary – about a period of Indonesian history many would prefer to forget – made waves at film festivals worldwide and has spurred interest at home. The film focuses on Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry, two Medan-based preman, or gangsters, who re-enact their brutal roles in the mass killings that left up to a million dead nationwide.

The self-described thugs play themselves and their victims, addressing their violent history through the lens of popular American films in the disturbing, and often surreal, documentary.

While Indonesia's Film Censorship Board has not banned the film, "The Act of Killing" was never officially released in domestic theaters.

Sexual & domestic violence

Rape case highlights growing child abuse epidemic in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - October 4, 2013

Tungadewa Mattangkilang – Amid a concerning trend of sexual violence across the archipelago, police in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Thursday confirmed the arrest of two men for the rape of a 14-year-old girl.

The perpetrators, the victim's 40-year-old stepfather and her boyfriend, are currently being held at Samarinda police office were they are undergoing investigation.

"We are also questioning the victim," Detective unit chief at Samarinda police, Comr. Feby DP. Hutagalung told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

The victim's relative, Lasmiani, said the 14-year-old girl was reported missing by her mother to the local police office on Monday after she did not return home, having left the house last Saturday. The police found her six days later.

"When asked by her mother why she left the house, the girl confessed she had been raped repeatedly by her stepfather when the house was empty and could not stand it any longer," Lasmiani said.

The girl then went to her boyfriend's house identified as 24-years-old A.L. However instead of receiving protection, the victim was raped again. "Her mother is greatly shocked, she even attempted suicide twice," Lasmiani said.

Feby said both S.U. and A.L. could be charged with a violation of the 2002 law on child protection which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Year of national emergency

The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), a non- governmental organization advocating children's issues, has declared 2013 as a year of national emergency over child sexual abuse.

Komnas PA's chairman, Arist Merdeka Sirait said there has been a worrying escalation in the number of child sex abuse cases.

In 2010, Komnas PA received 2,046 reports of violence against children, 42 percent of which were sexual abuse. In 2012, the figure had risen to 2,637 cases, 62 percent of them sexual abuse.

In August a 14-year-old junior high-school student was gang raped by four men in an empty parking lot in Cengkareng, West Jakarta. According to the victim's statement, she already knew one of the assailants and was introduced to the other three that afternoon.

The perpetrators asked the victim to join them for a ride. She was then forced to leave the vehicle in the empty parking lot where she was attacked. Two suspects, whom police have identified as 18-year-old I.R. and 19-year-old A.S., were arrested shortly after the victim's parents reported the incident.

Earlier in January, an 11-year-old girl fell into coma for six days and later died of infection. Doctors confirmed she had been sexually abused and had contracted sexually transmitted diseases from her rapist. It was later learned that the girl was raped several times by her own father.

Maria Advianti, secretary of the Indonesian Commission on Child Protection (KPAI), said one of the biggest worries is that most rape or sexual abuse cases are committed by family members.

Maria said rape committed by family members usually went unreported because the family felt they would experience shame if it was publicly exposed.

Arist said the growing prevalence of child sexual abuse cases indicates a failure in the Indonesian legal system. Under the 2002 Law on Child Protection, anyone who has intercourse with a minor can face up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp 60 million ($6,200).

The Komnas chairman said the law should be revised immediately; the minimum punishment for child sex abuse should be at least 15 years while the maximum sanction should be a life sentence and there should be additional punishments if the perpetrators were the parents, teachers, or police officers of the children.

Arist said the growing use of the Internet and social media in Indonesia has also played a role in the escalating number of cases of sexual abuse against children.

Many children spend excessive amounts of time in front of computers or gadgets because their family is dysfunctional and does not provide them with security or a sense of protection, Arist explained.

Labour & migrant workers

Maid's case may push migrant bill

Jakarta Globe - October 5, 2013

Dina Manafe – The case of Indonesian migrant worker Wilfrida Soik, 22, who is facing the death penalty in Malaysia, should serve to push the House of Representatives to ratify a bill of amendments to the migrant worker protection law, women's empowerment minister Linda Gumelar said on Thursday.

"We are calling for [the draft bill] to be ratified, so that there will be no other Wilfridas in the future as a result of weak Indonesian migrant worker protection laws," the minister said.

The packet of revisions to the 2004 Law on the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers remains a subject of heated debate between House legislators and the central government.

The Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, representing the government, has proposed several key provisions, including better protection for female migrant workers under the framework of gender equality.

According to the ministry, the existing legislation places too much focus on the placement of migrant workers and very did emphasis on their protection and safety – a point addressed in only one Article 9 in the law.

Linda said the revised law would more comprehensively regulate the protection of migrant workers in foreign countries and actively involve regional governments in such efforts.

"It is not regulated in the old law, so when a case surfaces, regional governments are not included," Linda said, adding the revisions would also more strictly regulate services by migrant workers agencies, starting from the recruitment process and training, to the placement of workers abroad.

Regarding Wilfrida's case, Linda said she remained optimistic that a solution would be found, adding that the government was working to gather more evidence to prove that the domestic worker had been a victim of human trafficking.

Linda also vowed to continue monitoring developments and to offer guidance in the case as the government put serious efforts into seeking to ensure that Wilfrida avoided the death sentence.

Wilfrida was arrested for allegedly murdering her 60-year-old employer, Yeap Seok Pen, during an argument that turned violent, according to reports in local media at the time of her arrest. Yeap, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, reportedly accused Wilfrida of sleeping with her 64- year-old husband.

The maid had worked for the family for less than a month and lived in their home in Kampung Lubok, Pasir Mas, Kelantan. She claimed the woman often yelled at her and physically abused her during the time she worked in the house.

The Kota Bharu Court in Malaysia on Monday postponed the verdict in the case as Wilfrida's legal team moved to introduce new evidence alleging that she was a juvenile at the time of her arrest.

Aside from being a victim of human trafficking, officials are also working to prove Wilfrida's real age during the incident, which could be an opportunity to avoid the death sentence.

If proven to have been under 18 years of age at the time of the incident, the Malaysian government will not be able to sentence her to death, because, as with Indonesia's 2002 Child Protection Law, Malaysian law entitles children below 18 years to special protection in any given situation, including in cases like Wilfrida's.

In addition to her age, Wilfrida had also been sent to work in Malaysia at a time when the Indonesian government had implemented a moratorium on migrant workers being sent to Malaysia, meaning she had been placed there illegally.

"We are hoping that the new evidence that we will be submitting in the next hearing could prove that Wilfrida was a victim too," Linda said. "Whatever the court decides, we will continue to try and ask for them to ease Wilfrida's punishment, starting with an appeal and more."

Praise for Indonesia in US child labor report

Jakarta Globe - October 2, 2013

Ethan Harfenist, Arientha Primanita & AFP – The United States Labor Department praised 10 countries, including Indonesia, for their "significant advancement" in fighting the worst forms of child labor, in a report published on Monday.

"We're moving in the right direction, but we have a lot more work to be done," said newly appointed Labor Secretary Thomas Perez in presenting the report, the 12th in an annual series.

"These reports remind us that children and adults continue to be exploited for their labor in countries around the world. Until this is no longer true, our work is not done."

According to the 826-page report, 10 countries – including three Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand) and five Latin American countries (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) – made "significant advancement," while the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and Uzbekistan were accused of colluding in forced child labor.

"We need to call upon governments, international and regional organizations, social partners and civil society to work together to end these human rights abuses," Perez said.

In a video screened during the presentation, University of Hawaii professor Maya Soetoro-Ng spoke of her own brush with underage labor when her mother placed her in a factory in Indonesia for a day.

"At first it was kind of fun to feel all grown up... but by the third hour, I felt heavy with the injustice of it," said Soetoro-Ng, whose step-brother is President Barack Obama.

The report comes ahead of a major International Labor Organization conference in Brazil on October 8-10 that will take stock of international efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by 2016, as set out in a global convention in The Hague in 2010.

It also followed an ILO report in mid-September that similarly praised an overall decline in child labor despite the global economic crisis – and noted that the largest number of child workers were to be found in middle- income countries, rather than poor nations.

By the ILO's definition, the "worst forms of child labor" includes all forms of slavery, prostitution, drug trafficking and work that is likely to harm a child's health or safety.

According to the US Labor Department's report, 816,363, or 3.7 percent, of Indonesian children from the ages of 10 to 14 are currently working. Meanwhile, 92.4 percent of Indonesian children in the same age bracket are attending school.

Suhartono, a spokesman for Indonesia's Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, said on Tuesday that he appreciated the report and hoped that it would motivate the government to realize its goal of eliminating child labor in the country by 2020.

"This [report] will provide a good boost of motivation for all related ministries, regional administrations and society as a whole to help eradicate child labor in the country," he told the Jakarta Globe.

He added that his ministry had managed to remove around 10,300 children from the labor force across the country in 2012, and it planned to withdraw 11,000 children this year.

Children who are removed from the labor force are either brought to shelters to be educated or sent to school with the assistance of the government.

"There is a strong culture of children helping their parents in Indonesia, and it's hard to break," he said. "That's one thing we need to work on: we need to convince parents... that children are supposed to study and not work."

Santi Kusumaningrum, the co-director of the Center for Child Protection at the University of Indonesia, said that while Indonesia has certainly made strides in child labor-related policies, it was important to recognize the need for better data.

"In terms of instituting the right regulations, we are on track. But what is the baseline for success? I think the government is doing a lot, but what is lacking is the proper starting point for comparisons," she said.

"While the National Labor Force Survey [Sakernas], conducted by the Central Statistics Agency, for instance, collects data on the issue [of child labor], it doesn't deal with the informal sector such as child domestic workers or trafficked children. It also includes all children under 18 years old.

"The National Socio-Economic Survey [Susenas] also provides info on children working in households, but still publishes different figures. Compared still to the International Labor Organization's reports, it's also different," Santi said.

Seto Mulyadi, a child psychologist who is also an adviser for the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), agreed that although the government has made strides on certain child labor issues, it must work harder to protect Indonesian children. "The rights of a child are to study, play and enjoy their childhood," he said.

The report suggests that in order to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in Indonesia,the government must "ensure self-employed children and children who do not have clear wage relationships, including children who work in agricultural, domestic service, and work on the street, are protected by laws."

Furthermore, it says that Indonesia must track its number of child-labor inspections, enhance coordination between local and national governments and bolster funding for child labor inspections so officials can properly enforce child labor laws.

Freedom of speech & expression

Twitter user on trial for defamation

Jakarta Post - October 3, 2013

The trial of Benny Handoko who is known on popular microblogging site Twitter for his critical opinions, began on Monday, he is accused of defamation of former member of the House of Representatives Misbakhun.

Benny, who tweets under the handle @Benhan, has 48,000 followers. Misbakhun filed a report to the police after Benny referred to him as a "robber" when tweeting about the bailout of Bank Century, he said he was offended by Benny's remark

Misbakhun had been implicated in a bogus letter-of-credit case concerning Bank Century but the Supreme Court found him not guilty. He asked Benny to retract his statement and apologize, but Benny refused to do so.

On Monday, Benny and his supporters were united in protest inside the courtroom by wearing surgical masks and remaining silent throughout proceeding. When asked to comment on the trial, Misbakhun said his lawyers had been assigned to deal with the case.

Benny was charged under the draconian 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law.

Political parties & elections

House kills election law amendment proposal

Jakarta Post - October 4, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – After two years of discussion, the House of Representatives' Legislation Body (Baleg) has officially rejected a proposal to amend Law No. 42/2008 on presidential elections.

With this decision, the 2014 presidential election will still require parties or coalitions of parties to secure 20 percent of seats in the House or win 25 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election in April next year in order to nominate candidates to contest the presidential election in June.

Baleg chairman Ignatius Mulyono made the announcement following a two-hour meeting, which was little more than a shouting match between those parties that rejected the proposal for an amendment and those in support namely the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS); the United Development Party (PPP); the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, and the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party.

Lawmakers Ahmad Yani from the PPP and Djamal Aziz from Hanura walked out of the meeting room while the majority of their colleagues, especially from the three major parties – the Democratic Party, Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) argued against lowering the presidential threshold.

Other parties that opposed an amendment to the law included the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB). "We will use the existing law for the election next year because the majority of Baleg members agree that a revision is unnecessary," Mulyono said.

Mulyono, a politician from the ruling Democratic Party, added that he would present the decision to a House plenary session next Tuesday when the House, as a whole, would drop the proposal permanently from the National Legislation Program. "Otherwise, it would still be possible to amend the law in the coming years," he added.

Among supporters of the planned amendment, Gerindra and Hanura were the most adamant in demanding a change in the law, as the decision to maintain the existing presidential threshold would effectively block the candidacy of the parties' respective leaders, Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto and Gen. (ret) Wiranto. Gerindra currently controls 26 seats in the House, while Hanura has 17.

Martin Hutabarat, a senior Gerindra politician, said the existing law would only allow "familiar faces" to run in the 2014 presidential election. Martin added, however, that the House decision to kill the proposal for an amendment would not affect Prabowo's plan for the 2014 election.

"I'm confident that none of the parties will be able to meet the presidential threshold. So, it is likely that all political parties will have to build coalitions," he said.

He also said that Gerindra was open to forming a coalition with other parties as long as Prabowo's idealistic vision was not compromised.

Only the Democratic Party, with 148 lawmakers in the House, would hypothetically meet the current 20 percent threshold, which amounts to 112 seats. The Democrats are followed closely by Golkar, which has 106 seats, and the PDI-P with 94 seats, but they would still have to form coalitions to nominate presidential candidates.

PPP nominates Suryadharma as presidential candidate

Jakarta Post - October 2, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang and Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP), the oldest Islamic party in the country, has officially nominated party chairman and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali as its presidential candidate as it seeks to form an alliance of Islam-based parties ahead of the 2014 election.

"He [Suryadharma] is the right person because we need someone to represent a political party that reflects the strength of Islam like the PPP," Hasrul Azwar, leader of the PPP faction at the House of Representatives said on Tuesday.

Hasrul added that the PPP was confident with Suryadharma's nomination due to his years of experience as a lawmaker and government official.

He emphasized that criticism of Suryadharma's "controversial" policies as the religious affairs minister would not affect his presidential ticket because of his "understanding of state issues".

Pro-pluralism activists, who have often criticized Suryadharma for his failure to stem rising intolerance in the country, said they were not concerned by Suryadharma's presidential bid.

Catholic priest Benny Susetyo said he doubted the PPP would be able to acquire the minimum of 20 percent of seats at the House of Representatives that would allow it to appoint a presidential candidate. He argued that the minister had failed to garner support and sympathy from the public due to his failure to champion religious tolerance.

"This candidacy gives us nothing to worry about. It is actually good in the sense of democracy because the public will have a wider selection of presidential candidates," Benny said on Tuesday.

"However, as the public has also acknowledged, the PPP represents a very specific segment and fails to represent the whole nation. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the party would collect enough votes to appoint him as presidential candidate," he said.

Suryadharma has been continuously criticized by activists for calling the Shiite branch of Islam heretical because it deviated from mainstream Islamic teachings. He also made similar comments about the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect.

Following Suryadharma's presidential nomination, the PPP asked other Islamic-based parties to collaborate in the presidential election in order to achieve the minimum presidential threshold, a proposal quickly declined due to the irrelevance of the coalition of Islamic parties in the democratic political arena.

Hidayat Nur Wahid from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) told reporters that the party would prefer to join a "more open coalition".

"It is no longer relevant to make such an alliance. We need to work together with the non Islamic parties to garner trust from the public. Otherwise we will fail to ensure potential voters cast their votes in the election," Hidayat said.

Environment & natural disasters

Dispatches: A veneer of legality for Indonesia's timber trade?

Human Rights Watch - October 2, 2013

Joseph Saunders – A long-awaited agreement signed on Monday by Indonesia and the European Union to trade only in legal timber is a critical first step toward reform of Indonesia's notoriously corrupt forestry sector.

But there are still miles to go before both sides can claim "zero tolerance for illegal logging and its associated trade" as asserted by Indonesia's Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan.

Indonesia's vast and biodiverse forests are globally important, yet the country is plagued by rapid deforestation. Indonesia is one of the largest emitters of carbon, largely because of the illegal practice of burning forests to clear land for plantations. Every dry season, smoke from these fires blows into nearby Singapore and Malaysia, creating a high-profile environmental and political crisis.

The impacts of Indonesia's rampant illegal deforestation are also felt close to home. Our analysis of Indonesia's own data shows that in 2011 the country lost more than US$1 billion in uncollected taxes due to illegal logging. That loss is roughly equal to the value of all Indonesia's wood exports to the EU and to Indonesia's entire national health budget for that year.

While a welcome beginning, Indonesia's new timber legality certification system is deafeningly silent on routine violations of the rights of communities living in and around forest concessions. Companies infringe upon community rights when they fail to comply with land compensation agreements, and the government does so when it allocates concessions on community land.

Earlier this year, Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled the latter practice unconstitutional. Nevertheless, wood products harvested on community land, without compensation, can still be stamped "V-Legal" under the system, and fast-tracked for export to the EU.

These violations of community rights have serious consequences. Impoverished rural communities depend on farming and collecting forest products – livelihoods that are destroyed when land is converted to plantations. Land conflicts are multiplying, and often become violent, as the government's "green development" plan aggressively expands plantations of pulp trees (for paper) and oil palm (for biofuel).

The EU should indeed have "zero tolerance" for timber imports linked to violence and rights violations. The new trade agreement should not serve as a veneer of legality for wood produced under such conditions.

Health & education

RI suffers setback in fight against maternal mortality

Jakarta Post - October 3, 2013

Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta – The National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) has warned that the country could fail to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as it continues to suffer setbacks in reducing the maternal mortality rate, due to the slow progress in improving the country's family planning program.

Data from the 2012 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI) released last week, showed that there were 359 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births last year, compared to 228 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2007.

Chairman of the BKKBN Fasli Djalal said that the figure was far behind the 102 post-natal deaths per 100,000 live births targeted in the Millennium Development Goals.

The survey, which was jointly conducted by the BKKBN and Central Statistics Agency (BPS), however, showed an improvement in maternal services as 96 percent of women received antenatal care during pregnancy last year, up from 93 percent in 2007.

The SDKI also revealed that 83 percent of women received help from health workers when giving birth last year, an increase from a mere 73 percent in 2007.

Despite improvements in health services, Fasli said that the government had failed to reduce the country's fertility rate that stood at 2.6 children per woman since 2002, which, according to him, was the main cause of the increased maternal mortality rate.

"Within the last ten years, we have failed to reduce the country's fertility rate, which stands at 2.6 children per woman. The number was 5.6 in 1971, but since 2002 we have not made any progress," Fasli told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

About 30 percent of maternal deaths are caused by obstetric hemorrhaging, making it one of the leading causes of maternal death.

Family planning can reduce maternal mortality rates, as delayed childbearing, longer intervals between births and limited childbirth may protect women against any obstetric dangers.

Fasli said that the BKKBN had also failed in its program to encourage wider use of long term contraceptive methods (MKJP), such as spiral, vasectomy and tubectomy among reproductive age couples.

"Our target by 2014 is that at least 27 percent of 45 million reproductive age couples join the long term contraceptive method. The current figure is only 10 percent," Fasli said. He also added that shortages in health workers were the reason behind the stalled family planning program.

Responding to the new figure, Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said that the ministry in collaboration with health agencies across the country would continue to focus on preventive actions to reduce the maternal mortality rate, starting by improving reproductive health services among teenagers. Nafsiah also called on the public, especially husbands to actively engage in protecting their wives from maternal mortality risk factors.

"What we need to find out is whether a woman has died after failing to receive treatment when she needed it. That will be our focus [in improving maternal services]," Nafsiah said recently.

Although the government introduced its non-permanent assignment program (PTT) in 1992, in which young professional health workers were sent to remote places all over Indonesia, a shortage of professional health care workers remains in some provinces.

In 2011, the Health Ministry recruited 10,819 health care workers, comprising 2,425 doctors, 504 dentists and 7,881 midwives, under the PTT program.

Graft & corruption

Election-fixing accusations grow against Akil as BNN waits for drug test

Jakarta Globe - October 7, 2013

New election-rigging allegations involving disgraced Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar surfaced on Monday as the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) probe widened to include a South Sumatra election, a worrying sign that the chief justice may have sold-off the court's authority nationwide.

An attorney representing Hazuar Budui and Agus Sutikno filed a complaint with the KPK on Monday alleging bribery and election rigging in a district head race in Banyuasin, a lowland South Sumatra district that encompasses the Kampar Pensinula and runs contiguous to the city of Palembang.

Golkar Party candidate Yan Anton took the race in a contested victory challenged by Hazuar, who came in second in the election. The Constitutional Court, under the authority of Akil, reportedly rejected the appeal.

Lawyer Alamsyah Hanafiah said the verdict was fixed in the complaint, alleging that Akil accepted a bribe to shut down Hazuar's appeal. "The bribe totaled Rp 10 billion [$885,000]," Alamsyah said outside the KPK, as quoted by Indonesian magazine Tempo.

When Yan failed to hand over more than the Rp 2 billon downpayment, Akil reportedly wrote to South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin, also of Golkar Party, asking him to postpone Yan's inauguration.

The Banyuasin case may be the start of a potential blizzard of accusations. Elections in Bali, East Nusa Tenggara and East Java also fell victim to media scrutiny today as Akil's alleged involvement in several contested races made headlines.

It's a concerning sign that the nation is heading toward the worst-case scenario here: that the Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan, and Lebak, Banten, elections were not isolated incidents of opportunism, but the first of many for-sale election verdicts on a national scale to be uncovered by the antigraft authority.

The case has already resulted in charges filed against six people, including Akil, Golkar lawmaker Chairun Nisa and Tubagus Chaeri Wardana – the brother of Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiya.

Meanwhile, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) announced that the results of drug tests on Akil would be available on Tuesday. The agency collected samples of the suspended chief justice's hair and urine after KPK investigators discovered quantities of marijuana and pills during a search of the Constitutional Court offices.

The pills, initially believed to be Ecstasy, were later identified as methamphetamine. Laboratory tests had shown the drugs were similar to the methamphetamine pills commonly sold in other Southeast Asian countries, but rarely seen in Indonesia.

"The pills contained methamphetamine, which is usually found in its crystal form," BNN spokesman Sumirat Dwiyanto said. "[The pills] could have been modified by drug bosses."

The level of involvement the BNN has in the investigation will be determined by whether Akil's tests come back positive, he said. Consumption is a criminal offense in Indonesia.

Singapore, US dollars the order of the day for RI's corrupt officials

Jakarta Post - October 7, 2013

Jakarta – It has now become routine. Whenever Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators apprehend graft suspects, including the recent arrest of Constitutional Court chief Akil Mochtar, they also confiscate Singapore and US dollar bills, while only rarely finding Indonesian currency.

In four of their last five intelligence-led operations, KPK investigators seized Singaporean and US dollar banknotes.

In the raid on Akil, investigators seized S$284,050 and US$22,000. On Aug. 13, the suspended head of Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), Rudi Rubiandini, was arrested at his house in Jakarta, with $490,000 and S$127,000 being seized.

On May 17, the KPK confiscated S$300,000 in cash in connection with a bribery case implicating two East Jakarta taxmen, Mohamad Dian Irwan Nuqishira and Eko Darmayanto.

Experts said the penchant for using dollars among bribe payers indicated that corruption had become prevalent and "cheap".

Yenti Garnasih, a money laundering expert from Trisakti Universtiy in Jakarta, said the amount of bribes paid to government officials was now too high to be paid in local currency, yet too small to be paid in ways that involved sophisticated money transfers.

The trick was now for bribe payers to carry smalls amount of foreign banknotes to a meeting spot. "That's for the sake of effectiveness, carrying less bills that they can put into a small bag," she said.

Yenti said if the total bribe was Rp 1 billion, bribe payers had to carry 10,000 notes of Rp 100,000 banknotes, while in US dollars they need only carry 870 notes of $100 bills. "The point is they both want to keep the transaction simple," Yenti added.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Donal Fariz said with Singapore and US dollar bills, it was easier for corrupt officials to place money in offshore accounts. "Singapore is allegedly a comfortable place for corrupt Indonesian officials to save their ill-gotten wealth," Donal said.

In 2010, tax officer Gayus Tambunan, who the police arrested for his role in an alleged graft syndicate involving tax and law enforcement officials, was arrested in Singapore after hiding there with his wife Milana and their three children.

The family had moved from one luxury hotel to another, including a stay at a five-star hotel in the famous Orchard shopping area, which charges its guests between S$390 and $1,800 per night.

Yenti of Trisakti University said the Singapore and US currencies were stable. She added that no graft suspects would ask for payment in Australian dollars, nor have the money wired to them.

She said that tracking the movement of money delivered to graft suspects would be easy if banks and money changer outlets complied with Law No.8/2010 on money laundering, requiring them to report any transactions worth more Rp 500 million. (hrl)

Top judge's arrest rattles justice system

Jakarta Globe - October 6, 2013

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Robertus Wardi – The arrest of Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar by the country's antigraft body could significantly change the political map in next year's elections.

Regional Representatives Council (DPD) deputy chairman La Ode Ida said Akil's arrest suggests corruption may have played a part in the determination of other disputed election cases in which Akil participated since joining the court.

Akil was elected to fill a vacancy in the Constitutional Court in 2009, immediately after stepping down from a decade's service as a House of Representatives member from the Golkar Party. The same year, the Constitutional Court took over the Supreme Court's responsibility for determining regional election disputes, thanks to an amendment to the regional governance law.

"All verdicts of the Constitutional Court, especially those handled by Akil Mochtar, should be considered suspect," La Ode said in Jakarta on Friday. La Ode said he would not be surprised to see people challenge verdicts previously issued by the court.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Akil at his house in South Jakarta on Wednesday night, for allegedly accepting bribes in two cases regarding the election of the district heads of Gunung Mas in Central Kalimantan and Lebak in Banten province.

Also arrested was Tubagus Chaeri Wardana, who is the brother of Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, and the husband of South Tangerang mayor, Airin Rachmi Diany.

Tubagus, along with lawyer Susi Tur Andayani, are suspected of giving Rp 1 billion ($87,000) worth of kickbacks to Akil to persuade the chief justice to scrap the results of the Lebak district election held in August.

Since decisions by the Constitutional Court require the agreement of a majority of its nine member judges, La Ode said it was only natural that the public will suspect corruption among some of the other justices, too.

La Ode is calling for a moratorium on all cases currently being handled by the court. "The president must issue a government regulation in lieu of law [perpu] so that regional election disputes will no longer be handled by the Constitutional Court, because this is a breeding ground for the legal mafia," he said.

Greek chorus

La Ode's concerns have been echoed by a number of politicians and their lawyers. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) deputy secretary general Hasto Kristianto said Akil's arrest could rekindle suspicions about unfair verdicts related to regional election disputes in Bali and West Java.

Hasto said he had heard allegations from "a reliable source" that the Constitutional Court ruled against his party's candidates Rieke Diah Pitaloka and Teten Masduki because judges received a Rp 20 billion bribe from rival candidates.

Hasto also claimed that Rp 80 billion in bribes determined the result in the contested Bali gubernatorial election, where PDI-P's candidate pair Puspayoga-Sukrawan were unsuccessful. "So who is responsible for proving the rumors? The state has to prove them in order to uphold democracy," Hasto said.

A group of lawyers calling themselves "Lawyers' Solidarity for Regional Elections" visited the KPK building on Friday to report Akil's alleged corrupt decisions in several other regional election disputes.

"We received information and solidarity from our colleagues involved in cases about other regional elections such as in Palembang, Mandailing Natal, Kediri and several other regions, which involved Akil Mochtar," said M Soleh, one of the lawyers from SPP.

Soleh said SPP supported the KPK's investigating Akil's possible involvement in awarding victories to undeserving parties in regional elections, and also called on authorities to suspend all verdicts issued by Akil.

Hanan Zulkarnain, who ran for the mayorship of Prabumulih, South Sumatra, shared a similar opinion calling for a review of all verdicts issued by the court during Akil's leadership.

"Since Akil was caught red-handed by the KPK for accepting bribes over the Lebak, Banten, regional election, there's a possibility that he also took bribes in other [cases related to] regional elections," Hanan told reporters.

A lawyer from Medan, North Sumatra said many of the cases he handled had been rejected by Akil.

"I have handled many cases at the Constitutional Court," said Roder Nababan, a lawyer in Medan. "Lawsuits that I was certain would be approved by Akil Mochtar would often get rejected. There are rumors of organized crime in the court.

"This crime is very organized. And the arrest by the KPK serves as evidence to this. There are many lawsuits regarding regional elections that were rejected by him. Some others were approved merely to cover up his deeds."

A senior researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Siti Zuhro, said corruption at the highest level of the justice system represented a grave threat to democracy.

"The public may be wondering whether Akil Mocthar's case was the death knell for justice in Indonesia. Why have there been so many law enforcers involved in bribery and graft cases? What does democracy mean amid the death of law enforcement?" Siti said in Jakarta on Friday.

Siti said the Indonesian people were despairing in the face of a litany of corruption and bribery cases involving every branch of power – legislative, judicial and executive.

She added that the erosion of the public's faith in the honesty of political parties and elected representatives, and the fairness of general elections, meant that the very belief in the value of democracy was waning.

Siti said rampant corruption cases showed that the fight against corruption, collusion and nepotism had been defeated by a strong wave of political lawlessness.

"Morality and ethics have been overshadowed by pragmatism and opportunism, which are seen as bringing more benefits. Such a disoriented mindset needs to be corrected to a more positive mindset," she said.

Political analyst Andrinof Chaniago concurred, saying that many holders of public office were in their positions for the wrong reason. Public servants have abandoned their sense of duty in favor of the pursuit of personal wealth, he said.

Miranda quizzed as KPK's Century probe deepens

Jakarta Globe - October 5, 2013

Novianti Setuningsih – Antigraft investigators have questioned Miranda Goeltom, a former Bank Indonesia deputy governor convicted of bribery, as the latest high-profile witness to the controversial Rp 6.7 trillion ($579 million) bailout of Bank Century in 2008.

Priharsa Nugraha, a spokesman for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said on Friday that Miranda was called in to testify for Budi Mulya, a former BI deputy governor who is expected to stand trial later this year for his role in the long-running scandal.

Miranda arrived at the KPK office in South Jakarta early on Friday morning, but only told reporters that she was there to be questioned in the Century case. She was still being questioned as of press time.

Miranda, sentenced to three years in prison last year for bribing legislators in 2004 to appoint her the senior deputy governor of the central bank, is the latest top BI official to be grilled in connection with the Century bailout.

KPK investigators earlier this week questioned Agus Martowardojo, the finance minister, and Darmin Nasution, the former BI governor, in the same case.

The KPK's long-running investigation into the case stems from a resolution by the House of Representatives that the bailout, during the height of the 2008 global financial crisis, was fundamentally flawed.

The police and the Attorney General's Office are pursuing parallel probes in the same case.

Critics of the bailout contend that the move was far too costly and politically manipulated to rescue depositors linked to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.

However, the government insists that the rescue was justified because Century's imminent collapse would have posed a systemic threat to the country's banking sector at a particularly critical time.

Interest in the case has been revived with recent claims by Robert Tantular – the bank's former co-owner, who has just finished serving a four-year jail sentence for violations committed prior to Century going bust – that there were political motivations for allowing the bank to fail, and that nearly a third of the bailout money never reached it.

Robert's lawyer, Andi Simangunsong, said on Monday following his client's questioning by the KPK that Rp 2 trillion of the fund was never injected into the failing bank, but kept at the central bank instead.

Robert also claims that the bank only needed a Rp 1 trillion bailout, and that the decision to inflate the sum was made with political interests. He also said BI had refused to grant the bank's request for a Rp 1 trillion bailout on Oct. 29, 2008.

That refusal eventually caused Century to collapse on Nov. 13, 2008, with the government stepping in to save the bank.

Robert submitted four documents to the KPK on Monday to back his claims. One of the documents he submitted was a personal statement that said he had offered to personally put up 20 percent of the total needed to rescue the bank, prior to the move by Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) to take over the bank.

Robert has also previously suggested that the bank was deliberately allowed to collapse so that the government could initiate a bailout. "We suspect there were 'invisible hands' that intentionally caused the bank's collapse and made Century unable to meet its daily obligations," Andi said.

Drugs, Ferraris and travel bans: Akil Mochtar scandal widens

Jakarta Globe - October 5, 2013

Harry Jacques – The scandal surrounding disgraced Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar mounted on Friday as the nation's antigraft agency seized luxury cars and narcotics, and placed a travel ban on a Provincial governor in a corruption case that threatened to critically undermine Indonesia's reputation for electoral integrity.

"This case is a disaster for law enforcement in Indonesia," Tama S. Langkun at Indonesia Corruption Watch told the Jakarta Globe. "During this period in the battle against corruption, the Constitutional Court was one of the few institutions that the public in this country could still rely on..."

Following Akil's arrest by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Wednesday night for allegedly accepting bribes at his house in South Jakarta, the KPK's list of suspects stood at six by Friday night, while Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah was issued with a travel ban.

"The KPK has issued a travel ban for Ratu Atut Chosiyah. The letter was sent today and is valid for the next six months," KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Friday afternoon, adding that the restriction was related to a disputed election in Lebak regency, Banten.

"We will surely [question Ratu Atut], but we don't know when," Johan said. "A travel ban is issued for investigation purposes."

The KPK has arrested three suspects in relation to the Lebak district head election case – Akil (who is also a suspect in a case linked to a local election in Central Kalimantan), lawyer Susi Tur Andayani and Tubagus Chaeri Wardana.

Tubagus is Ratu Atut's brother and the husband of the South Tangerang mayor, Airin Rachmi Diany. Tubagus and Susi are suspected of having given Rp 1 billion ($87,000) worth of kickbacks to Akil to persuade the chief justice to issue a favorable ruling in the case.

Tubagus and Susi were seeking a ruling that would have ordered the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Lebak district to scrap the results of the district election held in August and call a revote.

KPK officials found numerous luxury cars parked in Tubagus's home during a raid on Thursday, including a Bentley, two Ferraris, one Lamborghini, one Nissan GT-R, one Rolls-Royce, a Lexus and a Harley-Davidson Sportster, in addition to a Toyota Camry, a Toyota Innova and two Toyota Land Cruisers, Tribunnews.com reported.

A security officer named Husni said that Tubagus had been living in the area with wife Airin since 2003. "They owned those luxury cars since they first came here," Husni said, as quoted by Tribunnews.com. "Pak Wawan [Tubagus] often drives those cars, sometimes alone, sometimes with his wife."

Drug discovery

While antigraft officers continued to investigate the propriety of disputed regional elections in Banten and Central Kalimantan, Akil's situation took a sensational turn after the KPK confirmed it had found ecstasy and marijuana at his Constitutional Court offices.

"The process of searching the Constitutional Court room was witnessed by some officials of the court... During the search, goods were found that we assume to be narcotics or illegal drugs. We don't know the type," KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Friday afternoon.

A source at the KPK speaking on condition of anonymity, however, told the Jakarta Globe that ecstasy and marijuana were found at the Constitutional Court during a search on Thursday night, but declined to comment on exactly where in the offices the drugs were found.

Court unawares

As Indonesia digested the extent of the allegations against Akil, observers and legal professionals emphasized the seriousness of the implications for the country's judiciary.

The Constitutional Court said on Thursday that it would investigate other justices involved in the Gunung Mas and Lebak cases, over which Akil has been named a suspect, but the Judicial Commission told this newspaper that such a review was essentially moot because the Constitutional Court could not be overruled on rulings over elections.

Constitutional Court Justice Patrialis Akbar said the court's ethics council would review the Gunung Mas and Lebak elections, a statement echoed by the court's deputy chief justice, Hamdan Zoelva. "The ethics council will look into it," he said at the KPK headquarters on Thursday, as quoted by news portal Vivanews.

Patrialis did not, however, specify when the court would begin investigating itself, while the Judicial Commission was dismissive of the merit of any internal review.

"Any decision made before Akil was arrested the other day was normative and cannot be questioned because the Constitutional Court's decisions are final and binding," Judicial Commission spokesman Asep Ralamat Fajar told the Jakarta Globe.

"The Constitutional Court justices will hand over the legal process of this case to the KPK," Hamdan said. "In terms of its administrative process and internal investigation, the Constitutional Court will be handing that to the ethics council, while the justices will remain focused on managing the many other cases in the court."

The case is made more controversial because the Constitutional Court decided in 2006 to remove the power of the Judicial Commission to investigate the behavior of its judges.

"There is no guarantee that, with the Judicial Commission's supervision, this accident won't happen again," Asep said. "But on the other hand, we can say that with the Commission's supervision, it [would be less likely to] happen again...

"Regarding the authority, I would prefer to review the recruitment of Constitutional Court justices," he said. "In the future, it's better if the Constitutional Court's recruitment process is conducted independently to minimize the intervention of political parties. Also, external supervision is needed to oversee the justices' behavior and ethics."

Electoral implications

KPK Chairman Abraham Samad said the anticorruption authority would continue to investigate the propriety of the Gunung Mas and Lebak regional elections. "We will trace this and continue looking into it," Abraham said on Thursday.

Abraham declined to comment on whether the KPK had found any evidence linking other Constitutional Court justices to the two disputed elections.

Prior to this scandal, the Constitutional Court had been considered a rare rose among judicial thorns – but legal practitioners emerged at the end of the week with anecdotal indications that this was a scandal that had some way still to run.

"I have handled many cases at the Constitutional Court," said Roder Nababan, a lawyer in Medan. "My lawsuits that were supposed to be approved by Akil Mochtar would often get rejected. There are rumors of organized crime in the court.

Akil speaks

Speaking for the first time since his arrest, Akil, who was exiting the KPK headquarters after nearly 24 hours of interviews on Thursday evening, denied being acquainted with Chairun Nisa and Cornelis, the two individuals who had also been arrested on Wednesday in connection with the Gunung Mas electoral dispute.

"Somebody came to my house last night at 9 p.m. and claimed to be from Central Kalimantan," Akil said on Thursday evening. "I was still inside and was told there were guests."

The guests were still on the front porch of his home when KPK investigators arrived, then "they carried out a raid and it is from this raid that they found [the money]," Akil said.

Akil will, by now, have learned the importance of watching what he says. His personal Twitter account is awash with soundbites emphasizing the threat posed to the country by drugs and corruption.

"Good morning all, we're under the emergency conditions of corruption, floods and narcotics: what happened to this country? Come on, wake up," he tweeted on Jan. 29.

But the comment that has come back to haunt him was made to Indonesian newspaper Tempo on Mar. 13 of this year.

"This is my idea," he said, "rather than sentence [corruptors] to death, it's better to combine impoverishing them and cutting off one of their fingers."

On Thursday night a reporter outside the KPK asked Akil if he stood by the comment.

[Benjamin Soloway, Camelia Pasandaran, Erwin Sihombing & Rizky Amelia contributed to this report.]

Agriculture Minister admits link to prime suspect in beef import scandal

Jakarta Globe - October 4, 2013

Novianti Setuningsih – The Minister for Agriculture, Suswono, has admitted to liaising with a central suspect in the beef import quota scandal in a hearing at the Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday.

"I met with Sengman. He came over to my official residence," Suswono said, referring to the suspect, a businessman who is alleged to have handled Rp 40 billion ($3.7 million) involved in the graft case, during the former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq's trial.

Suswono, who is also a member of the PKS's board of advisors said Sengman claimed to be a close aide of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "When he came, he told me how he knew [the president] and that he was close to SBY," Suswono said.

He added that Sengman brought along a list of companies that were requesting to receive the beef import quota from the Agriculture Ministry and noted that it was unusual for the suspect to be involved in that line of business.

Suswono claimed that in response to Sengman's request he said he emphasized the ministry's regulations and that the suspect should comply with them if he wanted to become a beef importer. In a separate hearing another witness, Ridwan Hakim, who testified in late August, told judges that Sengman was President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's bagman.

In a recording obtained by investigators, Fathanah tells Ridwan that a man named Sengman had delivered Rp 40 billion to another man, referred to as "Engkong," at a PKS function in Lembang, West Java. He is also heard saying that the money, payment for a beef import quota, was prepared by Maria Elizabeth Liman, president director of agricultural products company Indoguna Utama.

Under questioning by Chief Justice Nawawi Pomolango, Ridwan said the Engkong referred to was his father, Hilmi Aminuddin, chief advisor for the PKS.

The judge then asked about the man who was said to have delivered the bribe money, Sengman. "There's a name, Sengman. Who is that?," Justice Nawawi asked.

Ridwan replied: "As I have explained to the KPK [the Corruption Eradication Commission], as far as I know Bapak Sengman is the president's courier when dealing with the PKS."

"Whose president?" the judge asked. "Our president, Pak SBY. In the record of my interview with the KPK it is noted that he is someone close to the president," Ridwan said.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha denied that Sengman was the president's envoy, adding that the president may have known the figure, but denied that he was the president's representative.

"The president never gave Sengman a mandate as a special envoy. As we all know, a president's envoy has special duties and they are given in a written statement, for instance a special envoy for the Middle East or Millennium Development Goals," Julian said.

Sengman was an influential businessman in South Sumatra and it is possible the president may have known him when he was commander of the Sriwijaya Military Area Command from 1996-97, Julian said.

The president also reportedly attended the wedding of one of Sengman's children, but Julian said there was nothing unusual about the president receiving such invitations from high-profile individuals.

While presidential staff and members of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party have rushed to refute any allegation linking the president to the corruption scandal or to the mystery figure Sengman, critics say the protestations are disingenuous.

Police end Suharto grandson embezzlement investigation

Jakarta Globe - October 3, 2013

Bayu Marhaenjati – Despite strong evidence against Ari Sigit – the grandson of former President Suharto who is accused of making Rp 2.5 billion ($216,788) from embezzlement and fraud – the Jakarta Police announced on Thursday that they have halted their investigation into his case.

"Before it was able to be given to the prosecutor, the plaintiff and Ari reconciled in June," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Cmr. Rikwanto confirmed.

Police had completed the dossier for the case and it was ready to be handed over to the prosecutor's office, but Ari and the plaintiffs had "reconciled" at the eleventh hour, Rikwanto said.

The plaintiffs revoked their case against Ari and the parties have agreed that they will not sue each other. "In July, the case was dismissed by the detective because of the joint resolution," Rikwanto said.

The plaintiffs, Sutrisno and Mariati from Krakatau Wajatama, a subsidiary of Krakatau Steel, reported Ari on Oct. 27, 2011 for allegedly pilfering funds from Krakatau Wajatama and failing to organize a land dredging project that his company, Dinamika Daya Andalan, was paid Rp 2.5 billion to carry out. Ari was named a suspect along with four other commissioners from DDA – Asrullah Arief, Basaruddin, Sir John and Sunarno Hadi.

Arrest of Constitutional Court chief justice a national disgrace: experts

Jakarta Globe - October 3, 2013

Rizki Amelia & SP/Erwin Cristianson – Indonesian legal experts and activists are calling the Wednesday arrest of Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar over allegations of bribery a devastating slap in the face to the image of the country's judiciary system.

"What Akil did was such a disgrace," said former Constitutional Court Chief Justice Jimly Asshiddiqqie. The alleged graft would taint the court's reputation as one of the country's cleanest institutions, he said.

Emerson Yuntho, a coordinator at Indonesia Corruption Watch, said that Akil's arrest highlighted the fact that corruption had infiltrated all levels of the central government. "[Akil's] arrest is a constitutional disaster," he told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

Jimy said that prosecutors should demand the death sentence when the case is brought to court. "The chief of the Constitutional Court is [one of the nation's] highest positions," he told Indonesian news portal Republika.co.id. "A death sentence will give a deterrent effect."

Akil was arrested by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators on Wednesday night along with four other people, including Chairun Nisa, a lawmaker from the Golkar Party. They were arrested at Akil's house in the ministerial Widya Chandra housing complex in South Jakarta and in a hotel in Central Jakarta.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said on Thursday that investigators found a paper bag containing an estimated Rp 3 billion ($261,000) in Singapore and United States dollars at the housing complex. The KPK also confiscated a white Toyota Fortuner that Chairun and one other person had allegedely driven to Akil's house.

Johan said earlier that the alleged bribery was connected to a disputed election for the district head of Gunung Mas in Central Kalimantan – a case which the Constitutional Court was handling.

The KPK also arrested Gunung Mas district head Hambit Bintih and another person, identified only as Dhani, at a separate location.

Akil, 62, began serving as a Constitutional Court judge in 2008, before replacing his predecessor Mahfud MD as chief justice in April.

Mahfud said that the arrest will definitely take a toll on the court's image. However, he added that since the court is based on the country's 1945 Constitution, the remaining eight justices must work harder to prove to the public that the institution is free of influence by the "judicial mafia."

Mahfud recommended that his former colleague step down from his position. "Even though the case has no legal status yet and the [court's] ethical council has not made any decision, it is better for him to resign," Mahfud told Indonesian news channel Metro TV on Thursday.

The eight remaining judges held an emergency meeting during the early hours of Thursday morning to discuss Akil's arrest and other internal court issues.

Of the nine justices on the court, three are selected by the Supreme Court, three by the House of Representatives and three by the president. Justices serve five-year terms. With its chief absent, the court will continue to function, with the role of presiding judge rotating between the remaining members.

In the instance of a four-four split, the presiding judge on the case in question would make the final decision.

Akil and the other five people are still being questioned by investigators. KPK chief Abraham Samad said Akil's status will be determined after an intensive round of interrogation. "We will wait for 24 hours. We have not decided [his legal status] yet because we are still questioning him," he said.

Meanwhile, Emerson urged the country's antigraft body to also look into other bribe cases that Akil was allegedly involved in. "The KPK must go through all of Akil's allegations in these other cases," he said.

In 2010, Akil allegedly extorted Jopinus Ramli Saragih, the Simalungun District chief in North Sumatra, for Rp 1 billion over a regional election dispute in the Constitutional Court. Akil denied ever taking the money.

Mahfud reported the case to the KPK at the time. However, Mahfud reported two attorneys representing Jopinus who allegedly tried to bribe constitutional court judges – Refly Harun and Maheswara Prabandono – and not Akil.

KPK charges Constitutional Court chief justice in bribery scandal

Jakarta Globe - October 3, 2013

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) charged Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar with allegedly accepting a bribe to fix the court's ruling on a contested election on Thursday in the latest high- profile corruption case to implicate the head of one of the nation's most powerful institutions.

"This is related to the Gunung Mas election," KPK chief Abraham Samad said in a press conference on Thursday. "A.M. and C.N. have been named suspects as recipients [of the bribes]."

Golkar Party lawmaker Chairun Nisa, who was detained in a raid on Akil's South Jakarta home, was also named a suspect in the case. Antigraft investigators seized a bag containing up to Rp Rp 3 billion ($261,000) in Singapore and US bank notes and a white Toyota Fortuner from the scene.

Both men stand accused of accepting bribes to rig Indonesia's democratic process, selling off the authority of the Constitutional Court to fix the ruling on an incumbent candidate pair's contested victory in an election in Gunung Mas district, Central Kalimantan rife with accusations of voter fraud.

Four others were also charged in the investigation, a businessman named Cornelis, Gunung Mas district head Hambit Bintih, Tubagus Chaeri Wardhana and a woman identified as Susi, Abraham said.

Akil's arrest followed the detention in August of the country's chief energy regulator Rudi Rubiandini and comes after several members of the president's Democratic Party were caught up in corruption scandals.

However, Akil is a former Golkar Party member. Golkar is in the current ruling coalition but seen as one of the main opponents to Yudhoyono's party at upcoming elections.

Rudi, head of upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas, was detained at his Jakarta home for allegedly accepting more than $600,000 in bribes.

In the past year, the president's party has been hit by a flood of corruption scandals that analysts say have seriously undermined the party's prospects at elections in 2014.

The party's chairman, treasurer and sports minister have all been caught up in graft scandals – an embarrassment for Yudhoyono as he won a second term in 2009 partly on a pledge to fight corruption.

The KPK has been granted extraordinary powers to investigate the rich and powerful in Indonesia, including wiretapping suspects and probing bank accounts. But they face an uphill battle in a nation ranked 118th out of 176 in Transparency International's list of least corrupt countries.

They have enjoyed some notable successes however, such as the jailing earlier this month of the former traffic police chief for 10 years after he built up an $18 million empire by accepting enormous bribes.

Djoko Susilo reportedly earned a humble police salary of $1,000 a month – but the country's antigraft agency seized assets from him, including houses, cars and even gas kiosks, worth 200 billion rupiah (around $18 million). (JG/AFP)

Thugs sent to disrupt rally in Medan

Jakarta Post - October 2, 2013

A group of aggressive thugs interrupted a rally organized by the Movement of People with Concern (GMP) in front of the Medan mayor's office on Tuesday.

GMP were protesting acting mayor Dzulmi Eldin who was implicated in a graft case worth Rp 20 billion (US$1.7 million) while serving as head of Medan revenue agency. "We were beaten and threatened with death if we continued our rally," rally coordinator Sugianto said on Tuesday.

He said suspicions were firstly raised by the Supreme Audit Agency in its 2006-2007 audit report, which cited the Rp 20 billion state loss allegedly inflicted from a series of projects organized by the Medan revenue agency under Dzulmi leadership.

Commenting on the accusation, acting mayor Dzulmi said that the accusations were unfounded, however, he refused to elaborate further. When asked about the thugs who had allegedly been ordered to disperse the rally, city secretary Syaiful Bachri denied the city had any involvement.

House dragging its heels to weaken KPK: ICW

Jakarta Post - October 2, 2013

Hans Nicholas Jong, National – Antigraft activists have lambasted the House of Representatives its alleged attempts to weaken the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) through bills on the revision to the Criminal Code (KUHP) and on Criminal Code procedures (KUHAP).

Emerson Yuntho of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said on Tuesday that the House's Commission III overseeing law and human rights was silently trying to restrict the KPK's power through the bills. "The deliberation process of these two bills appeared to have been carried out silently to avoid criticism and public attention," he said in a press statement.

Emerson also said that sources had revealed that the House had aimed to finish the deliberation of the two bills by Oct. 2013, adding fuel to allegations that the House was planning to sabotage the country's fight against graft.

According to Emerson, the KUHAP bill appears to distance the KPK and the Corruption Court from the efforts. "It can be seen by the absence of institutions other than the Attorney General's Office [AGO], the police and the court [state, high and supreme]," Emerson said. "If [the bill] is passed, then the regulation could create polemic or multiple interpretations in the future."

The bill also bestowed great authority on a new institution it created called Commissioner Judge, which, according to him, had the duty to determine whether a law enforcement institution could proceed with an investigation, arrest, detain, search for evidence, confiscate evidence or wiretap phone conversations based on its own evaluation.

Besides that, Emerson also cited some articles included in the KUHAP bill that had the potential to undermine the KPK, such as Article 240, which stipulated that an exoneration could not be appealed to the Supreme Court. Then Article 250 stated that a Supreme Court prison term verdict could not be heavier than the High Court's verdict, he added.

The bill also failed to regulate corporations implicated in graft practice, according to Emerson. "There are nine articles on the KUHAP bill that have the potential to amputate the KPK and its efforts to eradicate corruption," he said.

Punishment for graft convicts stipulated in the KUHP bill, meanwhile, are much more lenient than those stipulated in Law No. 31/1999 and Law No. 20/2001, both on corruption, Emerson said.

According to him, the House is attempting to castrate the KPK because the antigraft body had arrested corrupt politicians and as a result was processing at least 65 of them. "Besides that, the KPK's investigation [into the House] is deemed to be disrupting sources of funding for the 2014 election," said Emerson.

The ICW, therefore, called on the House to stop discussing the bills and returned them to the government to be reassessed. It also urged the government to scrap the problematic articles.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggles (PDI-P) lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, meanwhile, said that the allegations were not based on fact.

"We have not even started [to deliberate the bills]," she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. "I don't know where [the ICW] got the idea [of the accusations] from."

Eva, who is a member of the Commission's working committee on the bills, said that the deliberation process was postponed because there were more pressing matters at hand, such as the supreme judge selection. "The committee probably will start [working] this October," she said.

Agriculture & food security

Chicken-price spike raises eyebrows

Jakarta Post - October 5, 2013

Anggi M. Lubis, Jakarta – Underperforming domestic production has been largely attributed to surging food prices, including that of beef – which has seen its prices rise during the year due to a shrinking cow population and a heavy reliance on imports.

But in the country that sees chickens roaming in the streets of kampungs, the surging price of poultry in the last month has taken the nation by surprise as supply shortages cannot possibly be behind the hike.

Meat-price increases are common every year ahead of Idul Fitri, but the government and herders have said they had to do a double take when the price of chicken did not recover weeks after the holiday, which fell in early August this year.

"We were happy that the price of chicken did not plummet after Idul Fitri because we had prepared programs to aid herders in case they experienced losses due to price drops," Deputy Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan said.

The happiness soon turned into worry, he said, as prices stayed high nearly two months after. "This is a market anomaly, prices usually go back down after Idul Fitri," said Poultry Breeders Association chairman Anton J. Supit.

Chicken was marketed at around Rp 24,000 (US$2.11) per kilogram before the festivity. Prices skyrocketed to around Rp 40,000 per kilogram during Idul Fitri, and stayed at around Rp 34,000.

Agriculture Ministry data said the country estimated that it would produce 1.77 million tons of chicken this year. Data provided by the ministry also showed that annual chicken consumption was less than 4 kilograms per capita, which means national demand for the commodity was 1 million tons per annum lower than the national production.

The ministry also calculated that consumption in September was only 89,000 tons, while production that month was 124,000 tons.

"The problem must have lied within the trade system," Rusman said. He said that his ministry was currently deducing the large discrepancy between producers prices and that of retailers, which implies problems within the supply chain of chicken, to decide on what needed to be done to deflate the prices.

Rusman explained that while herders had sold their chickens for Rp 14,000 a kilogram, the meat was marketed to consumers with a gap of Rp 20,000 per kilogram. He said that the supply chain of chicken involved eight players including farmers, collectors, slaughter houses and retailers.

It has been reported that Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan was mulling whether or not to import the commodity to suppress prices, pending a recommendation from the Agriculture Minister.

Rusman said his ministry would discuss the matter with the Trade Ministry and would invite them to evaluate supplies. "Proof is all there that this isn't a mere supply issue," he said.

Government urged to provide more land for farmers

Jakarta Post - October 1, 2013

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Farmers and activists in West Java have slammed the government for implementing agrarian policies that favor large-scale producers at the expense of small farmers.

They further charge that instead of providing for the general welfare, as intended in Basic Agrarian Law no. 5/1960, the policies have actually hurt local farmers.

A member of the People's Coalition for Agrarian Justice, Sapei Rusin, said that the executive, legislative and judicial institutions were undermining agrarian justice, evidenced by 44 government regulations that violated the spirit of the agrarian law.

"The policies have intensified and protracted agrarian conflicts and poverty in rural areas," Sapei said during a recent rally in Bandung. Many members of the agricultural workforce, he said, were left out in the cold because of a shortage of agrarian resources.

Pasundan Farmers Association secretary general Agustiana echoed this sentiment, saying that small farmers needed access to more land for cultivation.

"The Basic Agrarian Law explicitly contains points pertaining to the reservation, dominion and utilization of natural resources for the sake of the people. Why then have appropriate policies not been implemented?" she said.

According to the Agrarian Reform Consortium, policies that don't defend small farmers lead to conflicts that inevitably disadvantage them. During the United Indonesia Cabinet under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the consortium recorded 749 agrarian disputes across West Java. That figure was a stark increase from the 506 cases recorded for 2001.

According to Sapei, development projects in West Java such as the Cilamaya Port project, the Jatigede Dam, the Cisumdawu and Cikampek-Palimanan toll road projects, the Kertajati Airport and various industrial zones would reduce farmland significantly.

He said that the Cisumdawu (Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuan) toll road project had already converted some 1,149 hectares of land, while the Jatigede Dam project would eat up 6,783 hectares of farmland and forests.

The 2013 agricultural census conducted by the National Statistics Agency (BPS) showed a drastic drop in the number of farming families nationwide, from 31.17 million in 2003 to 26.13 million in 2013.

Official statistics from the West Java BPS released in March 2013 showed that as many as 1.79 million of the 4.5 million underprivileged people in the densest province in Indonesia lived in rural areas. As many as 2.58 million of the 3.5 million farming families in West Java are categorized as petty farmers, or those who own less than half a hectare of land.

"The provincial administration should conduct an independent and transparent audit on state-run agriculture company Perhutani as well as on land utility permit holders, so as to know the benefits they provide for people's welfare. The abandoned land should also be distributed to farmers," said Sapei.

He also urged the government to stop land and forest conversion, which was detrimental to the environment as well as to the agricultural sector. "Also stop criminalizing farmers who are fighting for their rights," said Sapei.

State & governance

Government lost Rp 57 trillion to bad management: Audit agency

Jakarta Globe - October 2, 2013

SP/Carlos Paath – Weak internal control systems and legal non-compliance cost the government Rp 57 trillion ($4.95 billion) in lost revenue during the first half of this year, state auditors announced on Tuesday.

Hadi Purnomo, the chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), said the losses stemmed from 13,969 documented cases, of which 4,589 were classified as non-compliance, accounting for potential losses of Rp 10.74 trillion.

"The BPK's recommendation in such cases includes handing over assets, submitting money to the state coffers or to regional government coffers," Hadi said upon submitting the BPK's 2013 first half audit report, or IHPS I, to a plenary session of the House of Representatives.

Hadi said the BPK had found 5,747 cases of weak internal control systems and 2,854 cases of administrative mismanagement. The audit discovered only "779 findings... of inefficiency and ineffectiveness," but those cases amounted to Rp 46.24 trillion in losses, he said.

The agency has recommended improvements to government entities' internal control and administrative systems.

Hadi said the audit focused on financial reports from the central and regional governments, ministries and other institutions managing public funds, including financial bodies like Bank Indonesia and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).

The BPK has a broad mandate to investigate the management and accountability of state finances, assess government bodies' performance, and conduct "special audits," such as for environmental resources and fraud detection.

The BPK's submission to the House was a meta-assessment that encompassed "597 reports... [of which] 519 were financial [reports], nine performance audits and 69 special audits," Hadi said.

Several of the government bodies singled out by the BPK have followed up on the findings and surrendered their assets. "Over Rp 372.4 billion has been handed over to the state" as a result of non-compliance findings, Hadi said.

However, he added that this amount was still a far cry compared to the potential losses that the BPK had discovered.

Hadi urged the central and regional governments to carry out non-cash financial transactions or to only carry out transactions through the banking system for all programs, "so that BPK auditors can detect all the government's transactions easier," he said at a press conference in his office.

Hadi said the BPK had shared its recommendation on non-cash transaction systems with all the governors of Java and heads of state-owned enterprises.

He said he hoped to secure the governors' commitments on the request, adding it should only apply to their next procurement contracts and not retroactively.

He also said the policy should apply for tender winners on government projects, adding that such a system would also enable the BPK to determine the legitimacy of the source of funds used in the transactions before the data are sent to the State Budget Service Office (KPPN).

Hadi said that KPPN transaction data could be used to compare data from ministries and government institutions. "Because the BPK's financial transaction [data] is obtained from the KPPN, this will make it easier for auditors to trace the government's flow of funds," he said.

The government's transaction data is compiled by 177 KPPN offices. The BPK has so far conducted pilot projects with five of these offices. Hadi said he hoped the BPK's pilot project would connect all KPPN offices to the BPK's central database in the next two to three months.

The agency also wants to see changes to the process of competing for government tenders. At the moment, there is no requirement that participants must submit evidence that they have had no tax problems in the past three to five years.

In the future, the BPK would also like to see all government contracts quoted in rupiah denomination.

Andi Timo Pangerang, a deputy chairman of House Commission XI, overseeing financial affairs, said the BPK's ideas should be considered carefully first.

He said that the supporting infrastructure was needed to implement the plan, and that matters related to financial transactions were Bank Indonesia's authority.

However, Andi agreed that it was important to reduce the risk of fraud – or at least improve detection – by avoiding cash transactions. "Use cash as little as possible in payments and transactions," he said.

Parliament & legislation

Ruhut issues threats to save his inauguration

Jakarta Post - October 3, 2013

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Controversial Democratic Party (PD) lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul warned he would expose the "dark records" of those colleagues opposing his inauguration, which is slated for next Monday.

Lawmaker Martin Hutabarat from the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing law and human rights said on Thursday that the House's leadership was set to formalize Ruhut's appointment after earlier postponing it over rejections.

"Pak Priyo will lead the ceremony on Monday," Martin said, referring to House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santosa of the Golkar Party.

Ruhut has repeatedly issued warnings that he would reveal corruption that allegedly involved several of his colleagues from Commission III, particularly those who had strongly opposed his appointment.

"I have collected information about several people who have been strongly against my appointment as chairman of Commission III," Ruhut said. "I'm ready to expose this information [if they still oppose the inauguration]," he emphasized.

Several Commission III members succeeded in canceling Ruhut's inauguration last week, arguing he lacked the competence to lead the prestigious commission.

Some of his strong critics, such as Desmond Junaidi Mahesa from the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party and Ahmad Yani from the United Development Party (PPP), also questioned Ruhut's alleged problematic past due to a previous marital status dispute with his former wife Anna Rudhiantiana Legawati.

Jakarta & urban life

Jakarta plans 4,000 new buses to anticipate flood of cheap cars

Jakarta Globe - October 7, 2013

Lenny Tristia Tambun – In anticipation of the wave of new vehicles that are expected to hit the capital following the government's low-cost green car (LCGC) policy, the Jakarta administration is aiming to beef up its public transportation fleet with 4,000 additional buses, a city official said on Monday.

Udar Pristono, head of the Jakarta city transportation agency, said that his office will adopt two strategies to prepare for the possible flood of new vehicles.

"We have to do two things to face the LCGC policy... the plan is to strengthen public transportation and enforce the law by weeding out unworthy public [transport] vehicles," he said.

Udar said that the city will aim to include the 4,000 buses on the 2014 city budget.

"The government will expand the TransJakarta fleet by 1,000 buses and boost the number of mid-size buses by 3,000 units," he said. The 3,000 midsize buses would strengthen the MetroMini and Kopaja fleets.

He said that it was hoped that the purchase of the 4,000 new buses would not have to go through a tender process but instead through an e-catalog, which is being prepared by the Policy Institute for the Provision of Goods and Services (LKPP). Whereas tender processes are subject to negotiation and can take some time, the LKPP would set the prices for the buses transparently and make sure that the buses would be purchased in roughly three months.

"It [the e-catalog] is being processed by the LKPP. We will not go through a tender but will buy [the buses] based on a price list. It will go much faster with this system..." Udar said.

Udar aired hopes that the e-catalog would be able to be completed before the new budget year.

City authorities, he added, will also take pains to limit the use of private vehicles and crack down on illegal parking, but he added that more preparation was needed to implement such measures.

Since June 25, the city has ordered 315 buses off the road and fined 3,464 others.

"We are not trying to kill public transportation. We are guiding MetroMinis and Kopajas, as well as other public transportation vehicles, and pushing the owners to repair or improve their vehicles," he said.

There are already some 2.5 million cars in the capital, with some 1.1 million vehicles sold last year. This year's numbers are expected to remain flat.

The Industry Ministry said that under the LCGC policy, some 30,000 low- emission cars would roll off the assembly lines this year, accounting for some 3 percent of all vehicles sold in the country. The government plans to increase production by 10 percent next year.

Call for moratorium on new roads, car sales as traffic worsens

Jakarta Globe - October 4, 2013

Lenny Tristia Tambun & Fana FS Putra – The Jakarta administration is being urged to implement a moratorium on private vehicle sales and road construction to prevent the city from suffering gridlock.

"We have issued two recommendations to ease the traffic congestion, suggesting there should be a push and pull strategy," Ahmad Safrudin, a member of the coalition Transportation Demand Management (TDM) said on Thursday.

The "push" strategy, he said, should be done by restricting the number of private vehicle sales in Jakarta. Ahmad said the Jakarta administration should be brave enough to take drastic measures to stop congestion from worsening.

He said the government should reconsider the low-cost green car project (LCGC) because it would exacerbate the city's traffic problems. The administration should also stop building more roads because it encourages residents to buy more vehicles.

"There should be real action to restrict private vehicles for the next few years while an electronic road pricing system [ERP] should be implemented immediately," he said. Ahmad also called on the city to increase parking tariffs

Regarding "pull" strategies, Ahmad said the government needs to provide a reliable mass public transport system while at the same time building more sidewalks.

Ellen Tangkudung, secretary general of the nongovernmental Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI), said an ERP system was a much better proposition than the odd-even traffic scheme that had been suggested.

Ellen said the ERP system was more comprehensive. Not only would it limit the amount of vehicles entering the zones it covered, the money raised could be used to improve public transport.

However, she said, the ERP system by itself would not be enough. It must be supported by an electronic registration and identification system (ERI), a real-time data system which could be used to overcome traffic-related problems in the capital, such as congested roads, violations, accidents and vehicle-related crimes.

An ERI system would be able to limit the number of vehicles through electronic law enforcement. The system entails installing a series of gantries that carry a sensor platform of cameras, scanners and digital detectors to monitor traffic flow. Ellen also echoed Ahmad's sentiment that the city should stop building more roads because the policy doesn't work.

A survey conducted by MTI found the 5-kilometer elevated road stretching from Antasari to Blok M in south Jakarta had not eased traffic in the area, especially during the rush hour. "So it's obvious building elevated roads is not the solution. On the contrary, it has created new choke points," she said.

Meanwhile Jakarta's efforts to crack down on illegal parking by using pliers to pull out the air valves of vehicles obstructing traffic has been gaining support.

Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ) chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan praised the move, saying deflating tires would be a much more effective measure to prevent illegal parking compared to wheel padlocking. Azas said the policy should be vigorously imposed on public and private vehicles.

City officials have also been revoking permits of public minivan drivers who had been breaking the law by parking and stopping for passengers in prohibited areas.

Udar Pristono, head of the Jakarta city transportation agency, said that now, as a first warning, officials would deflate the tires of minivans which violated regulations and record the driver's details. Repeat offenders would have their licenses revoked, he added.

Demands for Jakarta to address fire risks

Jakarta Globe - October 4, 2013

Lenny Tristia Tambun & Fana FS Putra – Public ignorance and poor urban planning are among the factors that have been blamed for the 712 blazes Jakarta's fire department has recorded over the past nine months.

The fires, which have resulted in financial losses totaling Rp 174 billion ($15 million), have been met with a new proposal to install more fire extinguishers throughout the city.

Additionally, in order to reduce the number of blazes, the city fire prevention unit has been attempting to educate the public on fire safety and hazards, yet the "public's awareness remains low," Jakarta Fire and Disaster Mitigation Agency head Subejo said on Thursday.

He said Jakarta residents should be careful when using electrical and home appliances, especially during the dry season, when fires can spread more easily. Most fires, he said, were caused by short circuits and usually happened in densely occupied neighborhoods where homes were made of plywood.

Nirwono Joga, an analyst on city spatial planning blamed the high number of fire incidents on the city administration's lack of seriousness in addressing the issue and for messy urban spatial management.

Nirwono said the city administration and the Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) are yet to deliberate on a bill that will discuss detailed spatial planning (RDTR), a reference for all development plans in the capital.

"The main problem with Jakarta's fires is that the city administration is not serious about cutting the fire chain. It's also still not clear how the RDTR would look. That's why there are so many slum areas in the capital," he said on Thursday.

Nirwono recalled how Kelapa Gading was ravaged by fires in 2002 but nothing was done to prevent a repeat of the disaster and as a result the area was in flames once again several years later.

He condemned the administration for allowing developers to build residences in the area despite the fact that the neighborhood had been reserved as a green area.

The analyst called on the city administration to take swift action and turn the slum area in Kelapa Gading into an open green area, and to relocate the residents to decent apartments.

Nirwono also pointed out that Jakarta still does not have a map on areas vulnerable to fires and the condition has become worse due to a number of illegal buildings that are emerging rampantly, which ignore the city's spatial planning.

In 2012, the city's fire and disaster mitigation agency recorded 1,008 fire cases across Jakarta, up 6 percent from 2011. At least 30 people died from fires last year, compared to just 18 in 2011.

The fire department said the blazes had caused an estimated Rp 290 billion in losses in 2012, compared to Rp 217 billion in the previous year.

Electrical short circuits accounted for 663 cases, followed by exploding stoves, which accounted for 46 cases in 2012. Cigarettes and cars catching fire were among the other causes noted.

Meanwhile a Sept. 4 fire, which broke out at a house in the Kampung Tipar neighborhood of Duren Sawit subdistrict and spread to a neighboring property, was blamed on a faulty cellphone charger.

The incident bore a striking resemblance to an August 2012 incident where a huge blaze spread over 400 homes in the densely occupied neighborhood of Kampung Kalimati in Central Jakarta. Paimin Napitupulu, the city fire chief at the time, said the cause of the fire was a cellphone that exploded while being charged.

Similar incidents involving faulty cell-phone chargers also occurred that same year, with several houses destroyed due to the intensity of the fires.

In attempt to keep the blazes at bay, city administrators announced a plan on Tuesday to install more fire extinguishers in densely populated areas following the latest string of fires in the capital which claimed dozens of lives recently.

"Right now we are still in the middle of the auction process," Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo said at City Hall, referring to the ongoing search for qualified contractors to provide the equipment.

Joko said the auction process might take time due to the lengthy procedures to be followed. "There are many auctions, we are not like the private sector, which can immediately pay for the devices," he said.

Joko noted the fires that had flared up throughout Jakarta in recent weeks were often caused by electrical short circuits and poor public awareness about the use of electrical appliances.

Agung Laksono, the coordinating minister for people's welfare, demanded that the city administration prioritize the improvement of electrical wiring throughout the capital, particularly in densely occupied neighborhoods.

He said the repairs could be made using funds from the central government or through the National Program for People's Empowerment (PNPM).

'I am still learning the constitution': Home affairs minister

Jakarta Post - October 1, 2013

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi on Tuesday completed a humiliating climbdown from comments made last week in which he said that an urban ward chief should be transferred on account of her religion.

"It's alright," Gamawan said at an event in East Jakarta to mark the anniversary of the failed September 30 coup. "I am still learning the Constitution."

The minister was given a public dressing down by Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama last week after he said Susan Jasmine Zulkifli should be reassigned as ward chief of Lenteng Agung. Susan had been the subject of a protest by a group of around 60 hard-line Islamists, who objected to her representing them because of her Christian faith.

"The governor didn't do anything wrong or violate any law" Gamawan said on the Liputan6 news program on SCTV on Wednesday. "But it would be wiser if Susan were placed in a non-Muslim [community], so people's aspirations can be fulfilled and the governor can still have Susan as an urban ward chief."

Basuki responded by telling Gamawan that ward chiefs were evaluated based on their performance, not on their religious denomination, and told the minister that he needed to learn the Constitution.

The Home Affairs Minister of the world's most populous Muslim-majority country apparently agrees that he does not know the law.

The task facing Gamawan is, by anyone's estimates, sub-Herculean. The Indonesian Constitution runs to 37 Articles spread over some 4,770 words – a modest undertaking that is approximately 120 times shorter than "War and Peace," 55 times less onerous than James Joyce's "Ulysses" or 23 times more succinct than "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."

"It's a shame that someone has a position as high as he does," Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday, "because his job is to learn the Constitution." Beneath the framework of the 1945 document, several bylaws have been enacted that rights groups and observers believe compromise the broad principles enshrined in the Constitution by the rule of law.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has asked Gamawan to review 282 bylaws that it deems discriminatory to women and minorities, but the Home Affairs Minister has agreed only to take a look at five of them, Harsono said.

Gamawan could find a clue as early as the very first article of the document, which reads "The State of Indonesia shall be a state based on the rule of law."

If that were not sufficiently unambiguous, the matter should be cleared up in Article 28, Clause 1. "The rights to life, freedom from torture, freedom of thought and conscience, freedom of religion, freedom from enslavement, recognition as a person before the law, and the right not to be tried under a law with retrospective effect are all human rights that cannot be limited under any circumstances," it says.

Gamawan came under fire for his statements regarding Susan last week. The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and human-rights group the Setara Institute have been unequivocal in their condemnation of his comments, saying they will only fuel religious intolerance.

The minister has since softened his stance on Susan and sought to distance himself from statements on Tuesday, deferring to Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo on the matter. "You better ask the governor if he wants to evaluate [this issue] or not," Gamawan said. "It is up to the governor."

Armed forces & defense

Rights monitors urge military to stop meddling in civil affairs

Jakarta Globe - October 7, 2013

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – As the Indonesian Armed Forces commemorated their 68th anniversary on Saturday, civil society groups slammed the institution for still interfering in civilian affairs, such as fielding detectives in law enforcement and election bodies.

They said members of the Indonesian military, known as TNI, have strayed from their constitutional mandate to defend against outside threats, and instead turned their focus inward, resulting in the torture and extrajudicial killing of civilians.

The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) said over the weekend that TNI members had assumed positions as investigators with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and as intelligence officers with the National Election Commission (KPU).

"Imparsial views all TNI's involvement in civilian works as a grave mistake," the organization's executive director Poengky Indarti said.

"Such involvement will only pull TNI back to the civilian law enforcement sphere like it used to do during the totalitarian New Order era. It's a real setback for the TNI's reform," she said.

Poengky said the KPK has been very successful without military's involvement.

"Recently, the KPK managed to catch red-handed the Constitutional Court chief for accepting bribes. We should appreciate the KPK's work rather than allowing the military's involvement," she said. Poengky said TNI members' involvement in the graft investigation violated the law.

"We want to have an independent KPK without any intervention from outside institutions. That's why we pushed for the KPK to train its own detectives," she added.

The KPK has complained that it does not have enough investigators, most of whom are borrowed from police and the Attorney General's Office. The lack of investigators has limited the KPK's capacity to investigate more graft cases across the country.

When the antigraft body recently clashed with the police, it turned to the TNI for help. The KPK could run into difficulty investigating graft cases involving the TNI, Poengky said. "It also undermines military reform launched since the fall of New Order regime in 1998."

She also warned that the TNI's involvement in intelligence work with the KPU puts the military directly into politics.

Imparsial urged the House of Representatives to demand that the TNI withdraws all soldiers from civilian institutions.

TNI soldier allegedly kills man in Bandung shooting

Jakarta Globe - October 6, 2013

A man died and two others were injured after they were shot by a member of the Air Force in a boarding house in Bandung, West Java, on Sunday morning.

The dead victim, identified as Ele, was shot in his head and backside. The other victims, Supriatna and Ade, were severely wounded after being hit in the chest and leg, respectively. They have been admitted to Imanuel Hospital in Bandung.

Lance Corporal Rio Budiwijaya, a member of the Indonesian Air Force stationed at Bandung's Sulaiman military airport, allegedly committed the shooting at 4 a.m. on Sunday.

It is not immediately clear what prompted his actions. A joint team of detectives from the Bandung Police and the military police have retrieved at least seven 9 mm shell casings from the crime scene and are currently investigating the incident.

The shooting took place in a boarding house in an alleyway in the Situ Sauer urban ward in Bojong Loa Kidul subdistrict, Bandung.

Yeti, a neighborhood resident, said that Ateu, a woman who rents rooms at the boarding house, is married to a soldier in the Indonesian Military (TNI), but it is not known whether or not if Rio is said spouse.

A spokesman for Korpaskhas, a special unit in the Air Force Rio is reportedly a member of, confirmed that a TNI soldier allegedly committed the shooting.

"It's not certain yet, but according to preliminary investigation, yes [it was committed by a TNI member]," Major Rifair said according to Indonesian news portal merdeka.com. It isn't clear yet whether or not Rio has been detained.

Military upgrades coming soon, president promises

Jakarta Globe - October 6, 2013

Robertus Wardi – The Indonesian military will continue to replace outdated equipment and add new hardware to adequately defend the nation, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed at a commemoration of the armed forces' 68th anniversary.

"Our defense hardware's capability will significantly increase [from now on]," he told the gathering soldiers at Halim Perdana Kusumah Air Force Base in East Jakarta on Saturday before leaving for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali.

However, he warned the military, or TNI, to stay out of politics and maintain neutrality in the next year's elections.

"Next year, we will have legislative and presidential elections. I order the TNI to stay neutral. Make sure that the TNI only serves the nation's interests, and aspires only to protect the nation from outside attacks, and keep the [territorial] integrity of our country," he said.

The president praised the military for neutrality during the country's democratic transition after the 1998 collapse of the New Order, when the military was heavily involved in politics. He pledged that the military would soon see long-needed upgrades.

The president noted that the Army already maintained several units of battle tanks, armored vehicles, cannons, air defense missiles, anti-tank missiles and a multiple-launch rocket system, as well as transportation and attack helicopters.

Meanwhile, the Navy is equipped with corvettes, a battle ship with missiles, frigates, amphibious tanks and a tactical multiple-launch rocket system, he said.

The Air Force possesses two dozen F-16s, a small squadron of Sukhoi-27s fighter jets, several Super Tucano light attack propeller aircraft, and a set of T-50 training jets. The president did not comment on these military systems' present state of readiness.

"All these equipment upgrades must be accompanied by improvement in skills, readiness and better resilience of our troops. They are the ones who will operate the increasingly sophisticated equipment," he said.

Indonesia's defense readiness has lagged in recent years, as economic problems prevented the country from maintaining or upgrading its military equipment.

Indonesia also suffered a setback when the Unites States cut off its long- running program of assistance to the Indonesian military in 1999 as a result of widespread human rights violations in East Timor. The US dropped the last of its restrictions on military assistance in 2010.

Yudhoyono slashed defense purchases during his first term to free up money for economic and social policies, but later increased the defense spending in the wake of the domestic criticism and the repeal of the US defense assistance ban.

Defense comprises the largest share of government spending at Rp 83 trillion ($7.65 billion) this year, up from Rp 77.7 trillion in 2013. Yudhoyono said in August that he had requested more money in the military's budget "to improve the readiness and reliability of the TNI in safeguarding territorial sovereignty, in executing defensive tasks of the state during peace-time, and in participating in maintaining world peace."

Indonesia announced it would buy eight Apache attack helicopters from the for $500 million during an August visit by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Under a separate deal with Germany, Indonesia is also due to receive more than 100 used Leopard 2A6 battle tanks. Human rights watchers have expressed concerned about what the helicopters and tanks could be used for.

"Given the government's poor track record on human rights in Papua, the [Leopard tank] could be used as a tool of repression," the Indonesian Coalition of Civil Society said at the time in a statement.

Jakarta is also in talks with China to jointly produce C-705 anti-ship missiles. Both moves have raised concerns among neighboring countries and allies.

Defense analysts say Indonesia is relying on a diversification strategy for defense technology, as Chinese and Western-allied countries compete for business and favor.

TNI officials say regardless of the politics of procurement, diversification guarantees the best deal for weapons and defense systems, and benefits Indonesia's 400,000 active-duty soldiers.

The government has also announced it will jointly produce three submarines and KFX/IFX fighter jets with South Korea, as well as eight corvettes with Dutch shipbuilder Damen Schelde.

Indonesia will also increase the number of F-16 fighter jets on order from the US to 36, in addition to six C-130H cargo planes from Australia.

Yudhoyono said Indonesia wanted to cooperate with other countries on joint production, rather than buy hardware, in a bid to boost the domestic defense industry and benefit from technology transfers.

"In the near future, a number of local companies will be able to produce defense equipment we need on their own, including helicopters, communication devices, tanks, warships and fighter jets," he said.

"Without new equipment, we'll be left behind by our neighbors in Southeast Asia," former Army chief of staff Pramono Edhie Wibowo said.

SBY promises better weapons as military celebrates anniversary

Jakarta Globe - October 5, 2013

SP/Robertus Wardi – At a celebration to commemorate the 68th anniversary of Indonesia's military, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to provide better weapons and equipment in upcoming months and years.

"In the near future, by the end of next year, and then continuously in the following years, our primary weaponry defense system [Alutsista] will be significantly improved," he said at the event, which was held at Halim Perdana Kusuma airport in East Jakarta.

Yudhoyono said he would invest in tanks, armored personnel carriers, air defense missiles, antitank missiles, helicopters and ammunition.

He also said he would provide the navy with new warships and amphibious vehicles, and he promised to obtain new aircraft for the air force, including search and rescue helicopters, Lockeed Hercules C130 H transport planes, ?Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano? fighers and 24 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters.

"All of this should be accompanied with the effort to increase the skill, readiness and toughness of our soldiers, who will use more complete, sophisticated and modern weapons systems," he said.

Yudhoyono said the government would develop the domestic defense industry to the point that it could cooperate with other countries to produce high quality weapons for the Indonesian military.

"Not long from now, some national industries will independently provide the needed defense systems, including weapons, ammunition, communications devices, medical equipments, war vehicles, war ship, helicopters and war planes," he said.

SBY reminds TNI of election role

Jakarta Post - October 5, 2013

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono has reminded members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) of their responsibility to remain impartial and professional during next year's general elections.

"The results of the [TNI's] internal reforms must be on display during next year's elections. Please ensure that the military's alignment is in line with the best interests of the state," the President said at a ceremony to celebrate the 68th anniversary of TNI at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force base in Jakarta on Saturday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Yudhoyono said the TNI's internal reforms, which were introduced in 1998, had already produced significant results.

"We have completed the TNI's reform agenda. Since 1998, the TNI has been consistent in carrying out its reforms. I thank all of the TNI family for completing the lengthy reform process," he said.

Yudhoyono emphasized that the results of the military's internal reforms had to be implemented in various aspects of the nation's life, including in the organizing of the legislative and presidential elections.

Displays of marching prowess, a flypast, rifle displays and sky diving were just some of the military maneuvers performed during the ceremony, which began at 8 a.m.

TNI commander Gen. Moeldoko, Army chief of staff Gen. Budiman, Air Force chief of staff Marshall Ida Bagus Putu Dunia, and Navy chief of staff Adm. Marsetio were all present at the ceremony. The celebration was also attended by several Cabinet ministers and National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo. (ebf)

Renewed calls for Indonesian military reform

Red Flag - October 5, 2013

James Balowski – While rights groups have welcomed the conviction last month of 12 soldiers from the army's notorious Special Forces (Kopassus) for the murder of four civilians in March, lenient sentences and a failure to investigate senior officers have led to renewed calls for military reform.

In the early hours of 23 March, a group of heavily armed men stormed the Cebongan penitentiary in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta – After forcing their way into the prison, they executed four detainees awaiting trial for allegedly murdering former Kopassus member First Sergeant Heru Santoso in a drug-related brawl three days earlier.

The four should have been detained at the Yogyakarta police detention centre but were transferred to Cebongan on 22 March, allegedly because the detention centre ceiling was damaged. It was later revealed that Yogyakarta police chief Brigadier General Sabar Rahardjo received intelligence that Kopassus soldiers were planning an attack on the police compound to avenge their colleague. Why Rahardjo never reported this to his superiors or military (TNI) counterpart has not been explained.

Suspicion immediately fell on the military due to the strong motive and the military precision of the operation. The TNI top brass, however, were quick to quash such speculations; regional commander Major General Hardiono Saroso insisted that none of his soldiers were involved.

Then on 4 April the TNI announced that soldiers from the Kopassus Group 2 had confessed to the killings. Twelve Kopassus soldiers were later indicted. Along with Rahardjo, Saroso was removed his post.

Kopassus killers

Kopassus has been implicated in some of the worst human rights violations and war crimes committed by the TNI, with only a handful of its members ever being held accountable.

Then called RPKAD and under the command of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's father-in-law, the late General Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, Kopassus spearheaded the mass murder and terror campaign after former President Suharto and the military seized power in 1965, in which 1-2 million communists and left-wing sympathisers were killed, and hundreds of thousands of others interned without trial.

The unit was involved in the murder of five Australia-based journalists at Balibo in 1975, prior to Indonesia's full-scale invasion of East Timor. Kopassus and other troops were indicted by UN-backed prosecutors in East Timor for crimes against humanity during the 25-year occupation and in 1999, but remain at large. Although some Kopassus officers were convicted of the kidnapping of student activists in 1997-98 and the 2001 murder of leading West Papuan figure Theys Eluay, the majority have evaded prosecution.

Kopassus was also implicated in the 2002 fatal ambush of two US teachers and an Indonesian national near the Freeport mine in West Papua, widely believed to be retaliation for a decision by Freeport to stop paying the TNI for "security services". According to a 2009 report by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), Kopassus continues to be involved in arbitrary arrest, detention and mistreatment in West Papua.

The US and Australia severed military ties with Indonesia after TNI-backed militias rampaged through East Timor following the UN-sponsored independence referendum in 1999. The US began quietly restoring contacts the following year and by 2005 had resumed full engagement with the TNI, although this still excluded Kopassus. Ignoring criticism from rights groups, in 2010 the Barack Obama administration lifted its ban on training Kopassus.

The Australian government resumed cooperation in 2003, arguing that "Kopassus had come a long way from an era of human rights abuses". In 2005 Canberra announced it would restart joint counter-terrorism exercises with Kopassus in order to "safeguard Australian lives and interests abroad". A 2004 report by the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre said that Kopassus had not reformed and that cooperation in the interest of saving Australian lives is questionable given its chequered history of anti-terrorist operations.

Military trials

The killings renewed calls to amend the 1997 Military Tribunal Law under which all crimes committed by TNI personnel are prosecuted and tried by military courts. During the UN Universal Periodic Review of Indonesia's human rights record in 2007 and 2012, Jakarta committed to reforming the military tribunal system but has not done so.

Despite these calls, the government and the TNI insisted that the soldiers be tried by a military tribunal. Yudhoyono, while issuing a strongly worded statement condemning the soldiers' actions, stopped short of calling for a civilian trial.

After a five-month investigation described as lacking transparency and accountability, the trials began at the Yogyakarta Military Court on 20 June, characterised by an atmosphere of intimidation and harassment. Paramilitary groups held noisy protests outside the courthouse while inside they repeatedly disrupted proceedings. The judges did nothing to stop this, and several eyewitnesses failed to testify for reasons the court did not explain.

On 5 and 6 September, the court sentenced the three most directly responsible for the killings to 6-11 years in jail and discharged them from the TNI. The remainder were sentenced to between four months 20 days and one year and nine months but not discharged.

While HRW and Amnesty International said that the verdicts marked an important departure from the usual impunity given TNI personnel, the sentences did not match the gravity of the crimes, and the tribunals were tainted by witness intimidation and hampered by superficial investigations.

The Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace called the verdict fair, but criticised the investigation for stopping at low-ranking soldiers: "[S]till, their superiors remained untouched. It seems like the soldiers are being sacrificed to keep the institution's name clean."

On 20 September, it was reported that eight of the soldiers had been released, either because their detention terms had exceeded their sentences or because the detentions were not extended. Since they were not discharged from the TNI, they are presumably free to return to active duty.

Foreign affairs & trade

US, RI private sectors encouraged to expand collaboration

Jakarta Post - October 7, 2013

Jakarta – Finance Minister Chatib Basri and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker led a high-level meeting of American and Indonesian business leaders on Saturday, which was focused on ways in which the US and Indonesian private sectors could better collaborate to encourage growth in the future.

"I believe that there is great potential for our two countries to do more business together," said Secretary Pritzker in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post.

More than 15 CEOs of major American and Indonesian firms engaged in business across a broad range of sectors, including oil and gas, commodities, information technology, banking, healthcare and aviation, took part in the meeting which was part of the US-Indonesia Commercial Dialogue.

This was the first time the US Secretary of Commerce participated in a Commercial Dialogue meeting. "Our bilateral trade last year grew to more than US$26 billion, but we can do much more," said Pritzker.

"We have seen many American companies enter the Indonesian market in recent years, and we know that we have vast opportunities to bring more trade, investment and prosperity to both our countries."

Pritzker said the input of private sector leaders was needed to take partnerships of the two countries to a higher level. "I look forward to working together to strengthen the commercial relationship between the US and Indonesia," she said.

During the meeting, private sector business leaders exchanged views on building bilateral commercial relations and deepening economic ties between the two countries. Leaders from both sides agreed that more regular business forums and trade programs were needed to expand bilateral trade and investment. (ebf)

Russia will always support Indonesia

Antara News - October 3, 2013

Jakarta – Russia has always supported Indonesia in international politics, said Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Djauhari Oratmangun.

"Russia has never supported other parties that are hostile to Indonesia, including East Timor," he said at a meeting with a number of editors-in- chief here on Wednesday night.

However, in the final discussion of the East Timor issue at the United Nations, Russia abstained after consulting the Indonesian delegation, he said.

Russia's persistent support for Indonesia has been inseparable from the cultural diplomacy launched by the founders of the Republic of Indonesia in the 1950s, he said.

"It turns out that cultural diplomacy has had a longstanding effect despite political upheavals. It (the cultural diplomacy) serves as one of the effective ways to forge close ties between the two nations," he said.

As multi-cultural and multi-ethnic countries, Russia and Indonesia have many things in common, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also has close relations with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The two leaders have met several times at various international forums and have had conservations over the phone, he said.

"President Putin's confirmation on his attendance at the APEC Summit in Bali is indicative of how important Indonesia is for Russia," he said.

Abbott's press event shuts out local reporters

Jakarta Globe - October 1, 2013

Sandra Siagian – Despite Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's push to strengthen ties with Indonesia during a meeting with business and government delegates on Tuesday morning, a press conference following the breakfast was restricted to the Australian media.

Local media, including the Jakarta Globe, were not allowed to attend the press briefing that saw Abbott and Australia's foreign minister, Julie Bishop, speak with Australian media.

Umar Idris, the chairman of the Jakarta branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), said it was the first time he had heard of a case where local journalists had been excluded from a conference, and condemned the move.

"Australia has good press freedom and so they should practice that in Indonesia as well," Umar told the Globe. "Tony Abbott's visit is important for the Indonesian media, and journalists should be granted open, equal access."

The move comes as the Australian government has enforced a media blackout where it will now only hold one press conference a week for Australian media on asylum-seeker issues.

However, following the tragic sinking of an Australia-bound boat off of the coast of West Java on Friday, which resulted in the deaths of at least 36 Middle Eastern asylum seekers, Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison broke the media silence.

He rejected reports from survivors made to the Sydney Morning Herald that a rescue was delayed by 24 hours, issuing a statement on Sunday saying that Australia did "respond to all such events with great professionalism and a keenly felt sense of duty, as they did on this occasion."

Australian PM skirts refugee issue in Indonesia talks

Reuters - October 1, 2013

Kanupriya Kapoor, Jakarta – Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott skirted the question of asylum seekers in talks on Monday in Indonesia, an issue which has threatened to overshadow his first visit overseas since taking office.

Just days before his visit, at least 31 would-be asylum seekers died when their boat sank off the southern coast of Indonesia, a common transit point for refugees trying to make their way to Australia and against whom Abbott's government has promised to take a tougher line. Over 20 people were missing. Rather, Abbott stressed trade ties between the two neighbors which stood at US$10 billion in 2012, dominated by mining and agriculture.

"The fact that there is a very strong and high-level delegation of business leaders traveling with me to Indonesia as part of this visit testifies to the desire of the Australian people to build a much stronger... economic relationship based on greater trade and investment," he said in a joint statement after talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In his first overseas state visit since taking over as prime minister on Sept. 7, Abbott played down diplomatic tensions over refugees.

Ties with Yudhoyono's administration have been largely cordial for nearly a decade. But Abbott's conservative administration got off to a rocky start over asylum seekers who make their way via Indonesia.

Yudhoyono too put aside any suggestion of rancor over the issue, which has become an emotional political debate in Australia.

"Australia and Indonesia are both victims with regard to the issue of people smuggling and boat people. For instance, there are many people from the Middle East and other nations who come here and become a social and economic burden for Indonesia... The solution to overcome this problem is effective cooperation between Indonesia and Australia," Yudhoyono said.

Abbott's party raised hackles in Jakarta with new policies that Indonesians took to suggest violating their country's sovereignty. One was a proposal to pay Indonesian villagers for information on people smugglers and to buy boats used for smuggling.

"People smuggling is an issue of sovereignty, especially for Australia," Abbott said. "... But I do want to stress Australia's total respect for Indonesia's sovereignty."

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said in New York last week that any unilateral steps taken by Australia over the issue would put relations at risk.

His comments, which were made during a private meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, were circulated among journalists. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry later said the comments were distributed in error.

About 400 boats carrying asylum seekers have arrived in Australia over the past 12 months and about 45,000 asylum seekers have arrived since late 2007, when the former Australian Labor government relaxed border policies, eventually tightening them again in the face of a voter backlash.

Australian media reported members of the business community there were concerned about the impact of diplomatic tension on business ties between the neighbors.

Economy & investment

Indonesia sees deflation, trade surplus

Jakarta Post - October 2, 2013

Raras Cahyafitri and Tassia Sipahutar, Jakarta – Indonesia surprisingly recorded a 0.35 percent deflation in September, the first since May, triggered by declining food and transportation prices. The country also booked its first trade surplus in August as both oil and gas and non-oil and gas imports fell from the previous month.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) head Suryamin said declining food and transportation prices played a significant role in the deflation. Prices of food commodities had fallen 2.88 percent, while transportation, communication and financial services were down 0.79 percent.

Suryamin noted that prices, especially in food, eased following the end of Idul Fitri festivities, supported by sufficient supplies. "We recorded lower food prices, such as shallot, cayenne pepper and broiler chicken eggs, in most of the cities surveyed," he said in a monthly media briefing.

The September results drove year-to-date inflation to reach 7.57 percent and the year-on-year figure to 8.4 percent. The outcome beat many analysts' predictions, which estimated that the country would see inflation – though at a slower rate – in September.

Finance Minister M. Chatib Basri argued the country's economic recovery and adjustment to the government's new policies apparently went faster that expected. "The most important thing now is to continue the ongoing efforts in order to see another deflation," Chatib said.

Concerns, however, linger as both imports and exports recorded further declines. Figures from BPS showed that the trade balance was surprisingly in a surplus of US$132.4 million in August, a significant improvement compared to a $2.3 billion deficit a month earlier. Suryamin noted that the August surplus was the first since March.

The country reported the first trade deficit this year in last April, which then puffed out the current account deficit and in turn hurt the rupiah's exchange rate.

"The surplus is mainly due to the cut in the fuel subsidy and the impact of Idul Fitri in August when some businesses were closed during the holidays. We will see further impact of the policy on fuel this September," Suryamin said.

Oil and gas imports dropped by 11.41 percent on a monthly basis to $3.67 billion in August. The government raised prices of subsidized fuel to between 22 percent and 44 percent last June as soaring demand was expected to hurt the country's state budget.

BPS figures showed that balance of oil and gas trade remained in a deficit of $900 million, as oil and gas exports declined by 12.77 percent to $2.77 billion in August compared to a month earlier. The oil and gas deficit reached $8.5 billion during the January to August period of the year.

The worrying thing was that August overall exports were down by 6.31 percent to $13.16 billion year-on-year, while imports also fell by 5.69 percent to $13.03 billion.

Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said that the August surplus gave a bright break. "However, it doesn't mean that the bright situation will continue starting from August. I see that non-oil and gas was in surplus of around $2 billion, however, oil and gas always gives pressures," Gita said during a press briefing on the 28th Indonesia Trade Expo event.

Analysis & opinion

West Papuan activists test waters around Australian asylum rules

Crikey - October 7, 2013

Damien Kingsbury – West Papuan activists are testing Prime Minister Tony Abbott's statements in relation to his asylum-seeker boat turnback policy, that he has "total respect for Indonesia's sovereignty, total respect for Indonesia's territorial integrity". So far, they are having little luck.

As Abbott was preparing to leave for Bali, three West Papuan activists scaled the wall of the Australian consulate-general in Bali. The activists delivered a letter seeking the release of political prisoners jailed in Indonesia and free access to the long restricted region by the international media.

The letter also said: "We seek refuge and plead for our safety." Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb told the ABC that the men did not seek asylum for themselves, and left voluntarily within hours, and had gone into hiding.

Last week, seven West Papuans travelling by boat from Papua New Guinea to Australia seeking asylum and were returned to PNG. The legality of sending the asylum-seekers back remains in question.

Last month, the pro-West Papuan independence "Freedom Flotilla" met with West Papuan activists off-shore of the island split between the Indonesian republic and PNG. It had been told it would meet force if it tried to land at Indonesia's most south-easterly port of Merauke.

The upsurge in West Papuan activism follows attempts by the Indonesian government to find a solution to the West Papua problem while at the same time conducting a crackdown in the territory.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's proposal is to create what is referred to as "Special Autonomy Plus", a new take on the "Special Autonomy" status granted to the province of Papua in 2001. Not only has there been little about the "autonomy" that is "special", within two years the province had been divided in two, contravening its new status.

The recent "Plus" proposal is intended to allow the more-or-less democratically elected Papua provincial government to engage more closely with the separatist Free Papua Organisation (OPM).

Pro-human rights activists say the provincial government does not have power to conduct negotiations. Further, any benign intentions the provincial government might have are undermined by the Indonesian police and military's continuing "security" approach to West Papuan activism.

As activists further note, any negotiations need to be with the national, not provincial, government. They also say that such negotiations must be conducted outside Indonesia to ensure the safety of participants, and be internationally mediated to guarantee their outcome.

With less than one year left in Yudhoyono's term as president, his two-term limit ends in September 2014, both sides have now run out of time to have such negotiations ratified by Indonesia's legislature. But, as Yudhoyono knows, the parliament would in any case be very unlikely to accept such a negotiated settlement.

West Papuan activists therefore believe their only option now is to try to raise the issue internationally. In doing so, however, they have run up against Australia's well established policy of supporting West Papua's continued incorporation within Indonesia.

The West Papuan activists have also run up against Australia's tougher position of supporting Indonesia's "territorial integrity", hence, their "voluntary" agreement to leave Australia's consulate-general in Bali, just ahead of the arrival of Indonesian police.

[Professor Damien Kingsbury is director of the Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights at Deakin University.]

Papua: Indonesia's forbidden island

Jakarta Globe - October 7, 2013

Andreas Harsono – On Sept. 23, two officers with the National Police's Brigade Mobile ("Brimob") fired into a stone-throwing crowd, killing a 17- year-old student and seriously wounding three other people.

The police posted guards at the hospital where the wounded were being treated, and required visitors to leave their mobile phones at the entrance. Police reportedly confiscated the mobile phone of a nurse who had used it to take photos of the victims' wounds.

That's a story that some of the thousands of correspondents on Bali for the Oct. 5-8 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit might want to follow up on. But that won't happen because the incident occurred in the town of Waghete, in Indonesia's far eastern Papua province, where foreign journalists are barred from going or reporting.

The Indonesian government effectively blocks foreign media from freely reporting in Papua by limiting access to only those foreign reporters who get special official permission to visit the island. The government rarely approves applications for foreign media access to Papua or delays processing for such applications, hampering efforts by journalists and civil society groups to report on breaking events. Those journalists who do get official permission are invariably shadowed by official minders who strictly control their movements and access to interviewees.

Although the government permits Indonesian domestic media to report from Papua, there are serious questions about their reliability in the face of government efforts to control the flow of information from the troubled region. Official documents leaked in 2011 indicate that the Indonesian military employs around two dozen Papua-based Indonesian journalists as informers, raising doubts about the objectivity of their reporting. The military has also financed and trained journalists and bloggers, warning them about alleged foreign interference in Papua, including by the US and other governments.

Such tactics don't comport with Indonesia's self-branding as a stable, progressive democracy which blends "dynamism and diversity." What does the government have to hide? A litany of violence and abuses.

The incident in Waghete – which the Indonesian government has yet to investigate if police used unnecessary lethal force – is just one of many troubling incidents of violence and impunity which have characterized life in Papua since Indonesian military forces deployed there in 1963 to counter a long-simmering independence movement.

The Free Papua Movement (OPM) is small and poorly organized, though it has increased in sophistication in recent years. Tensions heightened in Papua in 2013 following the Feb. 21 attack on Indonesian military forces by suspected elements of the separatist Free Papua Movement. The attack killed eight soldiers, the worst act of violence against the military in the area in more than ten years.

Human rights abuses remain rife in Papua. Over the last three years alone, Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of cases where police, military, intelligence officers, and prison guards have exercised excessive force when dealing with Papuans exercising their right to peaceful assembly. On April 30, police fired on a group of Papuans who peacefully gathered in Aimas district, near Sorong, to protest the 50th anniversary of the 1963 handover of Papua from Dutch colonial control. Two men, Abner Malagawak and Thomas Blesia, were killed on the spot. A third victim, Salomina Kalaibin, died six days later from gunshot wounds. Police detained at least 22 individuals and charged seven of them with treason.

An Indonesian army battalion went on a rampage in Wamena on June 6, 2012, burning down 87 houses, injuring 13 native Papuans and killing one. Their attacks came after villagers had beaten two soldiers whose motorcycle had run over a Papuan child. One soldier died in the attack. Police arrested three Papuan suspects. On June 12, the military "solved" the incident with a traditional stone-burning ceremony in which the Papuan populace was asked to close the case. Not a single soldier was tried.

In August 2011, the Jayapura military tribunal convicted three soldiers from the same battalion after soldiers shot and killed the Rev. Kinderman Gire on the suspicion he was a Papuan separatist.

At the trial, the defendants claimed the Rev. Gire led them to believe he was a member of the rebel Free Papua Movement and tried to grab a rifle from one of them, who then shot him in the chest. They dumped the body in a river, after cutting cut off his head. Again, the tribunal convicted them of a lesser offense of "disobeying orders" and sentenced them respectively to just six, seven, and fifteen months in prison.

Impunity has become synonymous with the operations of security forces in Papua. While a handful of military tribunals have been held in Papua, the charges have been inadequate and soldiers who committed abuses continue to serve in the military.

In January 2011, a military tribunal in Jayapura, Papua, convicted three soldiers from the Nabire-based Battalion 753 and sentenced them to between eight to twelve months in prison for the brutal torture of two Papuan farmers, burning one farmer's penis. Despite video showing the involvement of six soldiers, the tribunal tried only three of the six soldiers, and on lesser military discipline charges instead of torture. The soldiers have not been discharged from military service.

The government also consistently arrests and jails Papuan protesters for peacefully advocating for independence or other political change. Currently 55 Papuan activists are jailed for "treason." They include Filep Karma, a Papuan civil servant, who serves 15 years in prison for raising the Morning Star flag – a West Papua independence symbol – in December 2004. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that Karma was not given a fair trial in Indonesia and asked the Indonesian government to immediately and unconditionally release Karma. Indonesia has refused the UN recommendation.

These incidents – and the inability of foreign media to cover them – have drawn international criticism, but not generated enough pressure to end the reporting ban.

During the Universal Periodic Review of Indonesia at the UN Human Rights Council on May 23, 2012, France called on Indonesia to ensure free access for civil society and journalists to Papua. The United Kingdom noted the "increase in violence" in Papua and "encouraged Indonesia to tackle violence against minority faiths and accept visit requests by Special Rapporteurs." Austria, Chile, the Maldives, and South Korea called on Indonesia to accept standing invitations to the UN rights experts and groups known as special procedures. Mexico specifically asked the Indonesian government to invite the special rapporteurs to Papua. Germany asked Indonesia to release Papuan political prisoners including Filep Karma.

But the Indonesian government is adamant in its refusal to loosen its chokehold on journalists' access to Papua. On July 16, 2013, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa defended the foreign media ban by warning of unnamed "elements in Papua who are keen to gain international attention by doing harm to international personalities including journalists."

Marty's determination to keep Papua behind a censored curtain only fosters security forces' impunity and fuels resentment among Papuans. It's time for the Indonesian government to free the media and civil society to shine a light on conditions in Papua, good and bad.

[Andreas Harsono is Human Rights Watch's Indonesia researcher.]

Australia blind and deaf on Papua

New Matilda - October 4, 2013

Jason McLeod – Despite Prime Minister Tony Abbott's speech insisting that his government will do all they can to prevent West Papuans and their supporters "grandstanding" in support of West Papua, senior Indonesian Pofficials don't trust the Australian Government, with good reason.

West Papua remains a non-negotiable issue with Indonesia, whoever is in power. Australian politicians are more fickle. We supported Papuan independence in the 1950s and could be persuaded to do so again. Let's not forget that Abbott's mentor John Howard was the one who ended up supporting international intervention for a free East Timor.

Abbott not only has a deficit of trust with Indonesian leaders to make up for, he has also got Papuan leaders offside. When I spoke with Rev Sofyan Socrates Yoman, a senior Papuan church leader, a few days ago he called Abbott "blind and deaf", someone who "does not know gratitude for the way Papuans protected Australian soldiers in West Papua during World War II".

Yoman says that the human rights violations have worsened under President Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono's leadership. "All we have got is sweet promises and speeches from the President that have amounted to nothing more than lies while the Papuan people face ethnic genocide" said Yoman.

Abbott's praise for the Indonesian government's policies in West Papua is disingenuous and dangerous. Informed Indonesians don't even agree with Abbott's assessment on West Papua. Indonesian policy advisers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences have been warning Jakarta for years that the security approach is not working in West Papua and that Special Autonomy is viewed nearly universally by Papuans as a "total failure".

If the political situation in West Papua continues to deteriorate Abbott can expect not the trickle of West Papuan refugees that currently make their way to Australian shores but thousands, which is what happened in 1984. So regardless of whether one supports independence for West Papua, from the point of view of Australia's national interest, Abbott's comments were foolish.

Viewed from a Papuan perspective Abbott's position only encourages Papuan leaders to continue to pursue closer ties with Pacific Island countries, particularly Vanuatu, whose Prime Minister showed vision in his speech on West Papua last week before the United Nations General Assembly. These regional dynamics will only deepen Australia's isolation in the Pacific.

So what is behind the PM's posturing on West Papua? Abbott's true intention is to try and secure Indonesian cooperation to "stop the boats". That much is clear. To do so Abbott needs Indonesia more than Indonesia needs him. As many others have said, refugee flows in Indonesia are not a major domestic concern.

What the Indonesian government does care about is retaining West Papua at all costs. This desire is stoked by a deep seated suspicion that the Australian government is behind pro-independence plots in West Papua. That may seem ridiculous to Australian readers but many Indonesians, including senior officials, genuinely believe the Australian government covertly supports West Papuan independence. I imagine the conversation in the Presidential Palace between Abbott and SBY went something like "If you agree to stop the boats we will do all we can to stop those pesky little Papuans from protesting".

So one way to read the forced return of the seven West Papuans to PNG on the eve of his visit to Indonesia is that it sends a signal to the Indonesian government that Australia is serious about cracking down on pro-independence support for West Papua.

But does it? Abbott sent the Papuans to Port Moresby. In the process he drew Papua New Guineans into the fray and further alienated members of the PNG government, a significant number of whom understandably view the Australian government's position on refugees as trying to push an Australian problem onto Pacific Island countries.

If the seven are found to be refugees they will be sent to a third country thereby injecting another pool of pro-independence activists into that country. Abbott has simply shifted the issue onto PNG and in the process, put West Papua in the international news – something that's happening more and more these days.

The tough no-nonsense rhetoric on boats and West Papua favoured by Abbott, Morrison, Rudd and Carr is all talk. Just like the Labor government before them, the Coalition won't do anything to put a lid on growing domestic outrage over Indonesian repression in West Papua. Even if they wanted to, they can't, at least not without fundamentally altering Australia's political culture and traditions.

Of course, one can expect that the Australian government will seek an enhanced military relationship with Indonesia. The Australian government will also do all they can to accelerate resource extraction in West Papua. But they will not do anything to stop Australians protesting over the Indonesian government's occupation of West Papua. Abbott will grandstand in the media, he will tell Indonesian government officials that he is trying to prevent growing support for Papuan independence, but he won't actually do anything.

Before providing evidence to prove that assertion it is important to look at the Australian government's most important arsenal in the fight to clamp down on support for West Papua in Australia: the Lombok Treaty. Proposed by Howard in 2006 and ratified by Rudd the following year, the treaty is officially known by its cumbersome title the "Agreement Between the Republic of Indonesia and Australia on the Framework for Security Cooperation".

The main part of the Treaty that refers to West Papua is Article Two, Principle Three. That section reads as follows:

"The Parties, consistent with their respective domestic laws and international obligations, shall not in any manner support or participate in activities by any person or entity which constitutes a threat to the stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of the other Party, including by those who seek to use its territory for encouraging or committing such activities, including separatism, in the territory of the other Party."

While West Papua is not mentioned by name, that passage pours cold water on Australian domestic support for West Papua. It's also a promise not to launch unilateral action like the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) again.

The only problem is the Lombok Treaty is dead and buried. The operative phrase is "consistent with their respective domestic laws and international obligations". The problem for Indonesia is that if the Australian government implemented their understanding of the treaty, then we would be in violation of those very domestic laws and international obligations. The Indonesian government's understanding is that Australia will return West Papuan refugees back to Indonesia and stamp out Australian support for merdeka (freedom) in West Papua. That is not happening and the reason it is not happening is that because if it were Australia would cease to be a democracy.

The Australian government is not even coming close to enforcing the Lombok Treaty. Here are just a few examples that the last two Australian governments have not advertised in their visits to Jakarta and Bali:

In 2012 International Parliamentarians for West Papua hosted a meeting in parliament house in Canberra. That meeting was openly advertised and attended by all sides of politics.

In 2011 the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby hosted a pro-West Papuan music concert. During the concert the banned Morning Star Flag was openly displayed on stage.

More recently the Australian government allowed the West Papua Freedom Flotilla to successfully complete the cultural exchange between West Papuans and Aboriginal Australian elder Kevin Buzzacott and other Australian allies. According to organisers the most direct intervention from the Australian government was a visit by customs officials whose only concern was to check that the Freedom Flotilla boats had the requisite number of life jackets and that all their safety equipment was in working order.

Immediately after the election, the Coalition backtracked on Bob Carr's statement that he would refuse consular assistance to any Freedom Flotilla activists who were arrested.

Between 2006, after the Lombok Treaty was signed, and the present, scores of West Papuans have been granted permanent residency and citizenship in Australia. I have interviewed many of those Papuans and not a single one was informed of the Lombok Treaty. Not one Papuan was asked not to exercise their right of free speech in support of independence. And nor should they be.

Even the seven West Papuans recently deported from the Torres Strait on the eve of Abbott's departure to Jakarta were not sent back to Indonesia, their place of persecution (not that I condone Abbott's actions). But it is worth noting that the Papuans were sent to PNG, to the seat of the pro-West Papua Governor, Powes Parkop.

Of course this is not to say Australians should rest on our democratic laurels. As Indonesian colleagues have observed, when it comes to the number of women in cabinet and the government's openness to being scrutinised by the press over its refugee policy, Indonesia is more progressive than Australia.

It is also true Abbott could try and enforce the Lombok Treaty and restrict our cherished democratic traditions. For this reason alone it is imperative we remain vigilant. But he hasn't. If he did, it would be a favour to West Papua: their cause would be linked with a fight for our democratic soul.

Peeling off Indonesia's veneer of tolerance

The Diplomat - October 4, 2013

Phelim Kine – Delegates to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ("APEC") CEO summit October 5-7 on Indonesia's island of Bali aren't likely to hear about Eko Mardi Santoso.

Unidentified machete-wielding attackers murdered the 45-year-old Santoso on September 11 in what police suspect was a violent spillover of a long- simmering dispute between two Muslim communities in East Java's Jember regency.

Instead, the Indonesian government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will use the backdrop of Bali, a Hindu-majority island in the world's most populous Muslim nation, to help peddle the narrative of Indonesia as a stable, progressive democracy exemplifying religious tolerance.

Meanwhile, across Indonesia there are multiplying incidents of harassment, threats and violence against religious minorities including several Protestant groups, Shia and the Ahmadiyah. These groups have become targets of Islamist militant groups who label most non-Muslims as "infidels," and Muslims who do not adhere to Sunni orthodoxy as "blasphemers." Even Indonesia's atheists live in fear of such groups.

For the Indonesian government, discussing Santoso's brutal death wouldn't just be an impolite cocktail party topic for visiting dignitaries – including US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It would lift the curtain on Indonesia's rising religious intolerance and related violence and put the lie to the government's slick veneer of national "dynamism and diversity."

The last thing that Yudhoyono wants during one of the last high-profile international events he'll host before he steps down in 2014 are awkward questions about his government's failure to defend internationally guaranteed rights to religious freedom and to protect religious minorities from attack by militant hate-mongers.

Eko Mardi Santoso is just one of the victims of recent religious-related violence in Indonesia. On August 4, a bomb planted by unknown perpetrators exploded inside a Buddhist temple in downtown Jakarta while congregants worshipped, injuring three men. Police say they are investigating. That attack came just weeks after Indonesian Islamist militants vowed vengeance against Buddhists for attacks in Burma by members of the Buddhist majority against the local Rohingya Muslim population. A day later, unknown perpetrators tossed Molotov cocktails into the yard of a Catholic high school in Jakarta. Staff scrambled to extinguish the flames and kept the devices from igniting by dousing them with water from a bathroom.

The government has spared no rhetoric on its professed support for the constitutionally guaranteed right of religious freedom. On May 31, Yudhoyono stated that his government "would not tolerate any act of senseless violence committed by any group in the name of the religion." On August 16, the president said that he was "very concerned" about rising religious intolerance and related violence. But there has been a glaring failure on the part of Yudhoyono and his government to implement concrete measures to actually protect the country's besieged religious minorities.

The exemplar of this disconnect between official rhetoric and reality is the conduct of Indonesia's religious affairs minister, Suryadharma Ali. In January 2012, after a meeting with lawmakers, Ali publicly stated that the Shia faith is "against Islam." In September 2012, he proposed that Shia convert to Sunni Islam. On August 13, 2013, Ali followed up those bigoted statements by choosing to make the keynote speech at the annual congress in Jakarta of one of the country's most violent Islamist organizations, the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, or FPI).

The FPI and kindred groups are implicated in multiple serious acts of mob violence against religious minorities. Indonesia's Setara Institute, which monitors religious freedom in Indonesia, documented 264 cases of violent attacks on religious minorities in 2012, up from 216 in 2010. Yudhoyono has failed to censure Ali for his actions.

But there is more that Yudhoyono should do to address rising religious intolerance than tackling its militant perpetrators and sacking their government cheerleaders such as Suryadharma Ali. He also needs to address the discriminatory laws and regulations on the books in Indonesia that encourage and facilitate religious intolerance. A first step would be rescinding the blasphemy law that officially recognizes only six religions, and house of worship decrees that give local majority populations effective veto over the right of religious minority communities to build churches and temples.

Yudhoyono should also rein in the Indonesian government institutions that effectively give official seals of approval to acts of religious intolerance and related violence. He could start with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) under the Attorney General's Office, and the semi-official Indonesian Ulema Council, which have eroded religious freedom by issuing decrees and fatwas (religious rulings) against members of religious minorities and using their position of authority to press for the prosecution of "blasphemers."

At APEC this week, true friends of Indonesia should look past its Potemkin "dynamism and diversity" and warn Yudhoyono that the growing intolerance, discrimination and violence against religious minorities in Indonesia can no longer be ignored.

[Phelim Kine is a deputy director in the Asia division at Human Rights Watch and a former foreign correspondent in Indonesia.]

Abbott stumbles in embracing Indonesia

Crikey.com - October 1, 2013

With some canny scaling back of his asylum seeker rhetoric and a hardening on West Papua, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has done much to retrieve his first international trip.

The Indonesian political elite has been steadily raising the temperature on the Coalition's asylum seeker policies, seen as direct affronts to Indonesian sovereignty, for some time. And Alexander Downer blundered clumsily into the issue last week with some extraordinarily hostile comments which will have been seen, however unfairly, as an expression of the Coalition's real feelings about Indonesia.

But by softening his rhetoric, making a point of acknowledging Indonesian sovereignty and downplaying the asylum seeker issue (which will be delegated to more junior ministers) in his meeting with President Yudhoyono, the Prime Minister was able to defuse a source of tension, albeit one entirely and unnecessarily of his own making.

However, the Prime Minister went further than merely recognising Indonesian sovereignty:

"I say to you, Bapak President and to the people of Indonesia that the government of Australia takes a very dim view, a very dim view indeed, of anyone seeking to use our country as a platform for grand standing against Indonesia. We will do everything that we possibly can to discourage this and to prevent this.

"I admire and respect what you and your government have done to improve the autonomy and the life of the people of West Papua and I am confident that they can have the best possible life and the best possible future as a part of an indissoluble Indonesia, as an integral part of Indonesia."

Abbott has previously claimed to be a strong proponent of free speech. Quite what "discouraging" and "preventing" people from "grandstanding" on the West Papua issue entails remains to be seen. Advocates of West Papuan independence are unrealistic in their support for yet another unviable microstate on Australia's doorstep. But the record of the Indonesian government and in particular its military in West Papua is deeply concerning. Abbott has no right or authority to attempt to "prevent" legitimate criticism, regardless of how much he wants to make up for the offence his asylum seeker policies have caused.

Indonesia's 1965-66 massacres remain a divisive issue

Jakarta Globe - October 1, 2013

Dessy Sagita, Jakarta – As Indonesia's 1965 communist purge is under the spotlight with the screening of "The Act of Killing" across the United States and other parts of the world, the country commemorates its state ideology Pancasila, as a unifying force, but many Indonesians still struggle to come to terms with its darkest history.

While human rights activists and historians have boldly asked for the government to immediately form a fact finding team to unveil the perpetrators responsible for the massacre in the aftermath of the so-called G30S/PKI coup attempt as part of the efforts to come to terms with the past, many people are still opposed to such an attempt, saying the nation needs to look forward rather than get stuck in the past.

"The government must have the courage to form a fact finding team to unveil the truth behind this tragedy and announce the results to the public," J.J. Rizal, a historian from University of Indonesia told the Jakarta Globe on Monday.

Up to the middle of 1965, the Indonesian Communist Party, known as PKI, was one of the major forces in Indonesian politics beside Sukarno, Indonesia's first president, the Army and Islamic groups such as Masyumi and Nahdlatul Ulama.

G30S/PKI refers to the killing of six Army generals during an alleged coup attempt on Sept. 30, 1965 blamed on PKI.

On Oct. 1, the Army announced Pancasila had prevailed over a coup attempt by communists, hence giving way to today as Pancasila Sanctity Day. The two events then marked the beginning of a communist purge, which Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas Ham) recently declared as crimes against humanity.

More than a million people accused of being PKI members or sympathizers were killed from 1965 to 1966, while millions other suffered extra-judicial detention and discrimination.

On the pretext of his claimed success in getting rid of the communist threat, Gen Suharto then took power from Sukarno to begin what became known as the New Order.

Rizal said Indonesia would not be able to move forward as long as the country did not disclose what really happened during the years. "We will stay in the dark, attacking each other, slandering people's name because no one is brave enough to dig what really happened even though there have been so many studies discussing this so-called coup," he said.

Director Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary "The Act of Killing" describes the slaying of communist party members in North Sumatra in gory detail, and the chilling documentary has made waves at film festivals worldwide.

Haris Azhar, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said Indonesia must immediately investigate the truth behind the tragedy to be able to make amends to the victims and to stop social discrimination against anyone allegedly involved in the movement.

"We must know what happened and the state must admit to what happened and to make a proportional and proper apology to the victims. Only then can we start the rehabilitation process for those whose lives have been discredited forever because of the incident," Haris said.

However, he said, it was unlikely the Indonesian government would be willing to reveal the truth about what happened.

"Some of those people who were responsible for the tragedy are still here, they are still enjoying their existence, and the 1965 tragedy is a dark secret they don't want anyone to touch because it could jeopardize their comfortable positions," he said.

"At the same time, because the tragedy was unbelievably brutal and sadistic, the government would not want to admit what really happened. I don't think they could bear the shame," he added.

Haris said unraveling the facts behind G30S/PKI would not be difficult with more open communication and access to documents.

"We just cannot keep repeating a one-dimensional, approved interpretation of the story, when we can get information from alleged perpetrators, victims and witnesses and make our own conclusions. We owe this to the victims," he said.

Who's responsible?

"There's no point asking who's the most responsible for this horrific tragedy. There has been no definite effort to prove that," Asvi Warman Adam, a historian from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) told the Globe.

"The most important thing is that we know who benefited from the tragedy and who suffered the biggest loss. It is obvious Sukarno suffered the biggest loss because he had to give up his position as president, while Suharto gained the most because most of his competition in the army were eliminated," he said.

"The perpetrators are not individuals, they are a combination of influences from inside and outside the country,' he added. "As long as we refuse to acknowledge the truth we will always blame Suharto, Sukarno or anyone else without knowing who was really behind it. We need to put all these questions to an end," he said.

The government, however, is reluctant to investigate the tragedy. When the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the author of a report on the mass killings, urged early this year the Attorney General's Office to investigate what it called evidence of gross human rights violations, the law enforcement agency declined, saying the testimonies of 349 eyewitnesses were not substantial enough to warrant legal action.

The nation's coordinating minister for political and security affairs Djoko Suyanto showed little interest in meeting calls for an official government apology, stating "We can't just apologize without taking a good, long look at what really happened during the 1965 incident."

Meanwhile, Priyo Budi Santoso of Golkar Party, a party used by Suharto to stay in power, totally rejects any investigation into the tragedy, advising Indonesians to "just forget it, and move on." "There is no use in pursuing it. We have many other issues to deal with," he said.

Propaganda

Other than reconciliation and rehabilitation for the victims, Haris said, Indonesia must build a social system that does not discredit people's association with the coup or PKI. Propaganda was used by the New Order regime to portray those associated with the PKI as criminals, explained the Kontras coordinator.

Rizal agreed it was time to stop the use of terminology associated with the tragedy as terms of abuse.

"We should stop using the words like 'treason' or 'Gerwani' [Gerakan Wanita Indonesia, or PKI's women's wing] to insult people," he said. "To be able to re-write the false history we need to start using the victims' perspective in telling the stories instead of the perpetrators' point of view."

Asvi said the government effort to reverse the propaganda had been inconsistent, especially at the education level.

A forgotten massacre on our doorstep

Red Flag - October 1, 2013

Max Lane – The systematic political murder of around 1 million people in Indonesia began on 1 October 1965 and lasted around three years. The violence was accompanied by mass arrests, probably hundreds of thousands going in and out of ad hoc prisons between 1965 and 1968.

Almost 20,000 were kept in prisons and camps until 1979. Murder, torture and imprisonment, accompanied by a sustained propaganda campaign, constituted an intense reign of terror. The targets were members and supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the left wing of the Indonesian National Party (PNI) and the mass organisations aligned with them.

Also targeted were other smaller left wing parties, such as the Indonesia Party (Partindo) and the Young Communists Movement (Acoma). The PKI was the largest and most rapidly growing of these forces. Its membership and support had grown from tens of thousands in the early 1950s to probably more than 20 million people in 1965, when there were approximately 35-40 million Indonesians of voting age.

Background

Between 1960 and 1965, the membership and general support for the PKI and the left PNI increased dramatically. This was due to two main factors. First, President Sukarno, the country's most popular leader, president since 1945 and the central figure of the mass movement against colonialism before independence, escalated his open support for the idea of "socialism a la Indonesia".

He also advocated an international alliance of all "new emerging forces", comprising the socialist bloc, progressive newly independent states and democratic mass movements, such as the civil rights movement in the United States. He consistently spoke against communist phobia.

This massively legitimised left wing ideology. Second, the left, led by the PKI, waged a campaign against the corruption in the state owned companies under military management, for worker representation in these companies' management, and for redistribution of land from large landholdings to exploited, impoverished, landless peasant farmers. In 1965, Indonesia was overwhelmingly an agricultural economy, with almost no manufacturing sector.

While Sukarno increasingly supported the PKI, he was not able to bring it into the government in any serious way because the army was opposed to having it in the cabinet. The Communists had won some mayoral positions in key cities after local elections in 1957. Sukarno was seeking greater unity between the PNI, the PKI and the Islamic Nahdatul Ulama and was waiting for the left to recruit a larger portion of the officer corps.

The PKI, through its newspaper, escalated a campaign for Sukarno to appoint more PKI members to the cabinet and other positions. The PKI and all the parties had, by 1963, given up on holding elections again, surrendering to Sukarno the right to resolve the question of which parties would be included in the government.

Meanwhile, openly right wing parties were banned. In these conditions, giving up on defending the democratic gains of earlier struggles laid the basis for attempts at conspiratorial resolutions to the situation.

Conspiracy

The pretext to launch the mass murders was a failed conspiracy by the 30 September Movement, led by middle rank army officers, but also organised by the PKI chairperson, D.N. Aidit, and a party Special Bureau that reported only to Aidit. Aidit never reported his involvement to the PKI Central Committee.

The officers mobilised left-oriented army forces in an attempt to remove rightist generals at the top of the army hierarchy.

General Suharto, head of the Army Strategic Command, mobilised his soldiers to quash this conspiracy. As the officers' plan collapsed, they executed several generals. When President Sukarno heard what was going on, he called on the officers to stop. The conspiracy further unravelled, but the leaders issued a futile statement decommissioning Sukarno and his cabinet.

Suharto's forces quickly captured all the conspirators. He alleged that the PKI had attempted a coup d'etat against the government. Suharto's group immediately launched a propaganda campaign and the killings and terror against the PKI and the left.

The political leadership of the Suharto group was backed by the mobilisation of the military structure to organise the mass killings over the next three years. The killings were carried out either by the military or by death squads made up of urban lumpen elements or the families and supporters of rural landowners.

Sukarno spoke out at every opportunity against the killings and the terror and the bans and suppression of the PKI and the left, defending their right to be involved in politics. When the killings also spread to ethnic targets, he also spoke out strongly against that.

His speeches, however, were no longer broadcast on radio or reported in the media. He was de facto under arrest, and gradually forced to cede real power to Suharto, who gained a "formal mandate" to restore order and security. All activity by the PKI and all the publications and writings of Sukarno, the PKI and the left were banned. Sukarno was later formally arrested.

Most of the leadership of the PKI, the left PNI, Partindo, Acoma and aligned unions and mass organisations were quickly captured and killed. A few leaders survived to be imprisoned.

Most of the leadership and membership were caught completely by surprise and were not prepared for the onslaught that hit them. They were unable to defend themselves or even organise to go underground. Only a few were able to carry out effective underground activity against the government, and only until 1968.

The killings were celebrated by the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Australia, among others. Later, former Central Intelligence Agency operatives admitted that the US embassy gave lists of PKI members to the Suharto government.

In July 1966, Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt commented in the New York Times, "With 500,000 to a million communist sympathisers knocked off... I think it's safe to assume a reorientation has taken place."