Wutung, PNG – - The Indonesia-PNG border was officially opened on Tuesday this week but closed down again three hours later due to the killing of an Indonesian soldier by OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka) rebels.

Security officials told the Post-Courier the joint Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) and the government team stationed at Wutung closed down the border again to crossers because of the killing.

They said the PNGDF soldiers closed the border to crossers specifically for security reasons and to protect the PNG citizens that are crossing to do business across Batas and those that maintain their markets at the PNG side of the border.

"The PNGDF soldiers have been instructed not to allow Papua New Guinea citizens to cross over to Indonesia at the PNG-Indonesian boarder at Wutung for security reasons," the officials said.

"The situation at the border has become tense again and there is no guarantee that the lives of PNG citizens will be protected. The OPM rebels killed one Indonesian soldier after attacking the Indonesian establishment at Batas, so for security reasons because it was unsafe for PNG citizens, our officials on the ground closed the gates.

"We officially opened the border for general business after it was closed amid fears over a shooting incident in April this year. We had a small ceremony for it at 11:30 am on Tuesday and three hours later, at 3 pm our soldiers closed the gates again because of the killing of one of the Indonesian soldiers by the OPM rebels.

"Just in case there is a shootout between the OPM rebels and the Indonesian army, we don't want any of our PNG citizens and soldiers to be caught up in this fight."

Source: http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/papua-new-guinea/5482/png-indonesian-border-opens-then-closes-as-opm-str/

Jokowi promises to develop soccer in Papua

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2014

Sita W. Dewi, Jayapura – Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo says he wants to develop soccer in Papua as it already has produced exceptional talents.

Speaking before hundreds of supporters at Waringin Sports Center in Jayapura, Papua, during a campaign visit on Thursday, he praised Papuan soccer players who had succeeded on the national stage.

"[National Team players] Titus Bonai, Elie Aiboy and Boaz Solossa are exceptional talents. If we concentrate [on developing] Papuan soccer I believe we can be the best," Jokowi said to the cheering audience.

He believed that better talent management would encourage Papuan youngsters aspiring to become professional players to develop their skills.

"Papuan talents have exceptional skills, physical durability and courage. Papua produces real players," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/05/jokowi-promises-develop-soccer-papua.html

Jokowi to open access to Papua for foreign journalists, int'l organisations

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2014

Sita W. Dewi, Jayapura – Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo pledged on Thursday to open access to Papua and West Papua for foreign journalists and international organizations, if he was elected president.

"Why not? It's safe here in Papua. There's nothing to hide," Jokowi said when asked whether or not he would allow access to the country's easternmost provinces for foreign reporters and campaigners.

For decades now, parts of Papua and West Papua – especially PT Freeport Indonesia's Grassberg mine – have been restricted to foreign journalists and international organizations.

As Jokowi arrived in Jayapura on his campaign trail, he went straight to the Prahara Sentani traditional market in Sentani, Jayapura regency, to greet local residents and market vendors.

Speaking before residents and reporters, he reiterated his commitment to develop Papua and West Papua, saying that the provinces "are very important to Indonesia".

"I have come back to Papua [...] to emphasize how important this province is to Indonesia. If I was only seeking votes, I could do that in Java. But this is not about votes; it's about giving attention to Papua," he said.

Jokowi previously visited Jayapura in April while campaigning for the legislative election.

During his current visit, Jokowi introduced his priority programs for Papua, namely Indonesia Smart Card and Indonesia Health Card programs, inspired by the education and healthcare programs he developed when he became governor of Jakarta. "All Papuans should be able to enjoy higher education," he said.

Jokowi added that he also aimed to develop educational and economic infrastructure by developing traditional markets and building a rail-based transportation network to ease distribution.

Papua, despite the exploitation of its natural resources, still lags behind Java and Sumatra in terms of development.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/05/jokowi-open-access-papua-foreign-journalists-int-l-organizations.html

Next Indonesian president's Papua credentials considered

Radio New Zealand International - June 2, 2014

A South East Asia politics and history specialist says it's unlikely that the next president of Indonesia will be as focussed on the West Papua issue as Susilo Bambang Yudhyono has been.

Among the indigenous population of Indonesia's eastern region, there's still dissatisfaction with the implementation of Special Autonomy provisions as President Yudhyono's term nears an end.

Damien Kingsbury from Australia's Deakin University spoke to Johnny Blades about the Indonesian President's legacy on West Papua and what may be in store.

Damien Kingsbury: Yudhyono has made some quite serious efforts to try to bring about some type of resolution in West Papua. He's appointed people that he believes he could trust to pursue that agenda. But really it's always been a case of much too little and much too late. There is still scope for resolving the problems of West Papua but I suspect that it's too [late] now for it to be done. Well, it is definitely too late for it to be done on Yudhyono's watch and it's unlikely that his successor will be nearly as sympathetic to the West Papuan issue as Yudhyono has been.

Johnny Blades: Can I ask you to sort of consider Prabowo [Subianto] or Jokowi [Joko Widodo] would be like on West Papua? Can you tell?

DK: Prabowo has a history of actually being involved in operations in West Papua. He's certainly going to take a militarist response to any separatist tendencies that are expressed there. But he's unlikely to be elected President. It's possible but it does seem unlikely. Jokowi on the other hand is just a straight nationalist. He's probably not going to care very much about West Papua and will more or less leave it to the security authorities to run the show there. It will be more or less business as usual which means we'll have continuing relatively low level human rights abuses, dislocation of local populations, and essentially not taking seriously the West Papuan agenda, or indeed their quite legitimate concerns over their treatment over many years.

JB: I have noticed the solidarity movement internationally seems to have really grown in the last two or three years. At the moment you have got an organisation like Anonymous mounting attacks on Indonesian government websites and so forth, huge social media campaigns. But, do you see any of these external influences as having any prospect of changing the game in terms of West Papua?

DK: No, not really. I think that we have to be quite honest and frank about this and acknowledge that any change in West Papua is largely, overwhelmingly going to be driven by Indonesia's domestic political agenda, as it was in Aceh in 2005. That was very much a directive of Yudhyono at the time. He has outlined that in 2004 as part of his presidential priorities. He also said at that time he wanted to resolve the issue of West Papua but didn't get that done in his first term in office and his second term in office was deeply compromised by a range of scandals and problems that he and his cabinet faced. But also an increasing lack of support from the legislature which made getting through any significant changes in West Papua almost impossible.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2598138/next-indonesian-president's-papua-credentials-considered

Human rights & justice

Komnas HAM to force Kivlan's hand

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has filed a request to the Central Jakarta District Court to force Maj. Gen. (ret) Kivlan Zen to attend a hearing at the rights body so he can give information on his claim that he knows the whereabouts of the 13 pro-democracy activists who went missing over a period of months in 1997 and 1998.

Komnas HAM exhausted all legal avenues after Kivlan, a politician of the United Development Party (PPP) and a member of the national campaign team for the Gerindra Party's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, twice declined to meet Komnas HAM's summons.

"We met the deputy chief of the Central Jakarta District Court today to ask him to issue the warrant for Kivlan because it is the last option we have in terms of obtaining his testimony. In the meeting, we also discussed formal requirements and the technical process [to forcibly summon Kivlan]," commissioner Otto Syamsuddin Ishak said Tuesday.

Otto, the head of a team tasked with handling Kivlan's case, added that "Komnas HAM's demand to forcibly summon Kivlan was legal under Law No. 39/1999 on human rights and that the court had no reason but to support it." He said Komnas HAM had also written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to request a meeting to discuss the issue.

Yudhoyono has already rejected a request to meet with the rights body, citing his busy schedule.

Komnas HAM was also expecting to hold a meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing law and human rights. The House has not seen its 2009 recommendations on the disappearances of the pro- democracy activists implemented by the government.

After years of deadlock, discussions over the fate of the missing activists came to the fore again last month after Kivlan told a talk show on news channel TVOne: "All of those people are dead. I know their whereabouts and I know who executed them and where their graves are."

Following the statement, Kivlan said he was willing to provide details to Komnas HAM but later refused to do so and instead appointed an advocate to deal with the matter on his behalf.

Last Monday, Kivlan and his lawyer Mahendradata even filed a complaint against Komnas HAM to the Indonesian Ombudsman over "the abuse of its authority in planning to force him to testify".

Kivlan's legal team also questioned Komnas HAM's intentions in expediting an investigation into his statement, suspecting it could be politically motivated to smear Prabowo, who, according to a Komnas HAM investigation, was alleged to have been involved in the disappearances of the pro- democracy activists.

Komnas HAM's move to forcibly summon Kivlan also stirred debate among Commission III lawmakers, with some of them, particularly politicians from parties in Gerindra's coalition, attacking the rights body for making the move.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/04/komnas-ham-force-kivlan-s-hand.html

Both tickets carry baggage from past

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – "I am a supporter of Munir. And who murdered Munir? Where is the murderer now? One thing's for sure – he's not Prabowo [Subianto]," said lawmaker Tjatur Sapto Edy of the National Mandate Party (PAN) recently, after a reporter wearing a T-shirt bearing the face of Munir, the outspoken rights campaigner who died from arsenic poisoning, asked him for an interview.

When pressed to elaborate on his statement, Tjatur, one of members in the presidential campaign team for the Gerindra Party's Prabowo, declined.

He only scoffed when reporters brought up the name of Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, the convicted murderer of Munir, or the name of Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Purwoprandjono, a former leading figure at the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and a former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) who was among the key suspects in Munir's poisoning but was later acquitted by a Jakarta court.

Tjatur's cryptic statement was apparently a swipe at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which nominated Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as its presidential candidate and recently enlisted the help of former BIN chief AM Hendropriyono as member of its campaign team.

Hendropriyono was accused of masterminding Munir's murder, although no evidence was found to prove the allegation. The inclusion of Hendropriyono could compromise the party's move to use the human rights issue to attack Prabowo.

Last month, Jokowi's supporters launched the Menolak Lupa (Refuse to Forget) campaign to remind voters about the role of Prabowo in the May 1998 anti-Chinese riots.

The PDI-P has also stepped up its move to highlight the role of Prabowo in masterminding the involuntary disappearances of 13 pro-democracy activists in the period leading up to the resignation of then president Soeharto.

On Monday, a group of rights activists met with People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Sidarto Danusubroto, a senior PDI-P politician, to demand closure to the case of the missing activists.

But with the inclusion of Hendropriyono in the campaign team, it will be difficult for the PDI-P to take the high moral ground on human rights.

Rights campaigner Usman Hamid, a former member of a fact finding team tasked with investigating Munir's death, expressed disappointment at the PDI-P move to include Hendropriyono due to the retired general's "alleged involvement in Munir's murder".

"Jokowi's campaign team is now no different than Prabowo's. I personally have little hope for protection of human rights in the future despite programs promoted by both [presidential] candidates," Usman told The Jakarta Post.

Other than Hendropriyono, Jokowi's campaign team has also involved several other problematic individuals, such as Rokhmin Dahuri, a former maritime affairs and fisheries minister who was sentenced to seven years in prison for illegal collection and use of Rp 11.5 billion (US$988,609) in state funds. On Sunday, Muchdi put Jokowi's campaign in a difficult position when he endorsed the ticket.

NasDem Party politician Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat is another controversial member of Jokowi's campaign team. Viktor is a member of the presidential campaign body with the same rank as top PDI-P politician and Megawati Soekarnoputri's daughter Puan Maharani.

Viktor was implicated in the alleged brutal abuse of Susandi "Aan" Sukatma in December 2009. Susandi, allegedly beaten by his superiors at Artha Graha Group headquarters in Jakarta, is a former employee of PT Maritim Timur Jaya, a fishery unit of the Artha Graha Group – a business conglomerate controlled by tycoon Tomy Winata.

Viktor, who was then Maritim Timur Jaya president director, repeatedly denied his involvement and accused Susandi of defamation and slander. Viktor was never charged.

Prabowo's campaign team also includes individuals with questionable track records, such as Golkar Party lawmaker Setya Novanto, who is implicated in the National Games (PON) graft case, and Kivlan Zen of the United Development Party (PPP), who will be forcibly summoned by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for refusing to provide details after publicly claiming to have knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing the 1998 pro-democracy activists.

Political analyst Indria Samego of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said given a short supply of capable figures it was "business as usual" for both presidential candidates.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/03/both-tickets-carry-baggage-past.html

Labour & migrant workers

Workers protest at poor health service

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2014

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post – Hundreds of workers in Medan city and Deli Serdang regency in North Sumatra staged rallies on Tuesday demanding the dissolution of the Social Security Management Agency for the health sector (BPJS Kesehatan) in protest at what they claim is poor service.

Workers from both regions in North Sumatra demanded the government reinstate the state-owned insurance firm Jamsostek as they said its services were better than BPJS Kesehatan.

The rallies, involving various organizations, took place separately. In Medan, the rally was concentrated at Medan City Hall, while in Deli Serdang it was at the Lubuk Pakam BPJS office.

Both rallies passed off peacefully despite sweeps of factories by protesting workers in the Tanjung Morawa industrial area in Deli Serdang urging workers to join the rally. The sweeps, which took place from 9 to 10 a.m. local time, met little resistance from factory owners, who instead allowed their workers to join the rally, thus boosting numbers.

After the sweeps, the workers advanced to the Lubuk Pakam BPJS office where they voiced their complaints over the poor BPJS Kesehatan services. They claimed the BPJS Kesehatan system had failed to improve the well being of workers.

"The money at BPJS is not yours but the workers' money. Dissolve the BPJS Kesehatan because it is of no benefit to workers," the workers exclaimed in front of the office.

No BPJS representative was willing to respond to the protest, thus provoking the workers' anger. However, police were on standby to secure the rally and no disturbance occurred.

Meanwhile, BPJS Lubuk Pakam head Heni Riswanti promised to improve services. "If they want to dissolve the BPJS, they should change the law," Heni told reporters after the workers left the office.

Separately, the protest against the BPJS Kesehatan in Medan was received by the Medan municipal administration. Municipal secretary Saiful Bahri invited worker representatives to discuss the issues faced by workers.

Workers' representative Adiono said the current labor issues were more complicated, especially regarding workers' welfare.

Adiono added that the minimum wage received by workers had not provided them with a sense of wellbeing. Ironically, he said, the issue was further aggravated by the policy of issuing a new regulation regarding the BPJS Kesehatan.

According to Adiono, the BPJS Kesehatan has provided a very poor service to workers. He expressed the complaints of workers, such as public hospitals being less optimal in rendering services to workers. "If this continues, we'd prefer Jamsostek because the BPJS is poor at providing proper treatment," said Adiono.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/04/workers-protest-poor-health-service.html

Political parties & elections

Prabowo visits Soeharto's cemetery

Antara News - June 8, 2014

Bambang Dwi Marwoto, Karanganyar, Central Java – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto on Sunday visited former president Soehartos cemetery in Karanganyar, Central Java, on Sunday.

He visited Soehartos grave at the Astana Giribangun cemetery in Matesih in concurrence with the anniversary of the former presidents death.

On the occasion he met with his former wife, Siti Hediati, who is also Soehartos daughter and her older sister Siti Harijanti Rukmana. Prabowo along with his success team held prayers led by a cleric at the cemetery.

Siti Hediati as a Golkar Party functionary has expressed support to Prabowos bid for presidency.

With regard to Prabowos visit to her fathers cemetery Mbak (sister) Titiek as she is called said that Prabowo had often done it. She said many people loved Soeharto including Prabowo who is now running for president with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonos former chief economic minister Hatta Rajasa as his running mate.

Prabowos delegation also included Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie and chairmen of other political parties that supported him.

In the election on July 9, Prabowo would compete against Joko Widodo who pairs with former vice president Jusuf Kalla.

Source: http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/94366/prabowo-visits-soehartos-cemetery

Prabowo called by brother as a 'defender of pluralism'

Jakarta Globe - June 7, 2014

Josua Gantan, Jakarta – Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the younger brother and economic adviser to presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, says that Prabowo is committed to the protection of minorities such as Ahmadis, Shiite Muslims and Christians in Indonesia, in a bid to maintain the nation's pluralism and the philosophical foundation known as Pancasila.

Hashim went so far as to say that Prabowo was committed to protecting Ahmadis, who in Indonesia have long been denounced and attacked by Sunni Muslim hard-liners.

"The first task of the government is to protect its citizens," he said on Friday. "Protecting Ahmadiyah, that is a basic task of the next Indonesian government, as long as they don't pose a threat to public security and order. If they are pursuing their faith peacefully, then there's no reason why they should be bothered by the government or others."

Hashim, who spoke at a luncheon held by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club at the Intercontinental Hotel, referred to his 62-year-old brother as a "big defender of pluralism."

"He has been defending Pancasila and pluralism all his life," he said, referring to his brother Prabowo, who is Muslim. Born to a Christian mother from Manado, and a Muslim father who was an acclaimed economist, Hashim spoke of diversity in his own family.

"You are aware that I am Christian, and you are aware our sister is Catholic. Prabowo has made certain promises to me and my sister," Hashim, 61, said at the event, which was attended by more than 200 people including international journalists and ambassadors.

Hashim's comments were made in light of overtures by Prabowo's running mate, Hatta Rajasa, toward the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). Prabowo's commitment to uphold religious tolerance was seen as being severely undermined after Hatta was viewed as courting the FPI for support last week. Hashim denied that Prabowo actively sought support from the FPI.

The FPI is a hard-line Islamic organization that has repeatedly attacked minorities such as Ahmadiyah, Shiite and Christian communities. It has also raided brothels and nightclubs in a move to root out what it calls immoral behavior.

Hatta, who is the chairman of the Islamic-based National Mandate Party (PAN), last week attended a Muslim religious service in South Jakarta with prominent FPI members, where he asked attendees to give their support to Prabowo's presidential bid. Prabowo himself had earlier said his coalition would embrace all communities, "including the FPI."

Indonesians go to the polls on July 9 to vote for the next president to succeed Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose second five-year term ends in October. Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) received nearly 12 percent of the legislative vote in the April 9 ballot, far less than the 25 percent needed for the party to nominate its own presidential candidate without the need to form a coalition with other parties.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of main challenger Joko Widodo, the Jakarta governor, took in almost 19 percent.

In response to media coverage of Prabowo, Hashim said he believed his brother had been portrayed unfairly by some Indonesian news organizations. "Prabowo was misquoted, I suspect intentionally misquoted, by a few Indonesian media. Prabowo has never courted the FPI's support," he said.

He also denied that the FPI would be a part of the current coalition that supports Prabowo. "I just want to reiterate that it is not our policy or intention to get the FPI as part of the coalition," he said.

However, analysts doubt Prabowo will really stand up for minorities in Indonesia. Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia is skeptical.

"The statement shows Prabowo's or Gerindra's inconsistency. I doubt that [the commitment] is even real," he said. "If he wants to guarantee minorities' rights, he cannot befriend radical groups such as the hard-line FPI, which is notorious for violent acts toward minorities in Indonesia."

Then there are those who wonder whether Hashim's comments truly reflect Prabowo's views. Some observers such as Yunarto Wijaya from Charta Politika aren't convinced.

"If you look closely, statements that support pluralism always come from Hashim. He is a minority himself, and he has an international background. Don't be surprised if he sides with minority groups," Yunarto said.

"Look at Prabowo's political maneuvering. Does it support Hashim's statement, or does it contradict it? As long as Prabowo does not officially say that he will guarantee minorities' rights, then Hashim's statements are as good as meaningless," he said.

'Tactical compromises'

While Gerindra has prided itself as a nationalist party – which in the Indonesian context is understood as another way of saying that the party supports pluralism as opposed to the exclusivity upheld by the Islamic parties – its decision to ally with non-pluralist Islamic parties such as the PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP) has led many to wonder about its commitment to pluralism and protection of minorities in Indonesia.

In this respect, Hashim admitted that Prabowo had made compromises, but he gave assurances that Prabowo would not turn against minorities.

"We have to make tactical compromises, but we will not make any compromises on our basic thesis," Hashim said, pledging that Prabowo and Gerindra were committed to upholding pluralism in Indonesia.

Gerindra is particularly vulnerable to charges of being inconsistent due to the string of compromises that it has made.

A journalist from the Sydney Morning Herald asked Hashim during the luncheon how Prabowo could be taken seriously as an anti-corruption figure – an image that the party has been trying to promote – if there were people accused of corruption in his coalition.

Suryadharma Ali, the PPP chairman and one of Prabowo's more ardent supporters, resigned as minister of religious affairs last week after being charged in a graft scandal at his ministry. Prabowo has publicly defended him, calling Suryadharma "the best religious affairs minister" in Indonesia.

In response, Hashim reminded the audience of the presumption of innocence, saying that there shouldn't be a rush to condemn Suryadharma, who has not yet been indicted. Hashim also added that Gerindra did not have much of a choice and that it acted to be practical.

"Politics is the art of the possible. Sometimes we have to make tactical, unintended compromises. Let's be realistic – Gerindra only got 12 percent of the legislative election," he said.

He explained that with its meager share of the votes, Gerindra did not have the luxury of choice and had to be content with its current cast of coalition members to meet the 25 percent threshold requirement to name a presidential candidate.

Hashim compared Prabowo's pragmatic approach to Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's former prime minister, who built up the city-state into the leading financial center in Southeast Asia.

"Look at Lee Kuan Yew in the 1960s. He allied himself with the Malaysian communist party, the CPM [Communist Party of Malaysia]. Take a look now... by most accounts, Singapore is considered a capitalistic paradise," Hashim said. "Sometimes you have to make tactical compromises. Lee Kuan Yew went to bed with the communist party."

'He did not kidnap people'

Hashim also addressed questions about Prabowo's poor track record on human rights. Prabowo has been criticized in Indonesia and internationally for his involvement in human rights abuses.

He is alleged to have kidnapped and tortured 13 pro-democracy activists during the turmoil that led to the resignation of the strongman Suharto, who was his father-in-law at the time. The 13 activists remain missing.

Hashim argued that Prabowo was only performing his duties as a military officer and that the abductions should not be deemed human rights violations.

"He did not kidnap people. He detained people. Those were legitimate orders from a legitimate government at the time," Hashim said. "He feels he has come out. He testified to the [House of Representatives] in 2005 and to the National Commission on Human Rights [Komnas HAM]. He feels that... the matter is closed."

Komnas HAM has asked Prabowo to come in to testify more recently, but the former Special Forces commander has balked at the request.

'Massive projects'

Regarding Prabowo's economic plans, Hashim said the candidate would remove fuel subsidies gradually. Prabowo will also raise tax revenue by cleaning up the "corrupt tax system" and by ensuring that everyone in Indonesia has a tax registration number.

Hashim said Prabowo's main economic priority was to boost infrastructure by spending about $60 billion a year on infrastructure projects. Prabowo will embark on "massive projects," Hashim said, citing a proposed 10-lane highway running the length of Sumatra.

Hashim also said that Indonesia could afford to borrow from the capital markets more to finance such projects. He said that Indonesia's private and public debt only amounted to about 28 percent to 35 percent of gross domestic product, and that it was "underleveraged."

Hashim cited as an example Malaysia, where private and public debt amount to 63 percent of its GDP. Hashim also emphasized that Prabowo was welcoming of foreign investments and foreign investors.

The public will get a chance to hear Prabowo's comments direct in the first presidential debate to be broadcast from Balai Sarbini in Jakarta on Monday.

[Additional reporting by Kennial Caroline Laia.]

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-called-brother-defender-pluralism/

FPI sought out Prabowo-Hatta, not other way around, spokesman claims

Jakarta Globe - June 7, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – An official from the coalition backing the presidential ticket of Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa has denied that the latter specifically sought out the support of Islamic hard-liners, even as a conditional endorsement was tendered.

"It wasn't us looking for the support of the FPI" – Islamic Defenders Front – "but it was they who came to a religious gathering to offer their support to Prabowo and Hatta," Bara Hasibuan, a spokesman for Prabowo's campaign team, said on Thursday.

The ticket has come under criticism for courting the FPI, a radical group notorious for mob attacks on religious minorities and illegal raids on legitimate businesses selling alcohol.

Hatta and Amien Rais, the chairman and chief patron, respectively, of the National Mandate Party, or PAN, made the call during a gathering with the FPI and other hard-line groups at Jakarta's Al Azhar Mosque on May 27.

Bara said the coalition, led by Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, did not condone religious intolerance or violence but would still welcome the endorsement of the FPI.

"Even though the FPI is known for violent acts, as a party with pluralist platform we can't refuse such support. Our coalition welcomes all support, no matter what the background of the supporter," he said.

His statements came as the FPI said separately that it would indirectly endorse Prabowo by throwing its support behind the three Islamic parties in his coalition: the PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, and the United Development Party, or PPP.

Muchsin Alatas, the FPI chairman, said in Jakarta on Wednesday that his organization believed in the "integrity" of the three parties. (The PKS president was in December last year sentenced to 16 years in prison in a corruption case; PPP chairman Suryadharma Ali was last week charged in a separate graft scandal.)

Muchsin said one of the conditions for the FPI's support of the parties was for Prabowo, if elected, not to block any local bylaws based on Islamic shariah. Other conditions are for the candidate to promise to "fight immorality" and "free Indonesia from the imported mind-set of imperialism and liberalism."

Rizieq Shihab, the FPI's grand imam, previously said that if the Prabowo could commit to "defending Islam," he would earn their "instant" endorsement. "We're not asking for ministerial posts or anything like that. What we want is for [Prabowo] to give something to Islam," Rizieq said on May 24.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/fpi-sought-prabowo-hatta-way-around-spokesman-claims/

Vote buying out of control, say experts

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Jakarta – In spite of the news that the legislative election attracted more people to exercise their right to vote this year, observers are troubled by the apparent level of vote buying.

"Vote buying could explain the increase in voter turnout [...] we saw more blatant vote buying practices this year than in the past," Arie Putra of the Democracy and Human Rights Research Center (Demos) said during a press conference on the youth and the legislative election on Wednesday.

Arie said that politicians involved in cash-for-votes tactics had targeted people from all walks of life. He said students, members of sports clubs and even and religious-based organizations were paid sweeteners to mobilize votes.

Demos also found that young voters were the most vulnerable to this sort of illicit practice. Arie said young voters had been failed by the General Elections Commission (KPU) as it had not disseminated sufficient information. He also said that younger voters had been influenced by dubious considerations, such as perceived "ties" to the candidates.

Election observers have drawn attention to the power young voters wielded in the elections this year.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows there were 21.8 million citizens between 17 and 21 years of age who were eligible to vote for the first time this year. This group made up 11.7 percent of the 185.6 million voters registered by the KPU for the 2014 legislative election.

According to data released by the KPU, more voters participated in the 2014 legislative election than the 2009 legislative election, increasing 4.12 percent from 70.99 percent recorded in 2009.

In spite of allegations concerning rampant vote buying, the Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) said it had only handled 62 cases related to vote buying in the legislative election.

Demos, which was founded in 2002 by democracy activists and former politicians, conducted the research in Ambon, Maluku; Jayapura, Papua; Jakarta; North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB); and Cirebon, West Java.

It monitored strongholds of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) in the five cities.

Meanwhile, political analyst Syamsuddin Haris of the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) declined to attribute the increased turnout to the practice of vote buying. He said voter turnout had increased because of better management of the final voter list (DPT).

Syamsudin said many voters were confused and had failed to cast their ballots in the 2009 legislative election because the KPU had been careless when managing population data from the Home Ministry for the DPT. He said that the KPU deserved praise for its management of this year's legislative election DPT. (put)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/vote-buying-out-control-say-experts.html

Prabowo to visit Soeharto's tomb on Sunday

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is due to visit the tomb of former president Soeharto at Astana Giribangun in Karanganyar regency, Central Java, on Sunday, as part of his campaign in the run-up to the July 9 presidential election.

"I have been informed about Pak Prabowo's plan, but I cannot confirm it; we haven't prepared anything because his schedule remains tentative. He may cancel the plan," the tomb's caretaker, Sukimo, said as quoted by tempo.co on Friday.

Sukirno said that as far as he knew, Prabowo would arrive in Giribangun by helicopter from Adi Soemarmo Airport in Surakarta, Central Java, which is around 50 kilometers east of Soeharto's final resting place.

Prabowo, who is Soeharto's former son-in-law, previously said that he would name Indonesia's second president a national hero if elected; a move that many would view as controversial due to Soeharto's New Order regime and its iron-fist policy toward civil society groups and social movements.

At the start of the New Order's rule, up to 3 million people were reportedly killed for being suspected communists, while the end of Soeharto's regime – in May 1998 – was also marked by widespread violence and killings during riots that took place in a number of cities in Indonesia.

Karanganyar regency spokesperson Prada Amara said Prabowo was scheduled to arrive at Adi Soemarmo Airport at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, and from there take the helicopter ride to Astana Giribangun.

"Currently, Pak Prabowo's campaign team is trying to find a suitable place to land the helicopter around Astana Giribangun," he said, adding that Prabowo would leave Giribangun at 12 p.m. to pray at the Surakarta Grand Mosque.

Prada said Prabowo also planned to talk with vendors at the Klewer Market in Surakarta, over lunch, and would return to Jakarta thereafter.(gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/prabowo-visit-soehartos-tomb-sunday.html

Retired generals line up to battle for both presidential candidates

Jakarta Globe - June 6, 2014

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesia's upcoming presidential election is becoming a new battleground for retired military generals amassing their own troops to support the bids of either of the two tickets registered for the race.

While the presence of retired Indonesian Military (TNI) generals in the Prabowo Subianto bloc came as no surprise – given his former job as a commander of the Army special forces Kopassus – the campaign team of Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo appears to have its own share of military retirees.

Enlisted in the campaign team of the Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa ticket is former Army chief of staff George Toisutta and former deputy Navy chief of staff Moekhlas Sidik as deputy chairman.

More retired generals are included in the board of advisers of the team, including former TNI commander Gen. Joko Santoso, former head of State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Syamsir Siregar, as well as retired Army generals Farouk Muhammad Syechbubakar, Yunus Yosfiah and Syarwan Hamid.

The Joko-Jusuf Kalla ticket, meanwhile, has managed to recruit former BIN chief A. M. Hendropriyono, his former deputy in BIN Muchdi Purwoprandjono (acquitted of allegations of involvement in the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib in 2008), former Army infantry commander Luhut Panjaitan and former Navy chief of staff Tedjo Edi, and former Army chief of staff Farchrul Rozi.

Former National Police chief Da'i Bachtiar also has decided to join the Joko ticket, while his then deputy Adang Daradjatun is enlisted in the Prabowo-Hatta team's board of experts.

Aside from names in the lists made available to the media, there is no official data on the number of retired military and police officials joining or supporting the campaign teams of either of the two tickets.

Indonesian news portal tribunnews.com reported last week, citing anonymous sources, that at least 34 retired military generals have declared their support for the Prabowo-Hatta ticket, while those supporting Joko-Kalla amount to 39.

State-run news agency Antara, meanwhile, reported that 15,000 retired military and police officials in Gorontalo alone have declared their support for Prabowo.

"I support Prabowo because I know his character is exactly like it was while we were in the military academy together," retired Army official Mohtar Darise said during the declaration event in Gorontalo on Monday. "I was in the same year with him. I know his track record. There are 15,000 of us [retired military officers] in Gorontalo [who support Prabowo's bid]."

Joko's running mate, former vice president Jusuf Kalla, said last week up to 200 retired generals from four Indonesian military veteran organizations supported his ticket. "Speaking of power, I personally believe more than 200 [retired] generals from all forces [support us]," Kalla said, as quoted by jpnn.com.

Military expert Al Araf from rights group Imparsial said despite the unknown number, he believed the size of military retirees' support for both tickets were about equal in size. "All the retired generals have their own followers," Al Araf said on Wednesday.

Military acquaintances

Meanwhile, former diplomat and military observer Salim Said said while Prabowo garnered most of his military support from his former comrades in the Army, Joko has probably got his own share of military retirees through the connections of Kalla and Megawati Sukarnoputri, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who have got their military acquaintances during their terms in Indonesia's vice president and president offices, respectively.

Former TNI commander Wiranto, the chairman of People's Conscience Party (Hanura), a member of the PDI-P-led coalition supporting the Joko-Kalla ticket, is also believed to have contributed a lot to military retirees' support for the team.

Kalla said he was happy with the military retirees' support, saying they still held influence especially among their former henchmen in the military. "I'm happy with support coming from retired generals from various forces," Kalla said. "Their influence remains big. And I believe their support comes from the heart."

Salim, though, said he doubted that the retired generals held influence on active TNI troops – who are not allowed to vote nor join the race in Indonesia's elections, let alone among civilians. "The TNI has well proven its neutrality as an institution in previous elections," he said.

Either way, Salim dismissed concerns surrounding the retired generals' active involvement in election campaigns, saying as soon as they were retired, they had the same right as any civilian to vote and to stand for elections.

"They are now just ordinary citizens; nothing to fuss about," he said. "And if any of them attempts to recruit active military members, then the TNI chief must take firm actions against them."

Al Araf, though, thinks there is a reason for concerns, and that they may potentially come from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired Army general himself.

"As the president, the TNI and the intelligence are under his control. He can easily abuse his power and mobilize the military support for Prabowo," Al Araf said.

Although Yudhoyono announced last month that his Democratic Party decided to join none of the two coalitions supporting the two presidential tickets, Al Araf said he believed behind closed doors Yudhoyono was channeling his support for Prabowo and his running mate Hatta, the father of one of Yudhoyono's daughters-in-law.

"He [Yudhoyono] probably wants Prabowo to win so that he can protect him and his son from corruption charges, such as in the Century and Hambalang cases," Al Araf said.

Despite the Democratic Party's non-bloc status, some senior politicians of the party, including House of Representatives speaker Marzuki Alie and former state administrative minister Taufiq Effendi, are enlisted in the Prabowo-Hatta election campaign team.

Yudhoyono on Monday reminded the TNI to remain neutral in the election, but some critics say the statement raised suspicions that certain groups in the TNI actively support one of the presidential candidates.

Al Araf said while retired military and police officials could support candidates, they needed to remain critical about favoring those who have been discharged from the military, referring directly to Prabowo.

Prabowo and members of a team he led under Kopassus – called the Rose Team – are known to have been discharged from the TNI after the Indonesian military tribunal declared that they violated regulations by kidnapping democracy activists in 1998 – although this claim was recently disputed by Prabowo's brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo.

Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, said he believed retired generals joining the two tickets shared different ideologies.

"What I sense is those behind Jokowi-Kalla are in favor of soft democracy, while those in support of Prabowo-Hatta are into hard democracy," Arbi said. "In hard democracy, force is used to pressure and coerce people, with the weak to become the victims," he added.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/retired-indonesian-generals-line-battle-camps/

These are the 35 generals supporting Jokowi-JK, five are problematic

Bisnis.com - June 6, 2014

Miftahul Khoer, Jakarta – The Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) has disclosed that there are at least 35 retired generals supporting the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla or Jokowi-JK presidential ticket.

The LBH Jakarta data states that five of the generals supporting the Jokowi-JK ticket, former Indonesian military (TNI) Commander retired General Wiranto, former Jakarta Military Commander retired Lieutenant General Sutiyoso, former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief retired Lieutenant General A.M. Hendropriyono, former BIN deputy chief retired Major General Muchdi Purwoprandjono and former Army Chief of Staff retired General Ryamizard Ryacudu, are alleged to be problematic.

The dark records released by LBH Jakarta in relation to the five problematic generals include human rights violations, the 1998 Jakarta riots, the alleged massacre in Talangsari Lampung in 1989, the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib and violence during the period of marshal law in Aceh.

In its official information release, LBH Jakarta stated that the involvement of military figures in the 2014 presidential election who are supporting particular presidential and vice presidential candidates (capres-cawapres) poses a danger for political sustainability in Indonesia.

"There is only one 2014 presidential ticket that originates from military circles, namely Prabowo Subianto. But behind both [tickets] there are two groups of former military [figures] that support the respective candidates", read LBH Jakarta's official statement made during a discussion titled "The Militarism behind Prabowo and Jokowi" on Friday June 6.

According to LBH Jakarta's records, the following is a list of generals supporting the Jokowi-JK ticket:

1. Former Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander and Defense Minister (Panglima ABRI/Menhan) retired TNI General Wiranto

2. Former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief retired TNI Lieutenant General [text missing, A.M Hendropriyono]

3. Former Jakarta Military Commander (Panglima Kodam Jaya) retired Lieutenant General Sutiyoso

4. Former Commander of the Army Education and Training Center (Dankodiklat) retired TNI General Luhut Pandjaitan

5. Former Navy Chief of Staff (KSAL) retired Rear Admiral Tedjo Edi

6. Former Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) retired General Fachrul Rozi

7. Former National Police Chief (Kapolri) retired Police General Da'I Bachtiar

8. Former Strategic Intelligence Agency (Bais) Chief retired TNI Lieutenant General Farid Zainudin

9. Former Strategic Intelligence Agency (Bais) Chief retired Air Force TNI Lieutenant General Ian Santoso

10. Former Bukit Barisan Regional Military Commander (Pangdam) retired TNI Major General Tritamtomo

11. Former Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Central Leadership Board Chairperson retired TNI Major General TB Hasanuddin

12. Former Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) retired TNI General Tyasno Sudarso

13. Former Navy Chief of Staff (KSAL) retired Rear Admiral retired TNI General Bernard Ken Sondakh

14. Former Deputy Army Chief of Staff (Wakil KSAD) retired TNI Lieutenant General Sumarsono

15. Former Indonesian Defense University (Universitas Pertahanan) rector retired TNI Lieutenant General Syarifudin Tippe

16. Former Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) Chief retired TNI Lieutenant General Zainudin

17. Retired TNI Mayor General M. Yusuf Solikin

18. Former Military Staff and Command School (Sesko) Director of Investigations retired TNI Major General Bambang Ismoyo

19. Former Military Academy (Akademi TNI) Governor retired Air Force Major General M. Luthfi Letto

20. Former Director General Procurements (Ranahan) for the Department of Defense, retired Rear Marshal Basri Sidehabi

21. Former Director General of Procurements for the Department of Defense, retired Air Vice Marshal Pieter LD Wattimena

22. Former Eastern Armada Commander retired Rear Admiral Sosialisman

23. Former senior lecturer for economics at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhamnas), retired Rear Admiral Abdul Malik Yusuf

24. Retired Rear Admiral Franky Kaihutu

25. Former East Kalimantan Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) retired Inspector General Andi Masmiat

26. Former senior lecturer at the Police Leadership School (Sespim), National Police Educational Institute (Lemdikpol), retired Inspector General Eddy Kusuma Wijaya

27. Former Maluku Regional State Intelligence Agency Chief (Kabinda) retired TNI General Mulyono

28. Former Director General of Strategic Affairs at the Military Staff and Command School (Sesko) retired TNI Brigadier General Djamhur Suhana

29. Former Navy Research and Development Office Chief (Kadislitbangal) retired Commodore Songkal VH SImanjuntak

30. Former expert staff member, Air Force Chief of Staff (KSAU) retired First Marshal Yopie Kiriweno

31. Former secretary general of 1945 National Executive Committee (Dewan Harian Nasional '45), retired TNI Brigadier General Abdul Salam Mustam

32. People's Consultative Assembly speaker retired Police Inspector General Sidarto Danusubroto

33. Retired Rear Admiral Dadi Sunato

34. Retired Inspector General Edy K

35. Former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Deputy Chief retired Major General Muchdi Purwoprandjono (who supports the Jokowi-JK ticket through the Indonesian Sun Volunteers)

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Source: http://m.bisnis.com/pemilu/read/20140606/355/233933/ini-35-jenderal-pendukung-jokowi-jk-5-jenderal-diduga-bermasalah

Latest survey places Jokowi-Kalla ticket in the lead

Jakarta Globe - June 5, 2014

Jakarta – The latest survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle showed that 35.42 percent of the Indonesian public are in support of presidential hopeful Joko Widodo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla, while opponents Prabowo Subianto and his second in command Hatta Radjasa are trailing behind with 22.75 percent of votes.

As in the legislative election, the number of undecided voters remains high at 41.8 percent, which could change the prospects for both camps, according to Indonesia Survey Circle (LSI) researcher Ade Mulyana. The remaining six weeks leading up to the July 9 elections could provide the perfect opportunity for both tickets to strategize and campaign smartly.

The LSI poll covered the candidates' appeal among the country's five largest community groups, which include Islamic organizations Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, farmers, laborers and housewives.

"The question is whether or not Prabowo-Hatta's political machine can change voters' support and whether or not Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla can maintain [their voters] or increase their them in the final 40 days leading to the presidential election," Ade was quoted as saying by Kompas.com.

Prabowo and Hatta pair are benefitting from the larger number political parties they managed to collect in a coalition, which according to the April 9 legislative race results brought 48.93 percent of voters' support compared to Jokowi and Kalla's 38.97 percent.

Instead, the latter pair gained the highest support in four of five community groups, while backing for Prabowo-Hatta was highest in one: the Muhammadiyah.

It's still not clear on what basis the public chose to support a specific presidential candidate, as most respondents admitted to have little to no knowledge of either ticket's platform.

"Unfortunately, until today, the majority of voters in those five communities still don't understand the candidates' respective programs; news detailing their platforms simply don't reach these groups.

"According to the poll, 80 percent of the respondents don't know what Jokow stands for, while 70 percent said they were unfamiliar with Prabowo's plans [for the country," said Ade.

The LSI poll was carried out in early May and involved 2,400 respondents in 33 provinces, using a multistage random sampling method. Its margin of error stood at roughly 2 percent. The survey was complimented with qualitative research through focus group discussions, in depth-interviews and media analysis.

In response to the survey, which showed the Muhammadiyah's low support for him, Jokowi visited Fauzi AR Fakhrudin, the son of former Muhammadiyah chairman AR Fakhrudin and an influential figure among the organization's estimated 30 million members, in Yogyakarta on Monday.

Anies Baswedan, spokesman of the Joko-Kalla campaign team, confirmed that the visit was politically motivated and Joko was seeking Fauzi's blessing and moral support for the presidential election. "He [Fauzi] is a legendary ulema and [Joko] paid him a visit on Monday to gain Fauzi's blessing, as well as to learn how to pray," said Anies.

When asked which presidential ticket her endorsed, Fauzi admitted to backing Joko-Kalla, but would not support them on behalf of the Muhammadiyah. Fauzi praised Joko as a modest man in every aspect. "Personally I support Jokowi because he is a humble man, a characteristic our religion calls for," said Fauzi.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/latest-survey-places-jokowi-kalla-ticket-lead/

Prabowo moots Suharto national hero idea to base: Report

Jakarta Globe - June 5, 2014

Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto promised on Tuesday to elevate late Indonesian dictator Suharto to national hero status if he were elected in July, Indonesian media reported.

Prabowo made the statement during a speech at the Children of Military and Police Retirees Forum (FKPPI) on Tuesday, June 3, according to Tempo.co.

"He said it himself in front of the forum," FKPPI chief Bahriun Sucipto told Tempo.co on Wednesday. He said – "If I'm chosen to be a president, I will make Suharto a national hero".

The FKPPI supports Prabowo's candidacy and the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party candidate was there to give the keynote speech at its annual meeting, which was also attended by FKPPI chairman Pontjo Sutowo, former Indonesian Military commander Djoko Santoso, and Suharto's daughter, Titiek Suharto.

Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) deputy chairman Fadli Zon denied knowledge of the idea. "There hasn't been any discussion on that even though personally I support the idea," Fadli said to Merdeka.com on Wednesday.

There was not, however, unanimous support for elevating a strongman documented to have presided over one of the most corrupt regimes the modern world has ever seen.

"If Suharto is a hero, then who is the villain here?" Adian Napitupuli, an activist during the 1998 transformation, said on Wednesday. "It's us," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-moots-suharto-national-hero-idea-base-report/

PKS irked by Hashim statement

Jakarta Post - June 4, 2014

Hans Nicholas Jong and Margareth S.Aritonang, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has found itself in a politically awkward situation after finding out that the sibling of the presidential candidate it is rooting for accused it of carrying out anti-Christian policies.

PKS secretary-general Taufik Ridho said on Tuesday that the party would demand clarification from Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the Gerindra Party's deputy chief patron and brother of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, over his claim that the Islamic party had dismissed dozens of Christian officials from the Agriculture Ministry.

Hashim, who is chief patron of Gerindra's Christian wing organization, made the statement during a speech at the USINDO Open Forum Luncheon in Washington, a video of which was uploaded to YouTube by an account using the name GerindraTV on Oct. 14 last year.

He said: "At the Agriculture Ministry, which is controlled by the PKS, 73 civil servants have been fired in the past nine years. In fact, there are currently no Christian officials at the Agriculture Ministry."

In the speech, Hashim also claimed that Prabowo was pro-US and his party would fight against the surge of religious intolerance in recent years.

The PKS, as a member of the ruling coalition, has controlled the ministry since 2004. The ministry is currently led by PKS politician Suswono, who replaced fellow party member Anton Apriyantono.

Taufik said the party would likely discuss the matter. "I think if [Hashim] could provide clarification [on the matter], it will be great."

PKS senior politician Hidayat Nur Wahid said Hashim should produce evidence to support his claim, adding he was convinced that there were still non- Muslims working at the ministry.

Hidayat, however, believed that the issue had been addressed before the party joined the Gerindra-led coalition. "As far as I know, the matter has been clarified," he said.

On Monday, when asked about the footage, Hashim said he stuck by his opinion, saying the government was not supposed to tolerate the ministry's decision. "It cannot be tolerated. It cannot be accepted," he said.

Prabowo's supporters were allegedly behind campaigns questioning the religion of his rival Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Gerindra deputy secretary-general who is also Hashim's son, Aryo Djojohadikusumo, however, down played the potential rift that the video might cause. "No, it wouldn't [jeopardize the coalition] because we believe in working together and communicating for a better Indonesia with Pak Prabowo as President," he said.

Gerindra has won the support of three Islamic parties – the PKS, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB). Prabowo, who is running with National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa, has made attempts to gain support from the Muslim electorate.

Last week, the notorious Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which is believed to be responsible for many cases of intolerance, declared its support for Prabowo, whose mother was a Christian while his two sisters are also Christian.

Aryo said the PKS should have known about the speech before it joined Gerindra's coalition, since the footage was old.

"One of the strengths of the PKS is their online and social media presence, so they must have seen his speech last year," he said. "If they have any comments or input regarding Pak Hashim's remarks, they would've done it long ago."

Gerindra politician Fadli Zon also down played the speech, saying it was only Hashim's opinion, thus, did not reflect the party's stance on the PKS. "We don't want to make a big deal out of it," he said on Tuesday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/04/pks-irked-hashim-statement.html

Prabowo wants Indonesia's police officers to look the part

Jakarta Globe - June 4, 2014

Woodwing Importer, Jakarta – The recruitment process for Indonesia's law enforcement officers should include firm requirements dictating "physical appearance," according to a presidential hopeful.

Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) founder and one of two candidates in the race for the country's presidency, Prabowo Subianto, detailed on Monday what he believes makes an efficient and respectable police officer.

The current band of law enforcers, he said, is no longer "feared" by citizens, and therefore no longer respected.

The formal general attended a national meeting for the families of the Indonesian Police, during which he took the stage to outline what he has in store for the nation's officers should he be elected president.

"I want Indonesia's police officers to achieve greatness; I want to see them to receive the respect they deserve, so that no one would dare stir up problems against them. We suggest that our National Police Headquarters recruit cadets who are physically fit for the job," Prabowo said.

The former Army Special Forces (Kopassus) chief then pointed to Adang Daradjatun, the former National Police deputy chief and a member of his campaign team, as a perfect example of what Indonesia's officers should look like.

Adang, a three-star police general, was placed second in command of the country's police in 2004 after 33 years of gradually climbing through the ranks. The 65-year-old shifted to a political career in 2007 when he ran for Jakarta governor as a member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), but ultimately lost the race to Golkar politican Fauzi Bowo.

Adang, Probowo pointed out, possess the physique and commanding stature that immediately commands respect.

"Dignity is an important characteristic for a police officer. How can we demand respect when we look weak?" he said, adding that the people of Indonesia still fall into the tendency of being easily swayed by physical appearances.

"Most Indonesians judge others by their appearance, so it would be difficult for them to respect a police officer who doesn't look the part of an authority figure," he said.

The gathering, which consisted of the capital's police officers and their family members, took place on Monday at the Sultan Hotel ballroom in South Jakarta, where Prabowo's speech was met with rousing applause.

The organization's spokesman and secretary general, Alexander Oroh, joined the presidential hopeful on stage to announce its support for his presidential bid.

"After a brief discussion on the future of our country and the importance of having a strong leader, we would like to announce our support for Prabowo Subianto as the next president of our nation," Alexander said, to which the crowd responded with cheers.

"I accept your endorsement," Prabowo said. "This is a touching gesture and an overwhelming declaration. We will continue our efforts [in the election] so we can stay deserving of your support."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-wants-indonesias-police-officers-look-part/

Former intel chief reported to police for calling Prabowo a 'psychopath'

Jakarta Globe - June 4, 2014

Jakarta – The former chief of Indonesia's intelligence service has been reported to police for calling presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto a "psychopath."

"I am not conducting a negative campaign or a black campaign," A.M. Hendropriyono said in Jakarta on Tuesday. "When we were in the military, if we wanted to receive a promotion we would have to take a mental evaluation. I need to tell you something about Prabowo, who earned [the lowest score] – with a just a little stress he could have gone crazy.

"This is not only about him being emotional, but a psychopath – nearly crazy," he said.

A Jakarta-based collective named the Flobamora, which is a group for young workers living in the capital who hail from East Nusa Tengarra, lodged the police report after Hendropriyono, the former head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) made the comments to reporters, which have not gone down well in the Prabowo camp.

"There was a statement that Prabowo was a psychopath and close to being crazy, which is a very dangerous and misleading statement," the Flobamara Institute's Alfons Loemau told Kompas.com

Alfons said Hendropriyono had violated Articles 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code, which are concerned with defamation, and that the burden of proof was now on Hendropriyono to substantiate his allegations.

He pointed to the clean bill of health given to Prabowo and running mate Hatta Rajasa at the pair's recent mandatory medical evaluation at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta. "[Prabowo] passed the test, meaning his health has been verified," Alfons said. "If Hendropriyono claims Prabowo is a psychopath, prove it."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/former-intelligence-chief-reported-police-calling-prabowo-psychopath/

With stakes as high as they get, campaign turns dirty

Jakarta Globe - June 3, 2014

Erwida Maulia, Ezra Sihite & Robertus Wardi – "Big threat to the Islamic people and the nation. Alert.....!! Jokowi's lies of his Muslim identity were revealed after he kept refusing to lead the evening and night prayers. More of the lies were revealed after he wrongly performed the wudu [ablutions before prayers]."

So reads one of the many messages circulating on social media ahead of the July 9 presidential election.

Rizki Chrisnadia, 31, confirmed that her Facebook newsfeed had recently been flooded with such politically charged memes and messages, many of which were inflammatory in nature.

Supporters of both presidential hopefuls Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, and Prabowo Subianto have started to engage in a heated war of words, although, Rizki noted, most comments seem to target Joko, the popular Jakarta governor, accusing him of being a non-Muslim on a mission to lead the Indonesian people away from their Islamic faith.

"I saw a post claiming Jokowi's parents were of Chinese descent. After some time, the same person who wrote the first message insisted Jokowi's parents were rich Javanese and that he had lied about having been born into a poor family," Rizki said.

"There's even a post linking [Joko's presidential bid] to a Jewish conspiracy. That's ridiculous. How could [people] believe such things?"

Though the Bogor resident admitted she wasn't a fan of the businessman- turned-politician, placing herself in the large group consisting of the country's undecided voters, Rizki said she had a low opinion of underhanded tactics.

"But such smear campaign messages, obviously posted without checking and rechecking the facts first, makes me lose my respect for Prabowo's supporters. And then I thought, perhaps I should just vote for Jokowi out of spite," she said.

Provocative comments aimed at discrediting one presidential ticket to elevate the other have been making the rounds through text messages and social media platforms like Facebook, Path and Twitter, popping up daily on the screens of Indonesia's 278 million mobile subscribers.

Though many of these messages lack a credible source, supporters tend to forward or repost them without thinking twice about the validity of the claims.

While Joko is a frequent target of religion-based smears – he has even been linked to a fictitious mega project that aims to turn Indonesia into a Christian state – Prabowo has also been unfairly targeted.

Anti-Prabowo messages focus on the former Army general's allegedly short fuse and violent temper – he is said to frequently threaten people with guns or beat them during a fit of rage. Then there are the unshakable connections to past human rights abuses, including the kidnapping of democracy activists in 1998.

Prabowo is also rumored to have dual nationality, Indonesian and Jordan, which would render him ineligible to run for the presidency, as election regulations strictly forbid candidates who have dual citizenship.

"It [the rumor] is [part of] a smear campaign," Hatta Rajasa, Prabowo's running mate, said last week in an effort to put the citizenship issue to rest.

"Islam prohibits and discourages smear campaigns. I personally can't abide such tactics. Why can't we just have a positive election?" added Hatta, who is also chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), one of the three Islamic parties in the coalition led by Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Joko's running mate, Jusuf Kalla, has also come to Joko's rescue by jokingly suggesting a Koran recital contest between the presidential hopefuls – a bid to squash rumors that Joko is not a Muslim.

Kalla, who chairs the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), went as far as to propose that the so-called piety competition be held in Aceh, the only province that implements Islamic shariah law.

Other attempts at character assassination against Joko include insinuations of him being a puppet for Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri's allegedly power-driven agenda; and his alleged involvement in a recent TransJakarta bus procurement markup scandal.

Meanwhile, Prabowo's camp have had to deal with widespread gossip about the Gerindra founder's troubled family life and heavy financial debts.

Political observer Djayadi Hanan directs the blame at supporters of both candidates, saying they are responsible for the explosion of slanderous propaganda, and accusing them of increasingly turning to malicious campaigns out of desperation.

"The candidates themselves are usually committed to avoiding such campaign strategies. But it's impossible to fully control their supporters," said Djayadi, the research director at Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting.

Adji Alfaraby, a researcher with the Indonesia Survey Institute (LSI), emphasized the difference between a smear campaign and negative campaign, explaining that while the former stems from ambiguous sources, the latter is often based on truth, but tends to focus on the negative aspects of a candidate.

Citing the results of an LSI survey conducted last month, Adji said a larger portion of the country's constituents believed in the slanderous claims against Prabowo – up to 70 percent of respondents – than those targeting Joko. Results also showed that such underhanded campaigns affected the candidates' respective electability as a large number of potential voters lacked a clear understanding of the issues being raised.

The latest LSI study placed Joko-Kalla in the lead with the support of 35 percent of the respondents polled, although the Prabowo-Hatta ticket was not far behind at around 23 percent.

"Still, both teams have a chance to win, because 42 percent of voters are undecided," Adji said, adding that it was still possible for the candidates' respective teams to spin the issues in their favor and in doing so discredit the opponent.

A similar opinion came from Syarif Hidayatullah University's political analyst Pangi Syarwi Chaniago, who questioned: "Are the rival politicians responsible for these smear campaigns? Or are they self-inflicted to paint the candidate as a victim, and thus win sympathy votes?

"The latter can effectively sway voters' emotions," Pangi added. Either way, if they want to survive smear campaigns, the choice is in the candidates' own hands, Adji said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/stakes-high-get-campaign-turns-dirty/

Race narrows as Prabowo plays catch-up

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2014

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – With presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto of the Gerindra Party managing to improve his approval rating over the past few weeks, analysts predict that the July 9 poll will be a tight race that neither candidate will win with a landslide.

"Both candidates' chances of winning are now equal and the race will be very competitive. Jokowi supporters should not be complacent because the tables can turn at any time," political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi of the pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Jokowi, who was nominated to run for the country's top job by the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) just two days before the legislative election outdoor campaign season began in March, has been touted as the strongest contender in the race.

The PDI-P set a legislative election target of 27 percent, believing that Jokowi's popularity alone would attract many votes. As predicted, came PDI-P first, although it gained only 18.95 percent of the vote.

Up until recently, various opinion polls placed Prabowo in second position with a significant margin after Jokowi. Recent opinion polls, however, show that Prabowo is narrowing the gap.

An unpublished report based on a survey conducted by the Strategic Development and Policy Research Center (Puskaptis) shows that Jokowi now only has a single-digit lead over Prabowo.

Refrizal, a member of the board of patrons of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which is a coalition member of the supporting the Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa pairing, said that in the survey Jokowi had only a 3.44 percent lead.

"[In the survey] Jokowi-JK [Jusuf Kalla] got 43.72 percent and Prabowo- Hatta 40.28 percent, while 16 percent of the respondents were undecided," he said.

Other pollsters, however, claim that Jokowi still has a comfortable lead. Indonesia Survey Circle (LSI) last week released results of a poll showing that the Jokowi-Kalla pairing would gain 35.42 percent of the vote if the election were to take place today, leading by a two-digit margin.

The figure for Prabowo and Hatta was 22.75 percent. A total of 41.8 percent were undecided. Despite the 13 percent margin, the LSI survey indicates that Prabowo and his running mate have a fighting chance if he can win over a majority of the undecided voters within the next 37 days.

An April survey conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consultant (SMRC), which surveyed 2,040 respondents on which candidate they would vote for if the election only had Jokowi and Prabowo as candidates, showed the former would lead the race with a 16 percent margin.

At the height of his popularity, Jokowi's approval rating stood at 62 percent. Jokowi shrugged off Puskaptis' latest opinion poll, saying that: "It doesn't matter. Everything can only happen according to God's will. We will see what the people really want [on July 9]," he said during a visit to Yogyakarta.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/03/race-narrows-prabowo-plays-catch.html

On heels of FPI overture, Prabowo calls for tolerance

Jakarta Globe - June 3, 2014

Robertus Wardi & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Hatta Rajasa have condemned an attack by a Muslim mob on a Christian congregation in Yogyakarta last week – just days after courting the support of Islamic hard-liners.

"Whatever the reason for the attack, such violence is unacceptable in a democratic country," Bara Hasibuan, a spokesman for the Prabowo-Hatta campaign team, said in Jakarta on Monday.

He said the candidates had called on the police to thoroughly investigate the attack on the prayer gathering at the home of a congregation member, adding that the incident "hurt the principles of democracy and the country's rule of the law."

"We urge the government and the police to immediately investigate this matter and not hesitate in taking action against the perpetrators," Bara said.

"For us, the issue of violence is a very fundamental and a very serious matter. If given the mandate to lead Indonesia, our candidates will take firm legal action against groups and individuals who commit violence on the pretext of whatever interest."

The attack last Thursday centered on a prayer gathering at the home of Julius Felicianus, 52, attended by members of the congregation of St. Francis Agung Banteng church.

Julius, whose son was hosting the gathering, said he received a text message from his son that read "People wearing robes are attacking our house." Julius said he immediately went home upon receiving the message, and brought with him an officer from the Yogyakarta Police.

He said he found six congregation members with injuries, mostly cuts and bruises, and the house in disarray. He said his son had managed to flee the mob and escaped unharmed "because he recognized two people among them, who happened to be our neighbors."

The injured were sent to hospital, but the mob returned soon after, Julius said. "I was immediately attacked and questioned. Were it not for my friend from the Yogyakarta Police, I would probably have died. I don't know what would have happened. I was assaulted by about eight people carrying bladed weapons," he said.

Michael Irawan, a journalist from Kompas TV who lived nearby, was also attacked and wounded as he tried to photograph the incident. The mob took his camera away and punched him in the face.

He later described the attackers as claiming to be followers of Jafar Umar Thalib, a cleric who led the Laskar Jihad, or jihad warriors – a militant group that was involved in the deadly Muslim-Christian sectarian strife in the Malukus from 1999 to 2001. Police have to date not made any arrests in connection with the attack.

The Prabowo-Hatta camp's call for justice in the case grates against the vice presidential candidate's own courting last week of Islamic hard- liners, including the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI.

Rights observers have criticized Hatta's engagement of the FPI and similar groups, calling it "an unwise move."

"It's not very judicious," said Muhammad Subhi Azhari, a researcher at the Wahid Institute. "People will get the impression that [Prabowo] tolerates violence. They're not setting a good example at all for the people of Indonesia."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/heels-fpi-overture-prabowo-calls-tolerance/

Facing criticism, Gerindra backpedals on 'religious purification' pledge

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2014

Jakarta – Hashim Djojohadikusumo, deputy chairman of the Gerindra Party's patron board, said his party had dropped a program of 'purification of religious teachings' in its 'Manifesto of Struggle, following a number of criticisms that the party carries a fundamentalist view toward religions and diversity of beliefs.

"We have erased the sentence from our manifesto, because we based our party principle on Pancasila. We will uphold the law if there is discrimination against any ethnic, religion or race," he said as quoted by tempo.co on Monday.

The Gerindra Party leads a coalition consisting of the Golkar Party and three Islamic parties: the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which support Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa as their candidate pair, and could command a total of 45.3 percent or 292 out of a total 560 seats at the House of Representatives.

Previously, Gerindra published a 50-page e-book called 'The Great Indonesia Movement Party Manifesto of Struggle' (Manifesto Perjuangan Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya). On page 40, under a chapter on religious issues, the party says, "the state is also expected to guarantee the purity of religious teachings, which are acknowledged by the state, form all forms of heresy and deviation from religious teachings."

Regarding the religious stance, Gerindra's official Twitter account also responded to a question on how the party viewed religious minorities, such as Ahmadis and Mormons. The official reply was that the party would set up an institution to make those groups "give up".

The party chief patron Prabowo Subianto recently hit the headlines due to his readiness to cooperate with the hard line group Islam Defender Front (FPI).

Meanwhile, Hashim recently triggered a widespread discussion about Gerindra's complicated stance when a one and a half hour footage uploaded in YouTube by account called 'GerindraTV' on October 14 last year shows him presenting Gerindra's programs during a speech at 'USINDO Open Forum Luncheon' in Washington.

During the presentation, Hashim, who is Prabowo's younger brother and a Christian, revealed that the Agriculture Ministry, which led by PKS cadre Suswono, had dismissed its 73 Christian employees without replacement in the last nine years.

In the footage, Hashim lamented that the ministry did not have Christian employees anymore since the dismissal, saying that the government should be willing to stop such discrimination.

On Monday, when asked about the footage, Hashim did not change his view and remained in his opinion that the government is not supposed to tolerate the ministry's decision. (gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/03/facing-criticism-gerindra-backpedals-religious-purification-pledge.html

Jokowi says he wants a 'no-condition coalition' but analysts are sceptical

Jakarta Globe - June 2, 2014

Yeremia Sukoyo – Presidential hopeful Joko Widodo has said that he wants a "no-condition coalition" formed without horse trading for cabinet seats, but analysts are sceptical that his vision will be achieved.

The presidential hopeful said he wants to build a new tradition devoid of these petty political transactions that swell the number of cabinet seats.

"We have to build a new tradition. If we don't, it's going to be like this forever. In the last election the number of cabinet seats totalled 64. Under Indonesian law on ministerial posts, there can only be 35," Joko was recently quoted by Bisnis.com.

However, National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar last week made a controversial statement, saying he could guarantee that the religious affairs minister would come from Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) if Joko became the country's next president. The statement suggested that the PKB and Joko have been involved in a political transaction.

"This is strange. On the one hand Joko has been saying that there is no agreement about the distribution of ministerial seats, but on the other, one of the chairmen of the political parties that supported Jokowi-Kalla guaranteed that the religious affairs ministerial post will be given to someone from NU," political analyst Deni Lesmana said in Jakarta on Saturday.

Joko has contradicted Muhaimin's statement, saying that there hasn't been any discussion about who will fill his cabinet if he won the presidential race. The Jakarta governor maintains that he has never made any promises regarding ministerial posts to political parties that support him.

"I already said that our coalition is without condition," Joko insisted, adding that he will discuss the ministerial posts after he is elected as president and that the ministers will undergo a fit and proper test.

Joko said that changing the system is not enough to create a better Indonesia. "It's useless if we change the system and prepare infrastructure but don't have a good mentality. That's why I often emphasize the importance of a mental revolution," he said.

Deni said that even though Joko has challenged Muhaimin's statement, many believe Joko's "no-condition coalition" is just part of image-building politics, adding that political transaction are inevitable in a coalition.

"This is the political reality in our country. They always say initially that there is no distribution of ministerial posts, but we'll see," Deni said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jokowi-says-wants-condition-coalition-analysts-sceptical/

Election fever hits Indonesia as candidates polarize netizens

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2014

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – For those Indonesians uninterested in politics, logging in to Facebook or Twitter is a frustrating experience these days.

"I've limited my newsfeed to close friends," Ira Hairida, a blogger from Palembang, South Sumatra, wrote on her Facebook wall. She said she was tired of people posting political statuses and verbally attacking the presidential contenders.

The country is experiencing its most polarizing presidential election ever, with Indonesians, mainly those with Internet access, sharply divided between the soft-spoken entrepreneur Joko "Jokowi Widodo, and the strong- willed former general Prabowo Subianto.

Ira said the zealous campaigning of both camps had overstepped the mark. "[Their attitude is] you're either with us or against us." The Internet has undeniably become the main battlefield for politicians in their quest to seek public support.

With only a few weeks until the election on July 9, hard-core supporters of both contenders are spending more time online either promoting or refuting scathing information about their candidates on the Internet.

Politicawave, a site monitoring political conversation on social media – Twitter, Facebook, blogs, online forums, online news and YouTube – said the Internet was a hotbed for vibrant debate on the election due to the nature of the Internet.

"On social media, a tweet can be shared [easily and quickly]. So it's easier and faster to spread," Politicawave director Yose Rizal told The Jakarta Post over the weekend. That was why the Internet was also the perfect place to spread rumors and lies, he added.

Yose cited the recent rumor circulating on social media outlets, which said Jokowi was a Christian of Chinese descent. "It prompted many people to look for information on Jokowi's religion via Google," Yose said.

Jokowi has refuted such claims, saying he has always been a Muslim, but those versed in the dark arts of the smear campaign upped their game by publishing what appeared to be a marriage certificate and an obituary advertisement purportedly showing Jokowi's real name as Herbertus Handoko Joko Widodo or Oey Hong Liong. "This is clearly a form of negative campaigning," Yose said.

Jokowi has also been faced with the claim that he had been summoned by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) in connection with a corruption case that occurred under his administration.

The AGO denied the claim, saying it had no intention to summon the presidential candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)-led coalition.

Politicawave said Jokowi was the biggest target of smear campaigns. According to its data, the number of negative conversations relating to Jokowi reached 67 percent, out of the total discussions on the two presidential candidates, compared to 33 percent for his rival, Prabowo.

However, the number of positive conversations on Jokowi trounced Prabowo with 72 percent over 28 percent. Jokowi is more discussed on social media than Prabowo with 60 percent over 40 percent. "Jokowi is getting a lot of support online, but he is also being attacked heavily [via smear campaigns]," Yose said.

Supporters of Prabowo have been trying their best to clear their candidate of human rights abuse allegations.

Prabowo, the presidential candidate from the Gerindra Party-led coalition, was accused of masterminding the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists during Soeharto's downfall in 1998, an allegation that has been used by Jokowi supporters to attack the former general's credibility.

Randy Remigius, a 26-year-old bank employee who supports Jokowi, said the amount of negative campaigns on social media was too much. "The competition is already unhealthy," he said. He said he now usually only paid attention to posts promoting Jokowi and ignored most of those supporting Prabowo.

Tamarind Puri Khiranti Indra, an Indonesian living in Australia, said she usually skipped articles she deemed biased or to be attacks on a particular candidate without being backed up by the proper facts.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/02/election-fever-hits-ri-candidates-polarize-netizens.html

For Prabowo, a dangerous dalliance with Islamic hard-liners

Jakarta Post - June 1, 2014

Jakarta – For all the allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses re-emerging against Prabowo Subianto, the presidential candidate has at least been spared the ignominy of religious intolerance accusations.

Until now, that is, as the party of his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, seeks to win over the Islamic hard-line fringe, in a complete affront to the values in which it was conceived.

Hatta and Amien Rais, the chairman and chief patron, respectively, of the National Mandate Party, or PAN, have in the past week come in for criticism over their courting of the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, a radical group notorious for mob attacks on religious minorities, and which in the past has had legal wrangles with Amien over his defense of religious pluralism.

Speaking at a religious gathering at Jakarta's Al Azhar Mosque last Tuesday, Amien called on the leaders of the FPI and the other hard-line groups in attendance to support Prabowo and Hatta in the July 9 election, saying that "all Muslims must be united" behind the ticket.

"There are all the indications that this is our second golden chance," he said, adding that the previous opportunity – the 1999 elections in which a host of Islamic parties were for the first time in more than three decades free to contest the polls – "wasn't our time just yet."

Hatta, in a direct plea to Rizieq Shihab, the FPI's grand imam, urged the organization to back his ticket, echoing a call just days earlier by Prabowo for the coalition to embrace all community groups, "including the FPI."

But given the litany of rights abuse allegations already stacked against the candidate, appealing to the hard-line Islamic fringe was "an unwise move," according to Muhammad Subhi Azhari, a researcher at the Wahid Institute, founded by the late former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

"It's not very judicious. People will get the impression that [Prabowo] tolerates violence," Subhi said in Jakarta on Saturday. "They're not setting a good example at all for the people of Indonesia."

Subhi noted that in the Wahid Institute's latest annual report on religious intolerance, the FPI ranked second among the institutions that committed the most violations against religious freedom and the right to worship. (Top of the list, covering incidents throughout 2013, was the government- funded Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, which purports to be the country's highest authority on Islam.)

Complicating matters, Hatta and Amien, who serves on Prabowo's campaign team, now face accusations of campaigning in a place of worship – a strict no-no under Indonesian electoral law.

Instant endorsement

For its part, the FPI has already indicated it may back Prabowo, with Rizieq telling followers on May 24 that the group would "instantly" endorse him if he committed to slew of conditions, including disbanding the Ahmadiyah – a minority Islamic sect that has been the frequent target of FPI attacks – and evaluating the police's counterterrorism squad, Densus 88, which he accused of "murdering Muslims."

"We're not asking for ministerial posts or anything like that. What we want is for [Prabowo] to give something to Islam," Rizieq said. "If he can commit to defending Islam, then the FPI will instantly declare its support for him. We will mobilize all our members [...] to campaign on behalf of Prabowo and Hatta."

(Rizieq was speaking, incidentally, at the Taman Yasmin housing estate in Bogor, where city authorities have refused to allow the reopening of a Protestant church, in direct violation of two Supreme Court rulings. The Bogor administration claims the GKI Yasmin congregation did not have the proper permit to build the church; it was not clear if the FPI had a permit for their own gathering.)

Rizieq also called on Muslims not to vote for a president who would allow Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian, to become governor – in a clear swipe at Joko Widodo, the current governor and Prabowo's rival in the presidential race. Basuki, already the acting governor, will automatically succeed Joko if the latter wins the presidency.

Islamic hard-liners had previously rounded on Basuki, a Chinese-Indonesian, because of his religion and ethnicity during campaigning for the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election – which he and Joko went on to win convincingly.

Lending weight to the probability of the FPI endorsing Prabowo is the candidate's policy stance on religious affairs. The manifesto published by his Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, acknowledges that while every individual is free to worship according to their beliefs, "the state must regulate that freedom."

"The state is also charged with ensuring the purity of religious teaching [to prevent] blasphemy," it reads. "Given the importance of religion and interfaith harmony, Gerindra is committed to always ensuring freedom of religion, safeguarding the purity of religious teaching, and guiding interfaith harmony."

Groups like the FPI and the MUI have long cited their defense of this "purity" of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence as justification for their attacks and discriminatory policies against groups like the Ahmadiyah and Shiites.

Amien's slide

For many, though, the most regrettable development in the whole matter has been the embrace of both Prabowo and the hard-liners by Amien, once considered a leading light of the democracy movement that Prabowo tried to crush in 1998, and a staunch defender of the moderate Islamic wave that the FPI and its ilk have long railed against.

"I'm actually not surprised by this, because Amien Rais was never a true reformer; he was just able to tell which side would win at the time," says Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the deputy director of the Setara Institute, which advocates for religious tolerance and democracy.

He says Amien has abandoned the human rights cause for political benefits, a notion echoed by Haris Azhar of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, or Kontras.

"People like [Amien] have forgotten the suffering that ushered in the era of democracy in Indonesia. It seems his slide began with his ouster of Gus Dur," Haris says, referring to Amien's central role in agitating for Wahid's impeachment in 2001, after having nominated him in 1999.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-dangerous-dalliance-islamic-hard-liners/

Media & journalism

Television stations warned about poll coverage

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2014

Jakarta – The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) has again sent out warning letters to a number of television stations as a reprimand for their unbalanced coverage on the presidential race.

The five television stations under fire were Metro TV, TV One and three outlets of Media Nusantara Citra (MNC) Group: Global TV, MNC TV and RCTI.

"We have warned the five television stations about their unbalanced coverage of candidates' campaign activities," said KPI deputy chairman Idy Muzayyad in Jakarta on Monday.

Idy said television campaign coverage tended to be partisan, most likely a reflection of the political preferences of the owners of the private stations.

Earlier, KPI reports revealed that some television station owners had sided with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Joko "Jokowi" Widodo-Jusuf Kalla presidential ticket, while others blatantly promoted the candidacy of the Gerindra Party's Prabowo Subianto.

Metro TV is owned by NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh, a supporter of the Jokowi-Kalla ticket. Meanwhile, Prabowo and his running mate Hatta Rajasa enjoy endorsements from MNC Group boss Hary Tanoesoedibjo, as well as TV One owner and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Idy said that based on the results of KPI monitoring from May 19-25, Metro TV had dedicated a higher percentage of presidential election coverage to the Jokowi-Kalla ticket, while TV One and MNC Group had given more airtime to Prabowo and Hatta.

The KPI recorded that Metro TV gave Jokowi-Kalla coverage on 187 occasions during the period, higher than Prabowo-Hatta's figure of 110.

Conversely, at TV One, there were 153 examples of Prabowo-Hatta campaign coverage, while the Jokowi-Kalla campaign garnered only 79. On RCTI, the disparity was even greater, with Jokowi-Kalla appearing seven times compared to more than 30 times for Prabowo-Hatta.

In an earlier statement, KPI member Fajar Arifianto Isnugroho said that together with the Indonesian Press Council, the commission would impose sanctions on television stations found guilty of unbalanced campaign coverage.

In February, the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the KPI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), agreeing to work together in monitoring the use of broadcasting as a campaign tool for the general elections. The monitoring was deemed necessary to prevent broadcast media from being abused and exploited for political purposes.

The PDI-P faction at the House of Representatives called on the KPI to do more than send warning letters to television stations as they had all been ignored.

"The KPI should not allow this to happen [...] especially when it comes to character assassination. If there's no law enforcement there will be chaos," said Tri Tamtomo of House of Representatives Commission I on defense, foreign affairs and information during a hearing with the KPI on Monday.

Responding to the call, KPI chairman Judhariksawan said the commission could do nothing more than reprimand violators as its authority was severely limited by prevailing regulations. He said that the Broadcasting Law needed to be amended to empower the commission.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/03/television-stations-warned-about-poll-coverage.html

Environment & natural disasters

More protection needed for peatland

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2014

Jakarta – Environmental activists have warned the government to be cautious about converting peatland into crude palm oil (CPO) plantations, as it could have a detrimental long-term impact.

Nyoman N. Suryadiputra of the Wetlands International Indonesia program said that peatland was often thousands of years old, waterlogged and inflammable in its natural setting. He said the water volume in peatland was very high, reaching 90 percent of its total area. For this reason, the development of a plantation required that the peatland be drained, which could be destructive.

Nyoman said that building canals on peatland for water management would dry out the peat and cause it to become flammable. He pointed out that Indonesia had 21 million hectares of peatland absorbing 1,600 tons of carbon per hectare, and argued that peatland was an entire ecosystem that helped to support human life.

The government has regulated that peatland more than 3 meters deep should be left alone, stipulating that only shallow peatland (0.5 to 1 meters deep) and medium-depth peatland (1 to 2 meters) could be exploited for agricultural purposes.

Nyoman said that recurring peatland fires along the eastern coast of Sumatra had caused land subsidence and incursions of seawater.

"Peatland in coastal areas is now similar to coastal lagoons," Nyoman said during a conference in Jakarta on Tuesday on the agricultural sustainability of peatland. "It took 5,000 to 6,000 years to create the peatland along the eastern coast of Sumatra," Nyoman added.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/05/more-protection-needed-peatland.html

Sex workers & prostitution

Protest continues over Dolly closure

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Surabaya – Sex workers in the Dolly red-light district of Surabaya, East Java, staged a rally on Thursday, protesting the city administration's plan to shut down the area, which is one of the biggest in Southeast Asia.

"I make a living here, Bu. Don't try to intervene [in our lives]. If Dolly is closed, where should I get money? If I end up wandering the streets, it will only add to your problems," said Susiati, a 34-year-old sex worker, while reading out a letter for Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, who is widely known as Risma.

Susiati and other sex workers will also write letters to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin.

Risma has pledged to close down Dolly by June 18, saying that the closure would be in line with City bylaw No. 7/1999 that bans using a building as a place of prostitution. Along with Risma, Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri is scheduled to officially close down the area on June 18.

The closure has been strongly opposed by Risma's deputy Wisnu Sakti Buana, triggering a fresh feud between the two officials, who are both Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politicians.

Meanwhile, Surabaya Social Agency head Supomo said that his office had found it hard to list all sex workers in the area and added that they refused to move out of Dolly.

According to the agency, there are at least 1,187 sex workers and 311 pimps in Dolly. Most of them are from outside Surabaya – "The Social Affairs Ministry has allocated a total budget of Rp 8 billion (US$687,728) for the 1,187 sex workers. They will receive Rp 5.050 million per person to start a new life," Supomo said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/protest-continues-over-dolly-closure.html

Graft & corruption

Anticorruption activists slam SBY for new minister appointment

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Haeril Halim and Fadli, Jakarta/BATAM – Anticorruption activists have rebuked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his appointment of United Development Party (PPP) politician Lukman Hakim Saifuddin as the new religious affairs minister.

Lukman will replace PPP party chairman Suryadharma Ali, who was forced to resign after being named a suspect in a graft case.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Firdaus Ilyas said that considering the current administration would conclude in less than five months, the President should have chosen a more qualified person to lead the ministry, which is known to be one of the government's most corrupt institutions.

"I think the President has bowed to pressure over the political deal he made with the PPP when they joined his administration following the 2009 reelection. His decision has angered the public, which was expecting reform following Suryadharma's alleged involvement in the haj graft case," Firdaus told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which declared Suryadharma a suspect in a graft scandal related to the ministry's Rp 1 trillion (US$84 million) haj program, was wracked by a separate scandal surrounding the illegal procurement of Korans in 2012.

The Korans in question were obtained between 2011 and 2012, and were valued at an estimated Rp 75 billion.

In the haj case, the KPK has stated that additional suspects would be announced, possibly including senior ministry officials, legislators and PPP executives. "Yudhoyono's decision has undermined the anticorruption record he's always boasting about in speeches. It's all about politics though," Firdaus said.

Separately, KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnain urged Lukman to use the remaining time to work for reforms. "If [he] is not serious about improving the system at the ministry, the same problems will recur. We will make sure that the ministry follows up on our recommendations to improve its management," Zulkarnain said.

Meanwhile, political observer and anticorruption campaigner Dahnil Anzar said he doubted Lukman's ability to effect significant change given his limited time. "Lukman is a relatively clean politician, but I don't expect significant improvements at the ministry," Dahnil said.

Lukman, who now serves as deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), was in Batam on Thursday to meet with Yudhoyono, at which time the President officially offered him the post. Yudhoyono was on a three-day state visit to Batam at the time.

"The President has given me a mandate as the new religious affairs minister for reform. It will not be easy for me, but I am honored. I will seek support from religious leaders to fulfill this mandate," Lukman said after meeting with the President.

According to Lukman, he will be officially sworn in on June 9 in Jakarta. "The President has instructed me to improve the quality of religious life in Indonesia, especially with respect to [ending] religious intolerance. I will also focus on improving the haj program," Lukman said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/anticorruption-activists-slam-sby-new-minister-appointment.html

KPK blasts candidates' anticorruption oversight

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday criticized the lack of integrated anticorruption values in the manifestos of the two presidential candidates contending the July 9 election.

Presidential hopefuls have to submit vision and mission statements to the General Elections Commission (KPU) as part of the candidate registration process.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said every working program drafted by the candidate pairs – Joko "Jokowi" Widodo-Jusuf Kalla and Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa – should be formulated in the spirit of anticorruption.

"Strengthening law enforcement is not just about how many investigators are needed to support criminal and corruption investigations for law enforcement institutions, including the KPK," he said.

Earlier, Prabowo – whose candidacy is supported by a Gerindra Party-led coalition consisting of the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and The Crescent Star Party (PBB) – promised that should he be elected president he would increase the recruitment of investigators.

Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Gerindra's deputy chief patron and brother of Prabowo, said Prabowo would add around 1,000 investigators to the KPK should he be elected president. Currently the KPK only has 75 investigators, despite having to process thousands of reports of alleged corruption every year.

Bambang said that if the spirit of anticorruption was embedded in every working program, then it could prevent corrupt officials from stealing from the state's coffers.

"Family members of state officials must be prevented from dipping into the state budget through government projects. The public should be included in the supervision of government programs for the sake of transparency," Bambang said.

He added that tight control on every government working program would prevent state funds from being stolen, while at the same time increasing state revenue, especially from taxation.

Bambang lamented that both presidential candidates had failed to prioritize taxation as a means to improve state revenue. "State revenue from the taxation sector continues to decrease although there are now significantly more tax payers than ever," Bambang said.

The development programs of the next president, he continued, will fail if state revenue is not boosted by taxes.

He went on to say that the incoming president should ensure moral integrity of all new state officials and their commitment to corruption eradication. "Every state institution should have a department responsible for managing gratuity issues involving state officials," he said.

The Jokowi-Kalla ticket – which is backed by a coalition including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the NasDem Party, the Hanura Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) – has promised police reform.

Among the key points is the empowering of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) as a watchdog institution. The agency, which is supposed to function as an independent supervisor, has been restricted by the Police Law and merely serves an advisory role.

The program also includes revisions to several regulations to help root out graft in the police force.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/kpk-blasts-candidates-anticorruption-oversight.html

KPK slams Prabowo plan on graft

Jakarta Globe - June 6, 2014

Rizky Amelia, Jakarta – Now that it's official there will only be two candidates running for president in the July 9 election, scrutiny of their plans for Indonesia continues to grow.

Politicians and analysts are competing to express opinions about the respective presidential candidates' vision and mission statements, with some praising them while others are more critical.

It now seems that the leadership of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), whose job it is to solve major graft cases in the country, also did not want to miss the opportunity to have its opinions heard.

Bambang Widjojanto, deputy chairman of the KPK, criticized plans put forward by Prabowo Subianto, presidential hopeful for the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), related to fighting corruption.

Prabowo has said he would increase the number of investigators to strengthen the antigraft body. However, Bambang said fighting corruption was not only a matter of increasing the number of investigators.

He said Prabowo did not fully grasp the magnitude of the challenges of fighting graft. He added that opposition to corruption, collusion and nepotism should become a stance, attitude and perspective, which should be internalized and formulated in presidential candidate's work programs.

"Anti-corruption [measures] should be mainstreamed into ideas, programs, targets, strategies and perspectives in the process in order to increase the state's income and to curb corrupt attitudes and behavior," he said.

"The implementation and supervision of this should be made more accountable and the people should be involved intensively and systematically," Bambang elaborated.

The KPK deputy chairman expressed his hope that the future president would also introduce integrity testing for new recruits at government ministries.

"The KPK hopes for strong commitment from the presidential and vice presidential candidates to conduct integrity tests in the recruitment and promotion processes in ministries," Bambang said.

He said integrity tests would prevent collusion and nepotism. Without collusion and nepotism there would be no room for companies belonging to the families of state employees to obtain government projects.

Bambang further called on the future president to oppose every attempt aimed at weakening the fight against corruption. He added that every ministry should have a gratification control unit.

He was not the first KPK leader to got involved in political matters. Recently, KPK chairman Abraham Samad was reported to have approached Joko Widodo presidential hopeful for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, in an effort to become his running mate.

Other KPK leaders were of the opinion that Samad had violated the agency's code of conduct and initially planned to subject him to a disciplinary process. The agency later canceled the plan and said it would only seek clarification from Samad with regard to his media statements.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/kpk-slams-prabowo-plan-graft/

KPK to probe everyone in Suryadharma's haj entourage

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2014

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said it would be questioning 35 individuals who had enjoyed a free haj to Saudi Arabia, together with former religious affairs minister Suryadharma Ali, including the wife of the Religious Affairs Ministry's former director general for the haj and umrah (minor pilgrimage), Anggito Abimanyu.

"We will soon be questioning all the members of the entourage as part of our investigation into the alleged irregularities in the 2012-2013 haj program," KPK chairman Abraham Samad told The Jakarta Post on Sunday, referring to the graft case that has ensnared Suryadharma.

According to the KPK, the 35 people allegedly comprise Suryadharma's relatives, colleagues and lawmakers at the House of Representatives whose names were falsely registered as Indonesian Haj Organizing Committee (PPIH) representatives, to join him on the haj using state budget funds.

Abraham did not provide details about the schedule for questioning members of the entourage.

One PPIH member stationed at the King Abul Aziz International Airport in Jaddah, Saudi Arabia, was quoted as saying by tempo.co that Anggito's wife, Arma Abimanyu, had been part of Suryadharma's entourage for the haj. "Pak Anggito's wife was registered as a haj committee member," said the PPIH member, who wished to remain anonymous.

The PPIH member, who handles pilgrims' luggage at the airport, said he was introduced to Arma at the airport and his job was to make sure that her name was listed on the ministerial entourage.

After being questioned by the KPK on March 19, Anggito denied the allegation that his wife was one of the entourage members. "My wife never joined any entourage."

Earlier on Wednesday, KPK deputy chairman Adnan Pandu Praja said that given his authority as the ministry's haj and umrah director general, Anggito should also be held accountable for the alleged irregularities during the 2012-2013 program.

"It is clear that there were violations [allegedly committed by Anggito], which will make him [the next] suspect in the case. It is just a matter time. The point is, Suryadharma is not the only suspect in the case," Adnan said at KPK headquarters on Wednesday.

Adnan's remarks came after the KPK seized a laptop and a cell phone from Anggito's office during a 27-hour raid by the antigraft body last week.

Religious Affairs Ministry inspector general M. Jasin said the irregularities being investigated took place after Anggito had assumed leadership of the directorate.

When asked if the departures of "Suryadharma's associates" would have required Anggito's approval, Jasin said that all PPIH members had to meet the requirements set by Anggito's office, implying that the falsifying of their identities as PPHI representatives had to have been carried out with Anggito's knowledge.

"It is not within my authority to say whether he [Anggito] had any knowledge of this. That authority lies with the KPK," Jasin said. Just two days after Adnan's remarks, Anggito tendered his resignation on Friday to Coordinating People's Welfare Minister Agung Laksono, who is now serving as interim minister, although he remains a witness in the case.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/02/kpk-probe-everyone-suryadharma-s-haj-entourage.html

Freedom of religion & worship

Sectarian violence business as usual in Central Java

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Ainur Rohmah, Semarang – Religious intolerance is an ongoing problem in Central Java, as the province saw several cases of religious-based violence in the first six months of 2014, said the Social and Religious Studies Institute (ELSA) on Thursday in its mid-year bulletin in Semarang.

ELSA research coordinator Tedi Kholiludin said the first case of 2014 involved vandalism of a Hindu temple in Dukuh Gitiloka hamlet, Miri district, Sragen regency.

Though not reported until Jan. 19, it is believed on Jan. 16 several statues in the temple were destroyed. Police and village officials have yet to identify the perpetrators. "The second case was the clash between residents and members of the Islam Defenders Front [FPI] in Wonosobo," said Tedi.

Tedi said that in the mid-January incident, Central Java FPI chapter head Shihabudin, who is also caretaker of the Al Hadits Islamic boarding school in Wonosobo, spoke at a religious event commemorating the Prophet Muhammad's birthday in Bowongso village, Kalikajar district.

In his sermon, Shihabudin incensed some residents when he mentioned that residents should fight immorality by forming an FPI branch in Wonosobo, the only region in Central Java without an FPI chapter. After a verbal altercation, Shihabudin tried to leave but was accosted.

"Those who did not accept Shihabudin's sermon stopped his car [as he was leaving] and demanded he step out and apologize. However, he refused do so. A number of people broke the car windows and threatened to roll the car," said Tedi.

The third case involved residents in Demak forcibly disbanding a routine Koran recital meeting by the Koran Interpretation Council (MTA). The MTA is deemed controversial by some Muslims who say it teaches principles that are not in line with Islam. The residents then vandalized the house where the activity was held, and several MTA members were injured in the incident.

"Another case was perpetrated by village officials in Grobogan, Central Java, who [wrongly] accused the Jantiko Mantab religious group of causing public unrest," said Tedi. The officials ended up apologizing to the Jantiko Mantab members.

According to Tedi, these instances of religious intolerance had become typical. "Actually, nothing is new in the cases. The FPI, for instance, causes trouble every year. While this year residents in Wonosobo were disturbed by FPI's religious aggression, last year residents in Kendal were disturbed by it," said Tedi.

On a bright note, Tedi did note that the start of 2014 saw some progress in resolving sectarian flareups, such as in Grobogan, when the local officials apologized to the adherents to avoid escalation.

In 2012 and 2013, there were six alleged violations of religious freedom and seven cases of religious intolerance committed in Central Java.

Separately, a professor of cultural anthropology at Semarang's Diponegoro University, Mudjahirin Thohir, said religious followers who perpetrated violence in the name of religion misunderstood religion.

He cited two typical triggers of religious violence in Indonesia – either theology or external factors. "They regard [these acts of intolerance] as jihad, but actually they are radical actions that could undermine the religion itself, because in essence, every faith in the world teaches love," he said.

By external factors, Mudjahirin was referring to chaos in Indonesia's legal, political, economic, social and cultural systems. He said these were always blamed for religious violence in the country.

"It's time for religious leaders to persuade worshippers to become more mature in understanding religion in the context of a pluralistic Indonesia. Besides that, the Indonesian government, through law enforcement, must take firm action against those who resort to violence in the name of religion," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/sectarian-violence-business-usual-central-java.html

Pluralism in peril as poll nears

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Jakarta – Pluralism in the country is in danger of being eroded as intolerant groups flex their political muscle ahead of the presidential election.

In the wake of attacks on a church and Christian prayer group in Yogyakarta, an invitation to attend a public gathering initially entitled Umat Islam Bersatu Memerangi Pluralisme (The Muslim Community Unites to Fight Pluralism) at the province's iconic Masjid Gedhe Mosque in Kauman has begun circulating on social media.

The main speaker of the gathering, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, is Jafar Umar Thalib, the former commander of the defunct Laskar Jihad paramilitary group.

Laskar Jihad was a Yogyakarta-based radical Islamic group that supplied volunteers to fight alongside Muslims against Christians during sectarian conflict in Maluku in 1999-2000.

After debate broke out on the Internet about the title of the event, the mosque's imam, Budi Setiawan, said the title of the gathering had been changed at the request of the mosque's management.

The event, which is being organized by the Islamic People's Forum (FUI), has been renamed Umat Islam Bersatu untuk Indonesia Maju (The Muslim Community Unites for a Developed Indonesia).

The public gathering will take place only a week after members of hard-line Islamic groups attacked a Pentecostal church in Sleman, Yogyakarta in front of police officers who failed to take any action.

Three days earlier, a group of people wearing Arabic-style clothes attacked the house of Julius Felicianus in which a rosary prayer-recital was taking place. Julius, Kompas TV journalist Michael Aryawan and three other members of the group were injured in the attack.

The incidents appear to indicate a resurgence of Islamic radicalism in Yogyakarta, which is the birthplace of the Muhammadiyah, the nation's second-largest Islamic organization and whose former chairman, Amien Rais, is a staunch supporter of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

It is unclear if the gathering on Sunday has anything to do with the election, though Budi said one of the political figures who would attend the gathering was M. Syukri Fadholi, the head of the local chapter of the United Development Party (PPP).

Prabowo, whose candidacy has been endorsed by all Islamic-based parties including the PPP, has been rallying support from Muslim organizations, including the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

On Wednesday, former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid visited the FPI headquarters in Jakarta where its members openly declared their support for Prabowo, who is running with National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa.

On the same day in Central Java and Yogyakarta, thousands of FPI members also voiced their support for Prabowo, who once said that all groups, including the FPI, should be involved in developing the nation.

FPI chairman Habib Muchsin Alatas said, as quoted by kompas.com, that they were rooting for Prabowo through the Islamic parties that joined the Gerindra Party-led coalition. He said the Islamic parties had to ensure that Prabowo would free Indonesia from imperialism and liberalism. A Prabowo-Hatta administration, he said, must also not reject sharia-based bylaws.

The declarations of support for Prabowo from the hard-line groups came as rival candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo faced a slew of claims accusing him of being a Christian of Chinese descent and also a supporter of the Shia minority. Jokowi and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla, have repeatedly insisted that he has always been a Muslim.

Subhi Azhari, advocacy coordinator for The Wahid Institute, said that the move by Prabowo's camp to court groups like the FPI could be seen as a tacit endorsement of intolerance.

"This means they are sanctioning acts of intolerance and violence," he said, adding that the recent incidents of religious violence in Yogyakarta could be politically motivated.

Gerindra denies it has courted intolerant groups and claims that it champions Pancasila. Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Prabowo's younger brother and a senior Gerindra member, has said he would quit Gerindra if it was ever backed by the FPI.

Hashim also said his party had dropped a program of "purification of religious teachings" from its manifesto following criticism that the party took a fundamentalist stance toward religion and religious diversity.

Fadli Zon, Gerindra's campaign team secretary, however, said that he welcomed support from all groups, including the FPI. When asked about the FPI's tendency to use force, he said that it did not matter as it was in the past. "We don't talk about past form, we talk about the presidential election," Fadli said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/pluralism-peril-poll-nears.html

Activists accuse police chief of justifying attack on Jogja church

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2014

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – Rights activists have slammed National Police chief Gen. Sutarman for focusing attention not on the violent attack on a Pentecostal church in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Sunday, but rather on the issue of the church's operating permit.

Sutarman, while condemning the actions of the local residents and Muslim groups who barraged the church with stones shattering its windows, has emphasized the church was in violation of the law as it had not obtained a permit from the local government to operate as a place of worship.

"Private residences cannot routinely be used for Friday prayers [for Muslims] or prayer meetings [for Christians]," he said at his office in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He did say Muslims could hold monthly Koran recitals and other religious- related meetings in private homes, but that such meetings "should be reported to the police, so that we can provide protection".

The Pentecostal church has reportedly been run by Rev. Nico Lomboan since the 1990s. According to Sleman Deputy Regent Yuni Satia Rahayu, the regency had denied it a building permit to operate as a church because its board had faked the signatures of local residents to fulfill the permit requirements.

Although the Sleman administration sealed the building in 2012, the church was recently used. This prompted local residents and some Muslim groups to hurl stones at the church on Sunday.

Responding to Sutarman's remarks, Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said the police chief should prioritize the investigation into the attack on the church over its legal status.

"Operating a place of worship without a permit is an administrative violation. But the most problematic thing in the case is that some people took the law into their own hands by attacking the church. The police have a responsibility to prevent that and to bring the perpetrators to justice," he said over the phone on Wednesday. The police have so far named one suspect in the case.

The attack on the church was the second case of sectarian violence in Yogyakarta in the last week. On May 30, at least 15 local residents attacked a group of Catholics praying at a house in Ngaglik, Sleman.

Hendardi also said that minority groups often faced obstacles in obtaining permits to operate a place of worship. "To get the permit, they must get approval from local residents living around the place of worship. In some many cases, this creates problems," he said.

Ahmad Suaedy from the Wahid Institute concurred with Hendardi. "[Sutarman's statement] seems to justify the violent attack [...] If Rev. Nico is violating the law, he may be brought to justice. By the same token, the perpetrators of the attack must also be brought to trial," Suaedy said.

In responding to increasing sectarian violence in Yogyakarta, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has sent a letter urging Sutarman to solve the two cases and to evaluate the performance of the Yogyakarta Police.

Sutarman, commenting on the letter, said that the police had acted firmly to prevent and handle sectarian conflicts.

Komnas HAM commissioner Siti Noor Laila rebuffed Sutarman's claim, saying that the police had failed to close many sectarian violence cases, including the attack at the Kemah Injil Indonesia (GKII) church in Gunungkidul regency on March 30.

"If the police have acted firmly, they should have submitted the dossiers of those cases to the prosecutor's office," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/05/activists-accuse-police-chief-justifying-attack-jogja-church.html

Behind church closures, the specter of intolerance

Jakarta Globe - June 4, 2014

Josua Gantan – Church officials in Cianjur, West Java, have reported local authorities to the national human rights commission for forcing shut seven churches there, the latest targets of a controversial government decree on how houses of worship may be set up.

"We are reporting the Cianjur district administration to Komnas HAM [the National Commission for Human Rights] over their forceful closure of seven churches in Cianjur," Oferlin Hia, the chairman of the Association of Churches in Cianjur, said on Monday.

"We just want to demand the protection of our rights as citizens," he added. "Clearly, the state has neglected our right to worship freely."

The affected churches are the Indonesian Pentecostal Church of Cianjur (GPdI); the Pentecostal Movement Church; the New Covenant Christian Church; the Bethlehem Pentecostal Movement Church; the Indonesia Bethel Church (GBI); the Full Gospel International Church; and the Assemblies of God Church (GSJA).

Oferlin said the district authorities' decision to close down the churches on the pretext of permit violations was regrettable, noting that the churches played a central role in the lives of the Christian communities in Cianjur.

He said some of the churches had been around since 1977, predating a 2006 decree from the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Affairs Ministry that dictates the conditions for establishing a house of worship.

The ministries, citing the need for houses of worship not to be a source of friction in the communities in which they are based, laid out several requirements that rights activists and religious freedom advocates argue make it nearly impossible to set up anything other than a mosque.

The conditions include getting the signed approval for the new building from 60 local households of different faiths; approval from the municipal or district religious affairs office and the ward and subdistrict heads; and a recommendation from the local Interfaith Communication Forum, or FKUB – which in many cases comprises hard-line Islamic groups that tend to be against the setting up of churches in their communities.

Making life difficult

While the decree ostensibly applies only to new houses of worship, local authorities, particularly in West Java, have forced long-existing churches there to comply, often under pressure from Muslim hard-liners.

"Many churches have been around since before the issuance of the decree," says Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the deputy director of the Setara Institute, which advocates for religious tolerance and pluralism. "So now when they try to get a permit, they find it very difficult. For instance, in Jember [in East Java] alone there are currently 85 churches that are operating without permits."

Bonar calls the process to obtain a permit – which for churches that predate the 2006 decree is needed in the event of renovations to the building structure or expansion – "onerous and long-drawn-out."

He adds that local authorities are often partial and under pressure from hard-line groups, thus less willing to issue permits to Christian congregations.

"Most of the time, getting the urban ward chief's approval is the hardest part," he says. "There are elements of fear and intimidation as well. Often, local authorities come under pressure from intolerant groups actively trying to seek out churches that do not have permits. They often come to the offices of ward chiefs and subdistrict heads saying 'Are you a Muslim or not? If yes, you have to support us.'

"Many of the local authorities are not willing to risk their ire," Bonar says. 'Rigid and inflexible'

The national rights commission, which received the churches' complaint against the Cianjur authorities, agrees that local officials are making minority congregations jump through hoops just to be allowed to worship in peace.

"They should not be so quick to close down and disqualify [places of worships], that is not in line with human rights," says Imdadun, a commissioner with Komnas HAM, accusing the local administrations of being "rigid and inflexible" in dealing with places of worships that lack the required permits.

"If there are places of worship that are already operating but lack the necessary permits, the local administration should facilitate them so that they can comply and obtain the required permits. Facilitating them means making things easy for them," he says.

While respect for the protection of minorities is enshrined in Indonesia's Constitution and democratic system, in reality, Imdadun says, this central tenet often goes unheeded. "It is important that [local] administrations stay neutral. The government must adhere to the Constitution," he says.

Fachry Ali, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPI, and an expert in sectarian politics, tells the Jakarta Globe that the potential rise in religious tensions is especially concerning in light of the looming presidential election.

"There are those who are anti-democracy, and they're the ones who will try to delegitimize our democratic system," he says. "This [religious tension] will obviously damage the process of the presidential election."

40 church closures a year

The Cianjur church closures are the latest in a long string of similar incidents, most of them in West Java.

One high-profile case that has been dragging on for years is that of the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor, which remains closed off by the city authorities on the trumped-up pretext of building permit violations – despite two Supreme Court rulings ordering local authorities to reopen the building to worshipers.

Similarly, the HKBP Filadefia church in Bekasi was forced shut after local authorities refused to issue it a permit. Members of both congregations routinely hold Sunday services outside the State Palace in Central Jakarta, in an as-yet unfruitful bid to get President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to notice their plight.

At the current rate, an average of 40 churches are being shut down every year, mostly for a lack of permits, says Bonar. He adds the real number could be much higher, with many churches not reporting their closure.

Bonar said religious intolerance in Indonesia is currently on the rise. "There is a growing tendency toward intolerance among the public. There are many factors behind this such as declining welfare, the spread of radical thoughts, and the prevalence of hard-line groups," he said.

Activists say a strong government role is crucial in addressing the problem of intolerance and declining pluralism.

But with his term marked by various acts of intolerance against minorities such Christians, Shiites and Ahmadis – the latter two Islamic minorities deemed deviant by Sunni hard-liners – protecting minorities and upholding religious tolerance has not been the hallmark of the Yudhoyono administration, Bonar says.

He notes that while the president's own intentions may be well-placed, there are those around him who have held him back in this respect. "President SBY is doubtless a pluralistic guy, but some of the parties in his political coalition are not for pluralism," he says.

Yudhoyono's six-party ruling coalition includes all four Islamic parties from the House of Representatives: the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS; the United Development Party, or PPP; the National Mandate Party, or PAN; and the National Awakening Party, or PKB.

While the PAN and the PKB espouse a moderate brand of Islam, the same is not true of the PKS, the country's biggest Islamic party, and the PPP, its oldest, Bonar says. "The PKS and the PPP have never sought to protect the interests of minorities. They're holding [Yudhoyono] back," he says.

Both parties, along with the PAN, have since joined the coalition of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra. Worryingly, members of the coalition have drummed up religious undertones in their campaigning.

In its manifesto, Gerindra calls for state oversight in maintaining the "purity of religious teaching," seen by many as a veiled threat against minority Islamic groups like the Shiites and the Ahmadiyah. Gerindra officials earlier this week denied the sentiment, but said they would reword their manifesto.

Islamic hard-liners and militants have long cited their defense of this "purity" of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence as justification for their attacks and discriminatory policies against minority groups like the Ahmadiyah and Shiites, which they deem deviant because of their differing schools of Islamic thought.

Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Prabowo's younger brother and they deputy chief patron of Gerindra, said on Monday the call for religious purity was aimed at countering genuinely new and "deviant groups," adding that similar policies existed in the West. He cited the case of the Church of Scientology, which many countries, including Germany and Belgium, have refused to recognize as a religion because of its controversial tenets.

Meanwhile, officials from the PAN have called for the support of militant Islamic hard-liners, including the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, to support Prabowo.

For its part, the FPI has already indicated it may back Prabowo, with its grand imam telling followers that the group would "instantly" endorse Prabowo if he committed to slew of conditions, including disbanding the Ahmadiyah and evaluating the police's counterterrorism squad, Densus 88, which he accused of "murdering Muslims."

The camp of the other presidential candidate, Joko Widodo, has also stirred up controversy in religious grounds, with vice presidential contender Jusuf Kalla challenging Prabowo to a Koran recital competition against Joko in Aceh – the only province in the country to adopt Islamic shariah, albeit not on a full scale.

Bonar says he is concerned that these recent political developments do not seem to bode well for improved religious tolerance under the new government, no matter which candidate wins. He says both Joko and Prabowo have not given enough attention to issues concerning the protection of minorities.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/behind-church-closures-specter-intolerance/

Komnas HAM urged to help stop church closure

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2014

Jakarta – Members of various church congregations from Cianjur, West Java, have filed their complaints with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) following a series of forced clo-sures of local churches, allegedly sponsored by the local administration.

The congregations, grouped under the Cianjur Churches Union, claimed the Cianjur government had forcibly closed seven churches in the area between December 2013 and January 2014, despite some of the churches operating legally since 1977.

"We feel our right to religious freedom has been severely limited because the seven congregations represented here today no longer have places to worship," said Oferlin Hia, a spokesman and priest of Cianjur's New Testament Protestant Church (GKPB), in Jakarta, on Monday.

Other churches affected by the closures included the Pentecostal Church of Cianjur (GGP) and the Cianjur Pentecostal Church of Bethlehem (GGPB).

Oferlin, along with several other priests from Cianjur regency, who came to Komnas HAM on Monday to protest, said all congregations already had permits from district and subdistrict administrations, as well as recommendations from the National and Political Unity Office (Kesbangpol) to practice their beliefs.

However, local government officials including the subdistrict police chief, demanded that the churches obtain permits from the Cianjur regent, a rule first stipulated in Joint Ministerial Decree No. 1/2006 of the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Ministry on the construction of places of worship.

"We've had the permit since 1977, and even renewed it in 1990 and 1991. [...] But they are using the joint decree as a means to shut down our churches," said Oferlin.

Oferlin also said that emboldened by the local government's stance, local communities had also shown hostility toward the congregations, especially when they performed their weekly services.

Worshippers were often forced to conduct their prayers in private residences and even in a restaurant, a practice which had also drawn disapproval from local residents.

Worshippers had also been subject to intimidation from local hardline groups, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Islam Reformists Movement (GARIS), which had provoked local residents into shutting down the churches for fear it would "disrupt the stability of the neighborhood".

Cianjur is known as a conservative region where many attacks against religious minorities take place.

Responding to the demand, Komnas HAM said it would look into the case. Komnas HAM commissioner Imdadun Rakhmat said complaints from the seven congregations would be the first case handled by the religious freedom task force that he chaired.

"The issue of religious freedom is a priority for Komnas HAM, because [...] it is one of the issues in Indonesia that the international community closely monitors," Imdadun told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Imdadun also said the discrimination of religious minorities, including the closure of places of worship, would be an ongoing issue in the country as disputes were usually not fully resolved. "This is why we consider these issues a priority," he said.

Religious minorities have faced heightened discrimination as a result of the government's failure to enforce human rights protections in 2013, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch in its 2014 report. (tjs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/03/komnas-ham-urged-help-stop-church-closure.html

Police blamed for sectarian violence rise

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2014

Bambang Muryanto and Arya Dipa, Yogyakarta/Bandung – The Yogyakarta police have been blamed for the rise in sectarian violence in the province due to their failure to treat the incidents seriously.

The statement came from Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono X. "That is a fact. We all feel that," Hamengkubuwono told reporters at his residence at the Yogyakarta Palace on Monday. Hamengkubuwono insisted that only through consistency in law enforcement would violence decrease.

Within the last week two incidents of sectarian violence occurred in Yogyakarta, which has long been regarded as a city of tolerance. A church was vandalized in Pangukan, Sleman regency, and an attack was made on a house where a Rosary recital was taking place, also in Sleman.

Hamengkubuwono said that it was time for the police to take action and to uphold the law. No further dialogue with the groups committing violence was needed, he added, as he had already held dialogue with them.

Separately, head of the Pentecostal Church in Pangukan, Nico Lomboan, said the Sleman regent had to make a firm decision on the license for his church that he had built 24 years ago.

Nico said he and his congregation were forced to worship at the church because they could no longer afford to rent a place to do so. "That's why we returned to the church on Sunday," said Nico, who filed a report on the vandalism to the Yogyakarta Police on Monday.

Local residents and members of the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) and the Islamic People's Forum (FUI) vandalized the church on Sunday.

Chairman of the local Al-Huda Islamic study group, Turmudzi, said that residents were angry with the pastor and his congregation because they performed prayers at the church, which was still sealed by the regency administration. Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Com. Anny Pudjiastuti said that police had not yet arrested anyone in the case.

Responding to Hamengkubuwono's statement regarding their seriousness in handling such cases, Anny said that the police were serious about handling all crimes committed in Yogyakarta. "The challenge is we have difficulty finding witnesses who actually saw the perpetrators committing the violence," she said.

Separately, Sleman Deputy Regent Yuni Satriya Rahayu called for restraint from all parties as the administration was trying to bring such incidents to an end. "There will be a meeting to bring all parties together," she said.

A similar call for the police to treat the cases seriously also came from Yogyakarta interfaith organization Dian/interfidei director Elga Sarapung who also called on Nico to approach locals in Pangukan again with the facilitation of the local administration and legal aid institute while waiting for their license to be issued.

Meanwhile in Bandung, West Java, an interfaith community has urged the government to properly deal with sectarian violence in Sleman.

Chairman of the Deklarasi Sancang interfaith forum, Agus Zaenal Mubarok, said that violent acts were not justified by either religious or legal norms. "It's wrong. It harms all parties," Agus said in Bandung, Monday.

He said worship conducted according to an individual's respective faith was guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution.

Separately, Inter Religion Network coordinator, Wawan Gunawan, asked Hamengkubuwono to urge local police to thoroughly investigate the cases.

He said that legal settlement of such cases would give assurance to people in Yogyakarta and other parts of the country. "If something [wrong] happens in a region that has a strong culture but it is not dealt with thoroughly then similar cases will also occur in other regions," Wawan said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/03/police-blamed-sectarian-violence-rise.html

Residents, Muslim groups attack Yogyakarta church

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2014

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – On the anniversary of the introduction of the state ideology Pancasila on June 1, an act of intolerance occurred in Yogyakarta as residents and members of Ormas (mass organizations) attacked a Pentecostal church in Pangukan, Sleman regency, on Sunday.

The group stoned the church, which had been vacated by its congregation after Sunday Service, destroying the building's glass windows. Police and military officers were powerless to stop the violent act. The regency's public order officers installed zinc fences after the police inspected the area.

Turmudzi, board member from the Islamic study group, Majelis Ta'lim Al Huda said that local residents, along with members of the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) and Islamic People's Forum (FUI) were responsible for damaging the church.

"The reason is not related to worship. We attacked the church because it has no building permit," Turmudzi, who suffered injuries to his hands after stoning the church, claimed.

Separately, Sleman Deputy Regent Yuni Satya Rahayu admitted that the administration had not granted a building permit to the church, saying that the church board faked signatures of local residents to fulfill the requirements of the permit.

"The development of the church has been problematic since the beginning. Rev. Nico Lomboan was not fair to the local people, whom he wanted to build the church," Yuni told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

She said Sunday's incident was the third such act since the construction of the church began, before the administration sealed the building in 2012.

Nico and members of the church's congregation could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

This is not the first time that the FJI has been implicated in religious- based violence in Yogyakarta – On March 30, the group's members reportedly attacked the Kemah Injil Indonesia (GKII) church in Girisubo district, Gunungkidul regency.

The group members also allegedly assaulted Gunungkidul Interfaith Forum chairman Aminuddin Aziz on May 2, following his statements on an online forum about the FJI's alleged involvement in damaging the GKII church.

Yuni claimed that the vandalism against the Pentecostal church was different to the attack that occurred in a house in Sleman on Thursday evening against a group of Catholics who were conducting rosary worship.

In that incident, men wearing gamis (long clothes) beat the owner of the house, Julius Felicianus, who is also the director of Galang Press, as well as several women and an 8-year-old boy. Kompas TV reporter Michael Aryawan, who reported the attack, was also injured.

So far the police have arrested one man, identified as KH, for his involvement in the attack, but have promised to continue searching for the other perpetrators. "We have questioned witnesses and victims," Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Michael said the police should not have difficulties in identifying the attackers, as two police officers witnessed the attack. "The two police officers [were there] with Julius," Michael said on Saturday.

The attack has raised concerns at local and national levels, with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) warning of the increase of intolerance in the region.

Sociologist M. Najib Azca said the government, as well as moderate Muslim organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama, and Muhammadiyah, should work hand- in-hand to stamp out intolerance in Yogyakarta.

Recently, Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono X received an award from the Indonesian Inter-Faith Network (JAII) for his success in maintaining pluralism in the province.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/02/residents-muslim-groups-attack-yogyakarta-church.html

Yogya violence more political than religious, says IPW

Jakarta Post - June 1, 2014

Jakarta – The Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) says the attack on a Catholic group in a house in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta on Thursday, was related more to political issues rather than religious ones, even though the attack occurred during prayer.

On Thursday night, a group of armed men attacked Julius Felicianus, the director of the Galang Press publishing house, Kompas TV journalist Michael Aryawan and 12 others, including women and children, as they prayed in Julius' house.

"Group prayers held in homes are rarely targeted by fundamentalists. Julius is a local campaigner for Jokowi and Kalla, so this case is intertwined with politics," said IPW chairman Neta S. Pane as quoted by tempo.co during his visit to Julius at the hospital on Saturday.

Neta was referring to the Joko "Jokowi" Widodo-Jusuf Kalla ticket backed by a coalition lead by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in the coming presidential election.

Julius, currently being treated at Panti Rapih Hospital in Yogyakarta due to severe injuries, is a supporter of Jokowi-Kalla and has even established a secretariat for Jokowi-Kalla volunteers at his house. "The attack could have been political, due to my activities in support of Jokowi," Julius said.

Neta cited that the assailants had claimed Ja'far Umar Thalib, former Laskar Jihad commander, had given them the order to attack, and said this provided a clue as to the political dimension of the case. "Several generals protected Ja'far when Laskar Jihad got involved in the Ambon riots couple of years ago," he said. (gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/05/31/yogya-violence-more-political-religious-says-ipw.html

Agriculture & food security

NTB farmers demand restoration of irrigation

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2014

Mataram – Dozens of farmers from Central Lombok, staged a protest on Friday at the Public Works Agency office in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), demanding the administration fix the irrigation system in their region.

The farmers were from seven districts, namely Pringgarata, Praya, Praya Barat, Praya Barat Daya, Pujut, Jonggat and Praya Tengah. They said they had been facing a water shortage for the past week, in the middle of the planting season.

They also claimed that the crisis might have been triggered by ongoing mining activities around the Sedau Keru Dam in West Lombok, which has clogged irrigation channels.

Rally coordinator Wirabhakti said that more than 28,000 hectares of rice fields across the seven districts had been affected by the water crisis.

"The fields have a potential to produce 5 tons of rice per hectare. You can imagine what would happen if there was no water. It might lead to harvest failure, which would lead to poverty among farmers because we would not be able to earn a living from our fields," Wirabhakti said.

NTB Public Works Agency head Dwi Sugiyanto said that he had ordered his officials to check the issue and fix the irrigation channels.

"There is indeed activity going on at Sedau Keru Dam, but it is not mining activity. Our office is conducting dredging near the area," Dwi said.

"I have told them to temporarily stop the activity so the water supply [to farmers] can return to normal," he said, adding that the water crisis was also triggered by climate change.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/07/ntb-farmers-demand-restoration-irrigation.html

Land conversions outpace farm creation

Jakarta Post - June 2, 2014

Khoirul Amin, Jakarta – It appears the government will miss its target of attaining food self-sufficiency this year, as data shows the nation of 240 million people is becoming increasingly dependent on imports to meet its surging dietary needs.

Through its food self-sufficiency program, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration aims to boost domestic food production, including staples like rice, soybeans and sugar, in order to meet 90 percent of domestic demand. The remaining 10 percent would be reserved for imports.

According to data from the Cabinet Secretariat, last year Indonesia imported around 1.5 million tons of soybeans and 3.26 million tons of sugar, equal to roughly 60 percent and 54 percent of domestic needs, respectively.

Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI) chairman Henry Saragih blamed the reliance on imported food on the lack of available farmland.

"What we see now is that a lot of farmland is being converted into housing or industrial estates, many of which may not have yet been recorded," he said, adding that around 100,000 hectares (ha) of farmland were converted for non-agricultural purposes each year.

Data from the Agriculture Ministry revealed that total farmland conversion amounted to 330,000 ha between 2009 and 2011.

Agriculture Minister Suswono said previously that land conversion mainly affected soybean and sugarcane farmland, leading to inadequate domestic supplies of soy and sugar.

"Soybean production fell to 0.81 million tons last year, down 3.5 percent, or 0.84 million tons in 2012," he said, adding that local demand for soybeans had reached 2.5 million tons per year.

Domestic production of sugar, meanwhile, stood at 2.54 million tons last year, far below the national demand of 5.8 million tons.

Suswono said that the country's rice production in 2013 was sufficient to meet domestic demand, but that a number of private companies still imported special varieties of rice not produced in the country.

Henry added that if land conversion continued and dependency on food imports continued to climb, Indonesia risked losing its identity as an agricultural country.

Of the nation's 191 million ha of land, just 4.3 percent, or 8.1 million ha have been specially designated as farmland, a figure far below the 31.84 million ha categorized as farmland in Thailand, according to data from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

"What the government needs to do is to allocate more land for agricultural plants instead of export commodities like palm oil," Henry said, adding that some plantation and forest areas could be converted into farmland. Henry said that Indonesia ideally should have more than 50 million ha of farmland.

The Agriculture Ministry's land management director Prasetyo Nuchsin said recently that his ministry had created new farmland areas in recent years, but that it could not keep up with land conversion rates.

Between 2006 to 2013, the Agriculture Ministry created 40,000 ha of farmland. During the same period, land conversion rates stood at about 100,000 ha per year, he said.

Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) management and business graduate program director Arief Daryanto said recently that faced with the farmland shortages, biotechnology offered the best hope for boosting Indonesia's agricultural capacities.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/02/land-conversions-outpace-farm-creation.html

Parliament & legislation

House of Representatives tops list of smoking ban offenders

Jakarta Globe - June 3, 2014

Jakarta – The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) named Indonesia's House of Representatives one of the smokiest buildings in Jakarta in a recent report on the effectiveness of the city administration's 2010 ban on smoking inside the capital's public buildings.

"The lobbies and breezeways in the House of Representatives are [among] the most unhealthy public places," YLKI manager Tulus Abadi said on Tuesday, as quoted by Indonesian news portal Detik.com.

"Forty two percent of [smoking ban] violations happened at urban ward offices and seventeen percent in the House of Representatives building," he added. YLKI said it planned to measure secondhand smoke levels inside the legislature's headquarters.

Of 225 government offices examined in the report, eleven percent had not properly enforced the smoking ban, the study found. Some 57 percent of survey respondents said they were reluctant to report smoking in non- smoking areas and that there was no clear avenue for making such complaints.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta/house-representatives-tops-list-smoking-ban-offenders/

MK curbs House say on budgets

Jakarta Globe - June 2, 2014

ID/Novy Lumanauw & ID/Ridho Syukra, Jakarta – Indonesia's finance minister will enjoy greater power and less intervention from the House of Representatives' budgetary commission in making adjustments to the state budget, following a recent ruling from the Constitutional Court.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the verdict will give more power to the finance minister in regards to the state budget and its revisions. "We should respect that ruling," he added.

The Constitutional Court's (MK) decision means the House's budgetary commission will no longer have the authority to finalize the budgets for ministries and government agencies.

Yudhoyono applauded the ruling, saying it would strengthen the position of the government, as the executive, to make firm state-budget plans.

The court issued the verdict on May 22 that favors the judicial review filed by four non-government organizations and two academics against clauses in Law No. 27/2009 involving the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives, the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) and those in Law No. 17/2003 on state finance.

The four NGOs were the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).

Feri Amsari, a lecturer in state administration law at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, and Hifdzil Alam, an anti-corruption researcher at the law faculty of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, were also petitioners.

The group believes the commission does not need to be involved in creating the state budget, nor should they be allowed to provide any form of assessment, citing the huge window of opportunity for acts of corruption and collusion to take place between the executive and legislative.

House members' only responsibility, according to the group, is to approve or disapprove budgets, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution.

Finance Minister Chatib Basri declined to comment on how the verdict would impact his role, or that of his successor. "We will discuss this internally," he said, adding the government will abide by the court ruling.

Separately, finance ministry secretary general Kiagus Ahmad Badaruddin said the decision "will ease the drafting [process] of the state budget."

Expressing similar sentiments, Busyro Muqoddas, deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) welcomed the ruling. "It will leave a positive impact," he said, adding that the decision could potentially reduce the number of graft cases committed by lawmakers.

The KPK deputy chairman was referring to lawmakers Muhammad Nazaruddin, Angelina Sondakh, Olly Dondokambey and Zulkarnaen Djabar, to name a few, who have been accused of allegedly mismanaging billions of rupiah from various government agency budgets.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/mk-curbs-house-say-budgets/

Armed forces & defense

'Misunderstanding' over TNI canvassing, investigation finds

Jakarta Globe - June 8, 2014

Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – The investigation held by the army into allegations that a soldier encouraged residents of a Central Jakarta neigborhood to vote for Prabowo Subianto has found that the incident was a misunderstanding.

"The Army chief of staff Gen. Budiman has instructed Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen. Mulyono to thoroughly check the allegations," Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Andika Perkasa said in a written statement on Sunday.

"The results showed that Corporal Rusfandi, who received an instruction to carry out tasks in Cideng [Central Jakarta], had not meant to tell A.T. [and other local residents he visited] to vote for one of the presidential candidates."

Andika added that the officer had meant to collect data regarding local residents' preference in the 2014 presidential election.

"This is a misunderstanding," he said. "When A.T. did not immediately give an answer upon being asked for his preference, Rusfandi tried to confirm his answer by pointing toward the picture of the presidential candidate's political party."

Andika said it was merely coincidence that the picture the officer pointed at was that of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

"This then gave the impression that Rusfandi was 'instructing' A.T. to vote for one of the presidential candidates. But, even so, Rusfandi's actions were still wrong," he said, adding that the military had never instructed any of its members to collect data on people's voting intentions in the upcoming election.

Andika said the survey had been conducted at the officer's own initiative and that the officer was not aware of his tasks because he had been working in the Gambir local military command only for a month, after previously working in Medan, North Sumatra.

"The Gambir military commander Captain Inf. Saliman, Rusfandi's superior, also didn't conduct his duties professionally and did not understand his responsibilities," he added.

Saliman had sent Rusfandi into the field without adequate briefing and failed to reprimand Rusfandia or prevent his actions, Andika said.

"Rusfandi is guilty of a disciplinary violation as he did not carry out his duties and responsibilities professionally and did not understand his duties as stipulated in the Soldiers' Disciplinary Law," Andika said.

Rusfandi will be detained for 21 days as a result of his actions and will also see his promotion postponed for three periods, or 18 months. Andika said Saliman will also be sanctioned for failing to professionally conduct his duties and will also have his promotion postponed for one period, or six months.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta/misunderstanding-tni-canvassing-investigation-finds/

Jokowi camp wants Babinsa frozen

Jakarta Post - June 8, 2014

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The campaign team of presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has demanded that the Indonesian Military (TNI) suspend the operation of its village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) ahead of the presidential election.

The demand was made following allegations that Babinsa officers have been going door-to-door and asking residents to vote for rival candidate, Prabowo Subianto, a former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

"It would be better for the TNI commander to temporarily freeze the Babinsa and Babinkamtibmas [village-assigned police officers who act as advisers on security and public order] operations," Jokowi's campaign team chairman, Tjahjo Kumolo, told reporters on Saturday.

Tjahjo said Jokowi's team would speak with TNI commander Gen. Moeldoko and National Police chief Gen. Sutarman concerning its request. "This is our position," he said, adding that the recent allegation undermined the TNI's credibility.

Also on Saturday, Jokowi called on the Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) to thoroughly investigate the allegation. "We have asked [Bawaslu] to prioritize this [inquiry] so that our political rights and the political rights of the people are protected," he said.

The allegation against the Babinsa first emerged on a social media site on Thursday. Media reports said that early on Tuesday, a resident from a predominantly Chinese neighborhood in Central Jakarta was visited by a man claiming to be a Babinsa officer who said he had been assigned to verify data of eligible voters in the neighborhood. It was later alleged that the officer was in fact registering the intention of locals in the area to vote for Prabowo.

Bawaslu said it would be summoning Gen. Moeldoko on Monday concerning the allegation, while Bawaslu member Daniel Zuchron said his office was taking the case seriously as the military had to maintain its neutrality throughout the election period.

The incident surfaced only a few days after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had warned several military and police generals, who had been approached by political parties to gain their support in the upcoming election, to steer clear of politics.

It is believed that the illegal campaigning by Babinsa for Prabowo has not been confined to Jakarta. Seknas Jokowi, a volunteer support organization for Jokowi, has accused several Babinsa officers in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, of distributing to locals campaign paraphernalia in support of Prabowo. Prabowo's campaign team has denied any involvement in the alleged incident, which it said had discredited its candidate.

Separately, after a campaign visit to Bekasi, West Java, Prabowo's running mate, Hatta Rajasa, said he believed that the TNI was a professional institution. "I am confident that the TNI will maintain its neutrality," Hatta was reported by Antara news agency as saying.

Former TNI commander Djoko Santoso, who is a Prabowo supporter, has called for a thorough investigation. "If the allegations are true, firm action must be taken. But don't slander [the TNI] because it will divide us. And that's not good," he said as quoted by Antara.

Bawaslu, meanwhile, has cleared Jokowi of committing a campaign violation after questioning him on Saturday. "What he did does not meet the criteria of campaigning as stipulated in Article 1[22] of the 2008 Presidential Election Law," Bawaslu commissioner Nelson Simanjuntak said.

Jokowi was accused of early campaigning during the drawing of his ballot number last week. In his speech, after drawing the number "2", Jokowi said two was a number of balance, and that people should vote for him and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla.

He claimed he had no intention to get a head start before the campaign period officially began. He said his words were spontaneous; they were not part of a pre-written, prepared speech. "Just look at the context; I did not address [our campaign's] vision, mission or programs," Jokowi added.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/08/jokowi-camp-wants-babinsa-frozen.html

Bawaslu to summon Moeldoko over alleged TNI intimidation

Jakarta Post - June 7, 2014

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) is preparing a summons letter for Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Moeldoko over an alleged election violation committed by a member of the TNI in Jakarta.

Bawaslu member Daniel Zuchron said the summons was part of the agency's inquiry into reports that a non-commissioned officer (Babinsa) intimidated a person in Central Jakarta to have them vote for the Gerindra Party's presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto, a former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

"To confirm the allegation, we have gathered information from the site. We want the TNI commander to listen to our findings," Daniel said over the phone on Friday, while declining to reveal the findings. "We take the case seriously. The TNI must be neutral, and should not be involved in politics in any way," he said.

The allegation against the Babinsa first emerged on a social media site on Thursday. Media reports said that early on Tuesday, a resident from a predominantly Chinese neighborhood in Central Jakarta was visited by a man claiming to be a non-commissioned officer who said he had been assigned to verify data of eligible voters in the neighborhood. He was later alleged to be registering the intention of locals in the area to vote for Prabowo.

Responding to the report, TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya said the military had ordered the Army to launch a probe into the allegation.

The scandal surfaced only a few days after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had warned several military and police generals, who had been approached by political parties to gain their support in the upcoming election, to steer clear of politics.

Meanwhile, Central Jakarta district military command (Kodim) chief Let. Col. Yudi Pranoto suggested that the incident had merely been a "misunderstanding" between the Babinsa and the local man.

Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Andhika Perkasa, however, said Yudi's statement did not represent the Army's stance. "We are still trying to get information to determine what really happened," Andhika said on Friday.

Prabowo's campaign team has denied its involvement in the alleged incident, which it said had discredited its candidate. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential hopeful, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, reacted strongly to the case. Both camps have insisted that the incident be thoroughly investigated.

Sirra Prayuna, a lawyer for Jokowi's campaign team, visited Bawaslu on Thursday to report the case, saying that the intimidation of voters by Babinsa could diminish Jokowi's hopes of winning the July 9 election.

Similar allegations have surfaced that suggest the proactive campaigning by Babinsa for Prabowo has not been confined to Jakarta. Seknas Jokowi, a volunteer support organization for Jokowi, has accused several Babinsa officers in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, of distributing campaign paraphernalia in support of Prabowo to locals.

"Our branch in Gunung Kidul informed us that on Thursday, the subdistrict military command [Koramil] handed over campaign material belonging to Jokowi's rival to Babinsa officers. However, the officers have not yet distributed the material to local residents," the organization's secretary general, Dono Prasetyo, said.

Dono added that the organization would collect more information about the case before reporting the matter to the relevant election bodies.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/07/bawaslu-summon-moeldoko-over-alleged-tni-intimidation.html

Jokowi urges Babinsa to remain neutral

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Jakarta – Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said that village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) must remain neutral during the presidential election because they were part of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Jokowi was responding to reports of biased Babinsa personnel who were pushing community members to choose one presidential ticket over the other.

Although Jokowi said he opposed the practice, as it was in violation of the law, he acknowledged that his party did not have sufficient evidence to file a report on the issue, as reported by tribunnews.com.

"I've just heard some rumors. However, we must gather evidence before taking further steps. I've been out in the field so I do not know whether there is any truth to the rumors," he said at the Aston Hotel in Jayapura, on Thursday night.

He added that he had already encouraged everyone involved in the presidential election campaigns not to disturb the TNI and National Police's neutrality.

"It's a standard statement to say. The institutions, TNI, National Police and the KPU [General Elections Commission] must be neutral. It is mandatory," he said.

Jokowi and his running mate Jusuf Kalla are backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in a coalition that comprises the NasDem Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Hanura Party, collectively representing 207 of a total 560 seats in the next House of Representatives. (fss)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/jokowi-urges-babinsa-remain-neutral.html

Campaign turns ugly with alleged TNI bias

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2014

Margareth S. Aritonang and Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The second day of the General Elections Commission (KPU)-sanctioned campaign period saw on Thursday an alleged violation when the Indonesian Military's (TNI) village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) reportedly intimidated a local in Central Jakarta.

The officer allegedly forced a resident to pledge to vote for the Gerindra Party's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, a former commander of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

Media reports said that early on Tuesday a resident of a Chinese Christian neighborhood in Central Jakarta was visited by a man claiming to be a Babinsa officer who said he was assigned to verify data of eligible voters in the neighborhood, but later registered the intention of locals in the area to vote for Prabowo.

The alleged incident happened only days after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono publicly called on the Indonesian Military (TNI) as well as the National Police to remain neutral in the lead-up to the July 9 presidential election. Yudhoyono was visibly angry upon making a statement that several high-ranking officers had been approached by political parties to support particular presidential candidates contesting the July 9 poll.

The TNI claimed to have no knowledge of the incident. However, TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya said that the Army had ordered its unit commanders and Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) to launch a probe into the allegation, as part of a move to ensure the TNI's neutrality ahead of the election.

"The TNI commander [Gen. Moeldoko] has given an order to us to launch an investigation into this allegation," Fuad told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting at the House of Representatives on Thursday.

Fuad also said that "officers who support either one of the presidential candidates will be punished". Moeldoko, who was also seen at the scene, declined to comment.

Prabowo's camp said that it was not responsible for the alleged violation. Prabowo's national campaign team spokesperson Tantowi Yahya, who is also a member of House Commission I overseeing foreign affairs and military, said that such a violation was not acceptable. "We have nothing to do with it. It's not part of our strategy," he said.

Meanwhile, on the second day of the election campaign, the presidential candidates started reaching out to voters outside Java. On Thursday, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla split their duties by traveling to the country's farthest provinces, Papua and Aceh.

In Papua, Jokowi introduced his spouse Iriana, whose name was taken from the province's original name Irian Jaya, in a move seen as an attempt to win the hearts of locals.

In Aceh, Kalla met with local Muslim leaders and presented a proposal to promote tolerance and peace among subscribers of different faiths in the country.

While Kalla was meeting with religious leaders to promote pluralism, in Jakarta leaders of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) officially declared their support for Prabowo and his running mate Hatta Rajasa, on the condition that more sharia-inspired bylaws be passed in the future.

FPI chairman Rizieq Shihab said that the group supported the Prabowo-Hatta ticket because the pair won support from Islamic-based parties like the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).

[Arya Dipa and Sita W. Dewi contributed to this story from Bandung and Jayapura.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/06/campaign-turns-ugly-with-alleged-tni-bias.html

Central Jakarta resident claims intimidation by TNI to vote for Prabowo

Jakarta Globe - June 6, 2014

Jakarta – A neighborhood in Central Jakarta where 90 percent of the population are of Chinese descent and Christians was visited by a sergeant from the military to check on their preferred presidential candidate.

Rifki, one of the residents whose home was visited by the man who claimed to be a sergeant from the local district-level military command, said that the man claimed that he wanted to renew data about eligible voters for the presidential election slated for July 9.

Rifki said that the man asked for his identity card and wrote down his identity data.

After writing down the data the man said, "You will vote for this one, right," as he showed him a piece of paper where he had written down Rifki's data and wrote that Rifki would vote for Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto, a former Army general.

Rifki, who was surprised to see the piece of paper that said that he would vote for Prabowo, protested. "I was upset. So I told him to write whatever, but only God and I know who I will vote for," Rifki said as quoted by Kompas.com.

Rifki said his neighbor was also visited by the same man, and that being ethnic Chinese he was afraid of the man. "They were afraid. They didn't know the intention to gather the data, so they just followed whatever the man said. I could understand why they were like that. They were traumatized by the past," he said.

Rifki said that his neighborhood was a target of a mob attack during the 1998 riots, and the situation was very tense. "Maybe they are still afraid," Rifki said.

Gerindra deputy chief patron Hashim Djojohadikusumo, who is Prabowo's younger brother, denied that his party had deployed the Babinsa to convince eligible voters to vote for Prabowo.

He said the military had to maintain their neutrality and that if they intimidated the people to vote for Prabowo, it would only create problems for Prabowo. "The military has to stay neutral but their families like children and wife are free [to vote]," Hashim said.

When reporters asked him again about the deployment of Babinsa in several areas, Hashim reiterated that the military had to maintain its neutrality. "One thing is certain, the military has to stay neutral. Babinsa has to stay neutral, they cannot side with Joko [Widodo] or with Prabowo," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/c-jakarta-resident-claims-intimidation-military-vote-prabowo/

SBY slams TNI role in election

Jakarta Post - June 3, 2014

Margareth Aritonang, Headlines – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono lashed out on Monday at several active generals both in the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police whom he has accused of failing to maintain their neutrality ahead of the July 9 presidential election.

"This is hardly slander, as my sources have confirmed that certain quarters have approached several high-ranking officers in order to get their support for presidential candidates," he said during a meeting that Yudhoyono convened specifically to discuss the neutrality of the TNI and police in the election, which was held at the Defense Ministry headquarters on Monday morning.

Present at the meeting were TNI Commander Gen. Moeldoko, Army chief of staff Gen. Budiman, Air Force chief of staff Air Chief Marshal Ida Bagus Putu Dunia and Navy chief Adm. Marsetio.

In his speech, the President also accused the TNI officers of being disloyal to him as the military's supreme commander.

"There has been a suggestion that they [the officers] ought to abandon their President and not to listen to him, because he is in 'a sinking ship' [...] It is much better to follow a bright new star," Yudhoyono said while scanning the faces of his audience.

Yudhoyono then went on to remind all military officers to uphold the military code, Sapta Marga, as well as the soldier's oath, both of which provided ethical and moral guidance.

Yudhoyono said that he convened the meeting to right the wrong that had taken place in the military. "I initiated this meeting myself and wanted it to be openly broadcast to the public [...] because we are in election season, when politics leads to bouts of suspicion and intrigue," he said.

Speculation was rife that Yudhoyono's ire was directed at Moeldoko, who had been tapped as a running mate for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

In April, Moeldoko met with Jokowi amid speculation that he could be the right figure for the Jokowi ticket. At the time, several PDI-P executives hinted at the possibility of Moeldoko being nominated as Jokowi's running mate.

Moeldoko himself was vague when asked about his response to the proposal. "If I were to refuse the offer then everybody would call me arrogant but if I said yes, well, the fact is that I am still carrying out my duties as military commander. Therefore, I will focus my energy on the latter right now," Moeldoko told The Jakarta Post in March.

Last week, the Constitutional Court upheld a ban on active members of the military and police from voting in elections, after receiving appeals for the 2008 Presidential Election Law to be reviewed.

Following Yudhoyono's speech, Budiman gave an assurance that his institution would remain neutral in the presidential election, citing the Army's neutral stance in the April 9 legislative election as proof of this. "We will stay neutral, right down to the lowest level of command at the village level," Budiman said.

Budiman also denied a high-ranking officer in the Army was leaning toward one of the presidential candidates. "We will not discredit our own institution by being biased," he said.

Commenting on the President's speech before the TNI leadership, political analyst Indria Samego of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that Yudhoyono's complaints were justified given his access to confidential information on the military. "He [Yudhoyono] must have collected and verified the information before going public," Indria said.

Indria also blamed civilian politicians for their efforts to drag military figures back into politics.

"We still treat the TNI the way we used to when it was still actively involved in politics. Times have changed but many still attempt to involve former soldiers in politics. For me, this reflects a lack of confidence by civilians, who regard former members of the military as having considerable authority due to their past experience in politics, as well as their business networks," he said. (tjs/gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/03/sby-slams-tni-role-election.html

Foreign affairs & trade

Yudhoyono flattered but problems linger

Jakarta Post - June 5, 2014

Fadli and Yohana Ririhena, BATAM/Jakarta – While praising his host President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a great statesman and a true friend of his country, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has apparently chosen to wait for the new Indonesian president before reaching substantial agreements on such sensitive issues as intelligence gathering and boat people, which have rocked relations between the two countries since Abbott's election last year.

The President himself was clearly satisified with the readiness of the Australian leader to meet him on Batam Island, located a few kilometers from Singapore.

In a joint press conference after their summit late on Wednesday afternoon Yudhoyono did not allude to the fact that his demand for Australia to sign a code of conduct (CoC) with Indonesia would not be realized before he ended his 10 years in office in October this year.

"I've just had a meeting with the Australian prime minister that was productive and constructive. We discussed methods to maintain and improve cooperation and partnership between the two countries as we move toward a future based on respect," Yudhoyono told reporters before having dinner with his guest.

Relations between the two countries nose-dived shortly after Abbott's Conservative Party-led coalition won the election in September last year defeating the incumbent Labor Party, whose governments have traditionally been favored by Indonesia. One of Abbott's more irksome policies for Indonesia was his determination to take a much tougher stance against undocumented migrants trying to enter Australia by boat through Indonesian waters.

However, it was media revelations in November that Australia had spied on Yudhoyono, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and several top officials that outraged the President. He suspended military and police cooperation with Australia and also recalled the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Nadjib Riphat Kesoema. The ambassador returned to Canberra a few weeks ago and was at Batam to receive Abbott at Hang Nadim International Airport on Wednesday. "Of course one of our important subjects of discussion was the efforts of Indonesia and Australia regarding the issue which disrupted our relationship in 2013; the problem of the bugging. We hope it will never happen again," said Yudhoyono.

"The two foreign ministers have continued to discuss the issue of proposing a code of conduct in the near future so that the process of improving cooperation can be implemented smoothly," Yudhoyono noted.

He also reminded the nation of the importance of Australia to Indonesia with 1 million Australian tourists visiting Indonesia, particularly Bali, every year, while 150,000 Indonesian students are enrolled at educational establishments in that country.

Abbott said that despite a couple of issues that had damaged Jakarta- Canberra ties, he was confident that they were well on the way to satisfactory and successful resolution.

"One of the great things about this relationship is that on those rare occasions when there are problems, we talk them through. We speak candidly to each other, and that's exactly what's happened between myself and [the] President today," he added.

Abbott also heaped praise on Yudhoyono, calling him the "senior statesman" of Southeast Asia, a "great president" and a "good friend".

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa indicated his dissatisfaction with Australia's failure to respond to the draft CoC proposed by Indonesia.

When asked about the dateline for the CoC, since the current government would end in October, Marty responded that he would do his best to finalize it and noted that the most important thing was ensuring the CoC protected Indonesian national interests. "The point is no more spying by one government on the other."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/05/yudhoyono-flattered-problems-linger.html

Analysis & opinion

Teacher deportations yet another overreaction by Indonesian authorities

Sydney Morning Herald - June 5, 2014

Michael Bachelard, Jakarta – The deportation of 20 teachers, including two Australians, from the Jakarta International School is the latest measure of the hyper-ventilation induced in Indonesia by a child sexual assault at the school.

The assault of a five-year-old boy by outsourced cleaning staff, and allegations that two more children may be victims, has had an explosive impact.

Child sexual assault, which appears until now to have been rampant but widely ignored in Indonesia, has become front-page news, with new cases reported regularly. Almost all involve both local Indonesian perpetrators and victims – including the awful case of a paedophile in Sukabumi who raped 110 boys at a swimming pool over 15 months.

And yet the case at the international school, which is attended by the children of expatriates and wealthy Indonesians, exercises a particularly compulsive fascination. University students have regularly protested outside the school gates, demanding it be shut down as a nest of paedophiles.

But the most alarming effect has been on the Indonesian bureaucracy. The thoroughly corrupt Religious Affairs Ministry, of all bodies, conducted a raid.

The pre-school was shut down because it did not have the correct licence from the Education Department. What was not clear at the time was that the correct licence had been functionally impossible to get because of inertia within the Education Department. Then the head of the department in charge of early childhood and non-formal education, Lydia Freyani Hawadi, made some wild accusations against the school's headmaster, and began insisting on new bureaucratic meddling that would have virtually put the school out of operation. She was sacked shortly afterwards. And now the Immigration Department is deporting teachers.

In a statement late yesterday, the school admitted it had made errors with teachers' stay permits, known as kitas. It accepted responsibility and thanked the Immigration Department for its professionalism.

Fairfax understands these errors include oversights such as statements that one person was teaching maths when in fact they were teaching physical education. The deportations do not mean the teachers cannot return. It means they must leave the country, then reapply for visas and then apply for a new kitas.

But the very fact the department combed so thoroughly through the documents of individual, innocent, teachers as the result of an unrelated sexual assault by janitors at their school, says much about Indonesia's approach to government, bureaucracy and foreigners. It is little wonder companies are reluctant to open for business here.

Disclosure: The author has two children attending the Jakarta International School.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/teacher-deportations-yet-another-overreaction-by-indonesian-authorities-20140605-zrz7h.html