The six-million dollar program was scheduled to begin in the first half of this year but Indonesia has told the New Zealand Government that it is not able to support the project at this time.

The New Zealand Green MP Catherine Delahunty says the community policing aid program would not have been helpful to the people of West Papua.

Interviewer: Brian Abbott Speaker: Catherine Delahunty, Green MP, New Zealand

Delahunty: So it was a 6.3 million dollar aid package, which was developed from a pilot that they did in West Papua which finished in 2010 and it was supposed to be taking the New Zealand model of community policing, which is very much about neighbourhoods relationships in policing private community and taking that model and training up the police force in West Papua. The Green Party strongly opposed it, because we know that this is a contaminated situation, where the New Zealand policing model was not going to help. You have a violent police force which is basically mandated by the state of Indonesia to breach human rights on a daily basis and so we thought that this was going to be a farce and a serious waste of money.

However, it wasn't the New Zealand government that decided to drop it, it was Indonesia.

Abbott: The excuse given is we have to wait to the new incoming government. Do you think the John Key government will go ahead when we have a new president of Indonesia later this year?

Delahunty: I don't think that they know what they're doing. I think that they are waiting to see what's going on in Indonesia, and basically, I think, one of the reasons that Indonesia may have gone cold on the project, is that the New Zealand government, under pressure, has conceded to us that it might be possible for journalists to scrutinise this project, which is something that the NGO's and the Green Party have been calling on consistently that if we have any aid projects overseas, such as this, if we're spending taxpayers money supposedly to help the citizens, then we want to have our journalists scrutinise it.

Now, I don't think Indonesia wants that scrutiny, so they at the moment, are saying they don't want to the project. New Zealand government shows a dreadful lack of independence in foreign affairs and probably would do whatever Indonesia said with regards to this project.

Abbott: So your fear is that this project will hone the skills of the Indonesian police, who are already reportedly hated by many of the people in West Papua?

Delahunty: I'm not sure the program would hone their skills. I think the program would whitewash their reputation, because I don't believe that most New Zealand policemen involved wanted to go or would go other there to teach them to be more violent. But I do think that the program is being used by the Indonesian government and New Zealand government, to say that that this is just a politically unstable region of Indonesia, that just needs a bit help, when in fact, it's an occupation by the Indonesian government of a country where the West Papuan citizens said it's aid that kills. And I think what they mean by that aid that kills, is that it basically does nothing to improve the behaviour of the Indonesian and Papuan military police against the citizens and it potentially whitewashes a regime that needs to be imposed.

And what they would like us to do, if we're going to give aid to the situation, they would like to see aid given for a mediation project, where New Zealand offers all Australia, who are equally recalcitrant in terms of their attitude towards the human rights of West Papuans, to do something about mediating, between the West Papuan leadership and the Indonesian government. That would be money well spent.

Abbott: Is there any program in New Zealand that could create that mediation process?

Delahunty: Well, we've got some background in this, we've got some very skilled people here who have led in the past. New Zealand was involved in mediation over Bougainville, which is a Pacific conflict where I believe we played a pretty constructive role. We have some international lawyers here who are very familiar with the Pacific situation, who are familiar with Indigenous struggles against Colonial occupation. I mean we could play a useful role. Our government has in the past played a useful role. In the Solomons, their view is that what New Zealand and Australia have done has been useful to the people, as well as the government of the day, but the West Papuans are united in their opposition on the ground, so it seems really wrong that we should try and impose a program that the Indonesian government was keen on having. Now, they've rejected if for now, but it's just an indication that we're not listening to the people who are most affected. We are talking to our trading partner, Indonesia, and we are trying to keep up a good relationship with them, not matter what the people are saying about aid that kills.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-pacific/nz-aid-to-train-community-police-in-papua-on-hold/1315048

Anonymous puts Indonesia on notice over West Papua

Radio New Zealand International - May 22, 2014

The global activist network Anonymous has launched a campaign to raise attention on censorship and the killings of indigenous West Papuans in Indonesia's eastern region.

Anonymous, which is known for its activist stunts and disruptions to government and corporate websites, says West Papuans have been silenced for too long by Indonesia's military and government.

Anonymous also says the United Nations should take responsibility for the sham referendum it sanctioned in 1969 which incorporated the former Dutch New Guinea into Indonesia.

Indonesia denies that it censors media coverage of West Papua, and claims it is steadily bringing in development to improve the lives of people there. However Indonesia's military insists it will continue to respond firmly to separatism.

Anonymous asks for a UN peacekeeping force, the withdrawal of all non- organic Indonesian troops in West Papua, and a free and fair referendum so Papuans can decide their own destiny.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/245126/anonymous-puts-indonesia-on-notice-over-west-papua

West Papua calls for consistency from UN

Radio New Zealand International - May 21, 2014

Advocates for West Papuan self-determination have called for a UN decolonisation committee to be consistent and make a fact finding trip to Indonesia's Papua region.

The special committee on decolonisation is meeting in Nadi this week to look at how 17 Pacific territories on the list are faring.

The Australia West Papua Association's Joe Collins says it's now common knowledge that the Act of Free Choice in West Papua in 1969, facilitated by the United Nations, was a farce, and it's about time the UN returned to check on progress.

Joe Collins says the provinces of Papua and West Papua should be on the list and he says the UN should be consistent, as it visited New Caledonia in March.

"It's your duty, a moral obligation to go and visit West Papua, see what 51 years of administration has done to the West Papuan people, the exploitation of the resources but little or no benefit to themselves, ongoing human rights abuses. They should go and see how the West Papuan people have fared after 51 years."

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/245001/west-papua-calls-for-consistency-from-un

West Papua: no-one's colony

Pina - May 20, 2014

[Commentary from the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG).]

West Papua, comprised of the provinces (Papua and Papua Barat) is the Indonesian government's last remaining colony, situated on the western half of the island of New Guinea, adjacent to independent Papua New Guinea.

Papuans want what all colonized people want: to be free – to be masters of their own destiny. More specifically, Papuans demand, as a matter of urgency, that West Papua be reinstated on the list of non-self-governing territories in order to hasten their progress towards political self- determination.

Eligibility to be reinstated on the list of non-self-governing territories

West Papua satisfies the criteria for being reinstated on the list of non- self-governing territories set down in United Nations Resolution 1541 (XV). Specifically, West Papua is geographically separate from Indonesia. Papuans are culturally and ethnically distinct and they have had a different historical experience from Indonesians. The former colonial authority, the Netherlands, prior to the current colonial administration, the Unitary Republic of Indonesia taking control, established a national parliament – the Nieuw-Guinea Raad – paving the way for Papuans to progress towards self-rule. Sukarno, a former Indonesian president tacitly acknowledged West Papua's sovereignty when he referred to West Papua as a Dutch 'Puppet State' prior to launching a military invasion.

West Papuans have a right to self-determination under international law set down in the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 1514 (XV), Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights and more recently, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The need to reinstate West Papua on the list of non-self-governing territories is made more urgent by ongoing gross human rights violations and a failure of governance on the part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.

Human rights violations and state violence has been documented during recent United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of the Indonesian Government's commitment to civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Civil and political human rights issues raised include included the freedom of expression, the human rights violations committed by the security forces, the problem of impunity, the repression of human rights defenders, and the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.

Economic, social and cultural rights issues raised include lack of access to health care and education, the problem of land-grabbing, and the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples. In addition concern was expressed about the Indonesian government's delay in making specific arrangements to allow visits by UN special procedures and human rights experts. In regards to both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural right the United Nations Committee showed particular concern to the situation in Papua.

Political scientists Dr Jim Elmslie and Dr Camilla Webb-Gannon characterise Indonesian rule as presiding over slow-motion genocide. They conclude that there is evidence to show that the Indonesian state has engaged in intentional genocidal acts designed to "counter and eliminate Papuan attempts to create an independent state for their nation or enjoy political freedom on a par with other Indonesians."

Taking the above facts into consideration, in a special report into decolonization in the Pacific Region adopted by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in their Twelfth session in May 2013, Valmaine Toki stated that "there are clear grounds for the General Assembly to support [West Papua's] reinstatement on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories."

Toki listed three compelling reasons. "First, West Papua had satisfied the criteria set down in resolution 1541 (XV). Second, it had featured initially on the list. Third, the right of self-determination is articulated in article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples." In light of gross human rights situation in West Papua Ms. Toki wrote that "urgency is recommended." As a result the International Community has a Responsibility to Protect West Papuans by granting political self-determination as a remedy for the Indonesian Government's failure to govern and adequately protect West Papuans.

Historical background

West Papuans formed their own parliament in 1961 but have never been permitted to govern. The Indonesian government claims sovereignty over West Papua was transferred from the Netherlands to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia by the United Nations as a result of the Act of Free Choice in 1969. That is not true. The Act of Free Choice was not free, fair or peaceful. Less than 0.01% of the population, just over 1000 people, participated in the Act of Free Choice and 100% of those that did were coerced to vote. Two in-depth academic studies – one by Professor Pieter Drooglever, the other by Dr. John Saltford – conclusively showed that the Act of Free Choice was fraudulent and backed up by extremely ruthless violence, including the willingness to bomb entire villages. Until Papuans have been given the right to decide their own political status, a right which is theirs under international law, Indonesia cannot claim to be a democracy. In the intervening five decades the political situation has not improved.

West Papuans are determined to be free

Desmond Tutu once said that "nothing can stop a people determined to be free."

Papuans have not given up. Even more remarkably, the overwhelming majority have chosen to pursue their aspirations for freedom through a combination of unarmed civilian based resistance and diplomacy. Instead of ensuring West Papuans' safety and security the Indonesian state is endangering their lives. West Papuans are driving the struggle; they are being killed, tortured, imprisoned and pushed to the margins of political and economic life but they are not backing down. However, they need their regional neighbours and other governments to stand with them so they can continue living in the land of their ancestors. Papuans want their country to be reinstated on the list of non-self-governing territories and urge member countries of the Committee of 24 to take immediate action to support Papuan aspirations.

Source: http://www.pina.com.fj/index.php?p=pacnews&m=read&o=531935941537ae48ad5181fd189826

Indonesia scraps NZ police training programme for Papua

Radio New Zealand International - May 20, 2014

The New Zealand government has confirmed that its planned community policing training programme in Indonesia's Papua region will not go ahead this year.

The Eastern Indonesia Community Policing Programme had been slated for early 2014. But New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says Indonesia advised that it is not able to support the project at this time.

The New Zealand Green MP Catherine Delahunty has welcomed the news, saying her country's collaboration with Indonesia's police force, which is linked to abuses in the region, is not helpful to West Papuans.

"The Green Party is pleased the programme is not going ahead because we felt it was a farce and we were very concerned about the view of West Papuans that this was aid that kills. So we won't be wasting NZ$6.3 million on a whitewash."

MFAT says the future of the programme will depend on the priorities for development assistance agreed by New Zealand and the incoming Indonesian Government, after elections in Indonesia this year.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/244930/indonesia-scraps-nz-police-training-programme-for-papua

UN committee urged to visit Papua region

Radio New Zealand International - May 20, 2014

Advocates for the independence of West Papua say a UN decolonisation committee should visit the Indonesian province.

The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation is meeting in Fiji this week. The Australia West Papua Association says the committee should go on a fact finding mission to investigate how the West Papuan people have fared under Indonesian rule.

The AWPA's Joe Collins says the committee visited New Caledonia in March and it should also now visit West Papua.

He says it is an accepted fact that the so called act of free choice in 1969 was a farce and the UN has a moral responsibility to the West Papuans for the betrayal of a people.

Joe Collins said it is time for the UN to revisit the whole question of the handover of West Papua to Indonesia 51 years ago.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/244866/un-committee-urged-to-visit-papua-region

Pacific churches call for leaders to listen to West Papuan voices

Radio New Zealand International - May 19, 2014

The Pacific Conference of Churches is calling on leaders attending a United Nations meeting on decolonisation this week in Fiji to advocate for West Papua to be added to the UN list of non self-governing territories.

A spokesman for the conference, Netani Rika, says when the church leaders met last year in Solomon Islands they reiterated their stand that the people of the Pacific should be free to choose self-determination.

The Pacific Regional Seminar for the Eradication of Colonialism is being hosted by the committee in charge of implementing the UN's declaration on the granting of independence to colonial territories in Nadi. But Netani Rika says West Papua isn't even on that list.

"What we're calling for at the moment is for Pacific Island countries and their representatives on the C24 to take initiatives which will see that the voices of the West Papuan people can be heard and that West Papua can be placed on this list also."

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/244714/pacific-churches-call-for-leaders-to-listen-to-west-papuan-voices

Papuan separatists hail new Vanuatu leader

Radio New Zealand International - May 16, 2014

The West Papua Coalition for Liberation says the new Vanuatu Prime Minister Joe Natuman will continue the good work of his predecessor in supporting the West Papuan self-determination cause.

Mr Natuman has replaced Moana Carcasses who was yesterday removed in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

During his 13 and a half months as Prime Minister, Mr Carcasses took significant steps to advance the West Papua cause in international fora and raise issues over human rights abuses by Indonesia's security forces. This included a landmark speech at the United Nations general assembly.

The Coalition for Liberation says Joe Natuman is very much a supporter of West Papuan rights and was instrumental in the former government's policy.

The Coalition has also played down concerns that the new Foreign Minister Sato Kilman could try and strengthen ties with Indonesia again as he did previously when Prime Minister.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/244576/papuan-separatists-hail-new-vanuatu-leader

Aceh

Three arrests over March murder of Aceh election candidate

Jakarta Globe - May 18, 2014

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Police on Sunday said they had arrested three men suspected of involvement in the March shooting of an Aceh National Party (PNA) legislative candidate.

Aceh Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gustav Leo said the arrests involved Densus 88, the National Police, the Aceh Police and the South Aceh district police in the districts of South Aceh and Southwest Aceh on Friday.

PNA politician Faisal, 35, was shot dead in the Ginting Mancang area of South Aceh on March 2. Police reportedly found 42 gunshots on the right side of his vehicle and treated the attack as an election-related murder.

The first man arrested was identified by police only as N.Y., 35. He was detained at a shop in Blang Blahdeh village, Meukek sub-district. Police believe he fired the shots that killed Faisal. Police then arrested U.Y., 29, in Pante Cermin village in the Babahrot subdistrict of Southwest Aceh.

"The suspect was in charge of monitoring the victim and the situation on the ground on the night that the shooting took place," Gustav told the Jakarta Globe.

Police subsequently arrested a third suspect, identified as R.M., 34, later that evening at the Lhok Bengkuang village of Tapaktuan subdistrict in South Aceh, based on information from the two suspects who had been arrested earlier.

Police seized an AK 101 assault rifle and ammunition from Lhok Bengkuang. "The three suspects did not put up a fight," Gustav said.

The case was one of a number of other cases of violence in Aceh ahead of the April 9 legislative elections.

Sporadic violence has dented Aceh's political development as rival parties formed by former separatist combatants occasionally settled their differences by targeted killings.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/three-arrests-march-murder-aceh-election-candidate/

Soldier discharged, jailed for lending out rifle

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2014

Banda Aceh – The Banda Aceh Military Court on Friday sentenced Chief Pvt. Heri Safitri of the Yonif 111/Raider Paya Bakong, North Aceh, to three years in prison for lending his rifle to civilians who used it to shoot up a political party office on Feb. 17, 2014.

Heri, who was also found guilty of having consumed shau-shabu or methamphetamine, was also dishonorably discharged.

The sentence exactly matched what was demanded by prosecutors. During the tribunal, military prosecutor Maj. Uje Koswara said Heri had lent his SS2 V1 rifle out to Mario and Umar Adam alias Membe, whom he knew intended to shoot up a NasDem Party campaign office ahead of the 2014 legislative election.

Presiding judge Lt. Col. Budi Purnomo MH said Heri could no longer be a soldier in the Indonesian Military (TNI) because what he did had besmirched the image of the TNI.

Lending out his rifle, the judge said, could endanger other people's lives. Moreover, the shooting had disturbed the peace in Aceh, all the more so that it occurred during the campaign period.

"We rejected the defendant's appeal to not be discharged from the TNI because we consider him no longer worthy of being a soldier," Budi said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/17/soldier-discharged-jailed-lending-out-rifle.html

Human rights & justice

Candidates urged to address human rights

Jakarta Post - May 23, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Amid increasing religious intolerance and a slate of still unresolved cases of human rights violations, the next leader of Indonesia is expected to bring the country forward in upholding human rights.

Therefore, the two candidates vying for the presidency, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Prabowo Subianto from the Gerindra Party, are being urged to lay out their platform for how they plan to guarantee religious freedom and resolve past human rights abuses.

"Religious freedom is a fundamental element of human rights, as freedom in other aspects of life is impossible if the right to practice one's faith is not guaranteed," prominent rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman said at a discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Marzuki, a former attorney general and commissioner of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), went on to say, "The protection of human rights in the future will not be possible without first solving violations in the past because such a dark past will forever impede us from moving on."

Two decades into the Reform Era, Indonesians now enjoy a much greater level of freedom than during the New Order Era. But despite government claims that Indonesia is a free and tolerant nation, discrimination against religious minorities is on the rise.

Besides issuing a number of discriminatory laws and bylaws, the government has failed to protect minority groups, such as the Ahmadiyah or the Shia, and bring to justice those who commit attacks against them.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, outlined in a report to be presented before the United Nations Human Rights Council next month that discrimination against minority groups, including in Indonesia, was due to a deviation of the law.

"In Indonesia, for example, religious minority groups such as Ahmadis, Baha'is, Christians and Shias face physical attacks from militant groups with little intervention from the government," he said.

He cited the case of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church congregation (GKI Taman Yasmin), which was forced to abandon its church in Bogor, West Java, because local authorities sealed the building in 2010. Even though the Supreme Court had ruled the congregation had a right to build and worship in the church, the central government did not intervene in the case.

Similarly, the government has been reluctant to resolve a number of past cases of gross human rights abuse, despite calls to do so from Komnas HAM based on its own investigations.

One of these cases concerns the 1998 May riots, which have entered the public debate as the July 9 presidential election nears. An investigation by Komnas HAM had implicated Prabowo, a former general, in the disappearance of 13 pro-democracy activists amid the riots.

Komnas HAM recently revived the investigation into the case 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.

Komnas HAM commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said that the institution would summon Kivlan for the second time next Monday after the latter refused to respond to a Komnas HAM summons last week. "We will forcibly bring him to Komnas HAM to provide details regarding his claim," Roichatul said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/23/candidates-urged-address-human-rights.html

Prabowo targeted over abductions

Agence France Presse - May 22, 2014

Jakarta – Indonesian lawyers said Wednesday they have filed a lawsuit aimed at hauling Prabowo Subianto before a rights court over the abduction of student activists.

Prabowo Subianto, a former commander of the army's notorious special forces, will face Joko Widodo in the race to become leader of the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation on July 9, with Joko seen as the favourite.

Allegations of human rights abuses by Prabowo have come into sharp focus in recent weeks.

He has previously admitted to ordering the kidnap of several activists in the months before a student movement toppled the three-decade Suharto dictatorship in 1998. Subianto was sacked from his position in the military over those abductions. But he has never faced a civilian court and denies any involvement in the high-profile disappearances of 13 other activists, who were abducted around the same time and have never been found.

The suit was filed Tuesday at a court in the capital Jakarta, the same day Prabowo officially registered his candidacy for the presidential polls at the election commission, where activists protested and called the former general a "murderer."

The legal case is aimed at forcing the government to set up a special human rights court to try the alleged kidnappers, including Subianto – something which the Indonesian parliament pledged to do in 2009 but is yet to carry out.

"We are concerned that if [Prabowo] is elected, the case will never be tried," lawyer Antoni Silo told AFP. He added that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was also named in the suit, as activists accuse him over the failure to set up the rights court.

Prabowo's representatives were not immediately available for comment. Previous attempts to get the ex-general and others to answer for the abductions have failed.

A investigation in 2006 by Indonesia's human rights commission included victims' accounts of beatings and torture at the hands of Prabowo's unit. The report was passed to the attorney general's office but it has never taken action.

Prabowo has also been accused over a massacre that left 300 dead in East Timor in 1983 during its resistance against Indonesian occupation. Human rights groups frequently accused the special forces, Kopassus, of human rights abuses during Suharto's military-backed rule.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-targeted-abductions/

Indonesian election presents US with Modi-style visa headache

Jakarta Globe - May 21, 2014

David Brunnstrom – The emergence of Prabowo Subianto as a serious contender in Indonesia's election this week means the United States faces the awkward possibility of having to welcome another Asian leader it had denied entry to because of alleged links to mass killings.

The situation has arisen days after Washington found itself having to change course and promise a visa to Indian Prime Minister-Elect Narendra Modi after his landslide election win. Modi was barred from the United States in 2005.

The possibility of another Washington U-turn became apparent after Indonesia's second-largest party on Monday suddenly switched its support to Prabowo from frontrunner Joko Widodo, nominated by the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle PDI-P, ahead of July 9 presidential polls.

Prabowo was once one of Indonesia's most reviled men, accused of kidnapping, human rights abuses and a coup attempt after the 1998 overthrow of his former father-in-law, the late President Suharto.

A New York Times report in March said that in 2000 the US State Department denied the former general a visa to attend his son's university graduation in Boston, but has never said why.

Prabowo told Reuters in 2012 he was still refused a US visa due to allegations that he instigated riots that killed hundreds after Suharto's overthrow. He has denied wrongdoing.

According to Amnesty International, Prabowo was dismissed from the Indonesian military in 1998 for his role, while commander of Special Forces Command (Kopassus), in the disappearance of political activists.

India's Modi was denied a US visa in 2005 under the terms of a 1998 US law which bars entry to foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom."

He has been accused of links to religious riots in his home state of Gujarat in 2002 in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died.

However, after Modi's party swept to victory in elections last week, US President Barack Obama was quick to telephone his congratulations and invite the new leader of a country he has declared a vital strategic partner to the White House.

The State Department said Modi would be granted an A-1 visa accorded to heads of state. Modi has also has denied any wrongdoing and has never been prosecuted in India.

An A-1 visa carries with it diplomatic immunity and is issued automatically – unless opposed by Obama, who has the authority to deny entry to anyone who has committed "crimes against humanity or other serious violations of human rights, or who attempted or conspired to do so."

Asked if Prabowo would be treated the same as Modi if he won Indonesia's election, a State Department official responded with statements similar to those before India's poll result – saying the department did not discuss individual visa cases.

"Applicants traveling on official business on behalf of their government are subject to limited grounds of ineligibility under US immigration law. However, we cannot speculate on the outcome of any visa application," he said.

The official added that the United States remained "committed to close relations with Indonesia and expect that relationship to continue."

Analysts believe that Prabowo, like Modi, would be granted a visa if he wins the election.

Ernie Bower, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said that like this week's martial law declaration in Thailand, the Prabowo case is an unwanted headache while Washington is trying to forge stronger ties in Southeast Asia in the face of an increasingly assertive China.

"For the United States, it is most important to focus on the mandate of the Indonesian people. Washington must embrace and work with whichever candidate is elected."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesian-election-presents-us-modi-style-visa-headache/

Prabowo Subianto faces court challenge over alleged human rights abuses

ABC Radio Australia - May 21, 2014

George Roberts, Indonesia – A group of Indonesian lawyers has launched a court challenge aimed at forcing one of the country's presidential candidates to stand trial over allegations of human rights abuses.

Prabowo Subianto is one of two men vying to be Indonesian president after Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stands down later this year. He officially lodged his bid for presidency to great fanfare on Tuesday, with the backing of billionaires, media moguls, and a strong coalition of parties.

But a group of activist lawyers is launching a case aimed at forcing the Government to have him face a special human rights hearing. Lawyer Antoni Silo says Indonesia's parliament voted in favour of starting a human rights trial in 2009, but it has never been held.

"Along with others we demand that the human rights special hearing be opened, to resolve the case of kidnapping of 13 missing persons – because as of today it hasn't been resolved," he said.

"In 2009, there was a recommendation from the parliament, yet it remains a cold case, so we are as independent advocates [are] obligated to enforce the law as it has not yet been enforced."

It has been alleged that in 1998, just days before the fall of President Suharto's regime, troops under Prabowo Subianto's control were responsible for the kidnapping, alleged torture and disappearance of some student protestors. Prabowo was a military commander at the time.

Phillips Vermonte from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies says Prabowo has already admitted involvement in some kidnappings.

"Regardless of the fact that it has never been trialled, Prabowo Subianto acknowledged that he actually did kidnap some of the students," he said. "He admitted though that those who were with him went home out safely – they came out alive."

The ABC attempted to contact Prabowo Subianto and asked his campaign staff for comment about the case, but is yet to receive a response. He has previously been quoted as saying he was being made a scapegoat.

Prabowo Subianto has been trailing his opponent, Joko Widodo, in the opinion polls. Antoni Silo says it is a coincidence that the case was filed on the day Prabowo lodged his presidential bid.

"We're doing it because this case has been a cold case for 16 years," he said. "We frankly need to use the presidential election as a momentum [but] if we had more presidential candidates, we would still lodge this lawsuit. Whether or not Prabowo is a presidential candidate, we would still lodge this lawsuit."

But Phillips Vermonte has been expecting the presidential race get personal. "Now with only two pairs of candidates I think we can expect that the polarisation can be so deep because there is no third candidate that can play moderator," he said.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2014-05-21/indonesian-presidential-candidate-prabowo-subianto-faces-court-challenge-over-alleged-human-rights-a/1314278

Indonesian election candidates the focus of human rights concerns

Sydney Morning Herald - May 20, 2014

Michael Bachelard, Jakarta – Both teams in the Indonesian presidential election have human rights concerns hanging over their candidates according to the global organisation Human Rights Watch.

The campaign of Prabowo Subianto, a former general and head of the special forces Kopassus, has been dogged by accusations that his unit kidnapped and tortured students during the 1998 riots that accompanied the overthrow of Suharto, as well as concerns over his long military career including actions in East Timor, West Papua and Jakarta.

But Jusuf Kalla, the man announced on Monday as the running mate of cleanskin Joko Widodo, also had questions to answer, said Human Rights Watch Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsono.

"Jusuf Kalla's stance on religious freedom is worrying," Mr Harsono said. "In October 1969, the 26-year-old Kalla allegedly led attacks against more than a dozen Christian churches and schools in Makassar – He was never questioned for his role."

The comment relates to raids in October 1969, when the Muslims' Student Association attacked Protestant and Catholic churches, a nuns' dormitory, a theological academy and Catholic schools. Mr Kalla was head of the organisation at the time.

According to Mr Harsono, in 2006, as vice-president to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Mr Kalla also agreed to pass a government regulation which "makes it very difficult for minorities to set up houses of worship".

He said Mr Kalla had "consistently blocked efforts to build [the Christian] GKI Yasmin church in Bogor despite a Supreme Court decision to have it built".

The building was blocked by the local Muslim majority who objected to having a Christian church in its midst, even though it had fulfilled all legal requirements.

Mr Kalla was also recorded at a 2009 rally held by the thuggish paramilitary organisation Pemuda Pancasila (Pancasila Youth) praising gangsterism and encouraging violence.

"Gangsters are people who work outside of the system, not for the government," he told the rally. "The word gangster [preman in Bahasa Indonesia] comes from 'free men'. This nation needs 'free men'... We need gangsters to get things done; free, private men, who get things done. We need gangsters who are willing to take risks in business. Use your muscles! Muscles aren't for beating up people. Although beating people up is sometimes needed."

Mr Prabowo's alleged human rights offences are better known. He was dismissed from the Indonesian military in 1998 for kidnapping student activists.

"Prabowo refused to answer a summon from Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, deciding to go into self-exile in Jordan," Mr Harsono said. "Prabowo later claimed that he had kept the activists alive but 13 activists are still missing. Prabowo also has a questionable role in the 1983 massacre in Kraras, East Timor."

Mr Prabowo, who is officially banned from visiting the United States over human rights concerns, has consistently defended his record, denying some allegations and saying of others that he was acting on orders.

Mr Harsono also drew attention to the platform of Mr Prabowo's party, Gerindra, which talks about "purification" of religion and taking action against "heresy".

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesian-election-candidates-the-focus-of-human-rights-concerns-20140520-zrivl.html

Work starts on memorial to May '98 victims

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2014

Jakarta – Relatives of the victims of the May 1998 tragedy expressed their sincere appreciation on Sunday as the Jakarta administration began the construction of a memorial to their loved ones at Pondok Ranggon Public Cemetery in East Jakarta.

They said they were proud of their relatives who died in the bloody riots and of the city administration, which finally decided to construct the memorial for the victims who were mostly buried in a mass grave at the cemetery.

Ruyati Darwin, 67, who lost her 33-year-old son Eten Karyana in the fire that razed the Central Plaza in Klender, East Jakarta, on May 13, 1998, praised the city administration's move to construct the memorial, which she said would help her keep alive the memory of her son and the other victims.

"I'm relieved that the city has finally acknowledged the tragedy; that thousands of people were killed for no reason. It is really a step toward justice," she said. Ruyati, however said she still bore a heavy burden as she had never achieved a legal resolution to the death of her son.

She said she still took part in the weekly Thursday protest – also known as Kamisan – in front of the Presidential Palace demanding a thorough investigation into the tragedy and other human-rights abuses, including the Trisakti and Semanggi shootings.

"I have fought for justice for 16 years. The memorial's construction gives me new hope that comprehensive justice will be achieved in these human- rights abuses. I'm getting old but I'm never going to give up," she said.

The city administration will build the monument shaped as a needle threaded with a red thread, titled Prasasti Jarum Mei 1998. The threaded needle symbolizes the healing process for the victims' families for the loss of their loved ones. Currently, there are two needle monuments in Jakarta; one in the National Commission on Violence Against Women's (Komnas Perempuan) office in Central Jakarta and the other in Citra Mall Klender, the site of the former Central Plaza.

Komnas Perempuan is aiming to build needle monuments at other sites of the May 1998 riots, such as in Glodok, West Jakarta, and in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), Central Jakarta. Shops in Glodok, mainly owned by ethnic Chinese, were burned down by rioters while the RSCM accommodated thousands of riot victims.

The needle monuments are dedicated to all the riot victims, identified or otherwise, young or old, of all ethnic backgrounds, including ethnic Chinese.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama who laid the first stone for the memorial, said that he fully supported Komnas Perempuan's initiative to build the needle monuments at various sites throughout the city.

"Victims of the May 1998 tragedy must be remembered. Not to reopen old wounds, but to remind us that a terrible thing once happened to our country and to remind us not to repeat such a tragedy in the future," he said.

Ahok added that although the memorial would be built more than a decade after the tragedy, he hoped that the younger generation would learn to respect people of all ethnic backgrounds in the country.

He said that the younger generation had to understand how Indonesia came to finally accept the ethnic Chinese, even if it meant learning about the killings. "If not for the May 1998 riots, ethnic Chinese would still be discriminated against. I would not have been Bangka Belitung regent. I would not be the deputy governor of the capital city," Ahok said.

Komnas Perempuan chairwoman Yuniyanti Chuzaifah agreed, saying that the May 1998 riots had to be remembered, not only to respect those who died during the riots but also to teach the younger generation.

"Schools only teach students about the 1998 reformation. Children don't know all the events and incidents leading up to the reform. They must know the truth because they will be the future leaders," Yuniyanti said.

She said the memorial had to be built because hundreds of unidentified victims were buried in a mass grave at the cemetery but nothing had been done to indicate the presence of the mass grave. (dwa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/19/work-starts-memorial-may-98-victims.html

Families of May 1998 victims place high hope in Jokowi

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2014

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang, East Java – Showing further signs of advanced age, Dionesius Utomo Rahardjo, 69, and his wife Genoveva Misiati, 66, are no longer as outspoken as they were 16 years ago, when they set out to search for information on the whereabouts of their son, Petrus Bimo Anugerah.

Despite the health problems now wracking them, especially Misiati, who has developed a heart condition in the last few years, their attempts to find the whereabouts of their second child have never ceased.

Domiciled on Jl. R.Tumenggung Soeryo, Bunulrejo subdistrict, Blimbing district, Malang, the former employees of the Central Psychiatric Hospital in Lawang, East Java, remain convinced that their child is still alive. Driven by parental instinct, neither have ever accepted that their son Petrus Bimo, born in Malang on Sept. 24, 1973, is dead.

"We are sure Petrus Bimo is alive. It's our belief. He's my son and my instincts tell me that Petrus Bimo is still alive somewhere," Utomo Rahardjo told The Jakarta Post at his residence recently.

Even after 16 years, while sitting in the living room of the house, Misiati could still tearfully recall the moment she last saw Petrus Bimo, when her son said goodbye and asked for her consent to go to Jakarta.

The student of Jakarta's Driyakarya Philosophy College was leaving for the capital with the intention of helping free fellow activists of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), who had been detained by security personnel.

"You'll be slamming into a concrete wall, Nak (son)," said Misiati, repeating her own words when seeing off Petrus Bimo to Jakarta.

With the impending change in government around the corner, Utomo and Misiati see a glimmer of hope to get just a vague idea of the whereabouts of their child.

"I'm not expecting too much from the future president, but if Jokowi emerges as president, there will be a bigger chance than that offered by Prabowo or Aburizal Bakrie as head of state," revealed Utomo.

The man born in Blitar, East Java, is confident that with Jokowi as president, there will be hope for the 13 families of abducted victims in the May 1998 tragedy to find some clues. Conversely, he believes with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Wiranto or Prabowo as president, the chance is remote.

Utomo said that Jokowi had never pledged to settle the case, but felt that figures such as Jokowi would still be more open to dialogue on the issue compared to previous leaders.

"Being ready to talk and having heart is important. No promise has been made by Jokowi, but he raises hope within my family. Hopefully with a new government, a new president, we'll again be drawn to the 16-year-old struggle," said Utomo while taking a deep breath.

The father of four and his wife feel a great deal of disappointment. During Yudhoyono's two terms in office, nothing was done despite their frequent orations in front of the State Palace in Jakarta.

In his view, the President lacks courage and heart because at the time of the abductions, he was within the government circle, making him reluctant to unmask peers alleged to have been directly or indirectly involved in the abductions.

"I have no particular interest in Jokowi. I just see Jokowi as the type of man who may be willing to listen. But I don't expect too much either. I merely hold a lot more hope with him compared to that offered by the other aspirants," indicated Utomo.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/19/families-may-1998-victims-place-high-hope-jokowi.html

Probe into kidnappings under Suharto sought

UCA News - May 16, 2014

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – An Indonesian presidential advisor has vowed to press the government into setting up an ad hoc human rights court to try those responsible for the forced disappearance of 13 political activists in 1997 and 1998, a move that could snare presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto.

The call from Albert Hasibuan came after a meeting earlier this week with members of the Movement Against Forgetting (GML), which includes the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Indonesia Corruption Watch and the Setara Institute.

"The point is that we asked the presidential advisory board member to urge the president to set up an ad hoc human rights court and to find the missing activists," Poengky Indarti, executive director of Imparsial, told ucanews.com on Friday.

The role of Prabowo in the case has long been contested. Rights activists believe that as head of the Kopassus special forces unit at the time, he may have ordered the abductions.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has previously said that among the hundreds of activists abducted in 1997 and 1998, the final years of former dictator Suharto, and who were later released, some had seen those now missing at the Kopassus headquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta.

Fuelling the calls for an investigation into their fate is a comment by former Army Strategic Reserve Command chief of staff Kivlan Zen, who recently claimed to know where the 13 were executed, and where their bodies now lay.

Kontras has said that it tried to summon Kivlan to hand over evidence of their whereabouts, but that he had refused, claiming he had already given testimony in 2006. The group said however that he would be more likely to respond to a court summons.

"His explanation is very important and serves as an initial clue to find out the situation of the activists," said the Movement Against Forgetting in a statement.

Prabowo, who heads the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) is running for the presidency in elections due in July. Supporters and colleagues have argued that the dredging up of his human rights record was intended to hinder his chances of become the next Indonesian president.

The call to set up an investigation is not new. Presidential advisor Albert said in March last year that an court would soon materialize, but that failed to happen.

Amnesty International has said in the past that the ad hoc human rights court "must form part of a wider investigation into enforced disappearances in Indonesia and during the occupation of Timor-Leste from 1975-1999", in which Prabowo also has a contentious role.

Source: http://www.ucanews.com/news/probe-into-kidnappings-under-suharto-sought/70950

Sexual & domestic violence

As awareness grows, victims come forward

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2014

Jakarta – A recent slew of reported child sex abuse cases occurring in places considered safe for children, such as schools, has shaken many Indonesians who previously thought pedophilia was a distant reality only threatening street children.

More shocking has been that the perpetrators have often been close to their child victims: a school janitor, a neighbor, a stepfather or even a teacher.

The first case, which set off a media frenzy after it was reported last month, was the rape of a 6-year-old kindergarten student at the prestigious Jakarta International School (JIS) committed by outsourced cleaning staff in the school toilet.

Since then, more parents and children have spoken up and reported cases of abuse to the police.

For example, one victim's mother said she had learned that her 4-year-old son had been molested by a neighbor when the boy, while watching news on TV about Sukabumi serial child rapist Emon, asked his mother what "sodomy" was.

When the mother explained, the boy revealed that he too had been treated by their 13-year-old neighbor the way Emon had treated his victims.

On Friday, the mother of a 17-year-old male reported his tennis coach to the Jakarta Police for an alleged rape attempt that happened about nine months ago. The mother said among the reasons they had decided to speak out now was that many victims had come forward to report their cases to the police.

The Jakarta Police has a special unit to handle reports of abuse against women and children. The unit is usually led by a policewoman and has many policewomen on duty in plainclothes to create a friendly atmosphere.

University of Indonesia (UI) criminologist Josias Simon said that pedophilia is not a new thing in Indonesia. "Pedophiles have existed and acted in Indonesia for a very long time. It has just been exposed now," Josias said in an interview.

"The [revelation of the] JIS rape case was a breakthrough for our country. Since the JIS case was exposed to the public, many other cases have been exposed because parents are more aware," he said.

"It should not take a high-profile case for parents to be aware of child molestation. Parents should not fully trust anyone to take care of their child besides themselves, because pedophiles are known to be kind and friendly toward children."

UI sexuality and gender expert Irwan Hidayana said many parents were beginning to become more aware of dangers to children and were thus becoming more protective. "More and more cases are being reported because parents are now more willing to discuss sex with their children," he added.

Irwan said that the Indonesian custom to regard sexual conversations between a parent and a child as taboo had caused a low level of awareness about sex. "Parents generally think that sex is something a child will naturally learn about," he said.

"However, that's wrong. Parents should walk children through sex and their physical development so children know what's wrong and what's right."

Irwan said that in most cases of child molestation, the victims did not understand that what was being done to them was wrong, and therefore didn't think to tell anyone. Victims could grow up thinking, he went on, that child molestation was normal and then later commit similar crimes against children themselves.

Irwan said many Indonesians still had trouble understanding the meaning of pedophilia and often mistook it for homosexuality.

In other cases, Irwan said, child molestation happened because the perpetrators were unable to fulfill their sexual desire with people their own age, either from insecurity or low self-esteem. They then vent their pent-up desires on an easy target: children. (dwa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/17/as-awareness-grows-victims-come-forward.html

Freedom of speech & expression

Gerindra convinced of press freedom under Prabowo's leadership

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2014

Jakarta – The Gerindra Party says presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto will guarantee the freedom of the press in Indonesia, and is convinced that under his leadership, there would be no more restrictions on press freedom, such as those seen during the New Order era.

"If Pak Prabowo is elected president, I'm sure that we would enjoy much more press freedom," Gerindra's patron council member Martin Hutabarat said on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Martin said the press in Indonesia was currently forced into submission by Law No. 40/1999 on the press, and was heavily influenced by globalization. He said members of the House of Representatives needed to support the 1999 Press Law that resulted at the beginning of the reformation era.

"The direction of press freedom in Indonesia has been determined by the House instead of the president. So what we have now is different to what happened in the New Order era," said Martin.

As a member of the House's Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, Martin further said that in the context of globalization, it would no longer possible for Indonesia to put restrictions on the press. Thus, he said he was not sure that any president chosen in the upcoming election, including Prabowo, could send the Indonesian press back to its old ways.

"The main enemy of the press is not the president. It's likely that the president would be powerless in facing the press," said Martin.

He said it would likely be media investors and owners who would restrict press freedom. "Many media investors don't have an adequate understanding of the freedom of the press as they have always focused only on maximizing profits," he said. (gda/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/22/gerindra-convinced-press-freedom-under-prabowo-s-leadership.html

Political parties & elections

Hary Tanoe resigns from Hanura

Jakarta Globe - May 21, 2014

Yeremia Sukoyo & Carlos Paath, Jakarta – Hary Tanoesoedibjo, business magnate and chief patron of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), said he would step down from his position in the party in the face of mounting criticism from within.

"It has been decided that Hary Tanoe will resign from Hanura because he has made promises to support to both candidates," party chairman and former army head Wiranto said.

He said Hary faced a conflict of interest after stating that he would support Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party candidate Prabowo. Hanura has pledged to support Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate Joko Widodo.

In his capacity as Hanura's head election strategist, Hary faced criticism for his handling of the April 9 legislative elections, in which the party fared poorly, securing only 17 seats in the House of Representatives.

"It's way off our target of 5.5 percent, or 28 seats. Hary even promised that we would get 120 seats," Hanura deputy secretary general Kirstiawanto told the Jakarta Globe in April.

Previous reports indicated that Hary and Wiranto were at odds over the decision to form a coalition with PDI-P.

Analysts said that the PDI-P coalition would pose special difficulties for Hary because of his previous public disagreements with National Democrat Party (NasDem) aligned media rival Surya Paloh. NasDem is also part of the PDI-P coalition.

Joko's running mate, former vice president Jusuf Kalla, said he supported Hary's choice. "We should appreciate him, as a businessman it is good that he made such a decision," Kalla said Tuesday.

In February, Hary's MNC media group was sanctioned for a pro-Hanura bias under Indonesian equal time laws.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/hary-tanoe-resigns-hanura/

Personalities set to trump party loyalties in presidential election

Jakarta Globe - May 21, 2014

Hotman Siregar & Ezra Sihite, Jakarta – Although Prabowo Subianto's chance to win the presidential election seems better on paper with the backing of his coalition, analysts have warned that it may not be that easy to defeat rival Joko Widodo

The coalition between Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Hatta Rajasa's National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and Golkar Party gained a combined 48.5 percent of the votes in the legislative election.

But analysts say presidential elections are not the same as legislative elections where voters pick their candidates based on what political party they represent. The presidential election is more about a competition of personalities rather than a competition of political parties, they say.

Joko Widodo, the presidential candidate for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) – who is running with former vice president and former Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla – only has around about 40 percent of the votes with support of the PDI-P, the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura).

Political analyst Andrinof Chaniago said even though the Prabowo-Hatta coalition has secured nearly 50 percent support and that it could grow by another 10.7 percent if the Democratic Party decided to join them, it would not be easy to defeat the Joko-Kalla coalition.

"Regional and presidential elections are more about individuals and their ability to project themselves to a larger audience. There is almost no correlation between parliamentary support and the presidential and regional elections," Andrinof said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Heri Budianto, an analyst of the Political Communication Institute, corroborated Andrinof's opinion, saying this election will be the same as the 2004 and 2009 elections where a presidential figure would play the biggest factor.

Heri said that support from political parties is important but it will not the main attraction for voters. "The presidential election will mostly be affected by the individual being put forward for election," Heri said.

He said support from political parties would be helpful if their political machines were able to work effectively to bring in the masses and if the parties had loyal supporters.

The political analyst cited PKS as the party that has loyal supporters and that may contribute to Prabowo's presidential chances. "If a party is successful in getting its core support out on election day then they can make a difference," Heri said.

He said he did not feel there would be much difference in the final numbers this year compared to the last two elections. "My prediction is that the 2014 election will not follow party lines," he said.

Dian Permata, a senior researcher from the Founding Father House (FFH), said a survey conducted in March showed that 40.74 percent of respondents would choose their presidential and vice presidential candidates based on their capabilities.

The respondents indicated that they would also take into consideration factors such as candidates' personalities, vision, mission, work programs and their track records. Some voters could also take the religious and ethnic backgrounds of the candidates into consideration.

"This means it can be harder to predict just which way voters will go when they enter the polling booth," Dian said.

Andrinof said that the Prabowo-Hatta coalition was not one based on ideology but that it was built on personal and political ambitions and interests.

He cited Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakri as an example. When ABR, as he is known, went from PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri to the Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Gerindra's chief patron Prabowo, he was not offering a shared vision of how to run the country. ABR's aim was to forge a coalition that would assure him and his party of a powerful position.

"Ibu Megawati does not want to work with a politician who lacks a firm position on key political issues. Bu Mega is consistent about her principle and is not pragmatic. I think this was the factor that made bu Mega reject ARB's overtures," Andrinof said.

Yudhoyono, he added, initially planned to form a new coalition axis with Golkar but the Democratic Party's national leaders meeting concluded that party members were unwilling to form a new grouping or to support the two- coalition axis formed by PDI-P and Gerindra. Democrats wanted to stay neutral.

Despite saying that it will stay neutral, analysts believe the Democratic Party will eventually throw its support behind the Prabowo-Hatta bid given that Yudhoyono and Hatta are in-laws and that Prabowo has also often praised Yudhoyono's success in maintaining economic growth.

"Pak SBY played it beautifully in the coalition game. By refusing to be drawn into either of the emerging coalitions, he stayed in the background and reduced ARB's chances of a presidential bid of his own," Andrinof said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/personalities-set-trump-party-loyalties-indonesian-presidential-election/

Golkar riven by presidential candidacy

Jakarta Globe - May 21, 2014

Jakarta – Though the Golkar Party has given its official support to presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto and running mate Hatta Radjasa, several of its members have expressed doubt over the alliance.

Deputy head of Golkar's advisory council Luhut Panjaitan spoke out on Tuesday, extending his favor to Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla by praising the PDI-P candidate's cooperative coalition. He referred to Joko's coalition as small but preferable the opposition's, which he said was based on power sharing.

"We all understand that a president and vice president are chosen by the people, not parties, no matter how big the coalition is. Those parties will only fight for ministerial positions and other roles that hold power," he said on Tuesday.

Other Golkar members who declined to follow chairman Aburizal Bakrie's lead in supporting the Prabowo-Hatta ticket include head of the party's national office Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, member of its national research division Indra J Piliang and House members Meutya Hafid and Poempida Hidayatullah.

Poempida said he's proud of Golkar members who are not afraid to make their own decisions by thinking rationally.

"If it continues like this, we can see there's hope for Golkar in the future. There's no reason to fire Jokowi-JK supporters [from Golkar]. Even one of Golkar's founding fathers, Suhardiman, supports them. Will he be fired too?" Poempida asked.

Golkar deputy secretary general Tantowi Yahya said such a split in opinions was not a rare occurrence in Golkar.

"It's not the first time this has happened; look at the 2004 elections," he said, referring to the year Golongan Karya members chose to nominate retired army general Wiranto as president. The top position ultimately went to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and running mate Jusuf Kalla, which according to Tantowi, was partly due to votes cast by Golkar politicians supporting the pair.

He added that he sees the deviating members as mature individuals able to make rational decisions. "They know what the party would do regarding their choices," he said.

Deputy treasurer Bambang Soesatyo expressed a similar sentiment. "Differences are normal. It's politics," he argued. "We hope the party will act wisely regarding this [difference of opinion]." If Aburizal had been nominated as Joko's running mate, he added, Golkar would not be dealing with a split.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/golkar-riven-presidential-candidacy/

Golkar youth say they will break ranks, support Jokowi-Kalla

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang and Haeril Halim, Jakarta – A rift within the Golkar Party over chairman Aburizal Bakrie's last minute deal with the Gerindra Party to pledge the party's support for the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa presidential ticket widened on Wednesday with many young Golkar politicians decrying the move as a violation of party rules.

One of those rejecting the party's coalition with Gerindra is Indra J. Piliang, who said he and scores of other young Golkar politicians would break ranks and endorse the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) ticket of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Jusuf Kalla.

"Soon we will declare our official support for Jokowi-Kalla. There is an ongoing conversation in the party that Kalla is no longer part of Golkar. How could this be possible, knowing that he used to serve as party chairman? We will not abandon Kalla," Indra said.

He added that by declaring the party's support for Prabowo, Aburizal had violated a decision made in last week's executive meeting, which had only given him the mandate to be a candidate for the party.

"The meeting issued a mandate for Aburizal to be either a presidential or vice presidential candidate. When that proved impossible, he reinterpreted the mandate as one giving him control over the party's coalition decision," Indra said.

He went on to say that the Golkar leadership also did not order Aburizal to "beg" for ministerial positions from both camps as a condition to join either of them. "The meeting did not discuss Cabinet position deals, so they should not have been put on the table when he was negotiating."

Aburizal's 11th hour coalition maneuvers have been panned by Golkar members. After the PDI-P rejected Aburizal's proposition that Golkar receive several Cabinet seats in the next government, Gerindra offered Golkar only two ministerial positions. Aburizal accepted.

Separately, Kalla expressed confidence that he and Jokowi would win support from Golkar Party members regardless of the party's official coalition.

"It will be a contest of figures, not parties. I am a former chairman of Golkar. As members of Golkar, will you choose leaders from other parties over your former chairman?" Kalla told reporters on the sidelines of a closed-door PDI-P strategy meeting.

Though Golkar had earlier appeared poised to join with the PDI-P – Aburizal even going so far as to publicly pledge his support for Jokowi during a press stunt at a Jakarta market – the party is now in the Gerindra coalition along with the National Mandate Party (PAN), United Development Party (PPP), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).

Golkar Party lawmaker Mahyudin, an Aburizal supporter, said that the national meeting actually had decided to give Aburizal a mandate as the party chairman to decide Golkar's coalition path.

"It's been agreed that Golkar will support the Prabowo-Hatta ticket," Mahyuddin said, adding that the decision should be backed by all Golkar members as the national meeting was the party's highest decision-making body.

He said the party would penalize any members who "violated" the decision made at meeting. "The sanctions will vary depending on the degree of violations. It can be the revocation of membership cards to dismissal from structural positions in the party, which will automatically lead to the consequence of not being able to serve as one of the Golkar party's members at the House of Representatives."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/21/golkar-youth-say-they-will-break-ranks-support-jokowi-kalla.html

Prabowo-Hatta coalition parties form youth wing

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2014

Jakarta – Gerindra Party deputy secretary-general Aryo Djojohadikusumo says the coalition of parties supporting candidate pair Prabowo Subianto- Hatta Rajasa has established Gerakan Muda Indonesia (Indonesia Youth Movement), or Gema Indonesia, which seeks to woe young people as potential voters in the upcoming presidential election.

"To approach young people we have to move youth organizations in a structured way in Indonesia. That's why we established Gema Indonesia," said Aryo at Polonia House, a former Bung Karno private residence in Jakarta, on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said Gema Indonesia was a fusion of youth organizations affiliated with political parties that supported the Gerindra-led coalition.

Several artists who are also members of parties supporting Prabowo-Hatta have joined the movement. They include musicians Anang Hermansyah, Dwiki Dharmawan and Pasha Ungu of the National Mandate Party (PAN); Rachel Maryam of Gerindra; and Ahmad Dhani of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

"We are very optimistic because there has been much support from many young people who are interested in backing Prabowo-Hatta," said Aryo, who is also Prabowo's nephew.

Meanwhile, Gema Indonesia secretary-general Anang Hermansyah said the movement was committed to a Prabowo-Hatta win in the presidential race.

"Many of us are not politicians. We have various professional backgrounds, including entrepreneurs, lecturers, students and other professions. We are unified due to our awareness and responsibility to save Indonesia, and we have to determine our stance," said Anang. (gda/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/21/prabowo-hatta-coalition-parties-form-youth-wing.html

Indonesia elections awash with 'money politics', says failed candidate

ABC Radio Australia - May 21, 2014

Helen Brown, Indonesia – A failed election candidate in Indonesia claims that bribes she paid to electoral officials to win a seat in last month's parliamentary polls were not honoured.

Agustina Amprawati, from the city of Pasuruan in East Java, has revealed she gave almost $AUD12,000, and a motorbike, to 13 officials who have responsibility for calculating votes and filling out official forms.

It was a down-payment which she claims the lower-level officials said would garner her 5,000 votes from each person. But when it came time to summarise the votes, Ms Amprawati realised that her payments were going to come to nothing.

"I feel like I'm a victim, a victim of fraud," she said. "When they offered me the chance, they asked me for money with the promise that I would become a provincial legislative member. But they denied the promise. And then challenged me when I raised the prospect of legal action."

Fraud allegations probed

The Pasuruan Election Monitoring Agency, which is investigating the claims, has recommended that the accused officials are discharged from their duties. It has also called for a recount in 1,700 polling stations, saying it will consider a re-election in certain places if necessary.

"Of course this is very disappointing. It tarnishes the face of democracy in Pasuruan and at the national level," PEMA head Suryono Pane said. "This kind of practice shouldn't happen if the election organiser understands the responsibility and the ethical code that they carry."

The agency also forwarded Ms Amprawati's claims to the police, and on the day the ABC visited she'd received a summons for questioning. Ms Amprawati says she was prepared to expose the practice which she suspected was widespread, even though it could mean jail time if she's found guilty of a crime.

"Because they play games," she said. "I lost my votes, mine were transferred to another candidate from the same party."

Corruption at mid-tier level

Indonesian authorities were already suspicious of the 13 officials before the allegations emerged, tightening their monitoring as the legislative elections swung into gear.

Indonesia's legislative elections on April 9 were a huge logistical task, with votes being cast at 546,000 polling votes at several different levels. In a complicated system, the votes from the polling booths are collated and moved up to the levels where a government seat can be won or lost.

It's the tally of these votes as they proceed up the chain that authorities believe is most susceptible to abuse.

The body with national oversight of Indonesia's elections is combing through pages of data to track down voting irregularities in the recent legislative election, uncovering what appears to be corrupt practices at the mid-tier level of the process.

The election supervisory body says problems range from the shifting of votes between candidates, and cases where official forms have gone missing altogether, putting a stain on the country's maturing democratic process.

"Looking at the recapitulation result in the national level, we can see that in the lower level there are many things we found strange," said Nelson Simanjuntak, of the election supervisory board, known as Bawaslu. "When we then checked to fix the mistake, we found that there are results that do not make any sense."

'A major sin in a democracy'

Ms Amprawati has provided police with copies of receipts of the monies she paid to the election officials, just like a business transaction.

"This case is not common. What usually happens is money politics, between the candidates and the voters," said the Head of Detectives Bambang Sugeng. "But this time it's an election office involved. This has rarely happened, and so we are paying attention to finish this case."

Ms Amprawati concedes that she is a part of a big problem in Indonesia, where corruption – or the possibility of it – has become an ingrained practice.

"To change the system, to be the speaker, one must do money politics," she said. "To be a faction leader, one must do money politics. And to get close with other members, to even sit in the parliament, you must do money politics."

But there are also people in South-East Asia's biggest economy who want things done differently. "It's a major sin in a democracy," said Bawaslu's Nelson Simanjuntak as he looked through the reams of suspect voting forms on his desk.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2014-05-21/indonesia-elections-awash-with-money-politics-says-failed-candidate/1314636

Indonesia's presidential race set to move into overdrive

Jakarta Globe - May 20, 2014

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Monday's declaration of two tickets running in July's presidential election evokes at least two questions: Do hopefuls Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto have anything different to offer the Indonesian voters? Secondly, will their respective running mates boost their chances of clinching the country's top position, or will they be the cause of the candidates' downfall?

Joko and former Vice President Jusuf Kalla declared their election bid at the historical Gedung Juang in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday morning, ending speculations as to who Joko would pick as his running mate ahead of the July 9 presidential poll. The declaration came just a day before Tuesday's registration deadline at the General Election Commission (KPU).

Kalla, who is also former chairman of the Golkar Party, had been regarded by many as the strongest candidate for the job, but other names, such as current Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Abraham Samad, also continued to pop up.

Joko told journalists at the KPU office that he picked Kalla because of the politician's popularity among the voters, as well as his political experience and track record.

"I've been in the bureaucracy [business] for nine years, and I know those [qualities] are needed," Joko said. "Integrity, a full understanding of politics and the economy; these things are also very crucial."

Neither Joko nor Kalla spoke about their campaign platform, although Joko said they had submitted their vision for the country to the KPU during registration. "When the time comes, we'll talk about it. Later, OK?" he said.

This not deter political analysts from speculating that the pair's actions during and after the announcement – when they pedaled their own bikes to reach the nearby KPU office – was a clear indication of their populist platform.

"We saw the informal, modest announcement. That gives a populist impression," Siti Zuhro of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said on Monday. "And Joko has struck people as a populist figure – not too formal and strict with protocols."

Muhammad Qodari from political survey institute Indo Barometer agreed, adding that the populist image has traditionally been attached to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Joko's party.

"[Joko-Kalla's] vision and mission are probably not very different from [PDI-P's] nationalist-populist platform, which can be seen from its history and rhetoric," Qodari said.

Prabowo and his Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) initially built their reputation on a nationalist-populist image, but that was before the recent political situation brought three out of four Islamic parties with legislative seats at the House of Representatives closer to Gerindra.

The three parties – the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) – all have declared their support for Prabowo and his running mate, PAN chairman Hatta Rajasa.

Prabowo and Hatta also declared their bid in the upcoming presidential on Monday, just a few hours after Joko and Kalla's announcement. "Their declaration event looked formal and institutional, with a religious nuance," Siti said. "Nationalist-religious [platform] seems to be their starting point."

Although PDI-P has the fourth Islamic party in its bloc, the National Awakening Party (PKB), this hardly gives its coalition an Islamic coloring, with PDI-P's dominance and PKB's small share in the alliance that also consists of the National Democratic Party (Nasdem) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), Siti said.

"It's different from the Gerindra coalition," she said. "It [Gerindra's alliance] has a strong religious nuance because of the three Islamic-based parties in it."

Rights activists recently criticized Prabowo after Gerindra published on its website a manifesto of the party, which includes its religious stance considered intolerant toward minority groups.

The manifesto states: "The state guarantees each citizen's freedom to adhere to a religion/belief. But the government/the state is obliged to regulate this freedom... The state is demanded to guarantee the purity of teachings of religions acknowledged by the state – from all kinds of blasphemy and heresies."

These sentiments have been seen by many as Prabowo's attempt to woo its Islamic coalition partners and voters.

Qodari doubts, however, that using religious sentiments would as it has never been successful in the past – including when Kalla and his running mate Wiranto used it in the 2009 presidential elections. "JK-Wiranto in 2009 attempted took that direction," Qodari said. "But [religiosity] is not an effective issue."

Nevertheless, Siti added, with Islamic parties' better than expected outcomes in the legislative elections, religious issues may still have some significance. "But we have very heterogeneous voters here in Indonesia," Siti said. "And the [political] figures themselves play a very determining factor."

Aside from analyst speculations on the candidates' possible platforms, not much has been said as to what the two tickets vying for Indonesia's top leadership posts for the next five years will offer in their campaigns.

Joko earlier this month talked about a "mental revolution" in an opinion piece published by Kompas daily, underlining the need for a change in mentality, particularly in the education sector.

He also described the actions he would take in the agricultural sector concerning food security issues, during a visit to a farming village in Bogor, West Java. Joko declared his stance against the conversion of agricultural land for residential or industrial use, saying farmers should be given government support to increase productivity. This, in turn, would diminish the country's reliance on imports by boosting domestic agricultural and fisheries.

But Prabowo may be a real challenge to Joko when it comes to wooing farmers, Siti said. Prabowo's leadership at the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI) is a good indication of his strong grip on Indonesia's farming communities.

But she hailed Joko's call for a "mental revolution," saying a fundamental change in our ways of thinking was indeed what Indonesia needed.

"Concrete changes in mindset, coupled with law enforcement, are crucial to support economic development," she said. "Joko gives the impression of wanting to create new values, a new culture in the government aimed at improving the people's welfare."

On the other hand, Qodari pointed out, Prabowo may have a more systematic platform compared to Joko. The 50-page manifesto of what his government would do if he was elected is a clear indication.

"This is because Prabowo had a head start in the race for presidency, and as the leader of Gerindra, he was able to promote himself from the very start," Qodari said. "Joko is not a party chairman and became a candidate quite late in the game."

Joko has led most popularity surveys whoever he was paired with, although a recent survey by Indikator Politik Indonesia pointed out the Jakarta governor garnered most votes with Kalla.

The survey, announced last week, showed Joko-Kalla securing 51 percent of the vote if they face off with Prabowo-Hatta, who may get 32 percent. The remaining 17 percent of respondents were undecided.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesias-presidential-race-set-move-overdrive/

Aburizal may be facing possible impeachment by Golkar, analysts say

Jakarta Globe - May 20, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – It was a remarkable, yet predictable step for Joko Widodo, the hugely popular presidential hopeful of the Indonesian Democratic of Struggle, or PDI-P, to pick Jusuf Kalla, a former vice president and also a former Golkar Party chairman, as his running mate.

This came after his rival Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party named former chief economy minister Hatta Rajasa his running mate.

As the Jakarta Globe had earlier predicted, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie would not make it into the political ring either as a presidential or vice presidential candidate.

Aburizal initially had plans to run for the presidency and although he was later touted as a possible vice presidential candidate, he has failed in his bids to form coalitions with other political parties ahead of the presidential election.

After he appeared to have joined forces with Prabowo, it was not to be. Aburizal then sought a political agreement with the PDI-P as was evident from his meeting with Joko in Central Jakarta's Johar Market.

However, the coalition trial turned out to be a nonstarter after his meeting with PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri at her home in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, chairman of the Democratic Party, also announced on Sunday that it would not form any coalition in the upcoming election by saying that "it is respectable for the Democrats to be independent and not beg for power from other parties."

Losing hope to form a new coalition with the Democratic Party, Golkar finally made a last-minute decision to join Gerindra, who earlier last week had announced that Hatta Rajasa would be Prabowo's running mate. Aburizal's ambition to occupy the most powerful position in the country now seems all but over.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia said with Kalla running as Joko's vice presidential candidate, Golkar's support would inevitably be affected, whether from the party cadres or Indonesian voters.

"There are many cadres that are keen to join the Joko axis because the Jakarta governor has a better chance of winning compared with Prabowo," Arbi said. "It is purely reasonable considering that those cadres are still sniffing for positions of power," he added.

Arbi also commented that Golkar's decision to join Gerindra was nothing more than a gamble, saying that the party was at risk of losing the presidential battle. "Most of the votes will go for Joko and Kalla," he said.

Meanwhile, Hanta Yuda, executive director of the Pol-Tracking Institute, echoed the sentiment, saying that even without the official support from his party, Kalla would be able to gain enough votes in the election.

"Kalla is a strong figure who could greatly influence the direction of the support within Golkar. He is able to get the party's machinery to back him up," Hanta said. "The support among Golkar's cadres will be varied. It surely will be polarized," he said.

However, Hanta emphasized that the divided support within Golkar should not be seen as a rift. "This had happened before. Back in 2004, when Kalla became a running mate for Yudhoyono, Golkar also did not support him. They went to the Wiranto axis," he said.

"It is more like a dynamic for Golkar. With Aburizal as its chairman plus its historical surviving record, the Golkar Party could face this year like it did before," Hanta said.

Furthermore, Arbi of the University of Indonesia pointed out that Aburizal had been left by many of his supporters across the country, except for the central office in Jakarta.

"Aburizal has seemingly in his efforts to get a 'best solution' for his own interest, allowed his party to be left unmanaged. He is nowhere but in a fragile position right now," the political analyst said.

"With its poor performance in forming a coalition with other parties, Golkar should rather consider forming part of the opposition with the Democratic Party. It is time for those parties to feel the bitter reality of being outside the governmental system," he said.

"By being in opposition within parliament, they can start to learn how to development this nation critically and honestly," he said.

Arbi emphasized that another issue that may impact the internal workings of Golkar is the divided support among its cadres. Compared with Kalla, Aburizal is less favored, which is why Arbi predicts that many Golkar cadres could act to force the party in the near future to give its full support to the running pair of Joko and Kalla.

"Aburizal could even get impeached by the party he chaired," Arbi said. "It depends on when the party's congress will take place. If the party holds its congress after the presidential election, he might be impeached," Arbi said. "Not to mention if Joko-Kalla wins, the possibility is higher," he added.

"However if it is held before the election, the chance is more vague, but the possibility is still there," Arbi said.

Yunarto Wijaya, executive director of Charta Politika, also held the same view, saying the status of Aburizal as Golkar chairman would be determined by the election result.

"With his poor performance to successfully enter a coalition with other parties, the relatively low number of votes the party attracted, and the fact that this year Golkar becomes only an observer of the political landscape, prove Aburizal's lack of management steering the party," he said. "And it could be a perfect chain which would culminate in the impeachment of Aburizal as a Golkar chairman," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/aburizal-may-facing-possible-impeachment-golkar-analysts-say/

Aburizal's maneuvers could mark political demise

Jakarta Post - May 20, 2014

Bagus BT Saragih and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Since its establishment by then president Soeharto in the early 1970s Golkar has always played a key role in the major political events of the country.

But in the last few days the runner up in the April legislative elections experienced severe humiliation after its chairman's offers to join their respective coalitions as vice-presidential candidate were rejected by the two presidential candidates and their party supporters.

In a face-saving attempt, Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie visited former president and the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Soekarnoputri at her Menteng residence on Sunday evening.

In a previous meeting with her, Aburizal had raised the possibility of becoming the running mate of the party's presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. On Sunday night, however, Aburizal merely asked for a written guarantee from Megawati that Golkar would get several Cabinet seats should Jokowi win the July 9 presidential race.

Earlier on Sunday Aburizal had looked confident when he appeared before hundreds of Golkar regional representatives during an executive meeting, or Rapimnas. The meeting, besides giving him the mandate to decide on Golkar's coalition path, also named him the only person that could be officially nominated as Golkar's presidential or vice-presidential candidate.

Nonetheless Aburizal left Megawati's residence empty handed. "We cannot accept any additional coalition member particularly when that party [Golkar] asked for a political transaction," said Hasto Kristiyanto, deputy secretary of the PDI-P.

"Aburizal tried to use the mandate given to him by the Rapimnas as a negotiating ploy with Megawati, but it was rejected," Golkar senior politician Zainal Bintang said of Aburizal's failure.

Then Aburizal Bakrie made a last-minute move to join the Gerindra Party camp. On Sunday everning, Gerindra's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto visited Aburizal at his Menteng residence. As an apparent "consolation prize" for the business tycoon, the founder of Gerindra offered Golkar two Cabinet seats. He specifically offered a "senior ministerial" position for Aburizal himself, an offer politely "turned down" by Aburizal.

"I myself asked him [Aburizal] to become a senior minister but he rejected my offer," said the former son-in-law of the late Soeharto. A few hours earlier, former coordinating economic minister Hatta Rajasa had been officially declared Prabowo's running mate

Aburizal's exchange of Golkar's electoral power for only two ministerial seats intensified the already-heated internal dissent within Golkar and was described as a mistake by numerous Golkar politicians who accused Aburizal of "panicking" for accepting what they regarded as the meager compensation offered by Gerindra.

"Golkar sold cheap. Aburizal rejected the aspiration expressed by Golkar members nationwide in Sunday's national executive meeting, which preferred a coalition with the PDI-P and to support Jokowi-Kalla," Golkar executive Poempida Hidayatulloh said. He was referring to Jokowi and his running mate former vice president Jusuf Kalla who is also a former Golkar chairman.

Poempida, who has opted to serve as Kalla's spokesman, claimed that many other Golkar members were also disappointed by Aburizal's move and planned to jump ship.

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono realized that he had to face the rise and fall of his Democratic Party. The party had won two consecutive terms of office for Yudhoyono but since then many of the party executives have faced corruption scandals.

This time Yudhoyono has chosen not to support any presidential candidates. His bitter experience in dealing with Golkar as a member of his ruling coalition was apparently behind his decision to reject an offer by Aburizal to set up their own coalition.

"We could not reach an agreement [with Golkar]," said Democratic Party executive chairman Syariefuddin Hassan on Monday.

The President invited Prabowo to his private residence in Cikeas, West Java, on Monday evening.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/20/aburizal-s-maneuvers-could-mark-political-demise.html

Battle lines drawn as Suharto party supports ex-soldier over Jokowi

Sydney Morning Herald - May 20, 2014

Michael Bachelard – The battle lines for Indonesia's presidential election have been clearly drawn between a political newcomer with small business credentials and a wealthy ex-soldier and former son-in-law of dictator Suharto.

Jakarta governor, Joko Widodo, a furniture maker who only began his political career in 2005 as mayor of regional city Solo, will face off against former Kopassus special forces general, businessman and politician, Prabowo Subianto, in a two-horse election race to be held on July.

The announcement ends a month-long fever of speculation in Indonesia about candidates and their running mates and means only one round of voting will be necessary – with three or more candidates, a run-off election in September was possible.

Mr Joko is the popular favourite to win and is almost 15 points ahead in the polls, but General Prabowo, who is campaigning hard on his perceived attributes of strength and decisiveness, has amassed behind him a larger coalition of parliamentary votes, and his drive for the job is making the favourite look flat-footed.

General Prabowo is the candidate for the party he created, Gerindra. His running mate is Hatta Rajasa, a former economics minister in the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the head of the Muslim National Mandate Party, PAN.

They have a coalition which represents 48 per cent of the parliamentary votes with two other Islamic parties, PKS and PPP, as well as the Suharto election vehicle, Golkar. The support of the strictest Islamic parties has made General Prabowo's campaign the most religiously-tinged of the two.

But the Golkar's backing of General Prabowo was the surprise of the day after last week it all-but confirmed it would support Mr Joko. The party, which won almost 15 per cent of the vote in the parliamentary election in April, is a powerhouse there, and retains a strong network and loyalty at village level even though its leader and proposed presidential candidate, businessman Aburizal Bakrie is desperately unpopular.

"Golkar may come at the end but it's Golkar which finally becomes the kingmaker, and Golkar determines the future of this nation," General Prabowo said at the declaration ceremony.

Mr Bakrie did not attend, but Golkar party secretary-general Idrus Marham announced the party's support, emphasising the need for "strong leadership". "Popularity alone is not enough to lead this nation – what is needed is quality," he said.

Mr Joko, known universally by his nickname Jokowi, is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, headed by Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno.

The party won the parliamentary election, but with only a disappointing 18.95 per cent of the vote it also needed to form coalitions. Megawati, who still has a stranglehold on key decisions, has been meeting potential coalition partners, including Golkar, for weeks.

The result is that, in Mr Joko's camp is the Muslim National Awakening Party, PKB, as well as two nationalist parties, Nasdem, run by media tycoon Surya Paloh, and Hanura, run by former army chief Wiranto. Both are refugees from Golkar. Mr Joko's coalition commands 40 per cent of parliamentary votes.

In a mark of the complexity and fluidity of Indonesian politics, his running mate, also announced on Monday, is Jusuf Kalla, a scion of Golkar, who is expected to bring some votes from that quarter.

Mr Kalla, 72, served as vice-president in the first term of the incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, between 2004 and 2009. He is from South Sulawesi and will add age, experience, parliamentary clout and regional variety to the candidacy of the relatively youthful Mr Joko, 52, who is from Java.

The only parliamentary party now left out of one of the two coalitions is Dr Yudhoyono's Partei Demokrat, which won 10.19 per cent of the parliamentary vote.

Dr Yudhoyono's official position is to back neither side, but General Prabowo wasted no time on Monday praising him as having "achieved a lot of successes". After the ceremony, he went to Dr Yudhoyono's private residence to lobby for his vote.

General Prabowo will have to overcome a Dr Yudhoyono's swingeing critique of his economic policies last week. The incumbent said one of the candidates – which he strongly hinted was General Prabowo – wanted to nationalise all foreign industries.

However, Dr Yudhoyono also holds deep animosity towards Megawati, under whom he served as a minister until 2004, before beating her in the country's first direct election for president. Rumour has it the two have not spoken since the perceived betrayal.

Dr Yudhoyono cannot run again because he has served the maximum two terms. The new president will be sworn in for a five-year term in October.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/battle-lines-drawn-for-indonesian-election-as-suharto-party-supports-exsoldier-over-jokowi-20140519-zrhy3.html

Questions arise on which party Kalla represents

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2014

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Former vice president Jusuf Kalla still holds Golkar Party membership. He is also a former chairman of the party. However, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has its own way of viewing Kalla's political status.

"Many have asked me, what is Pak Kalla's political party really?" PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo said during a luncheon at the residence of the party's chairwoman, Megawati Sukarnoputri, in Jakarta on Monday.

Kalla, who has officially been named the running mate of the PDI-P's presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, smiled upon hearing such a question.

"We discussed this matter until 1 a.m., early in the morning, right here," Tjahjo said. "We eventually concluded that Pak Kalla represents four parties: the PDI-P, the NasDem Party, the PKB [National Awakening Party], and the Hanura Party," he went on, to the amusement of the audience, which included Megawati and Jokowi, as well as Kalla himself.

NasDem, the PKB and Hanura are currently members of the PDI-P alliance that supports the Jokowi-Kalla presidential ticket.

Tjahjo's joke was seen as an allusion to Golkar, which failed to join the coalition, even after its chairman Aburizal Bakrie went to Megawati's house on Sunday night in a final bid to lobby the former president.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/19/questions-arise-which-party-kalla-represents.html

Indonesia's new broom Jokowi chooses old hand as presidential running mate

Sydney Morning Herald - May 19, 2014

Michael Bachelard, Jakarta – Joko Widodo, the man most likely to become Indonesia's next president, has gone back to the future in his choice of running mate, picking a significantly older former vice-president for the job.

Jusuf Kalla, 72, served as vice-president in the first term of the incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, between 2004 and 2009. He will add age, experience, parliamentary clout and regional variety to the candidacy of the relatively youthful Mr Joko, 52, known universally by his nickname, Jokowi.

The July 9 presidential election now looks almost certain to come down to a battle between two camps: Mr Joko and Mr Kalla against former special forces general Prabowo Subianto and former minister Hatta Rajasa – though the second pairing is not confirmed and a third ticket is still an outside possibility.

Recent surveys show Mr Joko and political warhorse Mr Kalla topping the polls even though Mr Joko has built his image on being an anti- establishment newcomer. Announcing the decision, Mr Joko said: "We believe, God willing, we will be able to bring a movement for change in our beloved country."

Mr Kalla is the ultimate political survivor and has long been touted for the job. As a native of South Sulawesi, he offers to broaden the regional credentials of Mr Joko, who is from Central Java.

However, Mr Kalla is such a strong-willed and independent performer that some fear he might undermine the younger man, as he was accused of doing to Dr Yudhoyono.

"SBY had trouble with him being impatient, outspoken and showing him up as vice-president," says ANU Indonesia expert Greg Fealy. "This fear in Jokowi's camp is worse. He is younger and untested at the national level and the fear is that Jusuf Kalla would be overbearing, condescending and might speak out of turn," Professor Fealy said.

Mr Kalla, a businessman, is a member of the Golkar party of former dictator Suharto, and made his fortune in the Suharto era. After the fall of the New Order government, he was appointed industry and trade minister under president Abdurrahman Wahid. However Abdurrahman sacked him for corruption in April 2000, though he never presented evidence for the charge.

After Abdurrahman was himself removed from office the following year – partly due to such sackings – Mr Kalla became part of Megawati Sukarnoputri's cabinet as the minister of people's welfare. He set about successfully resolving a number of violent sectarian conflicts, including those in Poso and Ambon.

In 2004 he transferred his talents to Dr Yudhoyono's camp as vice- president, where he again helped solving a regional conflict, this time in Aceh, and was involved in post-tsunami reconstruction. At the 2009 election, however, Dr Yudhoyono did not appoint him running mate for a second term.

Professor Fealy said Mr Kalla was acceptable to both the mass-participation Muslim groups in Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiya. He was also adept at pushing results through Indonesia's corrupt and fractious parliament. "He knows how to get things done; to set up a team who can smooth legislation through the parliament," Professor Fealy said.

General Prabowo has not yet formally announced his running mate, but has formed a coalition with the National Mandate Party led by Mr Hatta and appears almost certain to invite him to be the vice-presidential candidate.

Mr Hatta, also described by Professor Fealy as a "machine man", recently resigned as coordinating economic minister in Dr Yudhoyono's cabinet so he could contest the election.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesias-new-broom-jokowi-chooses-old-hand-as-presidential-running-mate-20140519-zrhjm.html

Joko receives election boost from Kalla

Jakarta Globe - May 19, 2014

Fergus Jensen & Kanupriya Kapoor – Indonesia's Joko Widodo received a major boost in the race to become president of the world's third-largest democracy on Monday when he picked popular former vice president Jusuf Kalla as his running mate in the July election.

Kalla is seen as bringing strong business credentials to the presidential ticket, as Joko is regarded as relatively inexperienced having enjoyed a meteoric rise on the political scene since becoming the governor of Jakarta in late 2012.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange briefly rose more than 1 percent to the highest level in nearly a year, while the rupiah strengthened against the dollar ahead of the announcement.

"While nothing is set in stone yet and there are still months to go before the July 9 presidential election date, the immediate market reaction from today's announcement will be one of relief and hope," said Wellian Wiranto, an economist with OCBC Bank.

Joko said his Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) had finalized the ticket. Candidate pairs need to register with the election body by Tuesday.

Recent opinion polls show a pairing of Joko from the main opposition party PDI-P and Kalla from the country's second-biggest party Golkar had a significant lead over their main rivals. If no ticket wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the July 9 election, there will be a second round in September.

Joko and Kalla are up against rivals Prabowo Subianto, a former general with a checkered human rights record, and his running mate Hatta Rajasa, a former chief economic minister. One recent poll showed Joko's lead had narrowed slightly, although he was still 15 points ahead of Prabowo.

Joko's popularity lies in a common touch and straightforward style that sets him apart from an aloof and elitist political establishment that has long dominated Indonesia.

"Voters think [Kalla] would be a good match because Joko is new on the national stage and Kalla is perceived as getting things done and experienced in government," Douglas Ramage, a Jakarta-based analyst, told Reuters. "They complement each other."

Under the influence

Critics are wary that Joko remains under the influence of PDI-P chairwoman and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and her inner circle of advisers. As long-time head of the party, Megawati has the final say on major political decisions.

"After consulting with all heads of parties that support PDI-P and after consulting with Megawati, we decided last night that the (vice presidential) candidate that will stand beside me will be Jusuf Kalla," Joko announced at a political rally in central Jakarta with Kalla by his side.

Party officials have said Megawati would continue to advise Jokowi on policy matters if he came into office. In March, Megawati appeared to put aside her own presidential ambitions and nominated Joko as her party's presidential candidate.

Three parties have joined the coalition led by PDI-P, including Indonesia's most popular Islamic party, giving Jokowi nearly 40 percent of the total votes from the parliamentary election held on April 9.

Other coalition partners include smaller parties led by media magnates who own two popular TV networks, a valuable asset to Joko in a country where television remains the main source of information. Aburizal Bakrie, the head of Golkar, said last week his party would cooperate with Joko, but it has yet to officially back his coalition.

Kalla, 72, served as vice president during outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first term in office from 2004 to 2009. Since leaving office, he has remained in the public eye as the head of the Indonesian Red Cross, a humanitarian aid organization with extensive reach across the vast archipelago.

A native of the eastern island of Sulawesi, Kalla is also hugely popular within his own Golkar party and is likely to encourage support from both party members and voters.

Kalla, who was an early supporter of Jokowi, is the owner of the Kalla Group, a large conglomerate that owns businesses in autos, construction, textiles, commodity trading, finance and energy.

[Additional reporting by Francezka Nangoy and Randy Fabi.]

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta/joko-receives-election-boost-kalla/

Coup for Prabowo as Golkar joins coalition

Jakarta Globe - May 19, 2014

Yeremia Sukoyo, Jakarta – The Golkar Party has finally decided to throw its support behind Prabowo Subianto, the presidential candidate from the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, surprising many who had considered it more likely that Golkar would support Joko Widodo from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P.

"Golkar's central executive board has given its full support to Prabowo's candidacy," Idrus Marham, Golkar's secretary general, said in Jakarta on Monday. "Everything was done based on the result of the national leaders' meeting yesterday."

Speaking at Rumah Polonia in East Jakarta, the house of former president Sukarno, Prabowo said his candidacy had received the support of the National Mandate Party, or PAN; the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS; the United Development Party, or PPP; and Golkar.

"Indonesia's major political parties such as PAN, PKS, PPP and Golkar have decided to give their support to us," Prabowo said in a televised speech. "As a former soldier I feel like the past few months have been more exhausting – Indonesian politics is exhausting."

"Today is a historic day for all of us because the leaders who will initiate the change in the nation have been officially declared," Gerindra chairman Suhardi said.

"We ask for the blessings of all Indonesians for the candidacy of Prabowo and Hatta," he added, referring to Hatta Rajasa, the PAN chairman who will share Prabowo's ticket in the July 9 presidential election.

Suhardi said Prabowo and Hatta, with their respective military and business backgrounds, would make a compelling case to the Indonesian people. "Both are nationalist figures who are brave, clean, honest, religious and have integrity as leaders," Suhardi said.

PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali, the minister for religious affairs, said the pair could count on his party's support. "As a great nation Indonesia needs a leader with ideas and abilities to execute them and that can been seen in Prabowo and Hatta," he said.

Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie did not attend Monday's declaration, for reasons that were not immediately clear on Monday afternoon. Aburizal had appeared last week alongside the PDI-P's Joko and pledged to offer cooperation to Joko's presidential bid. He stopped short, however, of a firm coalition confirmation, in an example of the capriciousness of election politics in Indonesia. The issue was further complicated over the weekend when Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat, of Golkar, said Golkar and the Democratic Party would partner up.

"There were talks, but there was no agreement between the PDI-P and Golkar," Golkar central executive board chairman Firman Soebagyo said, as quoted by Antara. "Today there was a decision that Golkar will run with Gerindra. Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie has communicated with Prabowo Subianto, it was decided last night."

The announcement by Prabowo that he had secured the support of Golkar is a boon to his campaign but it remains to be seen whether the support of Golkar's formidable election machine will translate into a boost in the polls.

Golkar, the political party borne out of the Suharto regime, has nationwide clout and a strong network that enables it to perform well in legislative elections. Whether the support of Golkar helps Prabowo's presidential polling remains to be seen in what is much more of a personality contest rather than the legislative ballot, which is fought more along party lines.

[According to a report in the May 20 Kompas newspaper, following the declaration of Golkar's support for Gerindra, Subianto said he had offered Bakrie a senior or key ministerial position in a future administration in order to form a strong government. Kompas also quoted PAN deputy chairperson Dradjat Wibowo as saying there has been no divvying up of cabinet seats as part of the coalition deal, but that it was the sharing of "duties" or "jobs" between the political parties that make up the coalition. – JB.]

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/coup-prabowo-golkar-joins-coalition/

Kalla rumored to have paid Rp10 trillion for vice-presidency

Petikan.com - May 19, 2014

Editorial staff – Senior Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) figure Sabam Sirait says that PDI-P vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla (JK) who will run alongside PDI-P presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in the 2014 presidential elections deposited 10 trillion rupiah (US$870 million) with PDI-P chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri.

"I heard that JK provided Rp10 trillion to pay for the pilpres [presidential election] if he became the cawapres [vice presidential candidate], I warned the PDI-P not to be tempted by financial enticements, because the PDI-P has a commitment to build politics without money politics, and I again warned them that the PDI-P was established not to be bought and sold", said Sirait.

According to Sirait, the determination of a political coalition and vice presidential candidate should not be because of money offered, but rather in consideration of the interests of the fate of the 260 million Indonesian people, 17 thousand islands and the future of the nation.

"For me there were only two choices for cawapres, [former Constitutional Court chief justice] Mahfud [MD] or [Corruption Eradication Commission chief] Abraham Samad. Both are clean and honest people who can be trusted to run alongside Jokowi", asserted Sirait.

"I've already discussed my plan to resign [from the PDI-P over the choice of Kalla] with other PDI-P founding members and friends at the Parkindo [now defunct Indonesian Christian Party}. I'll be looking for a chance to convey this to general chairperson [Megawati]", he said by way of conclusion.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Source: http://petikan.com/news/890-jadi-pendamping-jokowi-jk-setor-rp10-triliun-ke-mega-

Hanura joins PDI-P coalition, PKS woos Prabowo

Jakarta Post - May 18, 2014

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has added a new coalition partner after securing official support from the Hanura Party.

The political alliance was announced in a meeting between Hanura chairman Wiranto and PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri in the latter's house in Central Jakarta on Saturday.

With additional support from Hanura, which gained 5.26 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election and collected 16 seats (2.86 percent) in the House of Representatives, the PDI-P-led coalition now controls at least 37 percent of the 560 seats in the House.

Wiranto said his party decided to join forces with the PDI-P as the two parties had been partners in opposition under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration.

"It made us realize and believe that we actually shared a similar political platform," Wiranto told a press conference after the meeting. "I, as the man in power [within Hanura], have decided that I will not abandon the partnership that we have built in the past five years."

During Hanura's national executive meeting last Wednesday, Wiranto was given full authority to determine its coalition strategy.

The head of the PDI-P's election team Puan Maharani concurred, saying that both Megawati and Wiranto had sealed the deal to join forces in the next government by endorsing the candidacy of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the Jakarta governor and the PDI-P's star politician.

Puan added there would soon be a formal declaration event, which would also be attended by the NasDem Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), which have officially declared support for Jokowi.

Wiranto said he would give his full support to Jokowi and put his own presidential ambitions to rest. Hanura previously endorsed Wiranto and deputy chairman Hary Tanoesudibjo as the party's presidential and vice- presidential candidates.

"If there is no chance, the [Wiranto-Hary] ticket should no longer be forced to contest the presidential election," he said.

Hanura set a target to garner at least 13 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election and has been campaigning for Wiranto and Hary, who controls MNC group, the nation's largest media firm.

Wiranto said his party had not yet talked about possible running mates for Jokowi but made clear that such a decision should be discussed first with all coalition members.

As of Saturday, the PDI-P had yet to announce its presidential candidate as speculation intensified that it would nominate one of several top figures, including former vice president Jusuf Kalla, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) head Abraham Samad and Puan.

Separately on Saturday, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) officially declared its support for the Gerindra Party's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

PKS chairman Anis Matta was quoted by Antara news agency as saying that "win or lose, [we] will stay in the [Gerindra-led] coalition, whether in government or in opposition".

The PKS also proposed three winners of its own vice-presidential convention – including Anis, the party's faction leader at the House of Representatives Hidayat Nur Wahid and West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan – to be considered as the party's vice-presidential candidate by Prabowo during a coalition meeting.

Prabowo has yet to name his vice presidential candidate though many have said that National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa was the strongest and most likely candidate. Several PKS and PPP members, however, had expressed doubts over Hatta.

As of today, the Gerindra-led coalition has collected official support from at least three political parties: the PKS, PAN and the United Development Party (PPP). The coalition now controls at least 29 percent of the House seats.

The other two major parties, the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party, have yet to decide on whether to join the PDI-P-led coalition or the Gerindra-led coalition, or form their own coalition to challenge Jokowi and Prabowo.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/18/hanura-joins-pdi-p-coalition-pks-woos-prabowo.html

Aburizal Bakrie to run with Pramono Edhie in Golkar-Democrat coalition

Jakarta Globe - May 17, 2014

Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman and presidential candidate Aburizal Bakrie on Friday night entered into a deal to name as his running mate Democratic former army chief Pramono Edhie Wibowo – current president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's brother-in-law.

"Last night, there was a new coalition established which will support A.R.B. of the Golkar Party as presidential candidate and Pramono Edhie Wibowo of the Democratic Party as the vice president," Industry Minister and senior Golkar official Mohamad S. Hidayat said on Saturday, as quoted by Kompas.

The announcement was timed oddly for both parties: Bakrie on Tuesday announced support for Jakarta Governor and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate Joko Widodo, and the Democrats just yesterday named as their nominee State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan.

As of Saturday morning, party leaders had not said why they named Pramono rather than Dahlan, despite his convention victory. Dahlan had not yet stepped down from his ministerial post by the May 14 deadline to do so – a requirement for election contestants – which might have threatened his eligibility.

The parties reached the deal, Hidayat said, in a closed, backroom meeting with Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono, party secretary general Idrus Marham and Hidayat himself representing the Bakrie campaign and Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syarief Hasan, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik and Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, the president's son, representing the Democrats.

Bakrie and Yudhoyono also discussed the decision, which was set to be formalized on Sunday after meetings between both parties' national leaders. The coalition was the third to form in the run up to the July 9 presidential election.

Former Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), resigned last week in order to run alongside Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party founder and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

The PDI-P has named the National Democratic Party (NasDem) and National Awakening Party (PKB) as coalition partners, but Joko, widely considered the election frontrunner, has not yet named a running mate.

Today's announcement could result in two rounds of elections: If none of the three coalitions secure more than 50 percent of the vote on July 9, the two most popular coalitions would then face off again on Sept. 9.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/aburizal-bakrie-run-pramono-edhie-golkar-democrat-coalition/

'Reformasi' activists should remember their idealism, analysts say

Jakarta Globe - May 17, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia – The involvement of 'reformasi' activists in political parties and during last month's legislative elections has the potential to alter the country's political landscape. It might also give fresh impetus to established parties, often considered stale or linked to Suharto's New Order regime, analysts have suggested.

Adian Napitupulu is one of the activists who took to the streets in 1998 to topple Suharto. He told the Jakarta Globe that general disillusionment with the political situation in the country had forced him to become part of a political system he once loathed.

"In 2007, activists from 1998 gathered to discuss what steps needed to be taken to bring the reform agenda back on track," he said. "It's been 16 years since the downfall of Suharto, but we haven't seen any significant improvement. We decided we had to get involved in politics to try and get reform back on the agenda."

Adian later joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and successfully competed for a seat in Bogor district in West Java. He said he joined the PDI-P because he shared a common vision with the party.

"I believe in the principles adhered to by the PDI-P. Besides, from a historical point of view, the party adheres to values that I've been fighting for for years," he said.

Positive signs

Political analyst Andrinof A. Chaniago at the University of University welcomed the involvement of 1998 activists, saying it was a good thing that young people wanted to get involved in politics.

The decision to join politics, he added, countered suggestions that young people were apathetic about the corrupt political system. "They have the ability to rejuvenate politics, but only if they maintain their 'activist' characteristics and maintain their integrity," Andrinof said.

The academic said that the activists needed to stay true to their ideals that initially led them to the streets back in 1998 and not get seduced by the power and wealth that permeates the corridors of government.

A political analyst Ari Dwiyapana from the University of Gajah Mada shared the sentiment, saying involvement by activists could be a breath of fresh air in the nation's political sphere.

"Other activists have opted for a career outside politics, and joined non- governmental organizations. It's their choice and it's good to see they want to give something back to the country," he said.

Ari said that by joining a political party, activists can help its regeneration process by working within the political framework.

Maintaining characteristics

While the analysts agreed the activists could bring plenty to the political dialogue, they expressed doubts whether the idealistic youths of 1998 could stay true to their beliefs of transparency, democracy and human rights.

Andrinof said the environment they had to work in was the biggest obstacle. "They have to overcome the challenge. To succeed, they must employ the same spirit that inspired them all those years ago," he said.

"In politics, the temptation of status and money is great. As former activists, they have to fight this, they have to stay humble and focused on bringing change to the nation."

Adian said he was fully aware of the pitfalls the activists turned politicians faced in their new career with narrow political interests trumping idealism and policy.

"As far I am concerned, I believe only two other people have clean track records; Masinton Pasaribu [PDI-P South and Central Jakarta] and M Lutfie Iskandar from Golkar Party," he said. "When it comes to numbers, it's 3:557. We will probably lose, but most importantly is that we do our best. By continuously fighting, hopefully we will eventually win and hopefully encourage others to join us."

Andrinof of the University of Indonesia said there was no excuse for the younger generation to let corruption enter their desks, saying that their idealism should insulate them against deeds or actions that went against the public interest.

"It is not a win-lose game. By rejecting graft they are sending out a strong message. When there is a tug-of-war, they have to side with the electorate regardless of the risks," Andrinof said.

Ari of Gajah Mada University said when activists enter politics, it was not necessarily a sign that they would become part of the political machine. "We cannot simplify things. There are still many activists that have really fought for their constituents," he said.

He cited Budiman Sudjatmiko, a PDI-P legislator who he said was an example of a political figure that who has worked hard for his constituents. "Budiman has been actively building 'The Aspiration House of Budiman', a program aimed to accommodate people's aspirations. He is not pursuing political power," he said.

Budiman also chaired the House of Representatives special committee, which deliberated a village law that will take into effect in 2015 after the new government takes office.

Ari remarked that many legislators joined politics for personal power, prestige and wealth and did not care about their constituents or the programs they promised during their campaigns.

"To know how strong a legislator's commitment is, you can see from how they keep their promises to their constituents and if they still keep in touch with them. If they don't, then they have become part of the political elite," he said.

Changed orientation

Despite lauding the 1998 activists' decision to enter politics as a positive sign, analysts also questioned the idealism of activists who joined a political party chaired by a person with questionable human rights record.

Desmond Junaidi Mahesa and Pius Lustrilanang, two reform activists who were kidnapped during the turbulent months of 1998, surprised many when they elected to join the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), run by Prabowo Subianto. The former special forces general is alleged to have played an active role in kidnappings and disappearances in 1998.

Andrinof said every activist had the right to join any party that suited them but if they were to associate themselves with people with human rights question marks they had a duty to explain themselves to the electorate.

"When activists enter politics, they bring their idealism and youthful optimism with them. Some are genuinely clean, but there are some who have acquired a lust for power and are ready to overlook their past beliefs and the past actions of influential figures within the party organization," Ari added.

Desmond did not return Jakarta Globe's phone call to set the day for an interview after he initially agreed to meet, while Pius did not return the Jakarta Globe's calls.

"The last time I talked to Desmond, I told him he could join Gerindra if he wanted to but that he should continue to fight for what had inspired him all those years ago. Knowing that he has now changed... I don't really know what happened to him," Andrinof said.

Accountability

Meanwhile, Haris Azhar, coordinator for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said there was nothing special about the two activists joining Gerindra except for what he said was a "transactional" reason.

"It is obvious. For those activists, Gerindra has more bargaining power for them," Haris said. "Both activists are Prabowo's victims. With such a historical 'bond,' Gerindra has become a party that could accommodate their needs," he said.

Haris said that with the two joining Gerindra, it was as good as those activists effectively saying "the past had been wiped clean, we have a new slate."

"It is also a massive propaganda coup for Gerindra. If it is accused of any historical abuses, it can turn round and say 'look, the alleged victims have joined,'" Haris said.

Even if the victims have forgiven Prabowo, it doesn't necessarily mean that he has been freed from the need to account for his actions, Harris added. He emphasized that human rights violations would never be solved if Prabowo was elected president.

"It is rare that a person in power would admit his mistakes. Would he admit and apologize to the public? Will any officials have the guts to investigate him? I doubt that," Haris said. "If Prabowo really wants to clarify about the past human rights violation, he has to do it officially before the presidential election."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/reformasi-activists-remember-idealism-analysts-say/

Goenawan goes: Tempo founder quits PAN over Prabowo

Jakarta Globe - May 16, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – Goenawan Mohamad, the founder of Tempo Magazine and architect of the National Mandate Party (PAN), has resigned from the party he cofounded in protest of its support for Prabowo Subianto's presidential campaign.

Goenawan announced his resignation in a message on his Facebook page. "Since the fall of Suharto, we wanted to build a party that had a clear political platform from which to fight," he said.

"Towards a wider democracy, a more lively plurality, and wider welfare. PAN once tried to go in that direction, but, as time has passed, it has stopped seeing politics as a fight."

PAN party chairman Hatta Rajasa resigned as Coordinating Minster of Economic Affairs this week to run as Prabowo Subianto's vice president – a decision that Goenawan believes made it impossible for him to continue as a member of the party because of Prabowo's questionable human-rights record.

"PAN has become opportunist," he said. "What PAN aspires to is only to make the chairman vice president. For that, PAN is willing to support the power that once wanted to shut down the pro-democracy movement in the New Order era..... I have no hope left. I hereby resign from the party's membership."

The party reacted angrily to the tone of Goenawan's resignation announcement. PAN deputy chairman Drajad H. Wibowo said Goenewan had contributed little to the party in recent years – even failing to pay his membership dues.

"I've never seen him come to PAN's headquarters to offer suggestions or anything that a member usually does," he said, adding that Goenawan had not campaigned for the party during the legislative elections in April.

In a remark short on both grace and logic, Drajad then went on to say that Goenawan's opposition to Prabowo on human rights grounds was hypocritical because the Tempo founder was friends with a university lecturer accused of sexual assault.

"Prove it, if [Goenawan] is against violence, how about the sexual abuse committed by his own friend?" he said, referring to lecturer and poet, Sitok Srengenge. "I've never regarded him as a par of PAN family anyway, at least since I became the deputy chairman," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/goenawan-goes-tempo-founder-quits-pan-prabowo/

Jokowi only a 'party official' abiding by PDI-P: Megawati

Jakarta Post - May 16, 2014

Jakarta – The chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soekarnoputri, reaffirmed to the public on Wednesday that Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is "the party's official", mandated to be a presidential candidate.

Speaking during the official declaration of an alliance consisting of the PDI-P, the NasDem Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), Megawati said Jokowi could not act beyond the boundaries set out by the party.

"I made you [Jokowi] a presidential candidate. But you should remember that you are the party's official, with a function of implementing the party's programs and ideology," former president Megawati said during the event, which was aired live by several television stations.

Megawati's remarks will likely fuel the widely held assumption among rival candidates that Megawati will remain superior to Jokowi if he wins the presidency. The insinuation that Jokowi would become a "controlled" leader was first made by presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto last month.

PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo was quick to clarify Megawati's statement, which may cement the perceived deficiency. He said the term "party official" was regularly used by the party to refer to all party members serving as public officials.

"It's a term used to refer to our politicians, who are serving as legislators, governors and president. They are tasked by the party," he said.

In her written statement announcing Jokowi's candidacy in March, Megawati also referred to Jokowi as a "party official".

In another development, during the event, Megawati and NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh refused to give the benefit of the doubt to the ability of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration to ensure a fair-and-square presidential election.

Megawati warned the administration to not abuse its authority by deploying the intelligence community in favoring certain candidates.

"The intelligence [community] should not meddle in the presidential election. The function of the intelligence is to protect the country, not to serve the interests of an individual," she said.

She also warned the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Constitutional Court against bending any rules that might lead to the election being compromised.

Surya said in his speech that there were signs that the current administration had utilized state apparatus to defend its interests in the upcoming election.

"Do not jeopardize our democracy. The authorities should uphold fairness in this competition. If you are ready to compete then you should also have a big [enough] heart to accept defeat," he said.

Several PDI-P politicians have complained about what they suspect to be an act of intelligence agencies, in which several unidentified men were seen regularly following Megawati and Jokowi's vehicles.

Jokowi revealed in February that his official residence and his office at City Hall had been bugged. Three bugging devices were found in the governor's official residence – in the dining room, living room and private parlor.

The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) has repeatedly denied allegations of spying on political parties, and has also pledged to uphold independency in the election.

During the declaration, PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar urged all Muslim communities to put their support behind Jokowi, on the back of perceptions that Jokowi and the PDI-P were not adequately accommodating the interest of Muslim voters.

"There are perceptions out there that Jokowi will not fight for the interests of us followers of Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) and others. I tell you all now that such beliefs are not true," said Muhaimin, whose party is closely associated with the followers of NU, the country's largest Muslim organization, which is centered mostly in East Java.

Analysts have argued that Jokowi and the PDI-P are weak in their ability to woo support from Muslim communities, as the party is widely perceived to be home to non-Muslims and liberals. Muhaimin's speech was seen as a major boost for Jokowi in garnering more votes from faithful Muslim followers.

According to a recent survey by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI), around 49.8 percent of Muslim respondents had no clear preference ahead of the presidential election, citing a lack of choices representing Islamic values.

Earlier this month, Jokowi began touring Islamic boarding schools in Java. On Thursday, he visited several iconic mosques and boarding schools, including the Edi Mancoro school in Semarang.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/16/jokowi-only-a-party-official-abiding-pdi-p-megawati.html

Environment & natural disasters

Sumatra's forests in dire state due to deforestation

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2014

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Three protected forests – Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park – are reportedly in a chronic state of degradation due to rampant illegal logging, which has led to the loss of vital habitats in the nature preserves.

The three national parks make up the 2.5 million hectare Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (TRHS) site.

The TRHS was listed as one of the world's natural heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005.

Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) head Istanto said illegal logging on the TRHS site continued to expand, citing the involvement of three agency heads in Southeast Aceh regency in an illegal logging case in the Gunung Leuser National Park.

Istanto acknowledged that the authorities had taken action against the three officials but added that every time legal measures were taken against illegal logging suspects, the lives of people investigating such cases or of witnesses were put at risk.

"Frankly, we have not been able to eradicate illegal logging in the TRHS," Istanto told The Jakarta Post in a workshop entitled "Improving Protection on Biodiversity and Orangutan Habitat in the Tropical Forests of Sumatra".

More than 100 participants, including academics, representatives from NGOs and civil servants took part in the two-day workshop, which was organized by UNESCO in Medan, North Sumatra.

The participants urged the government to be more serious about combating the destruction in the three protected national parks.

Istanto said UNESCO may ultimately drop the TRHS from its list of world heritage sites if the area continued to suffer further degradation due to illegal logging.

To prevent that from happening, Istanto added, the preservation of and security in the TRHS had been placed under the control of the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister and the National Police.

Meanwhile, the deputy director and senior program specialist for environmental science for UNESCO in Jakarta, Shahbaz Khan, said UNESCO supported the Indonesian government in its efforts to improve protection of the TRHS in line with international agreements.

According to Khan, the TRHS had to be saved from further destruction and the eradication of wildlife habitats.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/22/sumatra-s-forests-dire-state-due-deforestation.html

Graft & corruption

Graft suspect Suryadharma refuses to resign, Prabowo pledges support

Jakarta Globe - May 23, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Noviani Setuningsih & Arnold Sianturi, Jakarta – United Development Party (PPP) chair Suryadharma Ali refused to stand down as Minister of Religious Affairs on Friday, shortly before coalition ally and presidential candidate and Prabowo Subianto waded in to stand up for the embattled graft suspect.

"I believe in my heart that there is no way SDA [is guilty of corruption]," Prabowo said, as quoted by the state-run Antara news agency. "He is the most successful religious affairs minister to have managed the hajj."

Suryadharma was handed a six-month travel ban and made a suspect on Friday by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators who alleged that he had a hand in corrupting the state's hajj pilgrimage fund. Around 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims make the journey to Mecca every year.

"Should I step down? I haven't thought about it," Suryadharma said at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday. "Honestly, I don't understand how I could be a suspect."

In comments that some would feel carried considerable political risk before an election despite the presumption of innocence, Prabowo offered Suryadharma his support. Ade Irawan, a researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), said Suryadharma should immediately tender his resignation.

"We hope Suryadharma will follow the example set by Andi Mallarangeng, who immediately stepped down from his position," Ade said, referring to the former sports minister who faces corruption charges relating to the botched construction of a athletes' training facility in Hambalang, West Java.

"It will not affect [the coalition] because we are dealing with institution, not a person," Prabowo said. "Personally I respect it, I will be beside him and let the people make the judgement."

Suryadharma said he was preparing his defense against the charge that he was involved in the corruption of the country's hajj fund in 2012 and 2013.

"From an ethical perspective it would be better if Suryadharma resigned and being cooperative will accelerate the legal process," University of Indonesia academic Gandjar Laksmana Bonaprapta said Thursday.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjodjanto said the hajj fund graft was particularly concerning because it has betrayed many people who dreamed of performing jall pilgrimage.

"The hajj fund graft has deeply hurt the pilgrims," he said. "We hope the hajj pilgrims will receive better treatment and will be no longer be insulted by bad service."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/graft-suspect-suryadharma-refuses-resign-prabowo-pledges-support/

KPK charges minister in haj graft

Jakarta Post - May 23, 2014

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – After a three-month investigation, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named on Thursday Religious Affairs Minister and United Development Party (PPP) chairman Suryadharma Ali a suspect with regard to irregularities in the 2012-2013 haj pilgrimage program.

KPK officials also said that Suryadharma was not the only official implicated in the graft case. KPK deputy chairman Busyro Muqoddas confirmed that a number of "Suryadharma's associates", whose identities he declined to reveal, had also been named suspects.

"Yes, we have named SDA and 'other associates' as suspects in the case," Busyro said referring to Suryadharma by his initials. He did not provide details of the "other associates", or whether they were staff at the Religious Affairs Ministry or lawmakers at the House of Representatives. The KPK has summoned individuals from both institutions during its investigation into the case.

In a separate press conference held hours after Busyro's statement, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that Suryadharma, as the official with the highest authority at the ministry, had been charged with malfeasance, enriching himself and others, as well as corporate enrichment under articles 2 and 3 of the 2001 Corruption Law.

"We are still calculating the state losses resulting from the graft," Johan said at the KPK headquarters on Thursday night.

In February, the KPK said its investigation was focused on three areas: The procurement of goods and services in the haj pilgrimage program during 2012-2013, the management of the haj pilgrimage fund during 2012-2013 and the provision of haj facilities to individuals who were not entitled to them.

"There are a number of officials at the ministry who allegedly received haj facilities to which they were not entitled according to existing regulations," KPK commissioner,Zulkarnain said in Thursday night's press briefing.

Zulkarnain also shrugged off speculation that the naming of Suryadharma was politically motivated, taking place as it did amid the febrile political atmosphere ahead of the July 9 presidential election. "We work based on the law, not according to politics," Zulkarnain said.

Suryadharma is the second active minister to be charged with graft after Democratic Party politician and former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng, who was named a suspect for his role in the Rp 2.5 trillion (US$216 million) Hambalang sports complex case.

Also on Thursday, the KPK raided the office of the ministry's director general for the haj and umrah (minor pilgrimage), Anggito Abimanyu, raising speculation that he was one of the "other associates" mentioned by Busyro. Johan, however, denied that Anggito had been named a suspect in the case.

The KPK had previously questioned Hasrul Azwar, a politician with the PPP, and Jazuli Juwaini, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), who are members of House Commission VIII overseeing religion.

Suryadharma and PPP secretary-general Muchammad Romahurmuziy did not return calls from The Jakarta Post on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, PPP politician Ahmad Yani said the party respected and would cooperate with the KPK in its investigation. "We are still studying the case," Ahmad said on Thursday.

Asked if there was a possibility the party's central board would dismiss Suryadharma following the KPK's latest move, Yani said: "He is still our chairman".

Meanwhile, Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie said that the KPK's prosecution of Suryadharma would not affect the presidential bid of the Gerindra Party's Prabowo Subianto. Suryadharma's PPP and Aburizal's Golkar have joined Gerindra to back Prabowo's bid.

The Religious Affairs Ministry has long been perceived as notoriously corrupt, with the KPK naming it the most corrupt institution of the 22 government agencies it surveyed in 2011.

The current graft case follows the sentencing by the Jakarta Corruption Court of a number of ministry officials for their roles in a graft case involving the procurement of Korans at the ministry last year.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/23/kpk-charges-minister-haj-graft.html

Candidates' manifestos light on antigraft fight

Jakarta Globe - May 21, 2014

Erwida Maulia – The fight against corruption does not seem to be a pressing issue for the two tickets vying for Indonesia's presidency; from the dozens of pages in campaign manifestos they submitted to election officials, only a brief section is dedicated by each pair to the country's chronic graft problems – with no clear attempts for a breakthrough in dealing with the matter.

People's favorite Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla submitted their 42-page campaign platform while registering for the July 9 presidential race at the General Elections Commission (KPU) office in Jakarta on Monday.

After a lengthy focus on "reaffirming the ideology" with a full return to Pancasila – the five philosophical foundations of the country – and creating a "sovereign and independent" Indonesia; the document finally touched the issue of corruption eradication halfway through page 24.

"We will eradicate corruption in the legislation sector with firm actions against government officials [caught] taking bribes and trading people's interest," the manifesto stated.

The pair wrote about their commitment to providing "transparent, corruption-free" public services and issuing antigraft regulations through the endorsement of bills on asset seizure and witness/victim protection, among others.

But only a little was said about the very agency at the forefront of Indonesia's anti-graft crusade, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), despite past attacks on the institution and attempts to weaken it following successful arrests of corrupt politicians and police generals.

"We support the presence of the KPK... It must be safeguarded as an independent institution free of political influences," the manifesto said, adding that Joko-Kalla, if elected, would maintain cooperative ties between the KPK, police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

The document continues with the promise of giving priority to tackling corruption in the tax office and judiciary system – offering nothing new.

The ticket of Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa, spoke even less about corruption, touching on the matter in two brief paragraphs out of the eight pages of their campaign platform.

"Preventing and eradicating corruption, collusion and nepotism through the implementation of open and accountable management," the manifesto said. "KPK's role should be strengthened with additional investigators and improved facilities.

The document similarly enlisted the need for synergy among the country's various law-enforcement institutions, with an additional point on the need to cut short bureaucracy to prevent wrongdoing. Antigraft activists called the lack of attention on corruption "disappointing."

"Antigraft measures should be their priority," Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Ade Irawan told the Jakarta Globe. "Welfare and development programs won't be able to run well without serious efforts to combat corruption."

Ade said the minimal inclusion of antigraft issues in either ticket's manifesto might as well indicate their reluctance to address the matter – which may have stemmed from the KPK's dogged pursuit of fellow politicians that has only grown increasingly persistent since Abraham Samad took charge in 2011.

The tickets are backed by multiple political parties, some of which had members who were charged or jailed by the KPK over a string of corruption cases. However, the lack of detail on preventing political misconduct may be attributed to the candidates' limited understanding of antigraft measures, according to Ade.

To address the possibility, the ICW is currently drafting a technical guide outlining recommendations on ways to revamp those measures, which includes targeting corruption in the country's tax and mining sectors, as well as improving the selection process for hiring antigraft officials.

KPK spokesman Johan Budi admitted it was ironic that neither pair paid enough attention to the antigraft fight, considering that both Joko and Prabowo had attempted to recruit Abraham as their running mate before settling with their respective choices of candidates. Still, Johan said he remained optimistic and hoped the candidates will implement the promises they outlined on paper.

"What matters is the implementation. It's no use writing about it [antigraft measures] in length without taking action," Johan said. "Either way they [the candidates] have made their promises. We can leave it up to the public to demand concrete actions if they fail to deliver."

Economic platform

Both the tickets dedicated a significant portion of their respective manifestos to economic issues, with the Prabowo-Hatta pair making them their main agenda by detailing specific targets, such as an annual economic growth of between 7 percent and 10 percent and setting aside 10 percent of state spending for developing infrastructure.

Both pairs waxed poetically on what they called the "people's economy," placing an emphasis on nurturing Indonesia's self-sufficiency by strengthening its food and energy sectors, as well as empowering low-income communities such as farmers, fishermen and laborers.

The tickets aim for a more nationalistic revision of the country's oil and gas laws, with the Prabowo-Hatta ticket promising to give priority to national energy companies during contract renegotiations.

Staying true to the "Islamic" nuance of their bloc, which consists of three Islamic parties, Prabowo-Hatta focused their attention on Shariah finance with the hopes of developing "Indonesia into a center for Shariah banking," the manifesto stated.

Minority and human rights

Only the Joko-Kalla ticket paid particular attention on protecting the rights of Indonesia's minorities and addressing issues of unresolved past human rights abuses. Minority protection was specified quite early in their thick manifesto (on page three), which called "intolerance, hostility, discrimination and violence against 'those who are different'?" one of the country's main struggles.

The pair specifically promised to protect the rights of indigenous groups while upholding the law against "those who used violence on behalf of religion."

Joko and Kalla continued by expressing their commitment to solving cases of past human rights violations, such as those related to the May 1998 riots, the Tanjung Priok tragedy, the Trisakti-Semanggi shooting and kidnapping, as well as the 1965 anti-communist mass killing.

"We are committed to eliminating all forms of impunity in the national legal system, including through a revision of the Military Tribune Law, which in the past has been a source of human rights abuses," the document stated.

The Prabowo-Hatta pair, on the other hand, failed to mention these atrocities in their manifesto.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/candidates-manifestos-light-antigraft-fight/

Terrorism & religious extremism

Arrests reveal Jemaah Islamiyah's return

Jakarta Globe - May 21, 2014

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – A string of arrests on terror suspects in Java has revealed a resurrection of the Southeast Asian militant organization Jemaah Islamiyah in the country, a police source said Wednesday.

"The new JI [Jemaah Islamiyah] cell is very neat and organized; they have a management, soldiers and an Amir [leader]. We estimate them to have at least 3,000 soldiers and we think the Amir is a returning old player," said a source within the National Police anti-terror squad, Densus 88, who spoke under conditions of anonymity to the Jakarta Globe.

The source added that some of the terror suspects nabbed by police last week were old fugitives who were allegedly involved in the 2004 Poso bombing in Central Sulawesi.

The explosion in Tentena market was carried out by two cells working under Eko Budi Wardoyo, an Islamic cleric who was motivated by revenge against Poso's Christian community for their role in the region's three-year sectarian conflict. Eko was arrested and tried in 2010 before receiving a 10-year jail sentence.

Religious clashes in the region have left around 2,000 people of both faiths dead, displacing as many as 100,000 citizens.

Extremists under Eko's command have been on the run for nearly a decade, during which they formed a new cell, according to the source, adding that the new JI faction managed to collect sufficient funds from their volunteers to pay their soldiers a decent monthly salary.

"They are also constantly training in various locations, such as Parangtritis in Yogyakarta, Bukittinggi in West Sumatra and Medan in North Sumatra," he said.

"The Klaten [Jentral Java] network we discovered last week appeared to have some kind of arms industry," the source added, describing a welding workshop in the Trucuk subdistrict where the network produces homemade weapons.

Police detained five terror suspects in the area last week, identified as Arif, Arifin, Rofiq, Slamet and Yusuf.

They were successfully detained following Monday's arrest of Rifki, who also goes by Bondan and Royan, at a restaurant in Indramayu, West Java for his alleged involvement in the Poso riots of 2000, the 2005 Tentena market bombing and a military training camp in Moro, the Philippines.

The cell Rifki was in charge of was known for its skills in assembling weapons. National Police spokesman, Brig.Gen Biy Rafli Amar said the suspects bought airsoft guns as models and produced their own bullets.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/arrests-reveal-jemaah-islamiyahs-return/

Freedom of religion & worship

SBY urged to stop human rights discrimination

Jakarta Post - May 18, 2014

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), a non-governmental organization advocating human rights issues, wants President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to make use of the last five months of his term of office to stop all forms and manifestations of human rights discrimination in Indonesia.

"In the last days of his presidency, President Yudhoyono should be able to stop human rights discrimination which has continued to occur," Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said it was time for Yudhoyono, as a President who bore responsibilities to uphold the Constitution, to take measures to protect every Indonesian citizen without exception and to make sure their constitutional rights were upheld.

The activist further said the current government had a responsibility not to pass on such a negative situation to the new government that would soon take leadership of the country.

"The new Indonesian President, whoever he or she is, will always have a similar constitutional responsibility, namely to uphold the 1945 Constitution," said Haris, adding that the new leader must put forward and uphold justice and prosperity for all Indonesian people.

Earlier, international human rights watchdog Amnesty International said the new head of state elected in the July presidential election must prioritize the handling of human rights violations that had continued to happen and revoke repressive and discriminative laws.

Amnesty International deputy director for Asia Pacific, Ruppert Abbott, said that during ten years of President Yudhoyono's leadership, Indonesia had only recorded sporadic progress in maintaining human rights. Some setbacks had reportedly reoccurred in a number of fields, such as the government's policy to put the death penalty into effect again after suspending it for four years.

Attacks and persecutions against minority religious groups, such as Ahmadiyah, had also increased during President Yudhoyono's leadership, which were getting worse with laws passed both at national and regional level that had discriminate and violate certain human rights, he added.

Nevertheless, Abbott said, Indonesia had also recorded some achievements, such as playing an important role in the establishment of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, a regional agency that is tasked with ensuring human rights are upheld in Southeast Asia. (dhi/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/18/sby-urged-stop-human-rights-discrimination.html

Bekasi's embattled Ahmadiyah mosque sealed once again

Jakarta Globe - May 17, 2014

Camelia Pasandaran & SP/Mikael Niman, Jakarta – The municipal government of Bekasi, West Java on Friday resealed a mosque belonging to members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah religious movement after officials noticed the entrance had been unblocked.

"We sealed it again because the lock and seal which were put there had been damaged," municipal attorney Sugianto said.

The Al-Bismah mosque was closed by the city on Feb. 14, 2013, but its members continued to pray there until Bekasi Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers sealed the entrance on March 8, forcing members who were still inside to use a ladder to climb out.

"They said that they referred to the gubernatorial regulation, Indonesian Ulema Council edict and mayoral regulation that forbid Ahmadiyah, while clearly the regulations only forbid spreading Ahmadiyah teachings and no regulation prohibits activities," Iman Rahmat Rahmadijaya told the Jakarta Globe at the time.

A month later, the city placed sheet metal around the mosque to thwart worshipers from finding ways in. In December, a court ordered the city to take down the barricade but said the mosque could remain locked up.

On year ago this month, Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi and local Islamic leaders petitioned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to institute a nationwide ban on the oppressed group. Thee 400-member mosque was built in 1998 and worship there went smoothly until 2011.

"The troubles started when we got a new mayor in Bekasi, Rahmat Effendi," Ahmad Maulana, head of security at the mosque, told the Globe in August of 2013. "He used to pray at this mosque before he was elected, even though he's not an Ahmadi. But after his inauguration, things changed drastically."

Soon after he was elected, he turned on the small community. The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a hard-line group notorious for its vigilantism and violence, began a campaign of its own. Rahmadijaya told the Globe that the mayor seemed afraid of the FPI.

Meanwhile, Sugianto defended the city's decision to keep the persistent worshipers out. "We have locked and shut down the mosque before. The court supported us against Ahmadiyah's request and asked the Ahmadiyah not to continue activity at this location," Sugianto said.

Deden Sujana, head of the Ahmadiyah movement in Bekasi, said the government had failed to produce valid documents justifying the closure. "When asked to show the letters, the government declined to give them [to us], saying that they hadn't copied them," he said on Friday. "We want to know whether they have legal standing to do this."

Throughout the closure, some worshipers have managed to conduct Friday services in the mosque. "Because it is locked, we climb the 1.5 meter fence to get into the mosque to pray," Deden said. "There are 362 Ahmadiyah mosques in Indonesia, but only those in Depok and Bekasi are sealed."

Bekasi and Depok both fall under the jurisdiction of West Java governor Ahmad Heryawan, a member of the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). He once said that the Ahmadiyah's problems would disappear if the group itself disappeared. Police officers have been watching the mosque around the clock.

"Before the sealing of the mosque on May 11, 2014, members of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) Pondok Gede branch, Bekasi, intimidated members of Ahmadiyah who prayed in Al-Misbah mosque, and tried to prevent members who were headed to the mosque with words," local activist Uli Parulian said on Friday, accusing the city of bowing to the whims of the radical group. "We urge the Bekasi government to respect the ongoing appeals process until there's final and binding decision."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/bekasis-embattled-ahmadiyah-mosque-sealed/

Indigenous rights

Rights body presses indigenous rights

Jakarta Globe - May 23, 2014

Vita A.D. Busyra, Jakarta – Indonesia's indigenous communities have received a big boost in their effort to retake control of their ancestral lands, with the government's human rights body launching an inquiry to seek redress for past land grabs.

"The national inquiry is a way to resolve human rights issues systematically, in which indigenous peoples and representatives of the private sector will be invited to discuss and seek mediation, negotiation and solution," Sandrayati Moniaga, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, or Komnas HAM, said at the launch of the inquiry on Tuesday.

She added the move was timed to coincide with the commemoration of National Awakening day as a symbolic show of support "for a brighter future for indigenous peoples."

Sandrayati said the goal of the inquiry was regulation or policy change, as well as increased awareness among stakeholders and the establishment of the indigenous people's rights to their customary land.

The land rights issue has simmered for decades, with the government giving out concessions to hundreds of thousands of hectares of land inhabited by indigenous people to companies involved in the mining, palm oil, and pulp and paper industries.

For years the dispossessed communities have had little or no course of redress, and conflicts between them and the security forces, often in the pay of the concession holders, have resulted in dozens of deaths and arrests.

But in a landmark ruling in 2012, the Constitutional Court struck a single word from a 1999 law on forestry and land ownership, which effectively taking control of indigenous lands away from the state and putting it into the hands of indigenous groups.

However, critics say the government has been slow in complying with the spirit of the ruling by issuing new supporting regulations to reflect the change.

"The national inquiry is meant to help along the government's agenda, by delivering a comprehensive understanding of the issue, so that they can later on formulate national policies in order fulfill the human rights of the indigenous people, just as our Constitution states," Sandrayati said.

She noted that similar initiatives had been successfully implemented in other countries, including New Zealand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Ahmad Sodiki, a former Constitutional Court justice, said the rights of indigenous people was already enshrined in the Constitution, "but practically, in many ways, other laws under it, such as the forestry law, have always found ways to deviate from the Constitution."

"The disavowal of the indigenous people's rights to their customary land and forests likely occurred when the bill on forestry was created, to disenfranchise the indigenous people of their rights," he said. He added that this included obscuring the article on indigenous people's land rights.

Sodiki said the land ownership rights of indigenous people and of the state should be clearly separated, unlike the representation in the 1999 law that was later amended by the ruling. "The government should prioritize the indigenous people's land first, then claim the rest of the forested land as the state's," he said.

Abdon Nababan, the secretary general of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, or AMAN, urged the government to get more involved with indigenous communities, saying it had long been absent on that front.

"I should say that AMAN, Komnas HAM, environmental affiliates and other non-profit organizations have been the ones quelling [the conflicts prompted by land rights disputes]," he said.

He blasted the government for a series of legislation that he said disenfranchised indigenous people. Under those laws, he said, "two-thirds of our forest land is governed by the Forestry Ministry and the rest by the National Land Agency," or BPN.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono previously announced the need to issue new regulations specifically on the issue of indigenous people's rights, after signing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP, in September 2007.

Since then, however, no such regulation have been drafted, much less issued, and critics say the rights of indigenous people have not been fully recognized.

"This shows the unwillingness of our government to follow up on their recognition," Abdon said. "I hope that our recommendation on the issue will at least be on the main agenda of the presidential candidates. If not, they certainly don't deserve to be the future president of Indonesia."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/rights-body-presses-indigenous-rights/

Indigenous peoples alliance endorses Joko-Kalla presidential ticket

Jakarta Globe - May 23, 2014

Jakarta – The Alliance of the Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) on Friday officially announced that it would back Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla for the country's top posts, marking the first time the organization had formally supported any presidential ticket.

"Joko is the only candidate who has not [spurred] controversy with indigenous peoples," said Abdon Nababan, AMAN's deputy secretary general, at the Ibis Hotel in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Several regional members of the alliance met for the event in full tribal dress, singing traditional songs to mark the occasion. Neither Joko nor Kalla were present, but People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) head and senior campaign strategist Sidharto Danusubroto stood in on their behalf.

AMAN's deputy for institutional development Mina Setra explained that AMAN had chosen Joko after a committee process. "We have a process to deal with this," she said. "We have an AMAN team conducting analysis and assessments of all the presidential candidates, even when they weren't official yet."

But on May 2, AMAN formally met with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate Joko Widodo to discuss the possibility of an endorsement. By then, the wheels were already turning on the partnership.

The tipping point for AMAN, though, was when Joko adopted the alliance's platform into his own: Joko has pledged to push for the 2011 bill on the Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples, a bill that was originally drafted by AMAN and given to Joko's party, as well as implement last year's landmark ruling on Indonesia's Forestry Law, which guarantees the rights of indigenous communities over their customary forests.

"All of our members decided that Joko and Kalla were the best candidates for president and vice president," Mina added.

Abdon echoed Mina's sentiment, taking a subtle jab at Joko and Kalla's rivals for the July 9 contest – Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa. "We have to choose the better [candidates]," he said. "We came to the conclusion that Joko is the cleanest."

When asked about Jusuf Kalla's checkered past, however, Abdon conceded that although his record was not sterling, the group's focus was on the president, not on the vice president. The former vice president has gained notoriety recently for openly supporting paramilitary group Pancasila Youth (PP) during a scene in 2012's internationally-acclaimed documentary "The Act of Killing."

"For us, Joko is the most important," he said. "With Jusuf Kalla, of course, there is a record. But, Jusuf Kalla is a man who could bring dialogue to the front. For indigenous peoples right now, what we need is the space to bring dialogue."

AMAN, an organization that represents 15 million indigenous peoples in over 2,000 of Indonesia's indigenous communities, has never thrown its support behind any presidential candidate before. The alliance was founded in 1999 to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples and provide a mouthpiece for the country's often disenfranchised customary communities.

The umbrella group backed 185 candidates for the April 9 legislative elections, of whom 25 were confirmed to have won seats.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indigenous-peoples-alliance-endorses-joko-kalla-presidential-ticket/

Call for decree restoring forests to indigenous to be implemented

Jakarta Globe - May 16, 2014

Vita A.D. Busyra – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is facing criticism over delays in issuing a decree to implement a Constitutional Court verdict handing over the country's customary forests to their indigenous people.

One year on, the ruling shows no signs of being realized, civil society groups said on Tuesday, resulting in continued conflict between indigenous groups, companies and local governments over the management of the forests.

The Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) and other nongovernmental organizations are planning to send an open letter to Yudhoyono as well as the country's next leader if the former fails to act during his term, which ends in October.

Abdon Nababan, AMAN secretary general, expressed hope that Yudhoyono would not want to end his term with red marks on his presidential performance record, leaving a legacy of ignoring the plight to save the forests and their inhabitants.

"Therefore, I believe he will consider this issue," he said during a discussion to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the verdict on Tuesday.

Abdon said a presidential decree would detail instructions to both the central and regional governments on the steps they can take to help empower the country's indigenous population.

This can be accomplished, he explained, by allowing them to manage and benefit from their own forests without damaging the environment. Deputy secretary general of the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) Iwan Nurdin said the matter has been prolonged by ministries that hold a vested interest in the areas to be transferred.

"Although Yudhoyono has given his commitment, other officials – particularly the Home Affairs Ministry and the Forestry Ministry – are against the idea," he said, adding that the indigenous people have not received any benefits from the customary lands as part of reciprocal promises the government had made.

"They [ministries] should receive the blame; they issued permits for their own interests, leaving the indigenous people and the country with nothing," he said.

Iwan also "rent-seeking political elites" failed to prioritize an agenda for a agrarian reform.

"The imbalance in land ownership between corporations and the native inhabitants is still extremely high."

Agrarian conflict

The indigenous community, people who hail from customary forest areas and their surroundings, have been pushed out from their own homes by agrarian conflicts, activists said.

Data collected by AMAN revealed that the 143 violent clashes recorded in 2013 were just the tip of the iceberg as researchers claimed missing reports and incomplete documents of many other instances were not taken into consideration.

"The agrarian conflicts have violated human rights. More locals will be punished as criminals and poverty will remain high as long as the government does nothing," Abdon said.

AMAN, in a joint venture with other NGOs including Epistema, HuMa, WALHI, Greenpeace, Forest Watch Indonesia, Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) and Indigenous Territory Registration Board (BRWA) plan to draft a proposal on what the current government can do to bring justice to the indigenous people.

Sandra Moniaga, commissioner of the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said her institution has initiated a national inquiry and conducted thorough investigations on issues connected to the status of the basic rights of Indonesia's indigenous communities, particularly those still living in forests and their surroundings.

"I expect the national inquiry to become a priority, because numerous cases of infringement have caused national concern in the past," she said, adding that last year's Constitutional Court (MK) verdict should not only reinstate the indigenous people's rights, but further expand them and empower indigenous people.

Mirna A. Safitri, executive director of the Epistema Institute, emphasized that local governments had an important role in carrying out orders issued by the MK as the central government has mandated the implementation to the regions in question.

"Each region's bylaws are still far from satisfactory and, thus, should be improved. We need more regulations that look after the indigenous community's best interests, preserve their homes and improve their way of living," she said.

Mirna added that the MK verdict should also help to establish a peaceful relationship between the indigenous communities and the modern society that surrounds them.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/call-decree-restoring-forests-indigenous-implemented/

Parliament & legislation

House's budgeting role curtailed

Jakarta Post - May 23, 2014

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday to limit the budgeting role of the House of Representatives amid concerns that the House's budget committee was too powerful and prone to corruption.

The ruling was made in favor of plaintiffs consisting of a number of anticorruption groups, including the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), the Indonesian Legal Roundtable (ILR), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and several others, which filed the case in early 2013 when several members of the budget committee were facing graft charges.

With the ruling, the House no longer has the authority to specifically allocate any of the state budget for "activities and types of spending". The House only has the authority to now allocate funds for "organizational units, functions and programs".

The court also ruled that the House could no longer postpone the disbursement of funds if the allocation had been approved. "When the House, through the budget committee, has the authority to discuss in detail the draft budget to the level of 'activities and the types of expenditure', it exceeds its budgetary authority and has entered the role of executive power to implement budget planning," Justice Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi said. "Therefore, we concluded that there should be a limit to the budget details that can be discussed or changed by the House."

Fadlil added that the House "should now firmly approve or disapprove certain budgets without giving any requirements or delaying the disbursement and giving it a grade" as the court found that such requirements were prone to abuse of power.

During a hearing in August last year, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto told the bench that the authority of the budget committee "was too vast, lacked monitoring and had no parameters to evaluate budgeting performance, presenting a gray area for lobbying".

Representing the antigraft body, which was asked to give input on the judicial review, Bambang also said House members used the "informal approach" of backroom deals that was even harder to monitor.

The KPK came to the conclusion after finding indications of such dealings in previous cases. According to Bambang, his office handled a number of cases involving 65 lawmakers and councilors between 2004 and 2012. This group was the third-largest after public officials (97) and private sector employees (83).

Meanwhile, budget misappropriation involving legislators was the third most prevalent of the cases handled by the KPK, with 38 cases between 2004 and 2013, after bribery with 144 cases and procurement mismanagement with 107 cases out of 321 cases.

He later mentioned four examples of cases involving former budget committee members, namely Muhammad Nazaruddin and Angelina Sondakh of the ruling Democratic Party, Wa Ode Nurhayati of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Zulkarnaen Djabar of the Golkar Party.

The activists filed for a review to challenge several articles in the 2009 law on the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and Regional Legislative Councils (DPRDs) and the 2003 State Finance Law.

The articles required a permanent budget committee with a five-year term, the House's mechanism of budget allocation approval, which the plaintiffs deemed as too detailed and prone to corruption, the House's authority to delay budget disbursement and the mechanism of deliberating state budget revisions.

Expert witness Iwan Gardono Sujatmiko also argued that the prevailing mechanism for budget deliberations violated the Constitution as they were often not transparent.

However on Thursday, the court did not grant the petition to make the budget committee a non-permanent body, saying that it was "an open policy under the House" to determine the nature of the body.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Erwin Natosmal, said after the hearing that he appreciated the ruling despite the court not granting all of the petitions. "The root of the problem has been scrapped by the court even though the budget committee still exists. It can no longer block budget allocations in exchange for bribes."

House's budget committee members implicated in graft

Noor Adenan Razak from the National Mandate Party (PAN)
Abdul Hadi Djamal from PAN
Wa Ode Nurhayati from PAN
Sofyan Usman from the United Development Party (PPP)
Muhammad Nazaruddin from the Democratic Party
Angelina Sondakh from the Democratic Party
Zulkarnaen Djabar from the Golkar Party

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/23/house-s-budgeting-role-curtailed.html

Plenty of old faces in the new House

Jakarta Post - May 16, 2014

Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) officially announced on Wednesday the composition of the next term of the House of Representatives, which will be filled with a mix of old and new faces.

KPU chairman Husni Kamil Manik led a plenary meeting to officially announce the number of seats won by each political party contesting the April 9 legislative election.

"A copy [of the list of elected candidates] will officially be submitted to each political party's central board," he said on Wednesday. "Those names will be made official by presidential decree."

The list of elected candidates included many incumbent legislators. From legislative election victor the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), 10 lawmakers are expected to serve another term, including Rieke Diah Pitaloka, Maruarar Sirait, Tjahjo Kumolo and Pramono Anung Wibowo, the current deputy speaker of the House.

The Golkar Party also has several familiar names returning to Senayan, including Meutya Hafid, Tantowi Yahya, Bambang Soesatyo and Setya Novanto. In total, Golkar has eight incumbents in the new House.

Meanwhile, four Democratic Party lawmakers won enough votes for reelection, including senior party politician Ruhut Sitompul and Edhie "Ibas" Baskoro Yudhoyono, the son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Ruhut won in the North Sumatra electoral district with 34,685 votes – beating out other Democrats Ramadhan Pohan and Sutan Bhatoegana. Ibas won 243,737 votes in an electoral district in East Java.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), will also see four of its lawmakers – Nasir Djamil, Mahfudz Siddiq, Tamsil Linrung and Adang Daradjatun – return to the House for another term.

Other prominent candidates winning a seat in the House include controversial Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring from the PKS, son of NasDem Party patron Surya Paloh, Prananda Paloh, and current Hanura Party lawmaker Nurdin Tampubolon.

Many figures from the entertainment industry have also won House seats, including actor-turned-politician Dede Yusuf Effendi, rock singer Anang Hermansyah, racer Moreno Soeprapto, soap opera actress Desy Ratnasari and former pageant queen and salsa dancer Venna Melinda.

On Wednesday, the KPU also announced the election's top 10 vote-getters, which included three PDI-P candidates: Karolin Margret Natasa, who won in the West Kalimantan electoral district with 397,481 votes; Puan Maharani, daughter of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, who won the Central Java electoral district with 369,927 votes; and I Wayan Koster, who won in Bali with 260,342 votes.

According to the final tally, the PDI-P came out on top in the election, winning 109 seats representing 19.5 percent of the House. The Golkar Party came in second with 16.3 percent or 91 seats, followed by the Gerindra Party with 13.01 percent or 73 seats.

The Democratic Party came in fourth with 61 seats or 10.1 percent. The National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) got 8.8 percent or 49 seats and 8.4 percent or 47 seats, respectively.

The PKS, the United Development Party (PPP), the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party accounted for the remainder of the seats, with 40, 39, 35 and 16 seats, respectively.

The General Election Law stipulates that all 560 members of the new House will take their oath of office in October. (tjs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/16/plenty-old-faces-new-house.html

Judicial & legal system

MK agrees to no longer hear election disputes

Jakarta Post - May 20, 2014

Jakarta – The graft-tainted Constitutional Court (MK) delivered a controversial verdict on Monday divesting itself of the authority to handle complaints about local and regional elections.

The court issued the ruling in response to a judicial review filed by a little-known student group from Jakarta-based Esa Unggul University.

In its complaint, the student group argued that based on Law No. 48/2009 on judicial powers the court only had the authority to review whether or not laws issued by the government contradicted the Constitution.

The group also argued the court had no authority to hear complaints about local elections as the court is not a party to Law No. 12/2008 on local administration. It demanded the Constitutional Court hand over its authority to hear cases of local election disputes to other institutions.

"We have agreed to grant their petition. However, the court will continue to hear complaints from local elections pending the passage of a new law regarding this issue," court Chief Justice Hamdan Zulva said in his verdict.

During the deliberation of the judicial review request, six justices approved the scrapping of their authority, while three justices Ahmad Fadhil, Anwar Usman and Arief Hidayat, dissented.

"The MK hearing complaints about local-election disputes does not contravene the Constitution, because they are part of the general election. So disputes in local elections should be seen as part of disputes in general elections," Fadil said in his dissenting opinion.

Calls had mounted for the court to stop handling local election disputes following the arrest of former court chief justice Akil Mochtar for allegedly receiving bribes from local politicians in relation to local- election disputes being handled by the court.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested Akil at his official residence in Jakarta on Oct. 2 last year as he was allegedly about to accept a Rp 3 billion (US$262,720) bribe from Gunung Mas Regent Hambit Bintih.

The money was allegedly paid to Akil so that he would rule in favor of Hambit as the incumbent Gunung Mas regent and reject appeals by the losing candidates.

Akil has been accused of amassing Rp 57 billion from rigging 10 elections. Akil's graft cases include those involving suspended Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah and her brother, businessman Tubagus Chaeri "Wawan" Wardana.

Following the arrest of Akil, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a government regulation in lieu of law, known as a Perppu, in October, which aimed to restore the credibility of the graft-tainted court, despite opposition from lawmakers.

The new regulation would improve the selection process of justices and create a permanent ethics body to supervise the court. Under the Perppu, a Constitutional Court justice would be expected not to have had links to a political party for at least seven years.

Justice candidates would also have to undergo "fit-and-proper" tests by an independent selection panel comprising seven people nominated by the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, the government and the Judicial Commission.

There would also be a permanent ethics committee to monitor the court, whose office would be located in the Judicial Commission building. The Perppu, however, said nothing about whether the court should handle local election disputes.

When asked for his comments following the court's landmark ruling, Akil declined to say anything. "No comment," he told reporters after wrapping up his court session at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/20/mk-agrees-no-longer-hear-election-disputes.html

Infrastructure & development

Cuts in spending leave infrastructure projects in limbo

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2014

Satria Sambijantoro, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has decided to slash a staggering Rp 100 trillion (US$8.7 billion) from the operational budget of his ministries, a move that could trigger great uncertainty for several infrastructure projects, as the Public Works Ministry has been dealt the most drastic budget cut.

Yudhoyono issued on Tuesday a presidential instruction (Inpres), requiring 86 ministries and government institutions to tighten their belts on spending to keep the fiscal deficit in check.

According to the revised 2014 state budget, the Public Works Ministry sees its budget slashed by Rp 22.7 trillion from its previous budget of Rp 84.1 trillion; followed by the Defense Ministry (cut by Rp 10.5 trillion); and the Transportation Ministry (cut by Rp 10.1 trillion).

The President, however, had not cut the funding allocations for the Education and Culture Ministry and the General Elections Commission (KPU), whose budgets remained unchanged at Rp 80.6 trillion and Rp 15.4 trillion, respectively, the State Secretariat said in a statement.

"This [the budget cut] is our sacrifice for the new government, so that they will not encounter difficulties when entering office," Finance Minister Chatib Basri said on Tuesday.

"It's an option that we have had to undertake to ensure a smooth transition," he went on. "For instance, we could just do nothing and let the new government bear the burden on the fiscal side; however, we don't want to think from the incumbent's perspective only."

Nevertheless, the minister acknowledged that any additional slowdown in economic growth would be "inevitable" due to the smaller levels of government spending.

The fiscal tightening was undertaken after the government saw an overshoot in subsidy spending and a lower-than-expected tax revenue collection.

A design of the revised 2014 state budget, released on Tuesday, revealed that Indonesia would see its fuel subsidy spending soar to Rp 285 trillion by the end of this year, Rp 74.3 trillion higher than its earlier allocation, as the weak rupiah drove up the cost of fuel imports.

On the revenue side, total tax collections are expected to be Rp 48.3 trillion lower than earlier estimates, falling to Rp 1,232.1 trillion this year, as the economic slowdown puts pressure on local companies' earnings.

Nevertheless, the government has succeeded in preventing the spending- revenue shortfall from widening. Thanks to the ministries' budget cuts, the revised 2014 state budget will see the fiscal deficit stand at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) – higher than the initial estimate of 1.7 percent but still lower than the legal threshold of 3 percent.

Still, analysts have warned that because the Public Works Ministry will be the biggest loser from the budget cuts, some government infrastructure projects may fall victim, ultimately hampering Indonesia's long-term growth potential.

"Those companies that are hugely dependent on government contracts, such as ADHI [Adhi Karya] and WSKT [Waskita Karya], will be directly impacted," Joko Sogie, an equity analyst covering the construction sector with Danareksa Sekuritas, wrote on Tuesday in a report analyzing the budget cuts' effect on listed companies.

The lack of new government infrastructure contracts this year could potentially hit future economic growth, warned Joko, who suggested the new government should fix the over-dependence on subsidy spending, which had contributed to the budget deficit.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/21/cuts-spending-leave-infrastructure-projects-limbo.html

Analysis & opinion

US backflip on Modi ban a fillip for Prabowo

Jakarta Post - May 23, 2014

Jemma Purdey, Melbourne, Australia – Advisors to Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto will be closely watching developments in the India-US relationship in the lead-up to Narendra Modi's inauguration as India's new prime minister, following his Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) resounding victory in recent elections.

There are several reasons why Prabowo's Gerindra Party apparatchiks should have been watching the Indian elections with interest for their own campaign. Both nations are among the largest democracies in the world (India is the first and Indonesia is third after the US). Notwithstanding their differences in political system (Indonesia as a direct presidential election, whilst India's prime minister is elected via the parliamentary system as its head of government), both share similarities in terms of the influence of dynastic, money and religious issues in politics and both face large challenges in the face of continuing poverty and increasing wealth disparity.

India's longer history of democratic party politics, campaigning and elections potentially provides Indonesia with as much instruction as US- style politics, to which Gerindra has looked for its strategy and approach for this campaign. But for the Prabowo crew this week the greatest lesson will be in the prevarications and inconsistencies of international diplomacy and its instruments for enforcing any human rights standards within that regime.

The victory of Modi's BJP in the Indian elections had threatened to create awkwardness in US-India relations, as in 2005 Modi was banned from entering the US for his alleged involvement in the massacre of Muslims in his home state of Gujarat where he was chief minister in 2002. The murder of around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, was carried out over three days of horrific and targeted violence in the state.

The US was not alone in barring Modi from entering its territory. Canada also refused to grant him a visa and the UK declined to meet with the then chief minister. The snubs followed investigation results that pointed to police involvement in the murders, with the chain of command running all the way up to the chief minister.

Since that time, undercover journalists, lawyers and victims' groups have exposed the murderers within the Gujarati police ranks and Hindu radical groups. Trials have led to the prosecution of some for the killings, but those higher up in the chain have been immune to such prosecution, including Modi, who was absolved from any wrongdoing by India's Supreme Court only last month when it reaffirmed a 2012 decision finding him innocent.

Modi's popularity at home since the massacres, moreover, has only grown and his ascension to prime minister in the face of a demoralized Congress Party appeared increasingly inevitable. The US and other countries with bans on Modi, therefore, had adequate lead-time to prepare their positions on "Modi the prime minister" come May 2014.

Not surprisingly, geopolitics has trumped concerns the US and the UK once had about his human rights record. The election of an individual to a position of national leadership can, it seem, erase history. US President Barack Obama telephoned Modi earlier this week to congratulate him and invite him to visit Washington. He described the India-US relationship as "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century", for its economic opportunities and its potential to counterbalance the rise of China in the region.

Prabowo, like Modi, is currently barred from entering the US due to his alleged involvement in the kidnappings of student activists in 1998 in his position as head of Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), and for which he was subsequently demoted.

Throughout his current campaign as Gerindra's presidential candidate and indeed since he entered politics in the early 2000s, the question of Prabowo's human rights record, not only in relation to the kidnappings but also to his role as Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander during the occupation of Timor Leste, have been irritants. Although it would seem increasingly minor ones. A case to try him for the student kidnappings filed in a Jakarta court by a team of lawyers on the eve of Prabowo's official announcement of his presidential bid looks unlikely to have significant political impact.

In terms of Prabowo's ability to carry out the international obligations of the presidency, the Modi-Obama rapprochement appears to indicate that the current ban on Prabowo's entry to the US will not prove a hurdle. As Prabowo now infamously responded to a question for Al Jazeera television about his US ban, "Nelson Mandela was also blacklisted from the United States at one time, am I not in good company?"

Following these developments between India and the US, Prabowo and his team probably now have no doubt that the ban on his entry to the US would not endure past his election as Indonesia's national leader.

Such is the inadequacy and ineptitude of current international instruments to bring human rights violators to account and the supremacy of national interests in international relations.

[The writer, a research fellow at Deakin University, Melbourne, is the author of "Chinese Indonesians, kongkow and Prabowo: A story of reconciliation in post-New Order Indonesia?", part of a book titled Religion and culture: Domestic and international implications for Southeast Asia and Australia, edited by Joseph Camilleri and Sven Schottman, 2013.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/23/us-backflip-modi-ban-a-fillip-prabowo.html

Aceh and the rise and fall of Prabowo's Gerindra

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2014

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Jakarta – Prabowo Subianto's meteoric rise in popularity as presidential hopeful has been conspicuous. In just two years (2008-2010) he has built a highly energetic political party, the Gerindra Party, and persuaded a considerable number of young and old voters to vote for the party in the April legislative election.

This is perhaps not very surprising given his aggressive style of campaigning. A maverick soldier-turned-self-styled populist, Prabowo sees himself as the savior of the nation, who is determined to fight for the great solution. The former Army general promises to transform Indonesia into a big power, the new Asian tiger.

In times of crisis, there have always been idiosyncratic leaders who loved to build a vision and attempted to impose grand designs for state and society.

Men like Joseph Stalin in 1920s, Adolf Hitler in 1930s and the Khmer Rouge leaders in 1970s – they were all invariably driven by authoritarian types of populism, armed with the infrastructure of oppression and a reinvigorated nationalism, which ended at great human cost.

There has also been a trend of sympathy with Hitler's fascism in Indonesia, as observed by the Greater Indonesia Party (Parindra) in the 1930s.

Prabowo, too, as one of his old friends recently confirms, admired Hitler. Now, however, referring to China's Deng Xiaoping and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, he praises the kind of leaders who used an iron fist to guard and control capitalism and society, and is proud to be part of Soeharto's New Order, while preparing for a strong doses of economic nationalism and evoking a sense of greatness for the nation and the people.

But Indonesia is not in crisis. Under the umbrella of the big oligarchs who behave as if they own the political parties, the rising middle class with rising prosperity need law enforcement rather than a strong leader, and maintaining pluralism rather than purity of beliefs, which Gerindra's "Manifesto" apparently prefers.

Recent developments in Aceh suggest how Prabowo's Gerindra has played its cards. Aceh has turned peace into efforts to build welfare in which the elite – including the former rebels I recently met in Banda Aceh – are keen to build their own sort of nationhood (keAcehan) while Jakarta's oligarchs play their part.

While the Helsinki peace accord of 2005 is supported by the people of Aceh, its full implementation has been used as leverage to build strength by both Jakarta politicians and the ex-Free Aceh Movement (GAM) ruling elite.

In 2009, trouble came. Then governor Irwandi Yusuf's reign was regularly disturbed by violent attacks involving ex-GAM factions with local military allegedly secretly running the show.

By the 2012 local regency elections, the military-led operation succeeded in gaining massive support from Central Aceh – the home base of anti-GAM communities – for Irwandi's rival, the Aceh Party (PA), which resulted in the latter's dominance in the Aceh administration and legislative body.

Last June, Gerindra and the PA agreed that votes for Gerindra's local legislators should go to the PA, and PA voters were to support Prabowo for president. To do otherwise would be haram (forbidden), warned the deputy governor, former GAM commander Muzakkir "Mualem" Manaf.

Under the PA, Aceh looks like a one party-state with former combatants turned into omnipresent party-militias – a pattern prone to intimidation and violence. The Gerindra-PA deal ignored this potential issue and focused exclusively on electoral gain.

For Aceh, however, the alliance is important since Jakarta – i.e. the Army – harbors deep-seated suspicion that the ex-GAM elite harbors a "hidden agenda of independence".

"It's uncomfortable to live with [this suspicion]," Governor Zaini Abdullah complained. Even Malik Mahmud, the former GAM official and current Wali Nanggroe (the "Guardian of the Aceh State" a legal honorific title), who stays aloof from political life, responded with body language indicating his being unable to comprehend it.

"As a result, Aceh has been kept awaiting for years for Jakarta to finalize the laws on local government on important matters related to mining, symbols and the flag, despite the Helsinki accord," Zaini protested.

In short, it's only by building some modus vivendi that Aceh will be able to enjoy its special status, strengthen security and stabilize its relationship with Jakarta.

When in 2009 the PA opted for the Democratic Party, the result was Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's big election victory. In turn, the president, at the opening of the Tsunami Museum in February 2009, asked local military commander Maj. Gen. Soenarko, now a Gerindra executive, to keep the peace. But to the dismay of the PA, the Democrats left them and then came Gerindra.

However, it is hard to many Acehnese, including many PA leaders, to accept Prabowo as a bedfellow. He is associated with the Army's Special Forces' (Kopassus) dirty war in Aceh in the 1980s, called DOM or the military operations, which is still widely remembered with pain.

The psychological legacy of the "House of Torture", the infamous Rumoh Geudong in Pidie, remains. Aceh is a unique, if problematic, historic symbol of Indonesia's unity. To embrace Aceh is to strengthen the nation.

If GAM leaders now reunited with the nation, Prabowo might recognize the career of his own father, who in 1958 joined a rebellion only to return home a decade later – albeit in his case with the help of a foreign intelligence agency.

On human rights abuses, he may have thought he would be forgiven when he, last March, for the first time after decades, offered an apology in general terms for what his soldiers did. Yet, it's all too little, too late.

The election outcome demonstrates not only the growing strength of the national parties but the serious loss of Gerindra's partner, the PA, from 48 percent to 36 percent of total seats in the local legislative body (from 33 of 69 seats in 2009 to 29 of 81 seats). At the national level, Gerindra only won two seats from Aceh instead of the targeted six.

This clearly reflects not only dissatisfaction with Aceh's administration and the violence and fraud as a consequence of the PA's hegemonic rule, but also the grassroots rejection of Gerindra's Prabowo.

While this may or may not prejudge the fall of Prabowo's Gerindra on a national scale, it sends a powerful message that politicians like him should take past human rights abuses seriously.

[The writer is a journalist who recently covered the 2014 legislative election in Aceh.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/19/aceh-and-rise-and-fall-prabowo-s-gerindra.html

By the way... Trust me, I'm from Australia

Jakarta Post - May 18, 2014

Duncan Graham – Why did Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott cancel his visit to Indonesia? The budget has been suggested. Bunkum! It's because words in Australia's proposed code of ethics have been lost in translation. Fortunately we've found them.

Thanks to certain unidentified whistle-blowers, this column can now reveal details of the top secret negotiations under way between Indonesia and Australia following last year's spying scandal.

Readers will remember the Australian government greatly offended its northern neighbor by tapping the phones of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his good lady wife, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.

The outraged President demanded a new code of conduct between the nations before formal military cooperation could be reintroduced. Since then senior bureaucrats, etymologists, black-letter lawyers and spin doctors have been seeking the right words to resolve the impasse and soothe hurt feelings.

Here's our exclusive – details of Australia's response – which fell off the back of a becak (pedicab).

Ethical Code of Conduct (Draft 149a). Without prejudice.

Preamble: Australia will never, ever, cross our hearts, swear on the blood of our convict ancestors, spy again on our dear and most trusted best friends in Indonesia – unless it's in our national interest, or we are instructed to do so by Washington.

Border respect: We pledge to acknowledge and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our great neighbor. We will never again cross borders without the gracious permission of the Indonesian government – unless our navigational equipment malfunctions.

No surprises: We will always notify you of any policy decisions we may or may not make from time-to-time before public release. However, we cannot be held responsible for any leaks published by the mongrel media causing you great embarrassment. This we will regret.

Disclosures: Should such leaks occur, we categorically pledge to launch thorough inquiries into the source (unless we leaked). We will condemn the stories as lies perpetrated by unnamed mischief makers, traitors and unpatriotic journalists. However, it must also be understood that we support absolutely the freedom of the press in a robust democracy.

Law: Should Indonesian slaughter men kick our cows, or customs arrest our drug mules, we will urge our citizens to respect Indonesian rules – even though we think they're weird. Your laws, not our people. However, we reserve the right to interfere should the Australian electorate get annoyed to the point where our seats in parliament are threatened.

Disquiet: Australia will never knowingly use megaphone diplomacy or make inflammatory statements that insult Indonesia and arouse public disquiet – unless these are in our Machiavellian master plan. Which we don't have.

Separatism: We will not tolerate Australian NGOs grandstanding on separatism in West Papua. No ifs, buts or maybes. We will contrive to be outraged and issue awesome media statements. See Clause 8.

Provocation: Should the Morning Star flag be raised on Australian soil, we will monitor the situation closely. That's our clear and unequivocal position. We cannot yet control the opposition parties, the churches, NGOs and others concerned about alleged human rights abuses. About these we know nothing – unless revealed otherwise by WikiLeaks. Clause 7 will then apply.

Donations: We will give you orange lifeboats, patrol boats, Hercules aircraft and other military hardware that's passed its use-by date. A condition of our generosity is that you do not remove certain specialized electronic equipment that may, or may not, have been installed.

Aid: Through the careful placement of our limited aid money and in close association with Indonesian ticket-clipping authorities, we will fund projects we consider appropriate through the archipelago to the great benefit of Australian contractors. This aid will continue, unless our domestic budget needs demand otherwise. For security reasons such information must remain confidential.

Denial: We will neither confirm nor deny the existence of this or any other draft document or briefing notes that may or may not have been prepared by rogue contractors, outside operators, over-imaginative journalists, casuals and interns unauthorized by the Australian government and without our knowledge.

Communication: A hotline will be established to rapidly resolve problems. Phone anytime during Canberra business hours. Otherwise leave a message. Your call is important to us and may be used for training purposes.

Penalties: These protocols shall come into force on a date to be agreed but not disclosed. It may or may not remain in force for an unspecified time.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/18/by-way-trust-me-i-m-australia.html