Benjamin Soloway, Jakarta – Indonesia's film and tech communities gasped collectively on Monday when Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring tweeted from his personal account that video sharing site Vimeo would be banned.

As the week wore on, anger mingled with bafflement as some Internet service providers (ISPs) blocked the site while others did not. The ministry refrained from clarifying its position.

Artists and filmmakers have long seen the decade-old, New York-based site – a pioneer in high definition playback – as a refined alternative to YouTube.

"If YouTube is a hawker food court, then Vimeo is a cafe," acclaimed Indonesian stop motion animator Wahyu Ichwandardi, better known as Pinot, told the Jakarta Globe.

The ban came at a moment when films made in Indonesia had begun to attract attention on the world stage, with Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing" joining the ranks of the most acclaimed documentaries of all time, Daniel Ziv's "Jalanan" taking the victory for best documentary at the Busan festival in South Korea and Gareth Evans' martial arts thriller, "The Raid 2," showing on big screens around the globe.

"Every filmmaker in the world uses Vimeo to share work with colleagues," Oppenheimer said in an email. "Banning it is like banning Microsoft Word because pornographers use it to write scripts, or Excel because they use it to make their production budgets."

'Difficult not to get emotional'

Tifatul tweeted on Monday that the site had been blacklisted for hosting pornographic content.

A Ministry of Communications and Information press release on Monday listed the bizarre search terms the ministry had used to come to its decision: "Nudie Cutie," "Art of Nakedness" and "Beautiful of Nakedness [sic]."

"Vimeo does allow nudity in some non-sexual and creative contexts, but doesn't allow pornography. We rely on our users to flag violating content for our moderators," Vimeo spokeswoman Jessica Casano-Antonellis said.

Tifatul, a staunch anti-pornography crusader and former head of the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), joined President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet as part of the Democrat-lead ruling coalition after the 2009 election and has sought to tighten government control over the Internet ever since.

In a speech on the Muslim holiday of Idul Ahda in 2009, he blamed a devastating Sumatra earthquake and other natural disasters on what he said was the moral degradation of society, indicated by the prevalence of pornography.

During his tenure, the ministry has blacklisted thousands of porn sites under a controversial anti-pornography law passed in 2008. In March of this year, he caused an uproar by following a pornographic twitter account, which he said he had done by accident.

Earlier this week, he provoked anger with a seemingly flippant response to a question on Twitter about a website expressing support for Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram – responsible for thousands of killings and the recent kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls.

Twitter users wondered why he was willing to block sites like Vimeo while blowing off requests to censor pro-terrorism sites. Some critics accused him of banning the video site over a fake campaign film making fun of the PKS.

"There is no connection with that, don't be too narrow-minded, people just made it up," he responded. He said politics had nothing to do with the ban.

"Blocking Vimeo is an example of a government decisions that aims to educate but is done in a very stupid way," Pinot said. "This is evidence that the Indonesian government does not have sufficient insight and knowledge to make these decisions. Their arguments increasingly show how low their understanding of information technology really is."

Oppenheimer said the ban threatened the strength of Indonesian democracy. "There is no place in a democracy for banning the tools that we use for the free exchange of ideas and information, whether Vimeo or other social media," he said. "If the government is eager to live down the image of thuggery and intimidation that we see in 'The Act of Killing,' this is certainly not the way to go about it."

If Indonesia let the ban remain in place, he said, more censorship could follow. "The ban on entire platforms – rather than on individual films – is particularly alarming, because it's easy to imagine that social media will be next," he said.

Aulia Masna, the chief editor at DailySocial, a leading Indonesian tech blog, said he found it "very difficult not to get emotional" over the news.

"The fact that a small range of nudity and sexually suggestive videos exist on a public service that does not actually promote such themes should not form the basis of a blanket censorship that involves the banning of the entire service," he said.

"It's entirely possible that the very logic and reason that drove this decision will be used to block other services such as Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, or even Google. You can easily discover porn and nudity on any of those services if you know the terms. These are content platforms for the public to use and the public will use them in any way they like."

He said creative industries would suffer without government support for Internet innovation.

"Banning Vimeo entirely is affecting people whose livelihoods depend on having access to the service such as advertising professionals, students, educators, journalists, filmmakers, animators, and so on," he said. "This decision to ban Vimeo entirely is akin to banning DVD players because there's porn on DVD."

Meninaputri Wismurti, director of Jakarta's underground Q! film festival, which celebrates gay and lesbian cinema, said the ban would stand in the way of filmmakers, many already on the margins.

"This decision will apply to my film festival," she said. "Why? Because we received films from international filmmakers through this website. If the ministry is insisting on blocking the website, then it will limit our moves and way of getting good films internationally."

The US embassy in Jakarta expressed concern over the decision. "In the debate on Internet freedom, the United States is on the side of openness," embassy spokesman Troy Pederson said. "When ideas are blocked, information deleted, conversations stifled, and people constrained in their choices anywhere in the world, the Internet is diminished for all."

'Talk first, ban later'

Critics were just as confused by the announcement as they were angered; some ISPs banned the site while others did not.

Vimeo itself seemed to have no idea what was going on. "What's the latest from Indonesia? Is Vimeo accessible or blocked? Keep us posted!" the company tweeted on Tuesday.

The Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association (APJII) on Monday said that the ban was coming into effect sporadically as ISPs updated their lists of banned sites. But by Thursday, some providers still had not banned the site and others and lifted their bans.

Indonesian news portal Tempo reported that the ministry was reconsidering its decision, but as of Thursday afternoon Tifatul had not made a definitive statement.

On Monday, he tweeted that the ministry would be willing to work with the site to remove offending content, which would take away the need for ban – similar to the accommodation the ministry reached with YouTube after it was blocked briefly in 2008.

"We're still evaluating our options. It's a tricky situation!" Vimeo said, in response to a tweet from the Jakarta Globe.

"We received a letter of notification from the Republic of Indonesia's Minister of Communications and Information Technology requesting Vimeo block and/or remove pornographic material from being accessible in Indonesia on our site. We are looking into the matter and hope to resume service for the affected users," Vimeo spokeswoman Casano-Antonellis said.

Donny B.U., executive director of Internet rights group ICT Indonesia, said that the ban had never gone into full effect because service providers saw it as poorly conceived.

"Some ISPs already unblocked Vimeo, or just simply choose not to ban at all from the beginning," he said. "With the public pressure, especially when the minister is not a kind of walk-the-talk person regarding this issue, I believe most of the ISPs already realized that the banning request was not based on proper reason and procedure."

Enricko Luckman, a writer for Tech in Asia, said that the government should have reached out to Vimeo before blocking the site. "I just hope that they would use the 'talk first, ban later' approach for special cases like Vimeo," he said.

Aulia of DailySocial said the poor implementation of the ban was as revealing as the ban itself. "The fact that... not all ISPs and carriers received the instructions at the same time... speaks volumes of the quality of the organization and personnel," he said.

"I can only hope that the next government has no such people holding key positions. It's almost like [the Communications Ministry] has no interest in catching up with the best in the world as quickly as it can with regards to technological progress."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesia-reels-surprise-vimeo-ban/

Dogs should be off the menu, say animal lovers

Jakarta Post - May 9, 2014

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Dozens of activists from four animal rights organizations staged a rally in Yogyakarta on Thursday, calling on people to stop consuming dog meat as it was inhumane because dogs were pets, not livestock.

Dog meat is consumed by people across the archipelago, including in Medan, North Sumatra; Jakarta; Bandung, West Java; Yogyakarta; Surakarta, Central Java; Bali; and Manado, North Sulawesi.

"The way dogs are caught, stolen, transported, locked up and slaughtered brutally and unhealthily is against Law No. 18/2009 on husbandry and animal health," Dessy Zahara Angelina Pane of Animal Friends Jogja (AFJ) said on the sidelines of the rally on Thursday, In Manado and Medan, where dog meat is considered a delicious dish, around 1,800 dogs were killed every week, she said.

"In Yogyakarta alone, some 360 dogs are killed every week for meat, while around 720 dogs are killed in Jakarta," Dessy went on. "In total, 224,640 dogs are killed annually in the four cities [of Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Manado and Medan]."

Quoting the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), Dessy said consuming dog meat was morbid as dogs were pets that should not be consumed by human beings.

Transporting dogs from out of town for consumption could also spread rabies, especially as many dogs in Asia have rabies and other diseases. In Yogyakarta, for example, dogs mostly come from Pangandaran, West Java, with 120 dogs transported to Yogyakarta every week.

Four organizations – the AFJ, Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), Garda Satwa Indonesia (GSI) and the Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) – participated in the rally.

Together with members of Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) bicycle community and the Shaggy Dog band, the activists rode on bicycles from Patehan to the governor's office in Kepatihan.

After being greeted by provincial administration officials they continued their rally to the Malioboro area, calling on the community to stop consuming dog meat.

Muslimin Setiawarga of JAAN said he had come to Yogyakarta from Jakarta by bicycle with three other JAAN activists, while conducting a campaign against dog consumption along the way.

"We deliberately chose the southern route because dog meat supply in Yogyakarta mostly comes from the southern regions," Muslimin said.

Dishes including dog meat, such as rica-rica (a spicy dish) and tongseng (a curry-like soup), are mostly sold in food stalls along streets in the big cities. Some believe that consuming dog meat is good for stamina.

Meanwhile, Yogyakarta's provincial assistant secretary overseeing the economy and development Didik Purwadi, said the provincial administration had been studying a regulation to control meat consumption, including dog meat. "We agree that dogs are not livestock that can be consumed," he said.

Provincial Agriculture Agency animal and people health section head Anung Endah Swasti said efforts to limit the entrance of dogs from outside the province had been carried out via examination posts located on the borders of Yogyakarta and other regions.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/09/dogs-should-be-menu-say-animal-lovers.html

Gang leader Hercules gets three years in jail for extortion

Jakarta Globe - May 8, 2014

Bayu Marhaenjati, Jakarta – The West Jakarta District Court on Thursday convicted notorious gang boss Hercules Rozario Marshal for a second time in less than a year, handing him a three-year sentence for extortion and money laundering.

Prim Haryadi, the presiding judge at the trial, said prosecutors had made a convincing case to prove that Hercules had strong-armed a local businessman into hiring his thugs to provide security for a property development in Kembangan, West Jakarta.

"The court thus rules that the defendant must serve a three-year jail sentence," he said on Thursday. "The defendant can accept the verdict or appeal."

The sentence was lighter than the five years sought by prosecutors, but a lawyer for Hercules said his client would appeal against it. Hercules remains free pending the appeals process.

He was convicted of forcing Sukanto Tjakra, the director of the property developer Tjakra Multi Strategi, into hiring his gang's "security services" for a 6.-hectare development in Kembangan.

Sukanto and his business partner, Amin Maulana, paid Hercules Rp 400 million as demanded in March 2010. In December 2012, Hercules's henchmen demanded an additional Rp 250 million. Sukanto said that he would pay in installments, but after paying the first Rp 50 million, reported the matter to the police.

Police later revealed that Sukanto and Amin were not the only local businesses who had fallen prey to Hercules's protection racket.

"Others who ran business in that complex were extorted for up to Rp 1.5 billion," said Adj. Sr. Comr. Hengki Haryadi Hengki, the head of the West Jakarta Police's general crimes unit, said in December last year as quoted by Tempo.co.

Thursday's ruling is the second in less than a year against the gang boss, who was in July 2013 sentenced to four months in jail by the same court for inciting a riot and damaging property.

That case was also linked to a protection racket, with Hercules ordering the riot in retaliation at a police crackdown against his gang for extorting local businesses in the Kembangan area.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/gang-leader-hercules-gets-three-years-jail-extortion/

West Papua

Moenemani braces for sweeps as Brimob shoot crash victim's relatives

West Papua Media - May 8, 2014

Villagers were again last night bracing for a new round of Indonesian state violence in the town of Moenemani, in the gold rich Dogiyai district in Paniai, as Indonesian Brimob paramilitary police units were reportedly conducting security sweeps after a series of tragic events left three people dead and three more fighting for their lives.

Latest reports from Paniai from credible sources, priests and human rights defenders are noting that large numbers of security forces from Brimob, Army, Kopassus Special forces, BIN (National Intelligence) and Air Force Kopaska special air commandos are being drafted in to form a special task force to "secure" Moenemani. Local sources have reported that the situation remains highly tense right across Dogiyai after an unconfirmed report of a reprisal killing of an Indonesian colonist caused a major crisis meeting at the local Koramil (military command). Brimob police opened fire on a crowd on Tuesday May 6, critically wounding three civilians, who gathered to seek accountability for two teenagers killed when a truck driver ploughed through a group of church pilgrims.

According to a detailed chronology written by local human rights investigators with the KINGMI church, around 6.40pm local time on May 5, Jhon Anouw and Yunsens Kegakoto, both aged 18 years, were returning on motorbikes from a religious residency at the local KINGMI church.

A truck with the number plate DS 9903 was "racing" through the streets, according to witness Benny Goo (as interviewed by SuaraPapua.com), and lost control, hitting the two teenagers outside the Papuan People's Regional Assembly office, killing them instantly with massive injuries to their bodies.

As residents found the two victims and took them to a local funeral home to lie in state according to local custom, the truck driver had fled the scene and sought shelter at the Moanemani Brimob post in the town, according to witnesses.

The next morning, villagers and relatives began to gather at outside the Police station to demand that police release the driver in order to amicably settle the matter according to custom, and investigate the traffic accident. Brimob officers refused, and local villagers responded by throwing stones on the roof of the Police post.

At 10am, Brimob officers emerged from the police post, firing directly at the gathered crowd without issuing any warning to disperse. Three men were shot, Anthon Edowai, 32, Yulius Anouw, 27, and Gayus (Sepnat) Auwe, 32, and all are now in a critical condition, undergoing surgery in the Siriwini hospital in Nabire.

Tabloid Jubi confirmed the incident with Papua Police Deputy Chief Brigadier General Paulus Waterpauw, who commented. "I've got a preliminary report. Currently the case is being under the jurisdiction of the Paniai Police and the Kamuu Valley Police."

Waterpauw said the situation on the ground was sometimes difficult, but urged police officers to act in accordance with the Standard Operations Procedure. "We will ensure the completion of this report," he told Jubi.

However Brimob and the Indonesian Army have a history of extreme unprovoked violence and impunity in Moenamani against civilians, including a notorious campaign of terror in 2013 where people were forced to shave their beards and dreadlocks and traditional music was banned, and the extrajudicial execution of five civilians who were holding a card game.

Previous offensives in the Paniai since December 2011 have displaced tens of thousands of civilians, and burnt down hundreds of villages.

A Kingmi priest with family in the area told West Papua Media on Wendesday night, "Dogiyai is in a very heated situation and emergency (sic). There will probably be further victims. Let us take concern of the behaviour of the security forces towards civil society in Moanemani."

Allegation are circulating that a reprisal killing occurred on a non-Papuan civilian at 1230pm after the shooting, however several credible sources cannot independently confirm this to West Papua Media, nor if the killing is an OTK ('unknown persons' black operation killing). However these sources have said that alleged killing is the reason that the Special Task Force (Satgas) is being created and deployed across the district.

[With additional reporting from Tabloid Jubi.]

Source: http://westpapuamedia.info/2014/05/08/moenemani-braces-for-security-sweeps-as-brimob-shoot-3-relatives-of-2-dogiyai-crash-victims/

Aceh

Sharia hampers investment

Jakarta Post - May 12, 2014

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The investment climate in Aceh remains mired by stumbling blocks that have hampered economic acceleration despite foreign and domestic investment this year increasing from last year.

Licensing and the implementation of sharia often cause investors to reconsider investing in Aceh. "The issue regarding the implementation of Islamic sharia impacts on the realization of foreign investment in Aceh," said Aceh Promotion and Investment Board (BIPA) head Iskandar.

The Aceh provincial administration, through BIPA, has made strenuous efforts to convince investors to invest capital in Aceh. BIPA has coordinated with various stakeholders, including city administrations and district level administrations, to help spur economic growth in Aceh.

It also initiated a joint commitment to improve the image of Aceh and inputting data on impediments and issues faced by the business world to seek immediate solutions.

"Media reports regarding the implementation of Islamic sharia also has implications on Aceh's image on the investment stage, especially for foreign investors," said Iskandar.

Iskandar acknowledged that BIPA was currently facing issues in promoting Aceh as a suitable place for investment, such as uncertain regulations and licensing as well as an unfriendly attitude to foreign investors.

"Consequently, we have coordinated with stakeholders, including officials from the regency to village levels to be more responsive to investment in Aceh," said Iskandar. "The issue regarding the implementation of Islamic sharia impacts on the realization of foreign investment in Aceh."

Among the most promising investment opportunities in Aceh are those in the tourism and mining sectors. Aceh boasts various tourist sites, which can be managed and promoted as part of a tourist destination nationally to spur rapid economic growth.

"The implementation of sharia in Aceh actually could be an opportunity to draw visitors if it is packaged in an interesting manner, because many visitors wish to know about the implementation of sharia itself," said Iskandar.

Based on the first quarter investment report this year released by BIPA, Aceh's investment value has risen this year compared to the corresponding period last year from Rp 969,35 billion (US$84 million) to Rp 1,44 trillion this year.

"Aceh has experienced an increase of 32.77 percent in domestic and foreign investment value in the first quarter of this year compared to last year," said Iskandar.

This growth has ranked Aceh among the six biggest for domestic investment value in Indonesia. Jakarta is ranked top with an investment value of more than Rp 8.2 trillion.

In the first quarter this year, domestic investment was still higher compared to foreign investment, especially in the power and gas sectors, while foreign investors still contributed the most to the mining sector, with the main players being from Canada and Singapore.

Aceh's slow economic growth is influenced by stagnant growth in the private sector, as virtually all economic sectors are fully supported by the state and provincial budget.

"As of now, development and economic activities in Aceh originate from two fund sources – the state and provincial budgets – while the investment is limited to a few sectors," said Aceh Central Statistics Agency (BPS) head Hermanto.

Hermanto said that the province managed to achieve Rp 1.5 trillion in investment in the first quarter of this year. The investment funds, he went on, were contributed by the energy sector, which was from the Peusangan hydro power plant (PLTA) in Central Aceh which accounted for more than Rp 900 billion.

"The energy sector plays no part in raising the labor-intensive economic factor and does not affect absorb a large number of workers, like the agricultural and mining sectors," said Hermanto.

The Aceh provincial administration has applied the Qanun Acara Jinayat, a sharia-based criminal code that stipulates rules and punishments governing behavior according to Islamic law. The qanun applies to all people in the province, including non-Muslims.

So far, Aceh has four qanun: One on religious affairs, worship and religious symbols; one on khamar (the consumption of alcohol); one on maisir (gambling), and one on khalwat (affectionate contact between an unmarried couple).

According to Qanun No. 14/2003, all sharia offenders will be caned a minimum three times and a maximum nine times or are required to pay a fine of between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 10 million.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/12/sharia-hampers-investment.html

Caning of Aceh rape victim prompts soul searching in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe - May 11, 2014

Josua Gantan, Jakarta – The order by authorities in Aceh to have a woman and her married lover caned for adultery, even after she had been gang- raped by vigilante enforcers of Shariah, has spurred a maelstrom of criticism and soul-searching about the place of Islamic jurisprudence in Muslim-majority but secular Indonesia.

The alleged mob of vigilantes, one of them just 13 years old, stormed into the woman's home in the town of Langsa and accused the 25-year-old of having an affair with her 40-year-old companion. The accusation carried extra weight in Aceh as a violation of the province's partial adoption of Shariah, which, among other prohibitions, forbids intimacy of any kind between unmarried couples.

The eight vigilantes have been accused of gang-raping the young woman and beating up her companion before marching them to a local police station. Police arrested three of the eight men by May 4, including the 13-year-old, and are still hunting for the others.

But the city's Shariah police, or Wilayatul Hisbah, made an announcement of their own: the woman and her companion would be caned for the original charge of adultery.

"This judgement raises serious concerns," says Imdadun, a member of the Jakarta-based National Commission for Human Rights, or Komnas HAM. "The local authorities comes across as though they have no sensitivity toward basic human rights, or even sensitivity toward the purpose of Shariah itself. The purpose of Shariah is the good of the public and the individual."

"They are misusing religion," says Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, says of the vigilantes, who rationalized their actions on the grounds that the woman's alleged adultery had "tarnished their village's reputation. These people acted worse than animals," he said. "Religion is meant to humanize people."

Imdadun agreed, saying the danger with basing regulations on a highly subjective scale of morality allows people to take the law into their own hands.

"Rape is a violation of human rights, and whatever the reasons were it is also a violation of Islamic Shariah law. The perpetrators must be severely punished," he says.

"Where is their humanity?" says Ruhut Sitompul, an outspoken Democratic Party official and member of the House of Representatives' oversight commission on legal affairs. "I think this whole thing is immoral, it's inhumane."

Komnas HAM notes that while aspects of Shariah are in keeping with contemporary values of human rights, "there are certain aspects that are not in line with human rights norms." The commission warns that rising Islamic conservatism in Aceh could pave the way for a deeper implementation of Shariah, with even more draconian punishments for a wider range of perceived offenses.

Rape vs. adultery

Not everyone is critical of the decision to cane the rape victim. Azis Syamsuddin, the deputy chairman of the House legal affairs commission from the Golkar Party, accuses human rights activists and critics of Shariah of overlooking what he believes is the salient fact in the whole saga: that the woman had already violated Shariah before she was gang-raped.

"We should not look at this [as a] one-sided [issue]," he says. "The reason why [the couple] will be punished is because they were being intimate. Under Shariah, unless you are married, you cannot be intimate. The first crime can't be excused just because of the second crime."

Others more steeped in the workings of Islamic law disagree. "They have to settle the rape case first," says Solahuddin Wahid, a prominent Muslim scholar from Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's biggest Islamic organization, and the brother of the late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

"That is far more serious than just being intimate," Solahuddin says. "The [adultery] is not as serious, the woman had not done anything [sexual] yet." He says local authorities need to concentrate on arresting those accused of the gang-rape, and not on punishing the victim.

Imdadun agrees that rape is more severe than adultery by several orders of magnitude, and says the planned caning for the lesser offense must be abandoned to reflect that.

"When a woman accused of adultery becomes a victim of a violent gang-rape – a crime that is far more serious – it is no longer appropriate for the woman to be publicly caned," he says. "The law is unjust if it continues to punish her. That is unfair for the [rape] victim."

Frans Winarta, a lawyer and chairman of the country's bar association, known as Peradi, argues that in light of the rape, the woman should be let go. "She has become a victim now, a rape victim," he says. "Personally, I feel that she has to be given an exemption [from caning] because she has become a victim."

Government's deafening silence

Neither presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah nor Deputy Justice Minister Denny Indrayana would comment on the case when contacted by the Globe.

The government has repeatedly cited regional autonomy as the reason it refuses to intervene in regional policy matters, including when local governments flout rulings by the Supreme Court, as with the closure of churches in Bogor and Bekasi, or issue bylaws that contradict national ones, as in the adoption of a separatist flag as the provincial standard in Aceh.

While all provinces in Indonesia are guaranteed a degree of autonomy, Aceh is one of only three that enjoys special autonomy (the other two are Jakarta and Papua).

That concession was granted by the central government as part of the 2005 peace accord that brought to an end three decades of armed separatist struggle in the province.

Under that special autonomy, authorities in Aceh moved to formalize the region's strong conservative bent by implementing a limited form of Shariah, which, among other things, bans close contact between men and women who are not related to each other; obliges women to wear a head scarf and men to wear long trousers; and prohibits the consumption of alcohol and the selling and public consumption of food during Ramadan.

The Wilayatul Hisbah were established to enforce the rules, and over the years the group has drawn ridicule for cracking down on things like punk concerts and skinny jeans.

However, Shariah enforcement is often spotty in cities like Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, where women dress in form-fitting jeans, and the head scarf, perhaps the most conspicuous symbol of Aceh's Islamic culture and laws, is loosely worn by some women and not at all by others.

It is a distinction often lost on critics who falsely assert that Aceh is a sort of 12th-century backwater ruled by Shariah officers.

The region's differing views on the importance of Islamic law has caused conflict in the past. Local authorities said they once uncovered an anti- Shariah movement on Facebook and efforts to curb mixed sex parties and loud music have ended in brawls between youths and Wilayatul Hisbah officers.

The historical lack of a clear call for the implementation of Shariah as well as a recent history of controversial decisions by Wilayatul Hisbah authorities have underscored uncertainty about Islamic law in Indonesia.

One set of laws

Azis says Aceh is free to enforce Shariah if it wants to, given its standing as a province with special autonomy.

"The kind of law that is upheld in Aceh is legally valid," he says. "It can be justified because Aceh law is a case of lex specialis, it can only be adopted by a certain region. Whatever is going to be done, as long as it complies with Shariah, we have to respect it, because lex specialis applies there."

But others are not so convinced Indonesia needs two sets of laws. "Regional laws should not go against national laws," says Frans, the bar association chief. "We still adhere to the concept of a united republic. We are not a federal nation. If we were a federal nation, then it would be different."

Komnas HAM says the government and human rights groups need to hold talks with the Acehnese people and community leaders about the future of the province.

"As for Komnas HAM, we believe it will be better if the law does not leave any room for discrimination," Imdadun says. "We hope the people of Aceh can reflect this and make a better choice. It is important to raise awareness, to hold dialogue with policy makers in Aceh. This is important so they won't drift further away from Indonesia."

He warns that if the rising tide of support for the separatists, the now- defunct Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, is left unchecked, its influence as a conservative group will grow stronger.

"Today, Shariah in Aceh still doesn't cover crimes like theft. At presently it [mainly] covers [crimes of intimacy]. The next step might very well be the implementation of heavier punishments for crimes like theft," Imdadun says.

"If that is the case, then thieves will have their hands amputated and adulterers will be stoned [to death]. This has not been implemented yet, but worryingly I have heard that a number of [legal] drafts have been proposed for that. The voice of the international world is important in this."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/shariah-question-aceh-caning-controversy/

Government should help heal rape victim: Activists

Jakarta Post - May 9, 2014

Banda Aceh – The Network for Civil Society Concerned with Sharia (JMSPS) has called on the Langsa City administration to help heal the mental state of a woman who was recently gang raped at her house in Langsa, Aceh, instead of focusing on bringing her to justice for adultery.

"We ask the administration to provide psychological treatment for the victim before deciding to punish her for allegedly committing khalwat [adultery]," said Fatimahsyam, a JMSPS representative, on Thursday. She said the recent case only added to a series of violent cases committed by Langsa residents.

"We call on the Langsa city administration and the police to handle this case fairly so the woman has her right to legal protection and psychological treatment as stipulated on the 2006 Aceh Administration Law and Qanun No. 6/2009 on women protection," she added.

The woman was raped when she was with a married man. Nine villagers, who were suspicious of their movements, tied up the woman's companion and then raped her.

The woman is now at risk of being caned by Aceh's sharia police as regulated by the Qanun Acara Jinayat, a sharia-based criminal code that stipulates rules and punishments governing behavior according to Islamic law. However, there is no qanun that carries a punishment for rape.

The Langsa City Police have named eight suspects in the case after they released a 13 – year – old due to a lack of evidence. "We are still hunting them down. We have called on the suspects' families to encourage them to give themselves up," said Langsa City Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hariadi.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/09/govt-should-help-heal-rape-victim-activists.html

Aceh activists slam lenient sentence demand for defendant in land dispute

Jakarta Globe - May 8, 2014

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Environmental activists in Aceh slammed the prosecution for seeking what they view as lenient punishment for the director of a palm oil company who is accused of damaging a natural habitat for orangutans.

Prosecutor Rahmat on Wednesday asked the Meluaboh district court for a sentence of 10 months imprisonment and a Rp 150 million ($13,000) fine for Subianto Rusyid, the director of Kalista Alam, in violation of the 2009 law on environment protection and management.

Rahmat told the court that Subianto was guilty of negligence for failing to control his subordinates who operated on the lush forest and peatland region in the province's Nagan Raya district without the proper permit.

The 61,803-hectare Rawa Tripa peatland is situated in Leuser ecosystem, and a parcel of 1,605 hectares is the main habitat for orangutan and several other protected wildlife species.

Aceh environmental activists united under the Coalition to Save Rawa Tripa (TKPRT) said the sentence would not be a deterrent for the defendant.

"The prosecutor's demand is too lenient compared to the environmental damages caused by the land concession in Rawa Tripa," said Fadila Ibra, spokesman for the coalition, on Thursday.

Fadila said Kalista Alam has also allegedly violated the 2004 law on natural resource conservation for operating in the Leuser ecosystem, which has been declared a conservation area. He said the law would punish violators with five years in prison and a Rp 2 billion fine.

"The judge's demand is less than half of what the laws stipulate. This will not deter those who have destroyed the environment," Fadila said.

Kallista Alam obtained the permit to open the plantation in Rawa Trip from then Governor Irwandi Yusuf in August 2011.

The governor's decision to grant the company a land concession permit was met with protests by environmental activists who said that the area was the habitat of Sumatran orangutans, which are critically endangered, and other rare animals.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/aceh-activists-slam-lenient-sentence-demand-defendant-land-dispute/

Activists denounce call to cane Aceh rape victim accused of adultery

Jakarta Globe - May 8, 2014

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Women's rights activists in Aceh have criticized local authorities in the town of Langsa for insisting on caning a woman there for having alleged extramarital sex, even after she was gang raped by a vigilante group purporting to crack down on vice.

"Instead of protecting the victim of this heinous crime, the authorities want to have her caned," Nursiti, the head of Ureueng Inong Aceh, a women's empowerment group, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. "What kind of government is this that won't protect its citizens?"

She was responding to a statement by Ibrahim Latif, the head of the Shariah office in Langsa, who on Tuesday insisted that the 25-year-old woman and her companion, a 40-year-old married man, would be caned for having an affair – regardless of the fact that they had been assaulted and the woman raped by eight men in the early morning last Thursday.

"That's a very ignorant statement coming from the head of the Shariah office," Nursiti said.

Soraya Kamaruzzaman, from the Flower Aceh women's group, denounced the authorities for doing nothing to address the trauma experienced by the rape victim, instead only adding to it.

"Don't talk about caning her for a moral crime. The main focus at this point should be to ensure that the rapists are punished to the fullest extent of the law," she told the Jakarta Globe.

Both Soraya and Nursiti also asked why the woman was still in custody, nearly a week after being dragged to the police station by the mob that had raped her.

Under the partial Shariah exercised in Aceh, the woman and her companion face up to nine strokes of the cane each. The rapists would have faced the same number of lashes had they been subject to the Shariah process.

Three of them, including a 13-year-old boy, were arrested by police, while five others were still on the loose. "We only detained three rape suspects," Langsa Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hariadi told Jakarta Globe. "The other five suspects are being sought."

He said that his police officers were not investigate victim's alleged breach of Sharia law. "They're two different cases," he said. "The first is a violation on the Shariah bylaw concerning khalwat, which is being processed by the Shariah police. As for the rape case, it is handled by the district police."

Khalwat refers to forbidden contact between people of different genders. This is not the first case in Aceh of a rape being committed against a woman accused of inappropriate conduct with an unrelated male.

A 20-year-old university student was raped by three Shariah police officers in Langsa in January 2010 after being caught riding on a motorcycle with her boyfriend.

The town's Shariah police chief, Syahril, was subsequently fired and two of the perpetrators were later sentenced to serve eight years in prison each. The third perpetrator has not been caught.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/activists-denounce-call-cane-aceh-rape-victim/

Human rights & justice

Victims of May riots remembered

Jakarta Post - May 14, 2014

Indah Setiawati and Corry Elyda, Jakarta – Even after 16 years, the bitter memories of the May 1998 tragedy are still an open wound in the hearts of survivors and families of the victims. With no legal resolution as closure, these people visited a variety of riot sites to pray for their loved ones on Tuesday.

Around 50 people comprising families of the victims and activists from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) sprinkled flower petals in the area of the Klender Mall in East Jakarta where dozens had died in a fire amid the May riots.

Yati Andriyani, the deputy coordinator of the advocacy department of Kontras, said the families joined the event for personal reasons, which included praying for their loved ones. Later that day, they also went to cemeteries in Klender to visit the graves of victims who were buried there.

"By holding this event, we want to remind people that such a tragedy should never occur again. We also want to remind the President and the Attorney General that they have not revealed the facts and the truth behind the riots," she told The Jakarta Post.

Yati said the group would go to the mass grave of hundreds of victims at Pondok Ranggon Cemetery in East Jakarta on May 18.

She said the mall management responded well by allowing them to hold the event. Last year, families of survivors who wanted to place flowers at the site were reportedly driven away by securitsy guards at the mall.

Meanwhile, the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) will hold a history tour to mark the 16th anniversary of the May riots.

Komnas Perempuan commissioner Neng Dara Affiah said the group would visit key riot sites and the tomb of Souw Beng Kong, the first "captain" of Jakarta's Chinese community, which was located in Mangga Dua Selatan in North Jakarta.

The visit to the tomb was a token of respect toward the Chinese-Indonesians who were victims of the May riots, which are also referred to as the anti- Chinese riots.

"We will start at 8 a.m. at our office. Our tour will end at Pondok Ranggon Cemetery where we will hold a ceremony. We expect Pak Ahok [Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama] to attend the ceremony," she told the Post.

Meanwhile, Ahok reiterated his support for building a monument in Pondok Ranggon Cemetery in remembrance of all the victims.

After a meeting with Komnas Perempuan at the City Hall on Tuesday, he told reporters that he had asked the city administration to support the development of the May tragedy monument at the cemetery.

Ahok said there was no problem with the request. "If there is a land issue, just chip in to procure the land," he said, adding that he personally was also willing to contribute if the commission asked him to.

Ahok, a politician from the Gerindra Party, whose chief patron is Prabowo Subianto, supported the calls for a resolution to the tragedy. "It is the authority of the central government to do so, but I urge them to resolve all issues resulting from the tragedy," he said.

The number of victims in the riots varies from one source to another, and the government has never issued an official number.

The report of the joint-fact finding team (TGPF) found the total number of fatalities in Jakarta ranged from 288 to 1,217. The sources were the Jakarta administration, the police, the Jakarta Military Command and the May Volunteers Team.

The May Volunteers Team, which presented the highest number, found that 1,190 were burned to death while 27 died of other causes such as being shot. The TGPF also found that 52 women, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, experienced sexual abuse ranging from harassment to gang rape during the May riots.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/14/victims-may-riots-remembered.html

Activists still looking for missing friends from May riots in Medan

Jakarta Post - May 13, 2014

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Former student activists are still looking for their friends who went missing when rioting first broke out on a campus in Medan on May 4, 1998, spreading to many parts of the country in the following days.

Dozens of people were reported missing and dozens others were shot during the rioting in Medan, which paralyzed the economy in the region.

The riots began when the police and military lay siege to the campus of the Medan Teacher Training Institute (IKIP), now Medan State University (Unimed), according to the former student protest coordinator Iwan Keling, 38.

"I remember the siege very well as it has been recorded as the trigger of the May 1998 riots in the country, which led to the stepping down of then president Soeharto," Iwan told The Jakarta Post at Unimed on Saturday.

Iwan said the siege was carried out because the students were demanding that Soeharto step down from the presidency. The protests were jointly conducted by students from the neighboring IKIP Medan, Medan Area University and Medan State Islamic Science University (IAIN Sumatera Utara).

The siege took place at 12 p.m. on May 4, 1998, leading to a clash between the protesters and security personnel. Students throwing stones were met by police with tear gas and rubber bullets.

At dusk, Iwan said, dozens of police and military personnel infiltrated the campus and attacked the protesters. A large number of students and lecturers were injured in the attack before the protesters were able to expel them from the campus.

Rifai, another former student protester, still remembers the brutal attack by the police and military. "I pretended to be dead at one point so that they wouldn't beat me again," Rifai said.

After the attack, dozens of students were reported missing. "I did not know where they were," Rifai said.

But that was not all, according to Iwan. The security forces continued to lay siege to the campus and allegedly sexually assaulted dozens of female students who were planning to go home.

This, said Iwan, enraged the protesters. After the police and military personnel left the campus at about 8 p.m., they marched to nearby shop- houses on Jl. Pancing and Jl. Aksara and spontaneously damaged and looted the properties belonging to Chinese-Indonesians.

The rioting was later continued by other people. They blended in with the students, looting shops belonging to Indonesians of Chinese descent. Outside Medan, riots occurred in Deli Serdang regency and in the municipalities of Tebing Tinggi and Pematang Siantar. The rioting lasted four days in North Sumatra.

Kennon Rambe, 34, one of the looters during the 1998 riots in Medan, said the riots happened spontaneously and on a massive scale. He said many people looted shops because the police and soldiers were not stopping them.

"They did not do anything to me although they saw me carrying rice that I had looted," said Rambe, who looted a store on Jl. Mandala Bypass, adding that he regretted what he had done.

Spokesperson for the Regional Military Command (Kodam) I in Bukit Barisan, Col. Samuel, refused to comment on the riots, explaining that he was out of the city. "I am sorry, I am in a meeting in Balige," Samuel told the Post over the phone.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/13/activists-still-looking-missing-friends-may-riots-medan.html

288 burned alive in a Jakarta mall 16 years ago

Jakarta Post - May 12, 2014

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – May 15, 1998. Hundreds of people flooded on to the two escalators and one stairway. Some were trying to reach the second floor where the Yogya department store and other stores were located while others were struggling to go down.

Many were trampled and had fainted. But most were blinded by the goods they wanted to loot from the shops.

"I was stuck in the middle; it took almost an hour until I managed to reach the first floor again. It was a great relief," said Arif Fadilah, a security officer at the then Central Plaza, now known as Mall Klender in East Jakarta, as he recalled the day thousands of people entered the shopping mall.

Arif had failed to reach the police, there was no backup as requested to safeguard the mall. He recalled that besides 15 security guards, there were only a district head, two beat officers and one soldier hanging around the mall that day, powerless as they watched wave after wave of people, come and go carrying looted goods.

People kept coming from various parts of the city. The crowd spilled onto a nearby railway across the mall, blocking the line and forcing the trains serving the Bekasi-Jakarta route to halt. Hundreds of stranded passengers joined in the looting.

Arif had no idea that the mob would grow that fast. He said the crowd had begun with two groups of students throwing rocks at each other just a few hours earlier.

Mall Klender building and maintenance manager Amiril, a local resident, admitted he had also picked up a pair of shoes and then sold them for Rp 30,000 (US$2.50), although he hadn't the courage to take something from inside the mall. "I might not have survived," he said.

The mall was then set on fire, similar to incidents such as in Ciledug, bordering South Jakarta and Tangerang. The May riots inflicted losses of at least Rp 2.5 trillion. Thirteen markets, 2,479 shop-houses, 40 malls, 1,604 shops, 45 garages, 383 private offices, nine filling stations, eight public buses and minivans, 1,119 cars, 821 motorcycles, and 1,026 houses were destroyed during the riots. The violence claimed 2,244 lives, according to the 2002 Volunteers' Team for Humanity.

The largest number of deaths occurred in and around the Yogya department store and supermarket with 288 killed.

Arif recalled that once a transgendered woman came and asked him to take her to the eastern part of the second floor of the damaged building. She had said she was asked in dream by a friend who had perished there to put two bottles of drinking water at that site. Arif then took her to fulfill what seemed to be her dead friend's last wish.

Amiril acknowledged many horrific stories circulated regarding the mall. He had witnessed nothing untoward, he said, but organized monthly prayer sessions dedicated primarily to the souls of those who perished there. The sessions continue to this day. "Praise God, we've encountered nothing disturbing since then," Amiril said.

Currently, Mall Klender is under the management of PT Jakarta Intiland. It has a Ramayana department store and supermarket as anchor tenant, and 21 other tenants ranging from coffee shops and cellular phone shops to a bookshop and children's playground.

Apparently people still remember the May riots but they have chosen to move on.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/12/288-burned-alive-a-jakarta-mall-16-years-ago.html

Trisakti University remembers 1998 tragedy

Jakarta Post - May 12, 2014

Jakarta – A flag-raising ceremony at Trisakti University has been held in commemoration of the 1998 shootings that occurred on the campus.

On May 12, 1998, four Trisakti University students were shot dead during protests in Jakarta, triggering widespread riots and mass rapes, mainly of ethnic Chinese women, in the following days. Over 1,000 died, including in burning buildings, during the riots in Medan, Surakarta, Jakarta and elsewhere.

The flag ceremony started at 8 a.m. and was led by the university's rector Thoby Mutis. After the flag was raised, the families of the four victims – Hafidhin Royan, Elang Mulya Lesmana, Hery Hartanto and Hendriawan Sie – paid their respects by spreading flowers on the site where the victims' bodies were found, kompas.com reported.

The families, alongside Thoby, then gathered at the May 12, 1998 Tragedy monument at Trisakti University, where they placed a wreath of flowers at the base. The ceremony finished at 9 a.m. and was followed by a visit to the May 12, 1998 Tragedy Museum on campus in West Jakarta.

The 1998 shootings on campus took place amid an economic crisis that engulfed Southeast Asia starting from 1997. The crisis led to university student protests and demands for the political and economic reform of the New Order regime.

Low ranking police personnel were convicted in the shootings, but no one has been brought to trial for the riots, arson, sexual assault, torture or mass rapes. (fss)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/12/trisakti-university-remembers-1998-tragedy.html

Kivlan rejects Komnas HAM summons

Jakarta Post - May 12, 2014

Jakarta – Maj. Gen. (ret) Kivlan Zein, a former aide of Gerindra Party chief patron Prabowo Subianto, has rejected a summons from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) over his statement about the involuntary disappearance of pro-democracy activists.

Kivlan also maintained that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of the activists. "I was 100 percent uninvolved in the disappearances. But if there are efforts to question me, be my guest. But I will only accept a summons from the National Police or the Attorney General's Office [AGO]," Kivlan said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Kivlan, now a politician with the United Development Party (PPP), earlier claimed he had key information regarding the disappearance of the activists.

"All of those people are dead, I know their whereabouts, I know who executed them and where their graves are," Kivlan said on a talk show broadcast by the news channel TVOne earlier this month.

Last week, Komnas HAM said it would question Kivlan to obtain more details about his claim.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/12/kivlan-rejects-komnas-ham-summons.html

Komnas HAM seeks to question Prabowo over 1997 kidnappings

Jakarta Globe - May 8, 2014

Erwin Cristianson, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Wednesday that it would once again seek to question presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto over his alleged role in human rights abuses surrounding the fall of authoritarian president Suharto.

"We're now preparing a summons for [Prabowo]," Komnas HAM commissioner Otto Syamsuddin Ishak said.

Prabowo, founder of and presidential candidate for the the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, was a special forces commander under Suharto and has been criticized widely, at home and abroad, for human rights abuses committed by his troops in 1997, including the alleged kidnapping of 13 political activists who remain missing.

Former Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) chief of staff Kivlan Zen, who recently said that he knew where the missing 13 were killed and buried, reinvigorated the commission's interest in the events. The families of the missing have also urged the commission to reopen the case.

"It's true that we have set up a team and tomorrow we will issue an official letter to summon [Kivlan]," Komnas HAM commissioner M. Nurkhoirun said, without elaborating further.

He said the commission would focus on Kivlan, at least at first, because he had volunteered new information and had publicly agreed to appear for questioning.

Prabowo would not face questioning before the July 9 presidential election, Nurkhoirun said. "[We will question them] one by one," he said. "We don't want to... jeopardize the presidential election."

Kivlan has said that Prabowo was not involved in human rights abuses and has characterized the military's actions as security measures to safeguard the 1997 elections and 1998 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) general meeting. He has denied kidnapping accusations.

He said that he was ready to discuss the events with a government panel or forum. "We appreciate Pak Kivlan for giving information on who is the most responsible party behind the missing people case and erasing the notion of the state's impunity," Otto said.

Indonesia Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) executive director Poengki Indarti urged Komnas HAM to summon Prabowo swiftly.

"It's okay if Komnas wants to question Kivlan first, but they have to call Prabowo as soon as possible because Komnas' investigation has named him a suspect," Poengki said. The commission tried to question Prabowo during an investigation that ran from 1997 to 2002, but he refused to appear.

"I think a president should protect human rights. A leader should not be linked in any offense against human rights or the law," Komnas HAM official Roichatul Aswidah told the Jakarta Globe in May of 2013.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/komnas-ham-seeks-question-prabowo-1997-kidnappings/

SBY too busy to talk rights

Jakarta Post - May 8, 2014

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has turned down a proposal to meet with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to discuss the handling of cases relating to enforced disappearances.

In an official letter made available on Wednesday, State Secretary Sudi Silalahi said the President thanked the commission for its invitation, citing how much he appreciated its performance in defending human rights, but declined a meeting due to his busy schedule.

"The President appreciates your proposal very much, as well as appreciating Komnas HAM's efforts to protect and fulfill human rights in Indonesia. However, with his tight agenda of state events, the President said he cannot meet this request," said the letter, which was signed by Sudi on March 26 with a copy to Yudhoyono.

Komnas HAM chairman Hafid Abbas said on Wednesday he was disappointed with the President's refusal. He said as the President's tenure was approaching its conclusion, it was more and more difficult for members of the commission to meet with him.

Hafid added that by refusing a meeting, Yudhoyono had tarnished his reputation further, as a President who did very little to protect human rights. "Perhaps he has other priorities," he said.

Komnas HAM sent a letter to Yudhoyono on Feb. 24 asking for a meeting to discuss what the government had done to follow up on the House of Representatives' 2009 recommendation on the disappearances of human rights and pro-democracy activists between 1997 and 1998.

In its recommendation, the House also urged the President to order the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to investigate the case, determine the whereabouts of 13 individuals declared missing by Komnas HAM, pay compensation to their families and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Rights activists suspect Yudhoyono has dragged his feet on resolving such cases as he was a member of the Officers Honorary Council (DKP), which was tasked with investigating the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) members, including chief patron of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto, who were accused of orchestrating the kidnappings.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said he had no knowledge of Sudi's letter and added that, in general, Yudhoyono supported efforts to uncover past rights abuses.

At least 13 people were abducted in 1997-1998 in the twilight of the New Order regime, including poet Wiji Thukul and activists of the People's Democratic Party (PRD): Suyat, Herman Hendrawan, Petrus Bima Anugerah, M. Yusuf, Ucok Munandar Siahaan, Yadin Muhidin and Hendra Hambali.

Some of those kidnapped during the period were released from captivity shortly before the resignation of Soeharto. These include then chairman of the PRD, Budiman Sudjatmiko, now a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), student activist Andi Arief, now a special staffer for Yudhoyono, and lawyer Desmond Mahesa, now a politician with Prabowo's Gerindra.

Discussions over the fate of the missing activists came to the fore again after former Prabowo aide Maj. Gen. (ret) Kivlan Zen, now a politician with the United Development Party (PPP), claimed he had key information regarding the disappearance of the activists.

"All of those people are dead, I know their whereabouts, I know who executed them and where their graves are," Kivlan said on a talk show broadcast by the news channel TVOne last week.

On Wednesday, Komnas HAM said it would question Kivlan to obtain more details about his claim. "Komnas HAM will question Pak Kivlan soon, as he has given us new information regarding the case," Komnas HAM commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said.

Families of the disappeared demanded that Komnas HAM question Prabowo and Kivlan. (idb)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/08/sby-too-busy-talk-rights.html

Police behind Buol clash: Activists

Jakarta Post - May 8, 2014

Palu – Human rights activists claim police officers are behind the recent two-day clash in Buol, Central Sulawesi, on April 19 and 20, saying the incident was not merely caused by aggrieved soccer supporters.

Human rights activists at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Sulawesi and the Center for the Development of Law and Human Rights Studies (LPS-HAM) Central Sulawesi branch reported local residents were angry after they discovered 11 police officers had attacked some residents.

Kontras Sulawesi coordinator Asman Sahaluddin said eight more officers had attacked a resident in a different location. The alleged incidents angered residents, who later damaged the Biau and Momunu police stations, six police motorcycles and an ambulance. The clash also injured several residents and officers.

Asman confirmed the clash was not triggered by angry supporters after a soccer match between local team Persbul Buol and PS Persewangi of East Java's Banyuwangi on April 19.

Both Kontras Sulawesi and LPS-HAM Central Sulawesi urged the National Police to conduct an investigation. There is a history of clashes in Buol, a 12 – hour car journey to the north of Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi.

In 2010, police officers fatally shot seven residents and injured many others in a clash triggered by the death of a detainee in the custody of the Biau Police.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/08/police-behind-buol-clash-activists.html

Sexual & domestic violence

Government to revise law on child protection

Jakarta Post - May 14, 2014

Jakarta – The government will speed up the revision of Law No. 23 on Child Protection to strengthen legal enforcement of and prevention of child abuse and violence.

The revision would include heavier punishment for child abuse perpetrators and improved children's rights in line with the International Convention on Children's Rights, Indonesian Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amaliasari Gumelar told the press after attending a meeting on child protection led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"The process of the revision of the law is expected to be carried out (by the government) together with the current House of Representatives. We are ready with the scientific study," the minister said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said the government had outlined 40 planned activities for a national movement against child abuse and violence to be implemented by the government and all community levels.

The 40 activities include the revision of the law on child protection, he added. The movement will involve 17 ministries, which will discuss and draft a presidential instruction to be implemented nationally and at the regional level. The participation of the government and the community in general, including NGOs, is needed," he noted.

President Yudhoyono led a limited cabinet meeting, which was also attended by Vice President Boediono, on Wednesday to discuss the government's plan to launch the national movement against child abuse and violence. (hhr)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/14/govt-revise-law-child-protection.html

Police commitment to solving rape case questioned

Jakarta Post - May 10, 2014

Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) has criticized the police for not being serious about handling a rape case in Bekasi, West Java.

Komnas PA chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait questioned the police's professionalism, efforts to maintain security and order and efforts to enforce the law, after the Bekasi Police asked the rape victim's family to apprehend the rape suspect, identified as HS, who was the victim's stepfather.

He said if the police were unable to arrest the rape suspect, they should work harder and deploy an adequate number of personnel until the suspect was arrested.

"The Bekasi Police have yet to arrest HS as of now," said Arist, adding that five witnesses had even given statements to the police on April 24 after the police received a report from the victim on April 3.

"We question the commitment of the Bekasi Police in arresting HS. The police should not only question the witnesses but also arrest the rape suspect and bring him to justice before the court," Arist told The Jakarta Post on Friday by phone.

The police admitted they faced difficulties arresting the suspect, who works as public minivan driver. They said HS had fled and was constantly on the move in the regency to avoid capture.

Arist viewed the request made by the Bekasi Police to the family to apprehend the suspect as unusual. "It's hard to believe that the Bekasi Police asked the victim's family to pursue and hold the rape suspect," he added.

The 17-year-old rape victim recently filed a report with Komnas PA and said her stepfather had repeatedly raped her since she was in junior high school. Her uncle, who accompanied her when she filed the report, said the rape was revealed when the victim's mother died on April 1.

According to the uncle, the family and mourners learned of the alleged rape after the victim – who was hysterical after her mother died – told them of her plight.

"The situation was revealed when her mother died. She [the victim] was hysterical and she said she was afraid her stepfather would rape her again," tribunnews.com quoted the uncle as saying.

The victim said her stepfather had raped her five times when she was in the third grade of junior high school.

"It took place in my mother's room in our house in Bekasi in 2012 after my stepfather asked me to massage him. He then held my hands and forced me to have sex with him," she said, adding that he also threatened to kill her if she told the police.

Arist said Komnas PA would provide legal assistance to the victim and help bring her stepfather to justice. "We will also bring her to a psychologist," he said. (alz)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/10/police-commitment-solving-rape-case-questioned.html

Religious ministry official named child sex abuse suspect

Jakarta Post - May 9, 2014

Ansyor Idrus, Palembang – Police in Lahat regency, South Sumatra, have named the head of the Religious Affairs Ministry's office in Pagaralam city, Ramlan Fauzi, who is also caretaker of the Al-fatah Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Lahat, a suspect for allegedly sexually abusing his students.

Lahat Police's women and children's protection division head, Second Insp. Nurhanas, said Ramlan had been named a suspect based on victim reports and a police investigation.

"We have conducted medical examinations on five male victims. Based on the results, the victims sustained anal injuries, but our investigation is still ongoing," Nurhanas said over the phone on Thursday.

Despite being named a suspect, Ramlan is not in detention as he has been cooperative. However, he must report at the police station twice a week.

According to Nurhanas, Ramlan is suspected of molesting students under the age of 18, and will be charged under Law No. 23/2002 on child protection, which carries a maximum 15-year sentence.

"Ramlan rejects the allegations, but we have sufficient evidence and he has the right to try to prove his innocence in court," Nurhasan said.

Separately, Ramlan denied he had sexually abused any of his students. "I have been framed and the police reports are baseless. I can't believe that the police have named me a suspect," Ramlan said.

He claimed certain parties wished to destroy his career by reporting him to police, adding that he was ready to prove that he had not committed the sex crimes.

The South Sumatra Religious Affairs Agency has deployed a team to investigate the case. "We have sent a team to determine the truth," said agency head Hambali.

He added that he would immediately report the case to the Religious Affairs Ministry in Jakarta, which would issue a policy on the matter.

Meanwhile, head of the South Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), Adi Sangadi, expressed his concerns over the case.

"The sexual abuse case at the Jakarta International School has yet to be resolved and now a similar case is said to have taken place in a religious school," Adi said.

Separately, in a violent case involving children, which claimed the life of a 10-year-old girl named Jihan Salsabila, the director of the HM Rabain Regional Hospital in South Sumatra's Muara Enim regency, Suwandi Safitra, said Jihan had been diagnosed as suffering from an infection to her brain membrane when she was admitted to the hospital. Jihan was allegedly beaten by four male classmates at SDN 14 elementary school in Muara Enim on Monday.

"Jihan was suffering from a high fever and spasms when her family brought her to the hospital. Based on our analysis, the spasms were caused by an infection to the brain membrane," Suwandi said.

Doctors tried to save her with anti-spasm medication as well as antibiotics. "There was nothing much we could do because her condition was already critical. She passed away a few hours after receiving treatment," he added.

Police are currently collecting evidence in the case and are searching for more witnesses. "We will be questioning Masriani, the school's principal, the class teacher, two of the victim's friends who witnessed the incident and the doctors who treated Jihan," said Muara Enim Police's crime and intelligence chief, Adj. Comr. Eryadi Yuswanto.

Eryadi said the police had also asked the KPAI office in Muara Enim to provide support for the witnesses as the case involved minors.

Muara Enim KPAI staff member Win Insani said he had approached the Jihan's family as well as the families of the alleged perpetrators. "We will make sure the case does not traumatize the children involved. We have asked their parents to remain calm and safeguard the psychological well-being of their children," Win said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/09/religious-ministry-official-named-child-sex-abuse-suspect.html

MUI official wants sex abuse suspect Emon stoned to death

Jakarta Globe - May 8, 2014

Jakarta – Outraged by revelations of the alleged abuse of dozens of children by a single man, an official from Indonesia's highest Islamic authority has said the suspected pedophile Andri Sobari, or Emon, should be stoned to death.

"According to the Islamic Shariah, the deserved punishment for Emon is stoning," M. Qusoi, the secretary of the Sukabumi branch of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI), was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency on Wednesday.

Qusoi said that all religions would agree that pedophiles deserve punishment to the fullest extent possible. The suspect has allegedly molested dozens of boys in Sukabumi, West Java. He is said to have paid his victims Rp 50,000 ($4.35).

The MUI official added that the current law, which stipulates a jail sentence of between three and fifteen years for cases like that of Emon, should be amended because only the prospect of severe punishment could prevent future cases.

"We're concerned about the high number of people who take advantage of children's innocence to satisfy their desires. Beside destroying the child's future, these immoral acts can also lead to infection with sexually transmitted diseases."

The chairman of the National Commission on Child Protection (Komnas PA), Arist Merdeka Sirait, however, said that Indonesia should apply chemical castration to punish pedophiles and prevent repeat offenses.

"At the moment, the maximum fifteen years' punishment is too light, some of the pedophiles were even freed of charges," Arist said on Tuesday as quoted by okezone.com. According to the Komnas PA chairman, the minimum sentence for pedophiles should be a 20-year jail term.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/mui-official-wants-sex-abuse-suspect-emon-stoned-death/

Labour & migrant workers

Activist sees irony in workers voting for ex-military presidential hopeful

Jakarta Post - May 9, 2014

Jakarta – A human rights activist said it would be somewhat ironic if workers were to vote for a presidential candidate with a military background, given the historic bitterness between workers and the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the past.

"Workers and the military have never enjoyed a good relationship," Imparsial executive director Poengky Indarti said on Friday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

She made the statement following a declaration of support by Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) president Said Iqbal for the Gerindra Party's presidential hopeful, Prabowo Subianto.

Besides their antagonistic history, Poengky went on, the road ahead would be bumpy for the workers, as anyone with a military background tended to be authoritarian, meaning it would be highly unlikely that dialogue would be favored if there was ever a conflict of interest.

She then cited an example of how the military handled mass rallies staged by workers in Sidoarjo in 1993, when the workers were taken to the Sidoarjo Military Command (Kodam) and forced to resign.

"In that instance, the workers were forced to resign from their companies [by the military], having been accused of holding illegal meetings and preventing other workers from going to work," Poengky said.

One of the workers' leading figures, Marsinah, was kidnapped and tortured to death for her role in the rallies. Her body was found on May 8, 1993, after she had been reported missing three days earlier. (fss/dic)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/09/activist-sees-irony-any-workers-choosing-vote-ex-military-presidential-hopeful.html

Indonesian immigration deports US activist Jim Keady for visa violation

Jakarta Globe - May 8, 2014

Rizky Amelia, Jakarta – Indonesian immigration deported an American activist for violating the use of his visa by participating in a labor protest on May Day.

Jim Keady, an international labor activist, was sent back to his home country, the United States, after being questioned by officers on Thursday for his participation at a workers' demonstration outside Nike's offices in Jakarta on May 1.

"He was using the visa on arrival to conduct activities that are not permitted under his visa," spokesman of the immigration office, Heriyanto, said on Thursday.

Heriyanto said immigration personnel had been monitoring closely all visa- on-arrival holders to ensure that they did not misuse their permit. He said the office was considering whether Keady should be banned from entering Indonesia. "We recommend that he be refused from entering the country, but we haven't banned him," Heriyanto said.

Keady, a 40-year-old activist, had said on Tuesday that he was picked up by officers while he was participating in the May Day celebration after being followed by some intelligence officers.

"I was brought in for hours of questioning on Thursday. My passport was confiscated, and I had to report back to the immigration office for additional questioning on Friday morning," Keady said.

After the investigation, he said he was told that would be deported, that he could not travel to Indonesia for six months, and that the period of the travel ban could be extended indefinitely. The activist claims to have made frequent trips do Indonesia for 14 years.

"I don't think it is any coincidence I was picked up a day after I stood in solidarity with hundreds of workers at a demonstration at Nike's Indonesian headquarters in Jakarta," says Keady, who is also the director of Educating for Justice, a US-based group that focuses on Nike workers' rights.

Keady has been actively involved in uncovering salary wrongdoing at Nike's Pratama factory in Sukabumi, which is 80 kilometers south of Jakarta. Local management there had allegedly engaged in fraud to secure an exemption from paying the West Java city's new monthly minimum wage of Rp 2.2 million ($228), matching that of Jakarta's.

"The powers that be may think that by taking this action they are going to silence my voice and activism on this issue," said Keady. "To the contrary, I am as committed now as I have ever been to telling the world about Nike's labor abuses in Indonesia. The truth does not need passport or a visa to be heard."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta/indonesian-immigration-deports-us-activist-jim-keady-visa-violation/

Political parties & elections

Jokowi states he will not share seats

Jakarta Post - May 15, 2014

Jakarta – Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the presidential candidate nominated by a coalition comprising the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the NasDem Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Golkar Party, says he will maintain the coalition without resorting to power sharing.

"I'm the happiest person because this cooperation among our parties is likely to be maintained without having to talk about who is going to become the vice presidential candidate or ministers and so on," he said Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com at the PDI-P's central executive board headquarters in Lenteng, Agung, South Jakarta.

"We will continue to safeguard this pure cooperation. We will keep on talking every day for the sake of our nation and people in the future."

Jokowi explained how he had begun to develop the "coalition without requisites" by meeting NasDem chairman Surya Paloh, who warmly welcomed his coalition plan.

"I asked Pak Surya: 'Are you going to propose several names to be a minister or request a certain number of ministerial posts in the Cabinet?' and he replied, 'No'. He gave the same answer when I asked if he was going to nominate a particular vice presidential candidate. Pak Surya just said: 'I will support whatever is conveyed by Mas Jokowi,' said Jokowi, recalling his meeting with Surya Paloh after the April 9 legislative election.

Starting with that meeting, Jokowi said, he had approached a number of parties with his coalition plan, including the PKB.

Apart from Surya Paloh, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, the party's secretary-general, Tjahjo Kumolo, as well as PDI-P election head Puan Maharani and PKB central executive board chairman Muhaimin Iskandar were present at the declaration meeting.

In her remarks, Megawati said Jokowi should always practice "trisakti", the party's principle centering on political independence, economic self- sufficiency and a strong sociocultural character. "Pak Jokowi must remember his duties as a PDI-P member besides his position as a presidential candidate," she said.

Meanwhile, Muhaiman Iskandar said the PKB believed that Jokowi would be the type of leader who could involve a wide number of people in Indonesia to create greater well-being. He added that both the PKB and PDI-P shared a common agenda, which he claimed could help create a solid government.

Surya Paloh gave his assurances that NasDem would fully support the coalition. (gda/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/15/jokowi-states-he-will-not-share-seats.html

Jokowi wins Golkar's support

Jakarta Post - May 14, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie avoided further humiliation from his own party regarding his ambition to secure at least a number two position in the country's presidential race by joining the bandwagon of presidential frontrunner Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Tuesday.

Rival presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto, earlier bluntly turned down an offer from Aburizal to join his coalition on the condition that he would become Prabowo's running mate in the July 9 presidential election. Aburizal's attempt to join the presidential race was also opposed from within the party itself, notably by former Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung.

On the same day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gave his blessing to family member Hatta Rajasa to resign as coordinating economic minister and become Prabowo's running mate. Yudhoyono's son, Edhi "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, is married to Hatta's daughter Siti Rubi Aliya Rajasa. The marriage has often been described as a "political decision".

Surrounded by Golkar's top leaders, including Luhut Panjaitan, Setya Novanto, Idrus Marham and Fadel Muhammad, during a press conference at the Gembrong Market in Johor, Central Jakarta, Jokowi made it very clear that he and his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), were in command.

"When [our ideas] met at the same point, it meant teamwork, but with the condition that we want to maintain the purity of the cooperation. There is no discussion about vice presidential candidates, or about ministers. We want to keep the purity of the teamwork," said Jokowi.

Aburizal's decision, however, does not mean that the party's political machine will work to ensure a win for Jokowi on a regional level, because politicians in Jakarta and in the regions have different interests.

The business tycoon who, like Jokowi, wore a white shirt during Tuesday's announcement, hinted that he did not have any specific requirements for the PDI-P, but was apparently "betting" that his party could have more say in Jokowi's Cabinet if he won the July 9 presidential election.

"What is important, as I have repeatedly explained, is that the president or vice president is just an instrument to achieve people's welfare," said the chairman of Golkar, which took second place in April's legislative election after the PDI-P.

While avoiding an explicit announcement that his party had decided to join the PDI-P coalition, Aburizal confirmed the decision. "Insya Allah [God willing] everything has already been agreed on for the coalition." He added that he would meet PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to further discuss the details of the parties' arrangement.

Jokowi showed his trademark populist style by choosing a traditional market as the venue to announce the coalition. Both he and Aburizal described the meeting at the market as highlighting their "common alignment for the people's economy".

Golkar's decision to join the NasDem Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) in the PDI-P coalition was made only hours after Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa tendered his resignation to President Yudhoyono.

Separately, Zainal Bintang, a senior Golkar executive who is known for his opposition to Aburizal, criticized Aburizal's move to join Jokowi's camp. "Aburizal's sudden maneuver to approach Jokowi is an insult to Golkar because it had not been discussed within the party itself," Zainal said.

Golkar politician Tantowi Yahya said the party had yet to discuss any returns from joining the PDI-P alliance.

Meanwhile, Hatta, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) told the press that he wanted "to give good political education", shortly after he formally submitted his resignation during a closed-door meeting with Yudhoyono, accompanied by Prabowo.

The nomination of Hatta may trigger an internal rift among the Gerindra coalition, as politicians from the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) claim that Gerindra had yet to formally inform them about the move, and they were still expecting to endorse vice presidential candidates of their own.

However, PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali, who is also religious affairs minister, emphasized that his party fully supported Prabowo in his choice of vice presidential candidate. The PKS had expressed its interest in offering one of its party members as Prabowo's running mate.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/14/jokowi-wins-golkar-s-support.html

Presidential showdown seen narrowing to two parties: Gerindra, PDI-P

Jakarta Globe - May 13, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & SP/Deti Mega, Jakarta – The presidential election looks set to be a showdown between Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo and former special forces general Prabowo Subianto after tycoon Aburizal Bakrie threw his support behind Joko's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P.

Aburizal's decision to support Joko brings an end to his efforts to cozy up to either Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) or President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party.

Just days after his high-profile meeting with Aburizal at his Bogor ranch, which ended in smiles and handshakes, Prabowo opted for Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa, also the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Yudhoyono's in-law, as his running mate, while Joko is widely expected to pick former vice president and Golkar senior figure Jusuf Kalla.

The political landscape ahead of the presidential election in July has now polarized into two power blocs.

The National Democrats (NasDem) and National Awakening Party (PKB) have sided with the PDI-P and Golkar while the United Development Party (PPP), possibly Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and People's Conscience Party (Hanura) have joined Gerindra and PAN. The Democratic Party, however, is still examining its options ahead of its convention to choose its candidate.

Golkar, runner-up of the April 9 legislative election with 14.75 percent of the vote after PDI-P (18.95 percent), announced on Tuesday evening its support for Joko's bid in a symbolic meeting between him and Aburizal.

Joko praised Golkar for not demanding anything in return for its support. "This is pure cooperation," Joko said as he addressed a joint press conference with Aburizal at Gembrong traditional market in East Jakarta. "With Pak ARB [Aburizal], to date there has been no talks on vice presidential candidates or ministers."

Golkar has been engaged in coalition talks with PDI-P after its previous maneuvering towards Gerindra left it empty-handed, following Prabowo's reluctance to make Aburizal his running mate. Golkar's Agung Laksono said Aburizal had been offended by the rejection.

Despite the no-conditions claim, senior Golkar politician Bambang Soesatyo said earlier on Tuesday it would most likely support the nomination of former vice president Jusuf Kalla, also former Golkar chairman, as Joko's running mate.

With his association with both PKB and Nasdem, Kalla has been recommended by both parties for running on Joko's ticket. Kalla is close with Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), some of whose senior members founded PKB, while Nasdem chairman Surya Paloh was a member of Golkar when it was headed by Kalla.

"Golkar's move toward PDI-P is in order to strengthen Kalla's nomination as vice president candidate," Bambang told state-run news agency Antara.

"I appreciate ARB's decision to be a kingmaker instead. Besides, Jokowi is more comfortable with JK [Jusuf Kalla] and Aburizal agrees with this," Bambang said, referring to Joko by his popular nickname.

With Kalla being an experienced, highly capable politician, Bambang added, "this coalition offers a better opportunity to win rather than if Golkar forms a new axis."

The other bloc

Gerindra, meanwhile, is expected to officially secure support from the National Mandate Party (PAN) as soon as today, when PAN is slated to hold a national working meeting of the party to be attended by its cadres nationwide.

PAN lawmaker Taslim Chaniago said Hatta was expected to declare his vice presidential bid during Wednesday's meeting. Gerindra itself has repeatedly said Hatta would make a good running mate to Prabowo,

The Gerindra leader further fortified this claim by appearing beside Hatta as the latter submitted his resignation letter as the coordinating minister for the economy to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday afternoon.

"Pak Hatta and I want to go forward and earn the people's mandate to continue just and sustainable development," Prabowo told a press conference after the meeting with Yudhoyono.

Prabowo sang Yudhoyono's praises, citing his economic achievements during his 10 years in office. "As a leader of a political party outside the government, I appreciate the achievements," Prabowo said.

"When the global economy experienced difficulties, Indonesia kept recording fairly good growth. And we're now even the world's 10th largest economy. I think this is important."

Prabowo said he wanted to ask Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, which finished fourth in the legislative elections with 10.19 percent vote, to join Gerindra's coalition. "Yes, I want to ask them to join us," Prabowo said when asked whether he would invite the Democrats to join the Gerindra-led coalition.

Gerindra had earlier secured official support from the PPP (6.53 percent), while the PKS is expected to declare its support for Gerindra this week.

Non-bloc?

The Democratic Party has yet to respond to Gerindra's latest invitation and has given no indication of which bloc it prefers to join forces with.

"Their first tendency is to join the PDI-P coalition. But it should be under one condition: they're received by Ibu Mega," said Mohammad Qadari, the executive director of Indo Barometer political survey institute, referring to party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

That will be difficult, though, with the bad blood between Megawati and Yudhoyono in the past, Qodari said. He said it was possible that the Democratic Party joined no bloc and abstain from the race. But with Gerindra's surprise invitation on Tuesday, they may have an option after all.

"A Democrat-Gerindra alliance is possible," Qodari said. "SBY has known Prabowo for a long while. And while Gerindra is outside the current ruling government, Prabowo has called on the members of his party against pressuring the Democrats too hard."

Joko-Kalla leads

A latest survey by Indikator Politik Indonesia, meanwhile, says the Joko- Kalla ticket would lead with as much as 51 percent of the vote if it faced only Prabowo-Hatta as the rival. The second ticket finishes with 32 percent, while 17 percent of respondents said they didn't know which pair to choose.

If three tickets were to run, including Aburizal-Wiranto; the Joko-Kalla partnership would still come out on top, albeit with a lower vote (44 percent), followed by Prabowo-Hatta (29 percent) and Aburizal-Wiranto (12 percent), the survey showed.

"Joko consistently gets the highest results, whether he is paired with Jusuf Kalla or another candidate," Indikator director Burhanuddin Muhtadi said.

[Additional reporting by Erwida Maulia & Novy Lumanauw.]

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesias-presidential-vote-showdown-seen-narrowing-two-parties/

Muslim parties back Prabowo

Jakarta Post - May 13, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Only days after the National Awakening Party (PKB) pledged its support to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and presidential hopeful Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the Gerindra Party clinched backing from two other Islamic-based parties, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) on Monday.

A PPP national leadership meeting (Rapimnas) early Monday endorsed the decision to join a Gerindra Party coalition. The decision came after weeks of infighting sparked by party chairman Suryadharma Ali's earlier pledge of support to the presumptive candidacy of Gerindra chief patron Prabowo Subianto.

"Finally, at 2 a.m. on May 12, the second PPP Rapimnas agreed to support Prabowo Subianto for president," Suryadharma said after the meeting's closing ceremony in Jakarta on Monday.

Suryadharma also said that PPP executives had agreed Prabowo was the most suitable candidate to lead the country for the next five years. "For PPP, Prabowo is the only one who meets the requirements to be Indonesia's next leader," he said.

Contacted separately, leader of the PPP faction in the House of Representatives Hasrul Azwar said Prabowo had the best chance to win in the July 9 election.

"We think that Prabowo will likely win the election because he has a clear vision of what to do when he leads this country, whereas Jokowi has never publicly outlined his vision and mission," Hasrul said on Monday.

Hasrul went on to say that PPP executives settled their differences regarding Prabowo's candidacy after considering the former general's leadership capability.

Meanwhile, PKS has expressed its commitment to support Prabowo, although it has yet to officially announce the decision.

"The decision-making process to join Gerindra's coalition is almost complete. We have reached an agreement on basic principles so it is a matter of time before Prabowo and PKS leaders come to a decision as to when to make an official announcement," said PKS senior politician Hidayat Nur Wahid, who is also chairman of the PKS faction at the House.

In addition to PPP and PKS, the National Mandate Party (PAN) has expressed its unofficial support for Prabowo's nomination.

"We will make the announcement on May 14 [Wednesday] during a national meeting, which is the highest decision-making mechanism, second only to the national congress," member of PAN central board Viva Yoga Mulyadi said over the weekend. Meanwhile, PDI-P has so far secured official support from the PKB and the NasDem Party. PDI-P executives are convinced that more parties will join its coalition.

With Monday's announcements, both PDI-P, which came first in the April 9 legislative election with 18.95 percent of the vote, and Gerindra, which came in third with 11.81 percent, have established coalitions capable of crossing the 25 percent threshold to field a presidential candidate. The Golkar Party, which came in second with 14.75 percent, remains on its own.

Golkar deputy secretary-general Tantowi Yahya said a coalition decision would be made during a national leaders meeting later this week.

Tantowi added that the meeting would also consider the future of party chairman Aburizal Bakrie's presidential bid, as it would affect Golkar's maneuvering ahead of the presidential poll.

"It is possible that we could establish a new coalition because there is another major party that has yet to make a decision," Tantowi said, referring to President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono's Democratic Party, which came in fourth place with 10.9 percent of the popular vote.

Tantowi, however, acknowledged that it was more likely Golkar would join with either PDI-P or Gerindra.

"Some of us want Golkar to collaborate with Gerindra and endorse Pak ARB [Aburizal Bakrie] to be Prabowo's running mate, but this seems impossible because Prabowo had earlier said that his running mate will certainly not be Pak ARB. Meanwhile, some others urge Golkar to join PDI-P's coalition and propose Pak ARB run with Jokowi. The final decision will be made in the upcoming meeting," he said.

It was earlier reported Aburizal met with PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri over the weekend in Bali to discuss a possible coalition.

On Monday, however, both Golkar and PDI-P denied that the meeting had taken place. "It is not true. Our only meeting [with Golkar] was when Pak Jokowi met Ical," said PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo, referring to Aburizal.

The Democratic Party, meanwhile, has said it would make a decision regarding a coalition only after it had announced the results of its presidential convention. Democratic Party spokesperson Ruhut Sitompul said the party was expected to announce the winner of the convention later this week.

"The convention is expected to produce three presidential candidates. We might endorse their names to run with other presidential candidates, either Jokowi or Prabowo, or set up our own coalition to nominate the strongest candidate from the convention," Ruhut said.

Ruhut also said that the Democrats would be ready to become an opposition party if it failed to strike a deal. "We are ready to be the opposition party."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/13/muslim-parties-back-prabowo.html

40% of electorate 'undecided' on presidential race

Jakarta Post - May 13, 2014

Jakarta – A public opinion poll conducted by pollster the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) has found that forty percent of voters have yet to decide who to vote for in the July presidential election.

LSI interviewed 2,400 respondents in 33 provinces with a margin of error of 2 percent from May 1 to 9, as reported by tribunnews.com.

"Based on various simulations, up to 40 percent of the general public are undecided on their choices for president or vice president," LSI researcher Adjie Alfaraby said on Tuesday.

Adjie said this meant that any presidential or vice presidential candidate had a big chance to win the presidency as they still had time to persuade voters.

Several parties have named their own presidential candidates but no political party won enough support in the April legislative election to pass the 25 percent threshold that is required if a party is to field its own presidential candidate.

Analysts say the upcoming election will be a three-horse race involving the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the Gerindra Party's Prabowo Subianto and the Golkar Party's Aburizal Bakrie. (fss)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/13/40-electorate-undecided-presidential-race.html

Dire warnings in Joko's call for 'mental revolution'

Jakarta Globe - May 12, 2014

Joko Widodo, the presidential candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, on Saturday took to presenting his vision for the nation through an opinion piece published in the daily newspaper Kompas.

In the piece, titled "A Mental Revolution," Joko commended the political and economic developments in Indonesia that had taken place in the 16 years since the fall of the strongman Suharto, an event that gave birth to a new democratic system.

"The economy developed and many of the people became increasingly prosperous. In May this month, the World Bank ranked Indonesia among the top 10 biggest economies in the world, which happened sooner than was expected by the SBY administration, which predicted this to occur in the year 2025," Joko wrote.

Despite the positive changes, however, Joko said a sense of restlessness remained among the public, citing protests on the streets, in the media as well as social media, and underlined the need for a change in mentality.

"Nation building will not move forward if we are to merely rely on institutional changes, without trying to change the people or the attitude of people who are running the system. However great the institution we have created may be, it will bring no welfare among the people as long as it is handled by individuals who do not have a clear understanding," he said.

Joko said the developments seen in Indonesia remained tainted by cases of corruption, intolerance, greed, the use of violence to address problems, abuse of the law, and opportunistic values, and that without substantial changes, "all the success of the reformation will immediately be eliminated along with the demise of this nation."

In building the nation, Joko also said it was necessary to create a paradigm, political culture and a new approach to nation-building efforts that were in compliance with local cultures and values.

"In developing the nation, we tend to implement liberal values that are clearly not in accordance with and contradictory to Indonesia's values, culture and character," he said.

Joko cited the concept of "Trisakti" introduced by founding president Sukarno in his 1963 speech as a relevant basis to a "mental revolution."

"An Indonesia that is sovereign in politics, an Indonesia that is independent economically, and an Indonesia that has with a sociocultural character," he said.

In economics, Joko said Indonesia should end its dependence on foreign investment, capital, aid and technology.

"Liberal economy policies that merely prioritize market power have trapped Indonesia into a reliance on foreign capital. All the while, its natural resources are also drained by multinational enterprises and their Indonesian compradors," he said.

"The 16 years of reformation have not brought much change to the way we manage our economy. The government has easily opened our imports for food and other needs... it would be ironic if Indonesia, with its natural resources, remains dependent on food imports."

Joko emphasized that Indonesia should push for economic independence and also review its foreign investment policies, which he said had failed to provide enough jobs for Indonesians but instead sought to earn as much profit as possible.

"Food and energy security are two things that cannot be compromised. Indonesia has to immediately pursue this with clear and measurable programs and schedules. Outside of these two sectors, Indonesia will continue relying on imports and exports to push its economy," he wrote.

Joko also touched on the subject of education, which he said should uphold "the moral values of the religion that is alive in this country," although he did not specify which religion he was referring to.

"Access to education and health services that are much more organized, focused and better targeted by the government can help us build Indonesia's social and cultural identity," he said.

Joko has also previously expressed his views on the Indonesian education system and the need to make sure it catered to character-building elements.

"Sixty to 70 percent of the education we offer should be related to character, attitude and a child's manners. Knowledge should be just about 30 percent," he said on Friday as quoted by Beritajakarta.com, after the death of a fifth grader in East Jakarta in a suspected bullying case.

"Entering middle school, 70 percent should cover knowledge, and then 30 percent should cover character. In high school or vocational school, knowledge should be emphasized, because the basics should be covered in elementary school."

Joko's Kompas article received mixed reaction from the public, with some taking to social media to discuss his points.

Twitter user @ngabdul said Joko's call against "following the current of a culture that may or may not necessarily be in accordance to the noble values of our nation" was worrying. "Hopefully this is nothing more than words. Culture is a personal choice, not the government's," he wrote on Saturday.

Businessman Lin Che Wei also took to Twitter in responding to Joko's piece, writing from his account @linchewei. "Read @jokowi_dodo's [sic] piece today. My comment: it's similar to Sukarno's style, a slightly reactive nationalism, simple yet offers no solution," he wrote.

Award-winning novelist Okky Madasari, meanwhile, criticized Joko's statements on education. "In today's opinion piece in Kompas, why does Joko Widodo have to link education with religious morals? I think this is a setback," she said from her Twitter account, @OkkyMadasari.

Another issue that became the subject of criticism was speculation that Joko had used a ghostwriter to pen the opinion piece, inciting a public outcry, particularly on social media.

Political analyst Andrinof Chaniago, however, called on Joko not to take heed of the criticism. "Joko is indeed not a writer, but it does not mean he does not have ideas," Andrinof said as quoted by Tempo.co, adding that he was sure Joko had not penned the piece, but that the ideas written had been his own, as they were in line with the ideas and concepts he had often raised at campaign rallies and seminars.

Andrinof also underlined that Joko's use of a ghostwriter was not unethical, as it was different from plagiarism. "For instance, if we send a piece to a news platform and it gets edited based on an editorial decision, then it's not a problem," he said.

Joko himself later conceded the piece had been put together by a team, but said that he had come up with its structure and key ideas. "I made the points as well as the structure," he said on Saturday, explaining that he had then submitted the points to a team that was in charge of the writing process, although he declined to name the members of the team.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/dire-warnings-jokos-call-mental-revolution/

PPP backs Prabowo

Jakarta Post - May 12, 2014

Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP) will form a coalition with the Gerindra Party to nominate the latter's chief patron Prabowo Subianto as its presidential candidate, a decision reached in the party's second national leaders meeting (Rapimnas) that ended on Monday.

"Finally, at 2 a.m. on May 12, the second Rapimnas PPP agreed to support Prabowo Subianto as its presidential candidate," said PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali after the meeting's closing ceremony in Jakarta early on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

Three options had emerged in the second Rapimnas. The first saw the PPP supporting Prabowo, the second saw some party members supporting Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, and the third saw the PPP look to form a coalition with the Golkar Party, with Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie as its presidential candidate and PPP deputy chairman Lukman Hakim Saefuddin as his running mate.

The Rapimnas, which was held to decide a coalition between the PPP and other political parties, began on Saturday afternoon but was halted early on Sunday due to unresolved views among party leaders. It was later decided to continue the meeting on Sunday evening.

The PPP has been rocked by infighting following Suryadharma's presence at a Gerindra campaign rally and his support for Prabowo's presidential bid. Most PPP officials rejected this show of support, considering it not in line with the party's vision.

The conflict subsided after PPP officials agreed to reconcile via a national meeting (Mukernas) in Bogor, West Java. In the meeting, they agreed to use the Rapimnas as a forum to make a decision on which party the PPP would attempt to ally with. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/12/ppp-backs-prabowo.html

Reformation figure Amien Rais criticized for supporting Prabowo

Jakarta Globe - May 12, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – A politician widely viewed as a leading figure in the 1998 reformation movement that overthrew the New Order regime has come under criticism by human rights activists following speculation that his National Mandate Party (PAN) will soon form a coalition with the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Amien Rais, chairman of PAN's advisory board, had contradicted his own label as a reformation figure by supporting Prabowo Subianto, said Setara Institute deputy director Bonar Tigor Naipospos. Prabowo is a former army general who is allegedly behind several cases of human rights abuses during the reformation era and is running for the presidency this year for Gerindra.

Bonar said that Amien has now turned into a full-fledged practicing politician and that his days as a figure in Indonesia's political scene are long gone.

"Maybe human rights issues are not [Amien's] priorities. We remain far from implementing civilized politics in this country," Bonar said on Sunday. "I'm actually not too surprised by this. Amien Rais was not the driving force of the reformation movement, he was just smart in reading the [political] direction back then."

Prabowo himself remains under scrutiny, with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) saying as recently as last week that it would again seek to question him over his alleged role in the violations.

Speculation that PAN and Gerindra are set to join forces intensified following statements by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, a PAN politician, who was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Antara on Friday that his party would announce its coalition with Gerindra during its national working meeting on Wednesday.

Additionally, Gerindra deputy chairman Fadli Zon was reported by detik.com as saying on Friday that his party's coalition with PAN was close to being official and that Prabowo will be making an appearance at PAN's meeting on Wednesday as a symbol of their agreement.

PAN chairman and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa is expected to run as a vice presidential candidate to Prabowo, who is running for the presidency in the July 9 election. Gerindra needs to form a coalition with other parties because it didn't get 25 percent of the vote needed in the April 9 legislative election to nominate its own candidate. It took in 11.81 percent of the vote, based on Friday's final count.

Also sharing Bonar's view, Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Coordinator Haris Azhar said that Amien was no longer a figure of democracy and instead has shifted his focus toward political power.

"They have forgotten the history of struggle in fighting for Indonesia's democracy. Amien's diversion started from the moment [he] tried to impeach Gus Dur," Haris said, referring to Indonesia's fourth president Abdurrahman Wahid.

In April, Amien himself had openly expressed support for Prabowo's presidential candidacy, commending him as an intelligent and firm figure who was fit to be Indonesia's next president.

"Prabowo will not submit to foreign entities," Amien was quoted as saying in a report by Tempo.co. Amien also said he has long established a friendship with Prabowo and that the two had maintained communication during the 1998 reformation period.

Aside from the potential tie-up with PAN, Gerindra has already started to form alliances with other parties. After a two-day meeting of its leaders this past weekend, the United Development Party (PPP) on Monday announced the formation of a coalition with Gerindra.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/reformation-figure-amien-rais-criticized-supporting-prabowo/

Gerindra says it will never nationalize foreign assets

Jakarta Post - May 11, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Gerindra Party rejected claims that it would nationalize foreign assets should its presidential hopeful, Prabowo Subianto, be elected president.

It asserted that under Prabowo's leadership, the government would respect contractual agreements with foreign investors and protect national interests.

"Our party platform, the Gerindra 6 Point Action Plan to Transform the Nation, does not mention any intention to nationalize or take over assets owned and or controlled by foreign investors," Hashim Djojohadikusumo, deputy chairman of Gerindra's board of patrons and the brother of Prabowo, said in a statement.

"Should Prabowo become president, we will respect any contractual agreements that have been made between and the Republic of Indonesia and any foreign investor. Yet we will also seek a fair deal for our people within the scope of our Constitution," he added.

Hashim further explained that Gerindra aimed to create an economy that would uphold the needs of the people: An economy of and for the people with established food sovereignty and security for energy and water resources.

"Foreign investment goes both ways. We will ensure that proper and fixed permit and investment procedures, which are transparent, are fair for both sides are in place," he emphasized.

In an interview recently uploaded to Youtube, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned the country's eligible voters about promises made by presidential hopefuls, such as the promise to nationalize foreign assets pronounced by a brave, strong and nationalistic figure.

Many assumed that such call was directed at Prabowo due to his nationalistic views expressed in various public forums. However, Hashim believed it was not Prabowo because neither Gerindra and Prabowo had never attempted to nationalize foreign assets. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/11/gerindra-says-it-will-never-nationalize-foreign-assets.html

In Indonesia, moderate Islamic party returns to political center stage

Reuters - May 11, 2014

Kanupriya Kapoor and Randy Fabi, Jakarta – Indonesian presidential frontrunner Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has joined hands with the country's most popular Islamic party, cementing the surprise resurgence of Muslim parties in this year's election and possibly renewing their voice in the new government.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) on Saturday became the latest party to back Jokowi's Indonesian Democratic-Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and his bid for president on July 9.

PKB's endorsement is particularly important for Jokowi, as it will help him appeal to the Islamic vote in the world's most populous Muslim nation, where most practice a moderate form of the religion.

"PDI-P and PKB have similar historical traces, ideology and chemistry since the beginning," Hasto Kristiyanto, PDI-P's deputy secretary general, told Reuters following the announcement of their coalition, which also includes the National Democrat (NasDem) party.

PKB is allied with the country's biggest Muslim organization, the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama, and has pledged to keep religion out of policy-making. PKB won the most votes of the five Islamic-based parties in April's parliamentary elections, which set the stage for the presidential poll.

Only candidates backed by parties or coalitions with at least 25 percent of the vote or 20 percent of parliamentary seats can contest.

Jokowi's PDI-P won the most votes but was short of the required 25 percent, although it reached the mark with support from NasDem alone. PKB's support will add weight to his candidacy.

Investors also hope the addition of more parties to Jokowi's coalition will give him the political clout in parliament to pass major reforms if elected. PKB's policy outlook was in any case already broadly aligned with PDI-P.

"PKB doesn't believe in mixing religion with politics," Helmy Faishal, a senior PKB official told Reuters. "The only concern we have about religion is how to ensure religious freedom for everybody, including minorities."

Analysts say PKB, which backs agrarian reform, is unlikely to change the nationalistic agenda of Jokowi and PDI-P. "PKB's pluralistic ideal is also in line with PDI-P's nationalist ideal of unity in diversity. As such, we don't expect that either PDI-P or PKB will lean towards more sectarian views," said Pitra Narendra, a Jakarta-based senior associate of corporate advisory firm Vriens & Partners.

Jokowi, who has so far been largely silent on policy details, has indicated he would phase out agricultural imports with the aim of achieving self- sufficiency.

The rivals

Recent media reports indicate his rivals Prabowo Subianto, a former general, and tycoon Aburizal Bakrie may team up to form one ticket, though neither has yet conceded his presidential ambition.

Candidate pairs need to be registered with the election body by May 18. If no candidate wins a simple majority in the July race, there will be a second round in September. The new president will take office in October.

Moderate Islamic parties made an unexpected comeback in April's legislative election, securing enough votes to be wooed by the larger parties looking to form coalitions.

Indonesia's five Islamic parties managed to get more than 31 percent of the vote in the April election, up slightly from the record low of 29 percent in the 2009 poll. "Islamic parties did better in the legislative elections – very likely because they are perceived as less corrupt than 'secular' parties," said Damien Kingsbury, an expert on Southeast Asia at Australia's Deakin University.

Of these parties, PKB did the best because it recruited several non-Muslim candidates to broaden its appeal, politicians said.

The current coalition government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has maintained good relations with Islamic parties. But some critics say he has allowed more conservative parties to heavily influence the way the government handles religious minorities.

Indonesia recognizes five religions apart from Islam, including Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism.

PKB was also able to get its biggest backer, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), to mobilize its nearly 40 million members to come out and vote. NU says it communicates regularly with PKB but has no intention of intervening in policy affairs.

"What's important is that our behavior is Islamic and by that I mean upholding justice, rule of law, defending ordinary citizens' rights, welfare, health, stability – all that is in line with Islam," said Said Aqil Siradj, the head of NU. "We don't need an Islamic country or Islamic parties to do that." (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indonesia-moderate-islamic-party-returns-political-centerstage-084917107 – business.html

Official tally from legislative polls announced ahead of deadline

Jakarta Globe - May 10, 2014

Carlos Paath, Jakarta – Indonesia's longtime opposition was declared the official winner of last month's legislative election, as polling officials finalized the vote count with just minutes to go before the deadline of midnight on Friday.

The official tally didn't differ much from the quick counts issued by the various pollsters hours after voting ended on April 9, with the General Elections Commission putting the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, ahead with 18.95 percent, or 23.68 million out of the 124.97 million valid ballots cast.

The Golkar Party was next with 14.75 percent (18.43 million), followed by the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, with 11.81 percent (14.76 million) and the Democratic Party with 10.19 percent (12.73 million).

Of the 12 parties that contested the election, two - the Crescent Star Party, or PBB, and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party, or PKPI - failed to get the minimum 3.5 percent required to win a seat at the House of Representatives. The PBB got 1.46 percent, and the PKPI 0.91 percent.

The official results in full are as follows, with the number of votes won in parentheses:

PDI-P: 18.95 percent (23,681,471)
Golkar: 14.75 percent (18,432,312) Gerindra: 11.81 percent (14,760,371)
Democrat: 10.19 percent (12,728,913)
National Awakening Party (PKB): 9.04 percent (11,298,957)
National Mandate Party (PAN): 7.59 percent (9.481.621)
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS): 6.79 percent (8,480,204)
National Democrat Party (NasDem): 6.72 percent (8,402,812)
United Development Party (PPP): 6.53 percent (8,157,488)
People's Conscience Party (Hanura): 5.26 percent (6,579,498)
PBB: 1.46 percent (1,825,750)
PKPI: 0.91 percent (1,143,094)

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/official-tally-legislative-polls-announced-ahead-deadline/

Poll results in divided House

Jakarta Post - May 10, 2014

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) was technically able to meet the May 9 deadline to announce the results of the April 9 legislative election.

The Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) and the Constitutional Court, however, will have to bear the huge burden of settling complaints from political parties. The two state agencies have stated their readiness to resolve any disputes.

The official vote count showed on Friday that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secured 18.95 percent of the vote, which is in line with most quick counts.

The Golkar Party came close behind with 14.75 percent, while the Gerindra Party came third with 11.81 percent.

The official national vote tally appears to reflect a highly divided House of Representatives with no single political party in a dominant position. The KPU is slated to announce the composition of the House's seats on Sunday.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) political observer Siti Zuhro said on Friday that this year's election resulted in a more even distribution of power in the House, which could undermine the future government.

"The leadership [of our future president] has to be strong so that parties in the coalition cannot easily rebel [against the ruling party]," she said, citing the case of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which often took a different stance to that of other parties in the current government coalition.

Likewise, National Awakening Party (PKB) election team head Syaifullah Maksum said that the future political landscape could be prone to disharmony due to the fact that there was not a single dominant power.

"This will make each party carefully determine its political will when deciding on a coalition in the legislature and the government," he said. "So there might be 'pebbles' in the legislature if it is not supported [by a strong and solid coalition]."

In terms of legislative seats, there will not be a single dominant party from this year's election, unlike the 2009 election, which saw the ruling Democratic Party secure 150 seats out of the total 560 seats at the House.

The party with the largest number of seats in the 2014 election, the PDI-P, is estimated to garner only 109 seats, up from 95 seats in 2009. Second and third places went to Golkar and Gerindra, with 91 seats and 73 seats, respectively.

While the number of seats garnered by Golkar is estimated to have only dipped slightly from 107 seats in 2009, Gerindra is estimated to have soared from only 26 seats in 2009. Coming fourth was the ruling Democratic Party, which fell from its heyday in the 2009 election with 150 seats to an estimated 61 seats.

Political parties are all prepared to challenge the official results.

Syaifullah said the PKB would contest the vote tally through the Constitutional Court with the expectation that it could secure more seats.

"We have some notes in some electoral districts, in which we did not have a chance to revise the results in the districts where we suspect some violations occurred so that our votes dwindled," he said. "It resulted in a diminished number of seats for the PKB."

Syaifullah said that the PKB would contest the results in six districts, namely East Java V, Bengkulu, South Sumatra I, Central Java IV and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) I and II.

The Democratic Party, for instance, planned to contest the results of the election in West Java electoral districts III and VI, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) I and II, North Maluku and North Sumatra I, according to the party's election witness for the national vote tally, Imelda Sari.

The NasDem Party is also prepared to contest the results at the Constitutional Court, alleging that they had been rigged. NasDem deputy secretary-general Willy Aditya said the party had prepared 50 lawyers for the lawsuit. After coming under intense scrutiny due to the vote count, which triggered concerns that the KPU would miss the deadline, the commission finally wrapped up the vote count in all 34 provinces on Friday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had drafted a regulation in lieu of law to legalize a delay in the announcement of the election results, which should be made within 30 days after election day.

According to the KPU, the count moved at snail's pace because the commission was trying to accommodate all complaints and input regarding administrative errors and vote-rigging allegations by political parties.

On the last day of the tally, the KPU finished the vote count in seven provinces, namely West Java, West Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, NTT, Bengkulu and North Maluku.

The last day's vote count, however, did not go as smoothly as planned as some political parties still attempted to contest the data presented by the KPU's provincial branches.

The Hanura Party's witness for the vote-count plenary hearing, Miryam S. Haryani, for example, argued that 1,206 votes initially obtained by a Hanura legislative candidate were being transferred to the party.

"The seat was not missing, but the candidate's votes moved to those of the party," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/10/poll-results-divided-house.html

Experts split on PDI-P's military influence

Jakarta Globe - May 10, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – The Indonesian government was controlled by the military from 1966 to 1998 under the reign of four-star general turned authoritarian president Suharto.

Suharto's 32-year iron-fisted rule was supported by a military which was feared by many critics and activists, who saw many of their colleagues kidnapped as the regime tried to silence them.

The military's strong grip on the country's administration is still fresh in the people's mind and activists have been calling on the public to not elect presidential candidates that have links to the Suharto regime or to the military due to their notorious human rights violations.

However, on Wednesday analysts were surprised to hear rumors that former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono would be named as the head of the campaign team for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential candidate, Joko Widodo.

The Jakarta Globe tried to contact Hendropriyono to confirm the news, but he did not return calls or answer messages.

Analysts warned that the appointment of Hendropriyono as the head of Joko's campaign team could backfire on the Jakarta governor and would lead people to question his commitment to human rights.

The electorate would further question Joko's democratic credentials if he picked someone from the military such as former Army chief of staff Ryamizard Ryacudu as his running mate in the July presidential election.

Ryamizard recently said that he continued to maintain good relations with the PDI-P and he was ready to become Joko's vice president. If all this were true, it could be a sign that military power would be returning to the republic after a 16-year hiatus.

Maruarar Sirait, a senior PDI-P official, told the Globe that his party had made no decision about Hendropriyono heading up Joko's campaign team. However, Maruarar praised Hendropriyono's abilities.

"He has great experience and a wide network," he said. "In addition we have our own parameters in deciding who is the best person to take charge. Right now, the decision is fully in the hands of Megawati [Soekarnoputri, the PDI-P chairwoman] and Surya Paloh [chairman of the PDI-P-allied National Democrat Party, or NasDem]. We trust Megawati with this matter," he said.

Double-edged sword

Yunarto Wijaya, a political expert with Charta Politika, a think tank, said that Hendropriyono could be a double-edged sword, either benefitting or hurting Joko's election chances.

"On the one hand, human rights activists see him in a negative way because he showed a reluctance to resolve human rights cases when he was at the helm of the BIN," Yunarto said.

Back in 2004, Indonesia's most prominent human rights activist, Munir Said Thalib was murdered on board a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam.

Munir's death remains a mystery until today. Hendropriyono, who succeeded Muchdi Purwoprandjono as the chief of BIN after the murder took place, was widely criticized for his reluctance to investigate the case. Muchdi, who was implicated in the poisoning plot, was tried for the murder and later acquitted.

"Joko's commitment to human rights will be questioned, especially by activists," Yunarto said. "On the other hand, Joko also needs military figures to support him to win the election."

Yunarto said Joko would need some military backing as he goes toe-to-toe with presidential candidate from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Prabowo Subianto, a former head of the Indonesian Army's Special Forces, or Kopassus.

Yunarto said that within the political context, it was realistic for the PDI-P to invite both civilians and military figures to support its presidential bid.

"To fight a military force, Joko tactically needs military men who understand military strategies to support his political moves. He needs figures who understand how to deal with Prabowo," he said.

"Furthermore, it's well known that Hendropriyono has close ties with Megawati and the PDI-P. So it would not be a surprise if later he is included in Joko's presidential campaign team.

"This is not about Hendropriyono joining the campaign team or not, but in a democratic process all areas of society should unite. We can't prohibit military figures from joining a campaign team," Yunarto said.

"This is also a matter of perception, because each faction has their own interests based on the values they are fighting for," he added. But Yunarto cautioned that going forward, Indonesian politics needed to move away from the idea that military figures made for the best leaders.

Careful steps

Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the PDI-P should think carefully about the people it wanted to join Joko's team, to prevent a voter backlash.

"Joko's presidential campaign team members need to be considered very carefully," he said. "The smallest mistake could create a negative impact for Joko. That's why the PDI-P has to calculate everything," he added.

Commenting on the Hendropriyono rumors, Ikrar said the former spy chief's appointment would be no guarantee Joko would win the election, but agreed the PDI-P could use an ex-military man to counter Prabowo's influence.

"Including Hendropriyono in the campaign team could be seen as a balancing move for Joko to face his rival from Gerindra. However, it could also serve as a minus point for Joko," he said.

"Hendropriyono knows Prabowo well," he went on. "Hendropriyono was also a member of Kopassus but is among those who don't want to see Prabowo become president. Now the question is, will that stance remain, and for how long?" Ikrar said.

Ikrar doubted that attracting military figures like Ryamizard or an intelligence figure such as Hendropriyono would benefit Joko. "In 2004, Hendropriyono was part of Megawati's campaign team, but she failed to win the election," he said.

"There is no guarantee that the presence of military figures in the government can make the government better. There is no guarantee for that. Unlike President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Ryamizard has never served as a minister. At least Yudhoyono had ministerial experience before moving into the State Palace," he said.

"Ryamizard's experience is limited only in the military. If he becomes Joko's running mate and wins the election, will Ryamizard be able to help Joko solve problems faced by the administration?

"Choosing a military figure as a running mate is an old-school viewpoint. What Joko needs is a running mate with administrative experience in running a country, who has an understanding of foreign affairs and knows something about the economy," Ikrar said.

A backlash

Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that accepting Hendropriyono or any other figure with a "questionable" track record to be in his campaign team could prove to be a bad move for Joko.

"If Hendropriyono is included in Joko's campaign team, there is bound to be a backlash. It will disrupt Joko's image," he said. "Having a commitment to fight human rights violations and including Hendropriyono in his campaign team is such an irrational choice," he said.

"It is a big question. Regarding his background, Hendropriyono is not a person who has the capacity to come up with winning strategies for any presidential candidate. It will potentially damage Joko's chances of winning," Haris added.

He stressed that if Joko went on to win the election, he may well struggle to investigate past human rights abuses, knowing he had influential people alongside him with a strong military DNA.

"If Joko wins, it will be a burden for him. He will not be able to solve cases of human rights violations such as Munir's death," Haris said.

"This has to be a wake-up call for Joko. He is popular in his own right and it is clear from his popularity and his consistently high poll results, the electorate sees him as a fresh man in politics with fresh ideas.

"If he gets involved with former military men, that can only hurt his image and just reinforce the idea that he will be going into this race not as a politician with his own vision and mission, but as someone else's puppet," he said.

Hendropriyono was in the news recently when he was inaugurated as a professor in the field of intelligence at the College of National Intelligence.

Tellingly, in the audience to see the former intelligence chief receive his new title were Joko, Megawati and Wiranto, a former military commander and the presidential candidate from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura).

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/experts-split-pdi-ps-military-influence/

PKB to support Joko Widodo presidency: Antara

Jakarta Globe - May 9, 2014

Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) has announced its support for Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo's bid for the presidency and will join a coalition with Joko's party in the legislature.

"The PKB's central board decided to support Joko Widodo in a plenary meeting which was held last night," said Lukman Edy, deputy chairman of the PKB, as quoted by the state-run Antara news agency on Friday.

The PKB and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have been courting each other in recent weeks after an underwhelming election performance by the PDI-P forced it to enter coalition negotiations in order to get over the required threshold.

Media mogul Surya Paloh and his new National Democrat Party (NasDem) immediately fell in line behind the popular governor, but Joko and the PDI-P needed to build a wider alliance prior to the presidential election on July 9.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/pkb-support-joko-widodo-presidency-antara/

Media & journalism

Media companies 'should protect journalists'

Jakarta Post - May 10, 2014

Jakarta – The Press Council said on Friday that most of Indonesia's media companies do not fulfill their duty to protect journalists' rights.

"Media companies should provide journalists with appropriate wages and protection to make sure they can produce good and reliable news," said Press Council member Nezar Patria during a discussion on press safety and freedom at the Press Council office in Jakarta.

However, Nezar expressed his dissatisfactoin that press laws did not stipulate industrial relations regulations between media companies as employers and journalists as workers, and said there were still many media companies that did not pay attention to their workers' safety.

He cited the case of a journalist in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, who was terrorized by local residents who objected to an article he had written. However, the journalist's employer did not provide any assistance, and he was eventually evacuated from the city by other local journalists, Nezar said.

"It is sad that the people who saved him were his fellow journalist friends instead of his employer," he said.

Abdul Manan from Tempo Magazine workers' union said that while most reporters in big cities do not experience safety issues, it is a very different situation for local reporters in small areas, who often receive threats.

"I ask you how many media companies would be willing to invest in bulletproof vests for their journalists' safety? Not many," he said.

Manan added that aside from expecting companies to provide support, journalists should join workers' unions. "If you fight for your rights as an organization or union, you will be listened to more than if you fight individually," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/10/media-companies-should-protect-journalists.html

Graft & corruption

Graft noose tightens around VP's neck

Jakarta Post - May 10, 2014

Jakarta – As the first serving Vice President in Indonesian history to appear as a witness in a court hearing – which centers on the country's biggest graft case – Boediono shed some light on the decision-making that led to the controversial bailout of Bank Century in 2008.

Boediono, who was then Bank Indonesia (BI) governor, along with then finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, jointly decided to salvage the bank at the height of the global financial crisis, with a bailout that eventually swelled to Rp 6.76 trillion (US$578 million).

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) classified the bailout as state losses and named then BI deputy governor Budi Mulya as the first suspect in the case.

Boediono gave his testimony, at a hearing in Budi's trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday that lasted for about nine hours, which could spell trouble for him down the line.

Boediono, accompanied during the trial by his old friend and head of the Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development (UKP4), Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, admitted to concealing Bank Century's troubled finances in a Cabinet meeting held weeks before the bailout decision.

In a meeting on Nov. 10, 2008, headed by then vice president Jusuf Kalla, Boediono said he decided to keep silent on the deteriorating situation of the bank as he feared stirring panic among the ministers. "It would've been suicidal to bring up Bank Century in a meeting as big as that," Boediono said.

The Vice President, who served for less than six months as BI governor prior to the bailout, argued he would not have risked sharing sensitive information that could have caused the general public to panic.

Boediono said the meeting was attended by a large number of ministry officials, who despite their positions in the government, harbored the same fears. "If word had spread that there was a bank troubled with insufficient liquidity, then it would've caused a run within an hour," he said.

A run on a bank happens when account holders withdraw their money from banks in large quantities, which is usually triggered by growing distrust in the banking system.

Kalla testified on Thursday that he had not received word of any ailing bank from either Boediono or Sri Mulyani during the meeting in question.

The KPK suspected an intention by policymakers at the time to engineer a situation to force the rescue of the bank without sufficient economic justification and without the prior knowledge of other related officials.

Boediono's testimony also revealed he did not verify the proposed changes to the original amount required for the bailout funds.

The proposal to lower the required funds to Rp 632 billion from Rp 1.77 trillion, hours before the bailout decision on Nov. 21, 2008, was a crucial factor that eventually convinced Sri Mulyani to approve the bailout. According to a KPK indictment, if the proposed amount had been excessive, there was a possibility that the bailout option would have been rejected by Sri Mulyani, as the head of the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK).

The KSSK is a joint forum involving the Finance Ministry, BI, the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) and other related institutions, which makes decisions on measures to prevent financial crises.

Boediono insisted that the decision to salvage the bank was a "noble" one, made for the sake of preventing the country becoming engulfed in a financial crisis.

In response to the prosecutor's question regarding Sri Mulyani's disappointment in her testimony last week over the inaccurate data presented by BI officials for deciding the bailout, Boediono said he was not privy to the process.

He emphasized that the KSSK and the process taken emerged from a desperate situation. "In a crisis, any estimates we make to cover the costs are always tentative, because it depends on how things pan out," said Boediono.

At the end of his testimony, Boediono made a speech thanking the KPK for carrying out the investigation, including treating the Vice President equally the before law.

Muhammad Misbakhun, one of the initiators of the legislative inquiry into the Bank Century controversy, said Boediono's testimony, coupled with the evidence presented in court, indicated the active role of Boediono in the case.

"Although he [Boediono] kept saying he forgot in response to important questions from prosecutors, the facts reveal he was actively involved in engineering the bailout process," said Misbakhun. "It's about time the KPK named Boediono a suspect in the case."

According to the KPK indictment, Budi's alleged crime was committed "collectively" by Boediono, BI senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom and BI deputy governors Siti C. Fadjrijah, Budi Rochadi, Muliaman Hadad, Hartadi Sarwono and Ardhayadi Mitroatmodjo.

The KPK, according to the document, alleges that Budi and his "colleagues" abused their authority in channeling the loan to keep Bank Century, now Bank Mutiara, afloat.

They are also alleged to have abused their authority in categorizing Bank Century as a potentially failed bank that posed a systemic threat to the banking sector.

Politicians have accused President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's inner circle of misusing the bailout to finance Yudhoyono's 2009 reelection bid.

The issue has since created a firestorm of political controversy, dogging the Yudhoyono administration with threats of impeachment by members of his ruling coalition. (tjs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/10/graft-noose-tightens-around-vp-s-neck.html

Atut finally suspended as Banten governor

Jakarta Globe - May 9, 2014

Jakarta – Ratu Atut Chosiyah has been officially suspended as governor of Banten province after being indicted in a corruption case earlier this week, a government official announced on Friday.

"The letter on Atut's suspension has been signed by the president and therefore Deputy Governor Rano Karno will take over all gubernatorial duties," Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said in Jakarta as quoted by Antara.

The suspension was a formality, with the Home Affairs Ministry typically relieving regional heads of their duties once they are indicted in a criminal case. Atut was arrested in December for bribery, but continued to run her province from behind bars until her indictment on Tuesday.

She stands accused of conspiring to bribe Akil Mochtar, then the chief justice of the Constitutional Court, to issue a favorable ruling in a dispute over the result of the election for district head in Banten's Lebak district – one of the few regions in the province not controlled by one of Atut's relatives or cronies.

The case came to light following a sting operation by the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, in October that netted Akil and Tubagus "Wawan" Chaeri Wardana, Atut's brother, along with several others.

Atut and Wawan are accused of channeling Rp 1 billion, or $87,000, to Akil to overturn the local polling commission's decision awarding the Aug. 31 Lebak election win to Iti Octavia Jayabaya, the daughter of the incumbent, Mulyadi Jayabaya, and to order a re-vote. The court, without Akil at the helm, later went on to uphold the win for Iti.

Atut faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the bribery charge. She remains the nominal governor, albeit suspended, until she is convicted and has exhausted all channels for appeal.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/atut-finally-suspended-banten-governor/

Freedom of religion & worship

Activists call for end to sectarian violence

Jakarta Post - May 13, 2014

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Members of the Yogyakarta Anti Violence Community (Makaryo) have called on law enforcers in Gunungkidul regency, Yogyakarta, to prosecute perpetrators of sectarian violence in the region.

"We ask the administration of Gunungkidul regency to pay serious attention to this problem," Makaryo spokesperson Hafizen told a press conference at the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute's (LBH) office on Monday.

Hafizen said Makaryo had recorded 18 unresolved cases of sectarian violence in the province. The latest incident occurred on May 2, when members of the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) allegedly assaulted the chairman of Gunungkidul Interfaith Forum, Aminuddin Azis.

Aminuddin was beaten and his car was damaged while he was stopped at traffic lights in front of the Gunungkidul legislative council building in the regional capital of Wonosari.

FJI members allegedly pursued Aminuddin, forcing him to seek shelter at the Gunungkidul police headquarters. "The police did nothing even when they threatened to behead me," said Aminuddin, who is also secretary of the Yogyakarta branch of Anshor, Nahdlatul Ulama's (NU) youth wing.

He claimed he was attacked because of his statement quoted on online media regarding his concerns about the FJI damaging and forcing the closure of the Kemah Injili Indonesia church in Widoro, Gunungkidul, on March 30 and April 6.

The FJI allegedly also distributed pamphlets protesting a joint celebration, the Adi Yuswo Easter celebration, scheduled for May 31, in Gunungkidul, which is expected to involve some 13,000 worshippers.

Gusdurian Indonesia coordinator Alissa Wahid said that instances of sectarian violence in the country were not isolated events as they occurred in almost every part of Indonesia.

"This is a social-change phenomenon that needs to be responded to as soon as possible," said Allisa, who is a daughter of former Indonesian president, the late Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

She expressed the hope that the police would take stern measures against the perpetrators. Otherwise, she said, Indonesia could turn out like Afghanistan or Pakistan: full of intolerant groups, which could later lead to continuous intercommunal violence.

Separately, Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Yogyakarta) director Samsudin Nurseha asked Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X to address the increasing sectarian violence in the province. "The Sultan's role has been somewhat minimal so far," Samsudin said.

Gunungkidul Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Farid Zulkarnain said the police had not yet arrested those responsible for the attack on Aminuddin and they were still looking for witnesses. "If we cannot find witnesses then we will seek other clues such as video records," Farid said.

He also denied accusations that the police had escorted the FJI while they closed the church in Widoro. He said the police were trying to mediate between the church and the FJI.

Meanwhile FJI commander Abdurrahman denied any knowledge of the attack on Aminuddin or the damage to his car. But he confirmed that his people did force the closure of the church in Widoro.

Previously, based on an FJI request, the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) asked police to disband Shia-related organizations in the province.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/13/activists-call-end-sectarian-violence.html

Parliament & legislation

Internal party policies affect women's electability

Jakarta Post - May 14, 2014

Jakarta – Researchers from the University of Indonesia's (UI) Center for Political Studies found in a recent survey that women would be less represented among the next batch of lawmakers.

The center's data showed that women may only achieve 14 percent of the total number of seats in the House of Representatives after the latest legislative election, compared to the 18 percent achieved in the 2009 election.

The think tank attributed the decline to internal party policies that push women to secure greater representation in the House.

"This really shows the need to evaluate political party policies in their efforts to have more women candidates win legislative seats," the center's director, Sri Budi Eko Wardani, said.

Even though more women participated in this year's legislative election, with 2,467 of the total 6,619 candidates (or 37 percent) contesting the 560 House seats, only around 80 women candidates are expected to secure seats.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has yet to release the official results after converting the number of votes into seats, following its announcement of official tallies on May 9.

One of the defeated candidates in the race, incumbent Golkar Party lawmaker Nurul Arifin, said conditions on the ground meant that sometimes, the best women candidates did not always join the race.

Nurul said there were three incumbents out of Golkar's 16 women candidates who won in the 2014 legislative election, adding that 39 percent of those women were wives of politicians – primarily regents and governors. "Victory in the election is a combination of local power and capital," Nurul said.

She added that she and two other incumbents in her electoral district of West Java VIII (Bekasi, Karawang and Purwakarta regencies), were beaten by a former mayor and two Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) members, who have a major influence in those areas.

"We thought the electoral system of winning the most votes would reduce the oligarchic structure in political parties. But in fact, political dynasties have grown stronger," she said.

A successful candidate, incumbent Democratic Party lawmaker Melani Leimena Suharli, said that even though the Democratic Party had experienced a slump in the number of votes it won, the party still came in fourth, with 13 women candidates winning in the election.

Melani, who represents DKI Jakarta II (South Jakarta, Central Jakarta and Overseas), said the party had an internal policy of placing women at each level of leadership.

She added that each political party had to sort out its leadership structures, including those of wing organizations, and place more women in key positions. "However, the best internal policy would be to place women at the top of the legislative list," Melani said. (put)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/14/internal-party-policies-affect-women-s-electability.html

With 5 months left in office, legislators focus on passing remaining bills

Jakarta Globe - May 12, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – Despite having only a few months left in office, members of the House of Representatives are still committed to passing over one hundred unfinished bills before the end of their term in October, a lawmaker said.

"We'll focus on finishing the draft 2015 state budget 2015 and later we will continue on discussing other priority bills," Deputy House Speaker Pramono Anung said on Monday.

There are currently 106 bills being deliberated at the parliament, comprising 33 priority bills and 73 minor bills which are not included in the national legislation program.

Among those categorized as priority bills are the regional election bill, the halal certification bill, the defense bill and the nursing bill, while the minor bills include 65 bills on the establishment of new autonomous regions as well as four international agreements to be ratified.

"There are four districts that will be formed into a new autonomous region very soon, [and they include] the Central Buton, South Buton, Kota Raha and West Muna districts in Southeast Sulawesi," Pramono said.

The House of Representatives have been heavily criticized for its poor performance in the legislation process throughout their current term, which begun in 2009.

In 2013, the House Legislative Body had targeted to pass a total of 75 bills, but by the end of the year only managed to pass seven, according to JurnalParlemen.com.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/five-months-left-office-legislators-focus-passing-remaining-bills/

Jakarta & urban life

Jakarta's air quality takes a toxic turn for the worse

Jakarta Globe - May 9, 2014

Erwida Maulia – To Tifa Asrianti, the polka-dot fabric mask she carries in her bag is multifunctional.

Inside the overpacked trains she regularly boards to and from work during rush hour, the face mask saves her nose from unpleasant odors released by sweaty, fellow commuters.

On the Kopaja minibuses she takes from the train station to her office, the mask protects her from cigarette smoke casually exhaled by male passengers. And while waiting for transportation on the side of roads congested with vehicles, she hopes the mask is able to filter the air pollution invading her lungs.

"Not that I believe the mask can really help, but it's the least I could do," said Tifa, a 30-something employee of a non-profit organization in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

People wearing face masks were not a common sight in Jakarta six years ago. Then came the H1N1 flu incidents in 2009, at the height of which the Indonesian government promoted the use of surgical masks to prevent the swine-based disease from spreading.

The flu died down, but people became accustomed to the masks and began wearing them in hopes to filter the smog-tainted city air they breathe in.

Now, the sight of half-covered faces is a common one throughout Asia – the light green or blue surgical ones are most used – as city commuters wait at bus shelters, board non-air conditioned public buses or ride motorcycles.

"The traffic jams are getting more inhumane. That's a clear sign of more vehicles on the streets; more pollution," said Tifa, a resident of Bekasi, West Java, who has been commuting to and from Jakarta for work over the past decade.

"And I can especially feel how dirty Jakarta air has become after returning from places like Pangalengan or Gunung Kidul, where the air is clean and light," she said referring to the mountainous regions in West Java and Yogyakarta, respectively.

Alarming figures

Tifa's assumptions on the state of the capital's air was not wrong. Official figures show that the amounts of major, toxic pollutants invading Jakarta air have grown rapidly, along with the continuous increase in vehicles crowding the streets.

According to data from the Jakarta Police traffic directorate, the number of vehicles registered in Jakarta has grown by an average of roughly 10 percent every year for the past six years, bringing the total figure to 16 million in 2013 – consisting of 4.1 million automobiles and 11.9 million motorcycles.

The motorbike industry especially has projected a market saturation for Jakarta. But in the mean time, despite public outcry over ever-worsening traffic congestion, the figures are expected to grow. These numbers have yet to include the number of vehicles registered outside the capital, but regularly roaming its streets.

Along with the alarming growth in vehicles numbers, the concentration of at least four principal pollutants in the air have been increasing as well, according to the city's Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD).

BPLHD statistics dating back to 2008 show that five major air pollutants regularly monitored by the agency – carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead and suspended particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10) – are all still below the hazardous levels specified in a gubernatorial regulation.

However, with the exception of sulfur dioxide, the amounts of these pollutants in the air have continued to increase over the past six years – with the growth of lead and nitrogen dioxide being particularly exponential.

The level of lead, notorious for causing brain and nervous system damage when congested in large amounts, stood at 0.33 microgram per cubic nanometer (mcg/nm3) last year; over 10 times higher than the level in 2008, and one-sixth of the hazardous threshold of 2 mcg/nm3.

The amount of nitrogen dioxide, meanwhile, rose to 74.14 mcg/nm3 last year – three times its 2008 figure and is alarmingly coming closer to the dangerous threshold of 92.5 mcg/nm3. Nitrogen dioxide is known to be poisonous to lungs.

During the same period, PM10 and carbon monoxide levels rose by 86 percent and 60 percent respectively. Major concerns from exposure to PM10 include respiratory illness, damage to lung tissue and cancer. Carbon monoxide, meanwhile, is toxic to blood, and poses a health threat especially to those suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

The sulfur dioxide volume, meanwhile, dropped by 77 percent. But the decline may be attributable to the unavailability of data at some BPLHD monitoring stations, according to an agency analyst who asked not to be named because the person does not have the official capacity to give public statements.

Like PM10, sulfur dioxide also has been associated with respiratory illness and the aggravation of existing cardiovascular disease.

"The main source of these air pollutants are vehicles – the transportation sector," Rusman Sagala, head of the environment preservation and management division of BPLHD Jakarta, said in an interview last month.

"Industrial activities are another contributor, but there are fewer industries in Jakarta now. Many of them have spread to places outside of the city."

According to Health Ministry data, the transportation sector contributes between 70 percent and 80 percent to total outdoor air pollutants.

Rusman said although more and more carmakers and motorcycle producers are consciously applying cleaner technology compared to a decade ago, their efforts can't keep up with the speed at which new vehicles are appearing on roads each year.

This has become particularly obvious in the distressing amounts of lead seeping into the air.

Due to its damaging and permanent effect on the human body, namely the nervous system, kidney function and immune system among others, the Indonesian government introduced a regulation in 2003 restricting the levels of lead added to fuel – the lowest grade of fuel should contain no more than 0.3 gram per liter (g/l).

A regulation issued by the director general for oil and gas last year further reduces the maximum level of lead allowed in fuel to 0.013 g/l. But as previously mentioned, the lead levels in Jakarta's air has more than tenfold over the past six years.

"There is less lead in fuel now," Rusman said. "But accumulatively, amounts of it in the air has risen because the number of vehicles in Jakarta keeps increasing."

The World Health Organization released an updated report in March saying that an estimated 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2012 were associated with outdoor air pollution.

The number shows a near triple increase from the previous available data in 2008 – although the jump has also been attributed to new evidence made available on the direct correlation between exposure to pollution and illnesses.

In a breakdown according to diseases, WHO data revealed that 40 percent of the deaths connected to air pollution were caused by ischemic heart disease and another 40 percent was due to strokes.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease contributed 11 percent of the deaths, followed by lung cancer (6 percent) and acute lower respiratory infections in children (3 percent).

The March report – which did not mention specific countries but offered data on regions – named Southeast Asia as the second-largest contributor to the deaths after the Western Pacific region – with 963,000 fatalities. Being the largest and most populous country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is believed to have been a top contributor to the figure.

"The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes," Maria Neira, director of WHO's public health department, said in the statement. "Few risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution; the evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe."

Bambang Wispriyono, an environmental health expert at the University of Indonesia (UI), took a particular note on the colorless organic compound benzopyrene. This fuel residue is not among principal air pollutants regularly monitored by BPLHD, but it is a known carcinogen.

Two studies administered at UI under Bambang's supervision a few years back found that people spending more time on the streets had higher levels of benzopyrene in their blood stream compared to regular office workers.

"Toll gate officers, traffic policemen... they all have more benzopyrene metabolites in their bloods and urine than office employees," Bambang told the Jakarta Globe. "The effects are not immediate, but these officers working on the streets are facing more health risks, including cancer."

Solution?

The restriction on lead levels, the introduction of emission tests for vehicles in Jakarta and the addition of air quality in the criteria for the Adipura cleanliness awards given to cities and provinces are some indications that the Indonesian government has been paying growing attention to air pollutants' impact on health.

But measures taken to curb the effects lag behind the pace of vehicle growth and, subsequently, the increasing number of toxic pollutants we breathe in every day.

Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the health ministry's director general for disease control and environmental health, said his office is drafting strategic action plans to curb the dangerous effects of air pollution for the years 2015 to 2019, although not much has been said about the plans.

The Ministry of Environment, meanwhile, has been calling for what it calls a "grand design of the national air quality monitoring system," an effort to improve the monitoring of air quality across Indonesia and, hopefully, measures to tackle issues related to air pollution.

The WHO, in its latest statement on Tuesday, reiterated its growing attention to diseases stemming from air pollutants and calls on individual cities worldwide to take the necessary actions in improving air quality, citing efforts made by Copenhagen and Bogota as successful examples.

The global health agency said these two cities have improved their air quality by prioritizing networks dedicated to urban public transport, walking and cycling.

"We cannot buy clean air in a bottle, but cities can adopt measures that will clean the air and save the lives of their people," said Carlos Dora, coordinator for interventions for healthy environments at WHO.

In the mean time, face masks can provide a viable option. "The ones commonly used can protect against PM10, but can still be infiltrated by gases," Rusman said. "But they can at least reduce health risks."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta/jakartas-air-quality-takes-toxic-turn-worse/

Armed forces & defense

TNI will build Kostrad III Division in Central Java

Jakarta Post - May 10, 2014

Suherdjoko, Semarang – The Indonesian Army (TNI) announced it would build the Army Strategic Reserves Command's (Kostrad) III Division in Central Java, thus, quashing rumors that it would be built in Sorong, Papua.

"The III Division will be built in Central Java, while the headquarters might be built in Semarang. Military personnel for this division will be transferred from other units or agencies to be more efficient," Budiman said on Saturday.

According to Budiman, Kostrad III Division will be a reserve division for the Defense Strategic Plan (Renstra).

Currently, there are only two divisions in Central Java due to the funds needed to finance three infantry brigades, one field artillery regiment and one cavalry battalion in each division, in addition to medical battalions and essential supplies. (fss/dic)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/10/tni-will-build-kostrad-iii-division-c-java.html

Infrastructure & development

Indonesia may not achieve 2015 development goals

Jakarta Globe - May 9, 2014

Herman Genie – With people marrying younger, a generally low quality of life for women, and poor infrastructure, Indonesia is unlikely to achieve its 2015 Millennium Development Goals, a senior official told journalists at his office on Thursday.

"Poor roads result in people finding it hard to reach their nearest health facilities when they need it most, which contributes to the high rate of maternal mortality," said Dr. Tubagus Rachmat Sentika, an expert on the Millennium Development Goals at the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare.

Rahmat said Bangka Belitung province was a good example of how improved infrastructure could reduce the number of cases of maternal mortality. The islands set out to link more villages to main roads, allowing residents greater mobility.

"We need to improve the infrastructure immediately, develop temporary shelters and improve services at community health centers [puskesmas] and hospitals that provide facilities to overcome pregnancy-related emergencies as the answer to the problem," Rachmat suggested.

He said the problems to reach hospitals are making it difficult for medical staff to assist patients who are already in a critical condition because of widespread infections, pregnancy seizures, and hemorrhage.

"The three major factors contributing to the maternal mortality are hemorrhage, infection and high blood pressure. The deaths could actually be prevented if the following symptoms, which are danger signs, are detected earlier. This includes hypertension, swelling, excessive weight gain, and flecks of blood during the third trimester," Rachmat said.

"The expectant mother should be brought straight to a health facility as soon as those signs are discovered," he added.

In the third trimester, pregnant women should have blood checks to discover whether they are anemic or possibly have high blood pressure. Having anemia during pregnancy can affect the woman's flow of blood to her brain, while high blood pressure could lead to severe blood loss during birth.

Rahmat said that Indonesia would have difficulties to achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goal target. Under the plan, Indonesia has to lower postnatal deaths to 102 per 100,000 live births by the end of 2015.

But the rate stood at 359 deaths per 100,000 live births as of 2012, according to last September's Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI).

The maternal mortality rate increased from 220 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010, according to the United Nations Population Fund, while the total fatality rate reached 2.6 percent. "We only have a year and seven months left. Given the latest data, it seems difficult to achieve the target," Rahmat said.

Teenagers' sexual behavior

Rahmat said early marriage and shifting sexual behavior among teenagers were some factors contributing to high maternal mortality rates, adding that girls now get their first periods at the age of 10-11 years from 12-14 years previously.

"Based on an analysis, 82 percent of deaths occurred among people who are aged 20 or under. The dating behavior of teenagers is also worrying because it could lead to pregnancy and abortion," Rahmat said.

He therefore suggested that the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) should target junior high school students in the campaign to avoid early marriage.

"Marriage at a young age can increase the maternal mortality rate," Rachmat said. "Given teenagers' current pattern of sexual behavior, I think it would be more effective to target junior high school students to encourage them to abstain from getting married at a young age."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesia-may-achieve-2015-development-goals/

Analysis & opinion

Undoing Yudhoyono's sectarian legacy

New Mandala - May 14, 2014

Andreas Harsono – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's legacy of worsening religious intolerance and related violence will be one of the biggest challenges his successor will face. Indonesia holds presidential elections on July 9.

While Yudhoyono likes to speak about Indonesia's "religious harmony," over the past 10 years the country's religious minorities, including Christians, Shia, Ahmadiyah and some indigenous faiths, have become increasingly besieged by often violent Sunni Islamist militants. Yudhoyono's response to that intolerance has been empty rhetoric and turning a blind eye to elements of his government passively or actively complicit in abuses of the rights of religious minorities.

Islamist militants have grown accustomed to attacking minorities with impunity. In certain cases, in which the security forces and prosecutors have actually intervened in such incidents, the result has frequently been the prosecution and imprisonment of representatives of the victimized minorities – not the perpetrators, with charges of "blasphemy" or "creating unrest."

Escalation in reported cases of religious violence against minorities in Indonesia

Year	Cases
2007	91
2008	257
2009	181
2010	216
2011	242
2012	264
2013	220

Source: Setara Institute

The roots of the escalation in religious intolerance and related violence began in 2005 when Yudhoyono opened the Indonesian Ulama Council congress, the umbrella organization of many Muslim groups, by announcing his intention to "take strict measures against deviant beliefs." In March 2006, Yudhoyono's cabinet produced a decree dedicated to "Religious Harmony, Empowering Religious Harmony Forums, and Constructing Houses of Worship."

The decree requires Indonesia's 33 provinces and some 500 regencies to establish so-called Religious Harmony Forums (Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama or FKUB) as advisory bodies to governors, mayors and regents. The decree stipulates that the composition of FKUBs should "mirror the composition of religions" in each area. Consequently, the dominant religion in any given area – whether it be Muslim in western Indonesia and Christian in areas of eastern Indonesia – has the majority of members in a 17-strong FKUB (in a regency or mayoralty) or a 21-member provincial FKUB.

The decree also restricts the construction of houses of worship to the "real needs" and "composition of the population" in the area. A permit for constructing a house of worship requires:

List of names and ID cards of at least 90 people who will use the house of worship. This list should be endorsed by the village head; Support letter from at least 60 people living in the area. This support letter should be endorsed by the village head; Written recommendation from the local Ministry of Religious Affairs; and Written recommendation from the local FKUB.

The result of the decree has been a legally sanctioned block on construction of new houses of worship for religious minorities in areas where Muslims are in the majority, including the islands of Java and Sumatra. In some cases, the decree has even blocked Christian congregations from renovating existing church buildings. Militant Islamists have in some areas effectively hijacked the decree and imposed vigilante-style enforcement of alleged violations.

On March 21, 2013, in Bekasi, a suburb of Jakarta, the local government used an excavator vehicle to demolish the new red-brick structure of the Batak Protestant Christian Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, HKBP). Officials ordered the church demolished for lack of a building permit on the demand of the Islamic People's Forum in Taman Sari (Forum Umat Islam Taman Sari), a militant Islamist organization.

The Communion of Churches in Indonesia, a grouping of Protestant churches, has criticized the decree as more repressive than a similar regulation promulgated in 1969 during the rule of the late dictator Suharto.

Since 2005, Yudhoyono's government has also aggressively enforced the country's 1965 blasphemy law, an overbroad and vague legal holdover from Sukarno's authoritarian rule. More than 100 people have been prosecuted for blasphemy since 2005 including Sebastian Joe Tajir, a Muslim sentenced to four years' imprisonment in November 2012 for posting comments about the existence of God on his Facebook page.

When a group of Muslim scholars, including former president Abdurrahman Wahid, challenged the discriminatory nature of the blasphemy law in the Constitutional Court, Yudhoyono and his cabinet vigorously defended it. The court, in an 8-1 decision on April 19, 2010, ruled that the 1965 blasphemy law, which provides criminal penalties for those who express religious beliefs deviating from the law's tenets of protecting six officially recognized religions, is a lawful restriction of minority religious beliefs because it allows for the maintenance of "religious harmony."

In 2008, Yudhoyono's concept of "religious harmony" included his government's anti-Ahmadiyah regulation, which banned the Islamic sect from "propagating" Ahmadiyah teachings. The regulation includes a maximum five years prison term for Ahmadiyah found guilty of proselytizing.

That decree paved the way for Sunni Islamist militant groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI) to begin targeting Ahmadiyah and their mosques with harassment, intimidation and violence. The most egregious example of that violence occurred in February 2011, when Muslim militants killed three Ahmadiyah men in Cikeusik, western Java, in an unprovoked attack during which police on the scene refused to intervene to help the Ahmadiyah. Across Java and Sumatra there are currently more than 100 Ahmadiyah mosques shuttered at the order of local governments.

President Yudhoyono has failed to act to roll back these abuses and to protect the rights of Indonesia's religious minorities. Instead, in October 2012 Yudhoyono devoted his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to call on UN member countries to adopt an international legally binding instrument to ban blasphemy against religious symbols.

As Indonesians prepare to go to the polls on July 9 to elect Yudhoyono's successor, they should demand that their presidential candidates explain how they'll address the damage that Yudhoyono has done to religious freedom over the past decade.

Failure to do so will only worsen religious intolerance and create new victims of harassment, intimidation and violence.

[Andreas Harsono is an Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch.]

Source: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2014/05/13/undoing-yudhoyonos-sectarian-legacy/

Commentary: Let the ghosts of May 1998 riots rest in peace

Jakarta Post - May 12, 2014

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta - May is a good month for Indonesia for it commemorates three major national events. We rejoice in National Education Day on May 2 and National Awakening Day on May 20, but we mark rather than celebrate May 22, the launch date of political reforms toward democracy in 1998.

There is a very good reason for the somewhat muted celebration after 16 years: A series of tragic events preceded the downfall of strongman Soeharto after more than three decades in power. They have become the dark pages in the nation's history because of our failure in explaining what really happened then. No one person or institution has, to date, taken responsibility for them.

There was the fatal shooting of four Trisakti University students in Jakarta that emboldened the growing anti-Soeharto student movement, and there was the massive riots in Jakarta and other major cities that caused untold death and destruction.

There is no denying that Indonesia has come a long way to become a much more democratic nation, and for most, even more prosperous, thanks to the reforms pursued by elected governments under four different presidents. But none of them, from BJ Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has been able to give closure on the tragic events of May 1998.

No wonder the ghosts of May 1998 are still with us, and they will always haunt us around this time of the year. Their relatives, friends and supporters are justifiably asking: If Indonesia is a democracy and a country ruled by law, then where is the justice?

One could only wish that our elected politicians would take up the human rights violation cases of May 1998 as doggedly as they are currently pursuing the Bank Century bailout scandal. Human-rights violations are certainly far more serious than banking corruption because they involve death, destruction and even widespread rape.

Sadly neither the House of Representatives nor the Attorney General's Office (AGO) is interested in taking up the issue, even after a series of conclusive studies, first by the independent fact-finding commission that came up with the report in 1998, and later by a report by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). The commission report had been submitted at least four times, the last time in 2008, to the Attorney General, each time rejected.

The inquiry and the commission's report raised questions about the failure of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI), at the time including the police force, in establishing law and order as the nation's capital was engulfed in widespread protests.

There were also reports of men with crew-cut hair styles organizing the rioters on the ground, raising various conspiracy theories about the involvement of the security apparatus. Most damaging perhaps to the military were the rumors of a rivalry within the leadership between ABRI chief Gen. Wiranto and Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, then chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

Let's put aside the fact that they have renewed their rivalry, this time in civilian clothing, as they vie for the presidency in this year's election. The military and the government owe the nation an explanation about what happened in that tumultuous week of May 1998.

Who ordered the shooting of the Trisakti students? Who, if anyone, organized the ensuing widespread and destructive unrest in Jakarta and other cities? Where they part of a plot to end Soeharto's rule, or were these isolated incidents that were beyond the control of the security apparatus? Who should be held responsible for these tragedies?

Elected politicians and the government seem to have taken the attitude of "let bygones be bygones" and simply want the nation to move on. The AGO has also argued that the evidence was insufficient to build a case against anyone or institution.

The real reason of course is the absence of political will. This much is clear from the reluctance of the government and all political parties to establish a special human rights court. In contrast, they were quick to agree to the establishment of a special court dealing with corruption.

When it comes to human rights violations, we are dealing with powerful figures and institutions. The culture of impunity is still with us, and unless we change our attitude, it will be around for much longer. Indeed, where is the justice?

The May 1998 tragedies will likely join other unexplained events at Indonesia's important historical turning points, including the circumstances over the downfall of Sukarno and the rise of Soeharto. The ghosts of those massacred in the anti-communist campaign have recently come back to haunt us.

The national leadership would rather sweep them under the rug than take the trouble to investigate and resolve these cases. That also goes for the current president, but hopefully not for the next elected president, whoever that might be.

Indonesia cannot move forward in its march toward democracy and prosperity unless we resolve and give closure to these cases. We need to send the ghosts of the May 1998, and all others still demanding justice of us, to their eternal and lasting peace.

[The writer is senior editor at The Jakarta Post.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/12/commentary-let-ghosts-may-1998-riots-rest-peace.html

Wither human rights?

New Mandala - May 8, 2014

Usman Hamid – The Indonesian Electoral Commission will soon announce the results of April's legislative elections. Parties will most likely announce their candidates for the July 9 presidential elections after that. Human rights is likely to be a major part of the debate. On the eve of a presidential election where Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto will face off as major contenders, let's examine the record of both.

The record of Prabowo Subianto has been the most subject to politicization, but also critical debate. As former commander of the army special forces (Kopassus), he was implicated in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1997/98 when the New Order was on its last legs.

While 9 were found alive, 1 was found dead, 13 have never been found and are considered "disappeared." The disappeared are categorized in three groups. First, student activists from the Indonesian Student Solidarity for Democracy (SMID) including Petrus B. Anugerah, Herman Hendrawan, Suyat, Wiji Thukul. Second, pro-Megawati activists including Yani Afri, Sonny, M. Yusuf, Noval Al Katiri, Dedi Hamdun and his driver Ismail. Third, persons witnessing the May 1998 riot such as Hendra Hambali and Yadin Muhidin.

Two years ago, speaking in exclusive interview with TV anchor Dalton Tanonaka, Prabowo denied that he ordered the kidnapping and torture of the activists. "I (would) never order torture (because it's) completely against my policy. I never ordered the so-called "kidnapping" or detention."

This statement has been refracted in different ways by other members of the Prabowo camp. This month, retired former chief of staff of the Army Strategic Command (Kostrad) Major General Kivlan Zen insists that Prabowo only "secured" nine activists who were subsequently returned alive. Kivlan accused a Prabowo "rival" of conducting a side operation, disappearing activists who are still missing. Last month in April, Fadli Zon, Deputy Chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) denied Prabowo's responsibility in the disappearances. Fadli admitted that a special unit called "Rose Team" run by Prabowo had arrested nine activists and returned them – but he said that the other missing activists were abducted by an "unknown perpetrator".

Both Kivlan and Fadli's statements accept that Prabowo kidnapped activists. They simply place Prabowo in a higher moral category compared to his rival, who they imply is Prabowo's fellow contender, Chief of Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) General Wiranto. Wiranto, they argue was the real mastermind of the disappearance of the other 13 activists.

Moving away from the hubub of the campaign let's track back to the results of the official investigation. In early 1998, the disappearance of activists generated intense public pressure demanding the government return the missing activists and punish the perpetrators. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) was forced to establish a Council for Officers Honour (DKP) on August 3, 1998 to investigate implicated officers.

Two weeks later, Chair of DKP Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo recommended to the chief of Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) Gen. Wiranto that Prabowo, Major General Muchdi Purwopranjono, and Colonel Chairawan, should be brought before a military trial (See Kompas, "DKP: Bring Prabowo etc to Military Trial," 15 August 1998 page 1).

The trial never took place. On August 24 1998, Wiranto fired Prabowo from military duty, citing the DKP's recommendations. It's still open as to whether these officers will be brought before a military trial", he added. DKP member Lieutenant General Agum Gumelar said that Prabowo admitted to have kidnapped nine persons. (See Kompas, "Prabowo was fired: Muchdi and Chairawan was off duty," August 25 1998).

A later Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) established by President BJ Habibie stated clearly that "... In the case of abduction, Lieutenant General Prabowo and all actors involved must be brought to military trial.." (See Final Report of Joint Fact Finding Team on 13-14 May 1998, recommendation no. 2, November 3rd 1998, page 19).

More recently, in 2006 when the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) handed over its report on the disappearances of 1997/1998. Their key finding is that 23 activists, were forcibly kidnapped by Kopassus which Prabowo headed up. They confirmed that nine activists were severely tortured, one activist was killed (Gilang) and thirteen remains disappeared. Another important finding is that some of kidnapped activists were held together in the same military detention facility with those who disappeared. Some of them testified that they met with Yani Afri aka Rian, one of the 13 people still missing.

In September 2009, the House of Representatives supported the Komnas HAM report and issued recommendations to President Yudhoyono to establish an ad hoc human rights tribunal. However, Prabowo and other implicated military officers were not brought to trial. A fair and impartial court is needed to reveal and confirm the role of implicated former army generals, including Prabowo in such past atrocities.

What about the second candidate, Joko Widodo? How does his human rights record fare? One interesting incident happened three weeks ago when Gerindra deputy Fadli Zon attacked Jokowi by writing a poem. When journalists asked Jokowi if he read the poem, Jokowi answered that he prefers poetry by Wiji Thukul, especially his famous poem 'Peringatan'.

Wiji Thukul is a leftist poet who disappeared in the late 1990s. Certainly Jokowi is sympathetic to the family of Thukul, visiting them in Solo and offering assistance. Along with Jokowi's visit to Papua, this seems important. However perhaps only because Jokowi has not yet elaborated a clear policy statement on human rights. Even worse, some former army generals who have blemished records now have Jokowi's ear. These include Lieutenant General (ret) AM Hendropriyono and General (ret) Ryamizard Ryacudu.

Under the New Order, Hendropriyono was a high ranking military leader but went on to become head of State Intelligence (BIN) under Megawati's government. Hendropriyono and in particular, his son Diaz Hendropriyono, have major roles in Jokowi's election success team despite the tensions this has caused with other pro-democracy activists like Teten Masduki and security expert like Andi Widjajanto on Jokowi's core campaign team, "Team 11".

While Commander of 043/GarudaHitam Resort Military Command in Lampung in 1989, Hendropriyono was implicated in an early morning military attack against hundreds of civilians who accused of trying to establish an Islamic state in the backwoods of Cihideung, Talangsari, Central Lampung. The attack on three villages left at least 27 people dead, 78 missing, 5 people were kidnapped, and 23 people were arrested and detained arbitrarily (Kontras, 2008).

As head of State Intelligence Body (BIN) AM Hendropriyono and his Deputy V of BIN, Muchdi Purwopranjono are also implicated in the assassination of human rights defender Munir Said Thalib. In 2004, President Yudhoyono established a fact finding team on the murder of Munir and in its final report the team recommended the police investigate the then director of Garuda airways Indra Setiawan, BIN Deputy Muchdi and head of BIN AM Hendropriyono. In 2008, Indra was indicted and convicted guilty.

This is where the human rights records of the two presidential contenders become weirdly intertwined. Muchdi served as a commander of Kopassus under Prabowo – and in the trial for the Munir case, the prosecutor alleged that Muchdi's motive for killing Munir was because the young human rights activist had exposed Muchdi's role in the kidnapping of the 23 pro- democracy activists leading to his dismissal (along with Prabowo as head of Kostrad) from Kopassus.

There has been no further investigation into the role of Hendropriyono in Munir's death. During his life, Munir's struggle for justice also targeted Hendropriyono.

Munir represented hundreds of the families of the victims of 1989 Talangsari case. Munir lodged a complaint to the State Administrative Court when Megawati appointed Hendropriyono head of BIN in 2001. Munir also criticized Hendropriyono for reporting 20 activists as being a danger to the 2004 election.

What chance does justice for Talangsari have if Jokowi maintains his close ties with AM Hendropriyono? What will Jokowi do if the widow of Munir, Suciwati, asks him to act on the presidential fact finding team that that pointed to the involvement of AM Hendropriyono as chief of BIN in her husband's murder?

Equally problematic is another army general in Jokowi's circle, Ryamizard Ryacudu, a former army chief under consideration as Jokowi's Vice President. Ryamizard has been widely known for his hard-line stance on human rights and separatism without considering government policy.

As army chief, Ryamizard has frequently insisted that the NKRI (roughly: 'national unity') project can only be secured by giving the military a greater, and indeed a decisive, role in fighting separatism. During martial law in Aceh, that killed thousand lives, the army under him was against negotiating a peaceful solution. "Our job is to destroy GAM's military capability. Issues of justice, religion, autonomy, social welfare, education – those are not the Indonesian military's problems", said Ryamizard in an interview with TIME Asia, June 2, 2003.

In April 2003, after military officials were convicted for the murder of Papuan independence leader, Theys Hiyo Eluay, Ryamizard, as chief of staff of the army, made a public statement saying that "the law says they are guilty. They are punished. But for me they are heroes".

Pairing Jokowi with a vice president like Ryamizard might see any future government he forms choosing a more military based policy in managing separatism. With Ryamizard, Jokowi will likely to lose support from Acehnese and Papuan voters.

It's unclear how influential these former army generals are on Jokowi, but neither is it clear why Jokowi has surrounded himself with them in the first place. At this stage, Jokowi needs someone who could play a role in effecting peace in Papua, as happened with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh. With friends like these, how will Jokowi decide on human rights issues, let alone to answer victims' questions on bringing perpetrators to justice?

All in all, it's a pretty depressing presidential choice for voters concerned about human rights issues. Human rights abusers appear to have maintained their power and influence at the centre of Indonesian politics. As the elections draw closer, the media, civil society groups and the electorate at large should put pressure on both the Prabowo and Jokowi camps to clarify their positions on human rights abuses and they should demand an explanation for why hard-line generals of the past should be given any role in determining Indonesia's future.

[Usman Hamid was a student activist in 1998 and is cofounder of Change.org Indonesia and is currently an MPhil candidate in the Department for Social and Political Change at the Australian National University. You can follow him on Twitter @UsmanHAM_ID.]

Source: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2014/05/08/wither-human-rights/