Ina Parlina, Jakarta – With only four months left in office, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a presidential regulation that will allow him unlimited access to state funds to pay for a private residence.

This policy is against a move by Yudhoyono last month for state budget efficiency by slashing the budgets of 86 ministries and institutions. Two earlier residential regulations set a maximum of Rp 20 billion (US$1.70 million) for the property. However, the new one has no financial ceiling.

The new rule loosely defines a decent residence as "a plot of land and the building on it", which "is located in an accessible area with adequate road network, with a design and size that supports the activity of the former president or former vice president and their families".

The new regulation also specifies that the residence should guarantee the safety of former president and vice president.

The new regulation was issued based on Law No. 7/1978 on financial and administrative privileges for the president and vice president. The law entitles former presidents and vice presidents to a residence provided by the state. Neither the law nor the ensuing regulations detail and specify the term "decent homes" for former presidents and vice presidents.

Yudhoyono, who is barred from running for a third term, appears to have taken the same road as his predecessor, Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2004, who caused uproar after giving herself a new home using state funds.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha, however, said Yudhoyono was not aiming for personal gain by signing off on the decree. Julian said that former presidents and vice presidents who had yet to receive their residence rights could refer to the new regulation.

Four weeks before leaving office in 2004, Megawati signed a decree that set the maximum price of a residence for former presidents and vice presidents at Rp 20 billion.

At the time, many believed Megawati had made the move after learning of her imminent defeat by Yudhoyono. Megawati denied the suggestion, saying that the decree had been planned since she took office in 2002.

Contacted separately, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam said the new regulation was actually issued to accommodate a demand from former vice president Jusuf Kalla, who is now running as Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's running mate in the July 9 presidential election.

Kalla has yet to get a residence from the state after he left office in 2009. "The previous rules set a maximum cost of Rp 20 billion, but he wants to get an expensive house near Brawijaya [in South Jakarta]. The new regulation set a flexible [amount], although the cost will be in the hands of the finance minister," Dipo said.

Procurement of the house will use money from the State Secretariat, while the calculation of its valuation, which is under the Finance Ministry, should be consistent with the criteria set by the new regulation that comes to effect on June 4.

Law No. 7/1978 itself has drawn criticism especially after the downfall of former president Soeharto in 1998. Many said the retirement home scheme was part of a systemic culture of graft.

His successor BJ Habibie granted Soeharto Rp 27 billion for his personal residence in Taman Mini, East Jakarta. Soeharto, however, returned the money to the state due to strong public protests.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/13/sby-ensures-a-comfortable-retirement.html

West Papua

More gun violence in Jayapura, no injuries reported

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2014

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Another shooting incident occurred in Jayapura, Papua, on Saturday, highlighting the fragile security situation in the region, which was recently gripped by a shooting incident in Skouw- Wutung that led to the ongoing closure of the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border.

The shooting occurred as T. Sinaga and his family were travelling from Abepura, Jayapura, to their home in Arso, a district in Keerom regency which is around 40 kilometers from Abepura, at around 8:30 p.m. local time, on Saturday.

Together with his wife and their child, Sinaga who is a teacher in Arso Swakarsa was on his way home when their vehicle was shot at in a location around 17 kilometers from Abepura. A bullet hit the right-hand side of the rear of his car.

"We were just at kilometer 9 of the Abepura-Arso road when we suddenly heard shooting. I kept driving fast. Following the sound of the shots, I felt that our car had been hit by stones," Sinaga told The Jakarta Post. He said his car seemed to have been shot from the right side of the road.

Sinaga said the road between Abepura and Arso was very quiet that night. "Usually, only every 500 meters or so will you pass another vehicle but on that night, we only saw another vehicle after driving for around 5 kilometers," he said, adding that he reported the incident to the Koya police precinct.

Jayapura Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Alfred Papare said the police were still investigating the incident and had questioned Sinaga and his family. "Currently, the Jayapura deputy police chief is leading a team to carry out an investigation at the incident site," he told the Post. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/15/more-gun-violence-jayapura-no-injuries-reported.html

US ambassador visits Papua region

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2014

Jakarta – US Ambassador Robert Blake has highlighted growing cooperation between the US government and its counterparts in Indonesia, including local administrations and civil society organizations in Papua, during his trip to Papua and West Papua from June 8-13.

"The US recognizes the territorial integrity of Indonesia within its present borders, including Papua. We also support a meaningful dialogue to resolve long-standing issues," he said, as quoted in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Ambassador Blake said his six-day visit was part of his continuing travel across Indonesia to engage local leaders, businesses, civil society and students to advance cooperation and partnership with the US.

"I discussed with senior government, religious, tribal, police and military personnel the importance of respecting everyone's rights to freely and peacefully express themselves. We also discussed benefits that would come from increasing access for international journalists to visit Papua," the ambassador said.

During the trip, he traveled to the provinces of Papua and West Papua to meet with government officials, civil society leaders and alumni of Indonesia-US exchange programs. He also visited US government-supported programs on HIV-AIDS control, marine biodiversity protection, and healthcare service improvements.

Blake attended an agreement signing ceremony between Jayapura Regent Mathius Awoitauw and representatives from a puskesmas (community health center) in Dosay on June 10. The agreement outlines actions to be taken to improve services at the puskesmas in Dosay.

Through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US government is providing support to the clinic in form of training to strengthen public health services, with a special focus on maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

"The US is proud to support programs to improve the lives of Papuans. Through USAID, we partner with national and local governments, community leaders, the private sector, religious and community leaders on health, education, good governance, forest conservation and climate change programs. In 2013, the US invested US$10 million in development programs in Papua and West Papua," said Blake.

He also met with the Papua governor and the province's military commander and police chief on the sidelines of the trip. "I welcomed an improved performance on human rights in Papua by security forces and emphasized the need for sustained progress on this vital issue," Blake continued. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/15/us-ambassador-visits-papua-region.html

Solomon Island churches support independence for West Papua

Solomon Star - June 14, 2014

Churches in the Solomon Islands have agreed to actively support the struggle for political independence of the people of West Papua.

The call comes a week before Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attends the Pacific Islands Development Forum Summit in Denarau, Fiji.

"We in the Solomon Islands have heard the cries of the people of West Papua and we commit to advocating for their inherent right to gainful political self-determination and true freedom," said Father Peter Houhou, Vicar- General of the Anglican Archdiocese of Honiara.

The re-articulation of this commitment to West Papua's political self- determination by the church meeting is aligned with the mandate adopted by the Pacific Conference of Churches General Assembly – in the same meeting complex last year. The assembly called on all Pacific churches to advocate the freedoms of peoples still under colonial rule in the Pacific.

"Whilst we in the Solomon Islands need to embark again on a journey to rethinking our own self-determination, we make this statement in recognition of our moral responsibility to heed the cries of our brothers and sisters in West Papua who are struggling for justice on a daily basis," Fr Houhou said..

Two weeks ago Solomon Islands church leaders learned that the Churches must continue to exercise without fear, its prophetic role in 'speaking truth to power', and in reclaiming this voice, stand up to defend, affirm and announce its solidarity with all peoples who suffer mightily under colonial oppression.

Reverend Wilfred Kurepitu, Moderator of the United Church in Solomon Islands (UCSI) called on churches to do their duty.

"It is the moral duty of the church to counter oppressive regimes of authority and to actively engage the struggle for justice, freedom and peace.

"We are hereby called, not only to wish freedom on people that remain under colonial rule, but to actively work in striving for all oppressed people's freedom, which also includes our brothers and sisters in Kanaky (New Caledonia) and Maohi Nui (French Polynesia)," he said.

In applauding its Government's support in sponsoring Maohi Nui's (French Polynesia) re-inscription onto the UN Decolonization List last year, churches in the Solomon Islands called on government to urgently show similar support to West Papua's struggle for political independence, and in solidarity with the example set by the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu.

The workshop on Rethinking the Household of God in the Solomon Islands took place June 2-3 and was jointly organised by the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) and the Pacific Conference of Churches.

Source: http://www.solomonstarnews.com/features/religion/2474-sica-supports-freedom-for-west-papua-people

UN Human Rights session hears of Papua deterioration

Radio New Zealand International - June 14, 2014

The United Nations Human Rights Council's current session has heard concerns that freedom of expression and peaceful assembly continue to deteriorate in Indonesia's Papua region.

The International Coalition for Papua says in the last year, the number of political arrests has more than doubled, while the number of reported cases of torture and ill treatment of detainees has quadrupled.

Furthermore, it says an increasing number of detainees are denied access to lawyers and face unfair trials.

At the end of last month, there were reportedly at least 79 political prisoners in Papua. There were also 20 reported cases of violence and intimidation against journalists last year – up twelve from the previous year.

Among the Coalition's recommendations, it urges Indonesia to review its policing policies in Papua and its training of security forces personnel to ensure that rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and the right not to be tortured and ill-treated, are respected.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/247145/un-human-rights-session-hears-of-papua-deterioration

NZ Ambassador defends canceled police training program

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2014

Harry Pearl, Jakarta – New Zealand's ambassador to Indonesia, in response to allegations that his country had a hidden motive behind a police training project in eastern Indonesia, says New Zealand has only ever worked at the request of the Indonesian government.

Ambassador David Taylor said he was surprised to read comments by the deputy chief of the Indonesia National Police, Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, that the $5.4 million program was shelved over concerns about its motives.

"We only do things in response to what the Indonesian government asks – and that's what we've done in this case," he said in an interview at his office in the embassy in South Jakarta on Thursday.

Taylor also reaffirmed that the New Zealand government respected Indonesia's territorial integrity and wished only to support its further development.

On Tuesday, Badrodin said the three-year training program, funded by New Zealand Aid and managed by the New Zealand Police, was canceled on advice from police intelligence reports.

"We refused it based on the input from head of [the] Police's Security Intelligent agency, Comr. Gen. Suparni Parto, that there could be a hidden motive behind the aid," Badrodin told the Jakarta Globe.

The program, which was scheduled to start in West Papua early this year, followed a pilot project in Papua, Maluku and Aceh in 2009-10. Two full- time New Zealand police staff would have been deployed to the Indonesian National Police office in Jayapura for three years, as well as short-term specialists, in the aim of providing training for up to 1,000 Indonesian police officers.

Taylor said the project had been requested by the Indonesian National Police and that they had been consistently involved in its development.

"There have been instances in the past of problems involving police in communities in different parts of Indonesia," he said. "The Indonesian government recognized that, wanted to make some improvements and they came to us and asked for help. We said, 'Sure'."

The Indonesian police informed their New Zealand counterparts several months ago that the project would not proceed, Taylor said.

However, the cancellation was not expressed "in terms of concern [about motives]," he said. "They were focused on elections this year, they said, and were concerned about security." Indonesians on July 9 will elect a new president, replacing Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose second five-year term ends in October.

Taylor acknowledged that New Zealand had turned down an offer to train members of Indonesia's police force in Java or Makassar but said that was because the program stressed practical training.

"The idea was that the community policing program that New Zealand runs is different to other community policing because it puts practical training into communities where there is stress," the ambassador said.

Human rights groups in Indonesia and New Zealand have seized upon the program's cancellation as proof Indonesian government is uncomfortable with outside scrutiny and, in particular, its repression of the West Papuan independence movement.

"We should be taking a postive stance towards peace making, rather than doing backdoor deals that the Indonesians walk away from when there is any risk of scrutiny," Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty told Radio New Zealand International.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/nz-ambassador-defends-canceled-police-training-program/

Indonesia remains sensitive over West Papua

Radio New Zealand International - June 13, 2014

The journalist who revealed Indonesia's move to pull out of a New Zealand- funded police training programme in West Papua says he believes political sensitivity is behind the decision.

The story in the Jakarta Globe newspaper quotes a high-ranking Indonesian police officer saying the Indonesian government stopped the programme amid concerns about New Zealand's hidden motives.

Harry Pearl, who co-wrote the article, says he can only speculate about the real reasons. But he says Indonesia remains very sensitive about activities in the province.

"It's not unusual for them to turn down aid programmes in West Papua, they are quite strict you could say on what aid programmes go on there. I still think they are pretty sensitive to outside scrutiny."

Harry Pearl says Indonesia is touchy about the West Papuan independence movement.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/247120/indonesia-remains-sensitive-over-west-papua

Mixed messages over Freeport's mining contract

Jakarta Globe - June 12, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – Indonesian officials keep sending mixed messages regarding the contract renegotiation with Freeport Indonesia – with a minister saying it is imperative to give the local unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold some sense of security, while an official said the matter was the authority of the next government.

Although the country's mining law and derivative regulations rule that a proposal for an extension of a mining contract can only be submitted two years before the contract expires – in Freeport's case it is in 2021, the miner is known to have requested a renewal and extension of its contract until 2041.

"We're still discussing [renegotiations]. We haven't reach a final decision yet but the most important thing is that we all want a win-win solution for this matter," Freeport Indonesia spokeswoman Daisy Primayanti told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. "We are intensively trying to ensure that Freeport will get to operate normally again."

Freeport has previously stated that it is planning to invest a total of $17 billion to develop underground pits of its Grasberg mine in Papua through 2041 – as the open pits have almost been entirely exploited. Freeport signed the work contract with the government in 1967, shortly after then president Suharto took office.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said on Wednesday that he understood Freeport's need for assurances, saying the government would collect inputs to see if it would be possible to renew the contract now despite the two-year rule – that means Freeport was supposed to only request for an extension in 2019.

"There is indeed a dilemma with the contract extension. There can be a problem if it is issued now," Jero said on Wednesday.

"But the company wants to invest more than $12 billion; how can this proceed when there is no indication that [the contract] can be extended?" he said. "We have to find a way to avoid declaring an extension but at the same time allowing Freeport to feel comfortable. We're still waiting for inputs from experts."

Jero's statement offers a possibility that Freeport may secure the contract extension – a more toned-down version than the statement issued last week by his subordinate Sukhyar, the director general for minerals and coal.

Sukhyar was as quoted as saying that the government agreed to extend the contract until 2041, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was expected to sign a related memorandum of understanding before the end of his term in office in October.

The MoU contains six points: a value-added obligation, contractual period, size of operation, local content obligation, government revenue and divestment.

Among the points reportedly already agreed in the MoU are that Freeport would divest 20.64 percent of its shares to the state to meet the 30 percent divestment requirement. For now, Indonesia only owns 9.36 percent of Freeport shares.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Chairul Tanjung reaffirmed that the extension of work contract with Freeport was the authority of the next government. He didn't deny, though, that representatives of the government and Freeport were working on the MoU to offer the miner some form of assurance.

The MoU will be legally binding on the next government, and will be signed in 2019, he said.

But presidential advisor for economic affairs, Firmanzah, holds a different view, asserting that the president would not sign any vital policies, including Freeport's contract extension, in the last few months of his term in office.

"The president has repeatedly said there no strategic policies will be implemented, including concerning the MoU with Free port," Firmanzah said on Monday, as quoted by news portal tempo.co.

He emphasized that such "strategic policies" would only be taken care of by the new government elected in the upcoming July 9 presidential election.

Intensive discussions with Freeport concerning the work contract, Firmanzah added, are merely aimed at collecting suggestions for the next government regarding policies on the nation's mineral resources.

Setback

Marwan Batubara, the director of energy think tank Indonesian Resources Studies, considered the result of the renegotiation a setback saying the 30 percent share promised to the Indonesian government was smaller than the minimum 51 percent mandated by existing regulations.

The government, though, is reportedly revising the regulations, with a foreign miner operating underground pits in this country obliged to divest only 30 percent of its share to the government.

"It's a win-lose deal. We are losing so much with the deal," Marwan said.

Gunawan, executive director of the Indonesian Human Rights Committee for Social Justice (IHCS), said the country suffered huge losses during at least the 2003-2010 period due to unfair negotiations between Freeport and the government.

"Based on IHCS's calculation, state losses amount to Rp 2.56 trillion [$217.6 million] because Freeport pays only 1 percent of gold mining royalties to the government," Gunawan said on Monday, according to metrotvnews.com.

He added, citing data obtained from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), that Indonesia loses $169 million per year because of delayed renegotiation of Freeport contract.

Marwan continued that the Indonesian government needed to carefully deal with the MoU.

Royalties, investment, local products, smelting, divestment and land operation indeed need to be reconsidered, because so far the contract with Freeport only gives Indonesia a little profit, Marwan said.

Although, he added, it is reasonable for Freeport to want to have a certainty due to the large number, they would invest in the underground operations at the Grasberg mine and the plan to build new smelter at Gresik, East Java, worth of $2,5 billion.

"But the most important is Indonesia's interest in the investment sector should not be disturbed," Marwan said. "We only got 3.75 percent in royalties [in the MoU]. It is 1.25 points smaller than what the government demanded previously."

As much as 95.21 percent of Freeport's gold reserves are in Papua, while around 30 percent of its the copper is located in the province, he said.

"If Freeport wants to extend its contract operation in Papua, it needs to increase the royalties [for the Indonesian government]," he added.

Marwan said the government needed to stay firm on such decisions, adding it would not scare foreign investors away because they were the ones who would lose most if they backed away from investing in Indonesia.

Pri Agung Rakhmanto, executive director of the ReforMiner Institute, another energy think tank, echoed the sentiment, saying there would not be any harmful consequences if Yudhoyono decided against signing any contract.

"Freeport's contract will end in 2021, so why in hurry drafting a 'new' one?" he says. "There is no rule requiring the government to sign the contract now. Speaking of interest, it is Freeport who has an interest here."

New government Marwan said compared to Yudhoyono, the two presidential candidates, Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, are likely to have a stricter stance concerning the management of Indonesia's natural resources – although the Prabowo camp has also sent mixed messages regarding the matter.

"For instance, Prabowo has often talked about nationalization," Marwan said. "But his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, later clarified that nationalization was not on the cards – implying that the Prabowo camp has yet to be clear on its stance on our natural resources management."

This week, the Prabowo-Hatta camp stated that there had been an unfair agreement concerning Freeport in the past.

But Hashim Djojohadikusumo, who is Prabowo's brother and also deputy chief patron of the presidential candidate's Great Indonesia Party (Gerindra), promised in what constitutes a contradiction, that Prabowo would not increase Freeport's tax obligation if he was elected president.

In a video that recently circulated on the Internet website YouTube, Hashim was seen addressing US businesspeople during a gathering in Washington last year.

He said in his speech that Freeport should not worry about a tax increase because if Prabowo was elected, he would instead choose to increase income tax on individuals.

As for the Joko-Kalla camp, Marwan said, they would probably be less vague with their nationalistic stance.

"Joko has Kalla, who in the past showed a consistent commitment on state control over national assets," he said.

Marwan cited the Inalum case when the government took over the company. It was Kalla who was clear to reject the extension of Japanese company's contract.

Another case was when ExxonMobil wanted to extend its contract operation in East Natuna in the Riau Islands.

In 2008, when he was still Indonesia's vice president, Kalla rejected the extension proposal and officially said ExxonMobil's contract was terminated.

"If the next government decides not to extend the contract with Freeport, I'm sure Indonesia could handle its own resources regardless of technological shortcomings," Marwan said.

"But it is like learning to ride a bicycle. At first, we may fall, but through that process of learning, we'll eventually get it right," he said. "Ninety-five percent of the human resources at Freeport is already our people. Although we do need foreign human resources whom we could hire."

[Rangga Prakoso contributed to the report.]

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/mixed-messages-freeports-mining-contract/

Indonesia cancels NZ police training program in Papua over 'hidden motives'

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2014

Harry Pearl & Farouk Arnaz, Jakarta – Indonesia has axed a multimillion dollar police training program in West Papua because police intelligence reports suggested there were "hidden motives" behind the New Zealand-funded program.

New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) confirmed late last month that the $5.4 million project, which was scheduled to start early this year, had been put off, but refused to answer specific questions about the issue.

On Tuesday, however, the deputy chief of the Indonesia National Police, Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, cited concerns about the program's motives as the reason for its cancellation.

"We refused it based on the input from head of [the] Police's Security Intelligent agency, Comr. Gen. Suparni Parto, that there could be a hidden motive behind the aid," he said.

The three-year program, funded by the New Zealand Aid program and run by the New Zealand Police, followed a pilot project in Papua and West Papua in 2009-10. It would have seen two full-time New Zealand police staff deployed to the Indonesian National Police office in Jayapura for three years, as well as short-term specialists, and aimed to provide training for up to 1,000 Indonesian police officers.

In October last year, New Zealand foreign affairs minister Murray McCully said the training program would help support the Indonesian National Police to improve community policing skills in the Papua, West Papua and Maluku.

But the supposedly political nature of the aid was said to have caused concern among the Indonesia National Police, who have faced persistent criticism for their human rights record in the country's easternmost regions.

Badrodin said that New Zealand had insisted on training police in the restive provinces, and had rebuffed offers to train members of Indonesia's police force elsewhere. "They refused when we offered to change the training location to our training center in Makassar or in Java island. So what is going on?" he said.

When approached by the Jakarta Globe for comment, New Zealand's foreign affairs ministry declined to say anything beyond a limited three paragraph statement.

The statement said that the future of the program, or whether funding would be reallocated, would depend on "priorities for development assistance" agreed upon by New Zealand and the incoming Indonesian Government.

The New Zealand Police would continue to work with their Indonesian counterparts in other areas, the statement said, including the provision of trainers to the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation.

News of the training's cancellation has been met with relief in some quarters. One member of New Zealand's Parliament has said the country should never have been providing aid that perpetuated "an oppressive status quo."

"We need to have a positive relationship with Indonesia and engage with them respectfully on the West Papua issue, challenging them to negotiate for peace," Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty said.

She said the community policing model – which emphasized community engagement – was successful in countries where the government had a "robust and genuine commitment to human rights" and communities that could trust police. "The opposite situation exists in West Papua where the rhetoric of human rights is undermined daily," Delahunty said.

Andreas Harsono, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Indonesia, said the training program had "sent the wrong message," because widespread impunity among security forces in the provinces persisted.

He cited two examples of alleged police abuses in Papua: the possible use of unnecessary lethal force by police against rock-throwing protesters in Papua in September 2013, and the crackdown of the Papuan People's Congress in October 2011, where at least three people were killed and dozens injured.

"We repeatedly asked the Indonesian government to investigate abusive police officers in Papua but there's no positive response from Jakarta," Andreas said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesia-cancels-new-zealand-police-training-program-papua-hidden-motives/

Police and TNI gun down alleged leader of armed group in Papua

Jakarta Globe - June 11, 2014

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – A joint group of soldiers and police officers shot Rudi Orerei, the alleged leader of an armed group in Papua's Yapen Island, during an attempted arrested at 10:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning, police said.

"The joint team of TNI [military] and Police had shot the commander of an armed criminal group, which is based in Angkaisera, on Yapen Island," Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said. "He tried to fight with the officers."

Tito did not reveal the name of the alleged group, but said that it was responsible for a string of crimes across Indonesia's easternmost province, including extortion, attacks against police and forcing a pastor to eat dirt.

He said the group was not affiliated with the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM). "[Rudi] was a criminal," Tito said. "He once tortured a pastor, attacked a police post and also committed murders."

He did not provide more specific information. Police said that Rudi had 20 to 30 followers. In the raid that lead to his death, police confiscated a police issue firearm, magazines, an axe and a motorcycle.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/police-tni-gun-alleged-leader-armed-group-papua/

Graphic novel about West Papua released online

Radio New Zealand International - June 10, 2014

A graphic novel advocating West Papuan independence has been released online, as part of efforts to provide an alternative version of the history of the Indonesian-run province.

The illustrated novel, which is called "Vanishing Tribes: Unheard Voices from West Papua", is authored under the penname Ahinsa Angel, which means messenger of peace.

The project's manager, who does not wish to be named, says most people don't know that West Papua exists and cannot find it on a map. He says the project's main objective is to publicise the story of West Papua around the world and encourage readers to lobby their governments.

"I would like them to feel strongly enough after reading the book that they will take some action and hopefully influence those government policies so that their governments stop providing the military and diplomatic and financial support that really enables Indonesia to carry on the way they have been."

The project manager for Vanishing Tribes, who does not wish to be named, says West Papua is a militarised democracy.

To view the novel, go to www.vanishingtribes.net.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/246848/graphic-novel-about-west-papua-released-online

West Papuan pro-independence groups call for presidential election boycott

Selangkah Magazine - June 10, 2014

Admin MS, Jayapura – West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson Basoka Logo is calling on all Papuan people to boycott the 2014 presidential election (pilpres).

The call was conveyed together with KNPB Deputy Chairperson Agus Kosay at a press conference earlier this afternoon on Tuesday June 10 at Expo, Waena, in the West Papua provincial capital of Jayapura.

Logo said, "The KNPB and the West Papua National Parliament (PNWP) have jointly agreed that we as the media of the Papuan people will make a call that the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia] pilpres must be boycotted".

Logo said that there have been accusations and counter accusations recently between supporters of the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Joko Widodo- Jusuf Kalla presidential tickets.

In the interests of their campaign they raised human rights violations, such as the Mapnduma [Mapenduma], Bratayudha [Baratayuda] and other operation led by Prabowo Subianto in the land of Papua. Meanwhile the murder of West Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay occurred during the leadership of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri who is now backing Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

"Who is Megawati? Who is Prabowo? Don't just occasionally pawn off the issue human rights violations for the interest of campaigning for NKRI. Remember, our struggle, the Papuan people's struggle for independence is a pure and peaceful struggle", he asserted.

Logo continued by saying, "This is the way of the coloniser, and they are colonisers of the Papuan nation, not part of the West Papuan nation and it is they who are the actors of human rights violations in the land of Papua. We call on the United Nations to resolve the Papuan problem, bring the human rights criminals in West Papua [to court] immediately. Theys was a hero of Papuan independence, if this is their bargaining value it's up to them, we know Theys Hiyo Eluay was a hero of Papuan independence."

Kosay explained that the KNPB and the PNWP have carried out an 89 percent consolidation throughout the land of West Papua to boycott the July 9 presidential election. "We will carry out the presidential election boycott by democratic means", he said adding that if there are anarchic acts by certain rogue elements, the KNPB and the PNWP cannot be held accountable as organisations.

It is said that the NKRI was proclaimed on August 17, 1945, but the Papuan people were not involved in this. "Regardless of the agenda of the NKRI, it's not important for the West Papuan nation", said Kosay.

Because of this therefore, he asserted, first, its is very clear that Papua is not part of the NKRI. Second, whoever become the next president of Indonesia they will not pay attention to the plight of the Papuan nation, because they will only murder, rape and steal the natural resources of West Papua.

Third, the call for a boycott of the presidential election is the sole mandate of the people of the Papuan nation in the lead up to the NKRI presidential election in the mature consideration of the people who live in the land of Papua.

Fourth, we will conduct ourselves in accordance with international mechanisms, and this information will be circulated to all the indigenous people of the Papuan nation.

Fifth, today the international community supports the independence struggle of the Papuan people. The Papuan people in various parts of the country will boycott and be supported by all opposition groups in boycotting the 2014 presidential election.

Sixth, we covey our profuse thanks to the people of the Papuan nation in holding the boycott and we predict that of the 70 percent that took part in the legislative elections [on April 9], 30 percent will boycott the presidential elections.

Seventh, on the day the presidential election is held, we hope that the Indonesian military and police will not force the people to take part, and allow the public to interpret democracy in accordance with their individual understanding.

The call for a boycott of the 2014 presidential election in the land of Papua can be read here: http://majalahselangkah.com/content/seruan-knpb- pusat-boikot-pemilu-presiden-ri-9. (HY/SYO/MS)

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski.]

Source: http://majalahselangkah.com/content/serukan-boikot-pilpres-2014-jubir-knpb-jangan-gadai-persoalan-ham

Case closed for Freeport as SBY nixes any deal

Jakarta Post - June 10, 2014

Satria Sambijantoro and Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – The outgoing administration will not ink an extension deal with PT Freeport Indonesia concerning its contract to mine the world largest gold site in Papua.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's spokesman for economic affairs Firmanzah told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the President was not drafting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regulating crucial points in Freeport's contract amendment.

"The President is not formulating any MoU. It's just a statement from a director general at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, which I have moved to clarify," Firmanzah said. "If there is any initiative from the ministry, it should be in the form of analysis, study and suggestion for the next government," he added.

The ministry and the newly appointed Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung have repeatedly announced that they were working on an MoU that would be legally tied to the next government. One of the points in the MoU was a guarantee for Freeport to extend its operation after its contract expires in 2021.

The MoU was also expected to legally safeguard the local unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., against any changes demanded by the next administration. The presidential election is slated for July 9, the newly elected president is expected to be sworn in by the middle of October.

The 2009 Mining Law and a 2010 government regulation stipulated that a proposal for the extension of a mining license could only be fielded two years before it expired, or in the case of Freeport in 2019.

"The President has often said that in the final five months of his Cabinet, the government would not implement strategic decisions that had long-term implications." Firmanzah said.

"The extension of Freeport's contract-of-work until 2041 would be a strategic decision with long-term implications for Indonesia." Freeport Indonesia spokesperson Daisy Primayanti called for the swift resolution to the contract extension negotiations.

The company has already invested heavily in underground mining operations at Grasberg, in anticipation of depleting resources that would make it difficult to retract ore through open-pit operations, she said. "Given the serious long-term plan and the huge investment, it is fair that we, as a business entity, want certainty as soon as possible," she said.

For Freeport, which has operated the mine since the early 1970s, smooth renegotiation is not guaranteed by the next administration as the contract extension process will coincide with the legislative and presidential elections of 2019, where nationalistic sentiment will run high.

Freeport and Indonesia have been locked in a love-hate relationship since the company began to exploit the Grasberg mine, located in Mimika regency, Papua.

Freeport argued that it contributed heavily to the economy, while politicians accused it of exploiting resources, without giving enough back to Indonesia and its people.

Despite the mine's hefty contribution to Freeport's financial performance, every year the firm only gives a royalty of 1 percent to the government. The government has demanded that the royalty be increased to at least 5 percent, former coordinating economic minister Hatta Rajasa has said.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's director general for mineral and coal, R. Sukhyar, has said that Freeport had principally agreed to divest its ownership, creating leeway for the government to own up to a 30 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia.

[Hasyim Widhiarto also contributed to the story.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/10/case-closed-freeport-sby-nixes-any-deal.html

Aceh

Shariah police intensify raids prior to Ramadan

Jakarta Globe - June 12, 2014

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The morality police in Aceh are on the prowl once again as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan approaches, increasing the frequency of their raids against... crimes of fashion.

The province's shariah police, known as Wilayatul Hisbah, has roped in the police and the military to help in the raids, to be held "day and night to minimize shariah violations" – but which are targeted almost entirely at women wearing clothes deemed too figure-hugging.

"The raids were against motorcyclists, in order to uphold Islamic shariah," Samsudin, the WH's head of enforcement, told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday.

He added that the first series of raids on Wednesday netted 99 people – 94 of them women "wearing tight outfits," and five men wearing "pants that expose the knees." Both are considered beyond fashion faux pas, actually meriting a place in local statutes and punishable by imprisonment.

Samsudin said none of those stopped on Wednesday were arrested. Instead, their names were taken down, and they were warned that if they were caught again they could face up to 20 days in jail.

The WH officer said raids would be held regularly from midnight to dawn throughout Banda Aceh, in places "suspected to be facilitating immoral deeds – like cafes."

"We usually raid cafes where we find men and women who are not muhrim" – related by blood or marriage – "alone together," he said. "We give them advice and if they fight back, we will take them to the office for further processing."

Samsudin said that as the raids intensified, his office had found fewer and fewer shariah violators. He said he hoped to have Banda Aceh free of such violators for the entirety of Ramadan, which runs for a month from June 28, so that Muslims could observe the holy month in peace.

During Ramadan itself, when Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex during the daylight hours, the WH will carry out raids against those selling food during the day, Samsudin said. "We will charge them and they can be punished by caning," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/shariah-police-intensify-raids-prior-ramadan/

Human rights & justice

NGOs to file lawsuit against KPU over Prabowo's candidacy on rights record

Jakarta Globe - June 12, 2014

Jakarta – A group of nongovernmental organizations plan to file a joint lawsuit challenging former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto's presidential candidacy on human rights grounds.

A coalition of rights organizations – the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Setara Institute – on Tuesday said they were set to file a lawsuit with the State Administrative Court (PTUN) accusing the General Election Commission (KPU) of abdicating its mandate to review potential candidates' records.

YLBHI director Bahrain called on the KPU to be more transparent in its approval process.

The KPU made its evaluation based on a letter of good behavior (SKCK) issued by the police – a process that Bahrain said constituted far less than due diligence for a candidate like Prabowo with a checkered military past.

"Especially since we know how Prabowo's track record, how could it be he passed with only a SKCK?" he asked, as reported by Indonesian news portal Tempo.com. "In addition, there is Prabowo's dismissal letter... why did KPU not see that?"

The lawsuit, he said, was based on a 2008 election law stipulating that approved candidates must not have committed major crimes or engaged in disgraceful conduct. Bahrain said it would be filed by next week.

Prabowo's rights record has come to the forefront of the public discourse surrounding the candidate in recent days with the leak of a controversial letter from his military days and the with the issue featured prominently in the first presidential debate on Monday.

Prabowo – who is chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) – has denied committing rights abuses, including 13 alleged kidnappings, and has characterized the military's actions as security measures to safeguard the 1997 elections and the 1998 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) general meeting.

The presidential election is set for July 9.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ngos-file-joint-lawsuit-kpu-prabowos-candidacy-rights-record/

Prabowo 'ordered by Soeharto to kidnap activists'

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2014

Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto reportedly revealed that former president Soeharto ordered him to kidnap pro-democracy activists in May 1998, which saw him dismissed from the Indonesian Military (TNI), according to Veterans Association (Pepabri) chairman Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar.

"Prabowo told me when he visited Pepabri recently, that he was ordered by former president Soeharto to kidnap the activists. I was quite shocked, because he didn't say anything about that when the [TNI] Officers Honorary Council [DKP] questioned him," he said in a live TV interview on Tuesday.

Agum acknowledged he was skeptical about the statement as he knew Soeharto would not have ordered something so controversial during a chaotic time, even though Prabowo was then Soeharto's son-in-law.

Agum attended the live TV interview to answer questions regarding the reasons behind Prabowo's dismissal from the TNI – a topic that emerged during Monday evening's live presidential candidate debate when rival vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla asked the question.

In his response, Prabowo answered: "I am a former soldier who did his duty as best as I could. Aside from that, it's up to the judgment of my superiors. I am the toughest human-rights defender in the republic," he added.

His tone rose noticeably when Kalla pushed him to elaborate on incidents surrounding the fall of Soeharto in May 1998.

However, a leaked document circulated on the Internet recently detailing the reasons behind the dismissal of Prabowo from military service on Aug. 21, 1998. It cast doubt on the former general's suitability to serve as president, if elected on July 9.

The document – which was a scanned copy of the official letter signed by members of the DKP tasked with hearing the case of Prabowo's complicity in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998 – revealed that the former Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander was also fired from his position due to insubordination.

The signatories in the document were DKP chairman Gen. Subagyo Hadi Siswoyo, who was also the Army chief of staff; secretary Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago; Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, now the incumbent President; Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi; Lt. Gen. Yusuf Kartanegara; Lt. Gen. Arie J. Kumaat; and Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar.

Agum said the leaked document, including the other violations Prabowo was said to have committed, was valid. He acknowledged Prabowo was an undisciplined soldier during the time, citing the activists' kidnapping as one of his violations where he ignored orders from his superiors.

The issues surrounding Prabowo's controversial past have recently emerged due to public pressure, which forced the General Elections Commission (KPU) to agree to the demand to include human rights in the broad topic of democracy and legal certainty in the first presidential candidate debate.

Prabowo's supporters deem accusations regarding the presidential candidate's track record as part of a smear campaign to dent his popularity.

On Aug. 25, 1998, The Jakarta Post reported that the Armed Forces (ABRI, as the TNI was then known) honorably discharged then Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto and removed two senior Kopassus officers from active duty as punishment for their role in the abduction and torture of political activists.

The ABRI also announced Prabowo was entitled to his pension, but said he could face a military tribunal in the future if more damning evidence of his involvement in the kidnappings was discovered.

In front of local and foreign journalists at the Armed Forces' Merdeka Barat headquarters in Central Jakarta, then minister of defense and security and ABRI commander Gen. Wiranto announced the decision, which was issued on the recommendation of the DKP that had investigated the abductions.

"My decision regarding Lt. Gen. Prabowo is to end his active service with the Armed Forces. Prabowo is no longer included in any ABRI structure. He is a civilian now," Wiranto said at the time. (gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/11/prabowo-ordered-soeharto-kidnap-activists.html

Jokowi: Indonesia should solve '98 abuses to move on

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2014

SP/Hotman Siregar & Abdul Qowi Bastian, Jakarta – Indonesia should not be burdened by its dark history, it should be able to close the gloomy chapter in order to move on, presidential hopeful Joko Widodo said regarding the disappearance of prominent poet and political activist Wiji Thukul in 1998.

Joko said that cases of missing persons should be solved immediately so that the country can look to a better future. "I knew Wiji Thukul very well. He was from Solo. I know his wife and children and that's why Wiji Thukul has to be found in whatever condition," said Joko in Jakarta on Monday.

Joko said that certainty is needed regarding the condition of 13 activists who went missing in 1998 amid protests for democratization. Joko promised he would solve the human rights cases from the end of Suharto's New Order regime if he is elected president.

"Yes, they have to be found. They can be found alive, they can be found dead, but certainty is needed. Whether reconciliation takes place later doesn't matter, most importantly the r e should be certainty. Why is the disappearance of the 13 people still not clear after so long?" said Joko.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, or Kontras, received a report about Wiji Thukul's disappearance in March 1998 as the New Order regime stepped up its repression to curb political activists who opposed Suharto.

Kontras suspected that Wiji's disappearance was related to his political activities. Wiji disappeared at around the same time as other political activists who wanted to see Suharto step down after more than three decades in power.

Kontras has demanded the government find Wiji Thukul and reveal the motive behind his disappearance and the disappearance of other activists.

Joko has received the support of retired generals, including former chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) A.M. Hendropriyono, for his presidential bid.

But asked about the possibility of Hendropriyono's involvement in the kidnapping of activists in 1998, Joko said he could not ask everyone who wanted to join his campaign team if they were involved in any kidnapping. "This is a legal matter, it has to be clear, it needs to be explained," he said.

The National Commission on Human Rights [Komnas HAM] has called the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998 gross human rights violations and recommended the government immediately solve the cases.

"We found gross human rights violations, we sent the findings to the Attorney General's Office," retired Army general Syamsoedin, a former Komnas HAM member, said during a discussion titled "Kidnapping of activists: Facts or slander?" held in Jakarta on Sunday.

Syamsoedin said that it was ironic that the government has not carried out Komnas HAM's recommendation and he lamented that the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed to form ad hoc human rights court.

Syamsoedin said that Komnas HAM has improved its investigation report upon request of the AGO and that AGO should have lifted the status of the case from questioning and investigation to prosecution. "The documents from Komnas HAM are already complete," he said.

The kidnapping of activists in 1998 by the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) allegedly involved presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto, a former chief of the elite unit.

Ita Fatia Nadia, a female activist and founder of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), praised Joko's vision and mission related to human rights cases. Ita said the points made in the vision and mission statements of Joko and his running mate Jusuf Kalla were interesting and not to be found in the program of Prabowo and his running mate Hatta Rajasa.

Ita pointed to one segment, which stated: "We are committed to solving in a fair manner past human rights cases which have become social political burden for Indonesia, such as the Trisakti May riots, Semanggi 1 and 2 [all involving student shootings], Talangsari in Lampung, Tanjung Priok [both massacres carried out by the military], and the 1965 tragedy [mass killings of alleged communists]."

Ita said that the point showed that Joko and Kalla are committed to solving various human rights violations from the New Order period. "Jokowi-JK's vision and mission showed clear human rights commitment," Ita said.

Wiji, the poet-cum-activist whose fate remains unclear, was an integral actor in the fight against strongman Suharto's authoritarian regime. Now that the freedom he longed for has been realized, he is not around to experience it.

Through his poems, Wiji voiced the concerns of the poor and explicitly portrayed their struggle. Most of his works are about the lives of the oppressed and those living in poverty. As the son of a pedicab driver, poverty was never too far from Wiji's life. Even today, his family still struggles to make a living.

His wife Siti Dyah Surijah, or Sipon, is a homemaker. Their daughter Fitri Nganti Wani was recently married while their youngest Fajar Merah plays music following his father's artistry footsteps.

Wiji, born in Solo on Aug. 24, 1963, was named an Asean Literary Figure at this year's inaugural Asean Literary Festival, the first literary award ever bestowed upon him. He received Yap Thiam Hien Award in 2002 for human rights advocation.

His most famous line "Hanya ada satu kata: Lawan!" ("There is only one word: Fight!") from the poem "Peringatan" ("Warning") has become a cry among student and labor demonstrators, resonating not only during the last days of the New Order era but even today.

Upon receiving Wiji's award, Fitri said in her acceptance speech: "This award further convinces me that what my mother said was true: My father was a good man who was kidnapped by the authorities."

Fajar Merah was only a toddler when his father went missing in 1998. Fajar, now in his early 20s, has grown up to be a singer-songwriter in his hometown in Central Java. Following his father's footsteps, he strives to make a living from words, demanding justice and answers on his father's whereabouts in his lyrics.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jokowi-indonesia-solve-98-abuses-move/

Activists rage at omission of human rights from debates

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2014

Rights activists have slammed the national election organizing body for not including human rights as one of the topics to be tabled in a series of debates between the two presidential candidates ahead of the July 9 poll.

The groups, led by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, or Kontras, said they had long recommended to the General Elections Commission, or KPU, that it make the issue a central theme of one of the five scheduled debates, the first of which took place on Monday.

"At the very least the KPU should give us some explanation rather than remain silent," Yati Andriyani, the deputy of Kontras, said as quoted by Kompas.com.

She added that the groups had pushed for human rights to be debated because of the checkered track record of Prabowo Subianto, one of the two candidates, a former Army general who has been dogged for years about alleged rights abuses in East Timor and the abduction of pro-democracy activists in Jakarta.

"Kidnapping is a severe human rights violation. That was the basis of our recommendation to the KPU," Yati said.

The groups first made their recommendation to the KPU on March 14, and then again on June 2. Kontras had also previously called on the KPU to reject the candidacy of any individual with a history of human rights abuses, prior to the deadline for candidates to register their bids last month.

Hendardi, the chairman of the Setara Institute, a think tank that advocates for peace and democracy, accused the KPU of willfully overlooking the allegations hanging over Prabowo. "The ones who are going to lose out because of this are the Indonesian people," he said.

The theme for Monday's debate was development of democracy, clean government ad legal certainty. The second debate, next Sunday, will focus on economic development and welfare.

The third, on June 22, will center on domestic politics, while the fourth, on June 29, will talk about human resources development and science and technology. The final debate, on July 5, will focus on food, energy and the environment.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/activists-rage-omission-human-rights-debates/

Whereabouts of Widji Tukul, missing activists should be revealed: Jokowi

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2014

Sita W. Dewi, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has pledged to make past human rights abuse cases his priority if he is elected president.

"We should find [missing poet] Wiji Thukul. We have to find all 13 [missing pro-democracy] activists. Whether [they are] dead or alive, whether there is reconciliation or not, everything should be crystal clear," Jokowi told reporters at the Jokowi media center on Jl. Sukabumi, Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

Jokowi was asked about his preparations prior to the official presidential debate to be held on Monday evening. Monday's debate, which will be broadcast live by SCTV, Indosiar and BeritaSatu, will cover the candidates' respective visions, missions and programs on issues relating to democracy, clean governance and law and human rights.

Jokowi, a native of Surakarta, Central Java, from which the dissident poet also came, said he personally knew Wiji and his family. "I knew him well. I know his wife, his children, where they live. I also admire his poems – those who are into poetry would. But the point is, we should be able to answer all the questions," he said.

At least 13 people were abducted in 1997-1998 in the twilight of the New Order regime, including Wiji and activists of the People's Democratic Party (PRD): Suyat, Herman Hendrawan, Petrus Bima Anugerah, M. Yusuf, Ucok Munandar Siahaan, Yadin Muhidin and Hendra Hambali. Some of those kidnapped during the period were released from captivity shortly before the resignation of Soeharto.

These include then chairman of the PRD, Budiman Sudjatmiko, now a lawmaker with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), student activist Andi Arief, now a special staffer for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and lawyer Desmond Mahesa, now a politician with presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto's Gerindra.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/09/whereabouts-widji-tukul-missing-activists-should-be-revealed-jokowi.html

Sexual & domestic violence

SBY issues decree to fight child abuse

Jakarta Post - June 14, 2014

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has issued a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) outlining the government's measures to better protect children from sexual abuse.

The Presidential Instruction No. 5/2014, which was signed by Yudhoyono on June 11, ordered a number of ministers and heads of state institutions, as well as local leaders, to work together to handle and prevent such crimes.

The move came after Yudhoyono called for a nationwide movement to protect children from sexual abuse. In recent weeks, a number of sexual abuse incidents involving children have surfaced, including a high profile case of an alleged gang rape of a 6-year-old kindergarten pupil at Jakarta International School (JIS).

Yudhoyono has on several occasions held Cabinet meetings to discuss potential responses, and has even invited the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) to offer policy recommendations.

In the instruction, Yudhoyono ordered the education and culture minister to impose harsh penalties on schools, teachers and staff where sexual abuse against children occurred. The ministry was also tasked with improving religious education and incorporating compulsory reproductive health education as part of the national curriculum.

Yudhoyono also ordered the religious affairs minister to raise awareness among religious figures and organizations about sexual violence so that they could play a bigger role in preventing such crimes.

In addition to providing swift and effective physical and psychological health care, Yudhoyono said that the Health Ministry must work to raise awareness among health professionals about their obligation to inform police about allegations of sex crimes against children.

The President, who has two grandchildren, also urged parents and other family members to provide the best parenting and supervision for their children.

Another recent incident that grabbed national attention involved the case of Andri Sobari, 24, who has allegedly molested at least 110 young boys since January.

The police said that Andri reportedly offered his victims, mostly young boys aged between 8 and 13, between Rp 25,000 (US$2.11) and Rp 50,000 before taking them to private places where the sex abuse took place.

Last month, the police recorded nearly 100 sexual abuse cases involving children. Despite allegedly involving 110 children, the Andri case was counted as a single incident.

According to the police, of the 18 provinces where crimes were reported, Riau Islands topped the list with 64 cases, followed by South Kalimantan with 13 cases and Yogyakarta with seven cases. Last year, the police investigated 1,635 child sexual abuse cases.

In the instruction, Yudhoyono, who has aired hopes that the House of Representatives would quickly amend the 2002 Child Protection Law to impose harsher punishment on child predators so as to deter future crimes, also ordered the law and human rights minister to speed up the drafting of the regulations on child protection.

Lawmakers had previously agreed to revise the law – which imposes between three and 15 years' imprisonment, or between Rp 60 million and Rp 300 million in fines for those who sexually assault children – in the upcoming House session.

Yudhoyono also told the attorney general and the National Police chief to prosecute child sex crimes quickly, and to institute heavy sentences upon those convicted. He also said that immigration authorities must accommodate request from the police and Attorney General's Office for travel bans on convicted persons.

Under the instruction, the coordinating people's welfare minister is tasked with coordinating the drafting of all policies related to preventive measures, while the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister will become the coordinator of all policies related to law enforcement.

Moreover, local leaders, including governors, regents and mayors, were told to immediately draft policies and blueprints, as well to allocate funds from local budgets for implementation.

National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait welcomed the instruction, urging the ministries to immediately draft the implementing regulations in line with the instruction in order to make it functional.

"It is important that the instruction has preventive measures, but they will only be effective if the ministries draft the implementing regulations. If not, it [the instruction] will only be lip service," Arist said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/14/sby-issues-decree-fight-child-abuse.html

Labour & migrant workers

Dismissed workers protest against Adidas ahead of World Cup

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2014

Jakarta – As international sporting goods brand Adidas sponsors the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, hundreds of workers formerly employed by the company in Jakarta staged a demonstration on Wednesday demanding Adidas and its local contractor pay them severance owed since 2012.

The demonstrators expressed their anger at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, carrying signs denouncing Adidas and local footwear producer PT Panarub Dwikarya (PDK).

The demonstrators were part of more than 300 PDK workers who lost their jobs after joining a five-day strike in 2012.

In October 2012, 1,300 PDK workers went on a strike and protested in front of the factory in Tangerang, Banten, after the company imposed a new policy forcing them to make more shoes during the same working hours. In response, the workers demanded better working conditions and higher salaries in accordance with the regional minimum wage (UMR).

The strike went on for five days and PDK responded by giving the workers the option to voluntarily resign and receive a severance of Rp 1.6 million (US$135). More than 300 workers refused to resign and were fired anyway without receiving the severance.

Using this week's opening of the World Cup as momentum, the fired workers gathered once more to stage a protest. They chanted: "Adidas penindas!" (Adidas is an oppressor) and "Adidas kaya raya, buruh menderita!" (Adidas is rich, the workers are suffering).

The head of the Indonesian Labor Association Movement's Textile Union of Garment, Textile and Shoes Workers (SGBGTS-GSBI), Kokom Komalawati, said that the union had contacted both PDK and Adidas multiple times but neither company had yet to settle the issue.

Kokom also said that the union demanded Rp 7 billion in severance payments for the more than 300 workers, while PDK offered to pay much less. She added that every Thursday since they were fired, hundreds of workers have demonstrated in front of the PDK plant in Tangerang demanding the payment.

Meanwhile, she said Adidas Indonesia had repeatedly said it did not want to get involved in the dispute and Adidas Headquarters in Germany had not replied to multiple letters sent by the workers. "If Adidas has enough money to sponsor the 2014 FIFA World Cup, why can't they pay our severance?" she said.

Kokom said the new PDK production standard forced laborers to work harder with a salary lower than the government-set minimum wage, depriving of time to rest, eat or pray lest they miss the target. "Adidas should have reprimanded PDK, but they didn't. They made billions [of rupiah] while the workers are suffering," she said.

A former worker who joined the protest, 25-year-old Siti Yuliana, said that PDK had circulated a blacklist with the former workers' names on it to prevent several other manufacturing companies from hiring them. "It took a long time for me to find another job because many manufacturing companies had my name on a blacklist," Yuliana said.

Moreover, she, her parents and two younger siblings were evicted from their rented house in Tangerang because she, as the financial backbone of her family, could not pay the rent.

Another protesting former worker, 40-year-old Saridah, said her two children, aged 12 and 16, dropped out of school as she was unable to pay their fees. She added that she had suffered under the working conditions at PDK.

"I was scared to go to the bathroom. I was scared to eat. If I did, it would reduce my productivity and I would get scolded and abused verbally by my superiors," she said. (dwa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/12/dismissed-workers-protest-against-adidas-ahead-world-cup.html

Political parties & elections

Prabowo flip flops on campaign donations

Jakarta Globe - June 15, 2014

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – After vocally criticizing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko Widodo for accepting campaign donations from the general public, Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party candidate Prabowo Subianto has begun doing the exact same thing.

"Prabowo and [his running mate] Hatta [Rajasa] harshly criticized the public donation scheme at first, but now, without a clear argument, they are doing the same thing," Indonesian Civic Network (Lima) head Ray Rangkuti said on Saturday.

Joko and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla, have made Rp 40 billion ($3.38 million) since opening three bank accounts in their own names on May 29 for the purpose of receiving donations, becoming the first candidates in Indonesian history to do so. Some 30,000 supporters have contributed so far, with the campaign taking in an average of Rp 2 billion per day.

Joko-Kalla campaign official Dolfie OFP said that Prabowo's about-face indicated lack of a clear vision. "This is inconsistency, they used to criticize Joko-Kalla when they opened the accounts, and now they did the same thing," he said.

At the time, the Prabowo campaign maintained that the solicitation of public donations was an undignified approach to politics. "[Joko-Kalla] claimed they wished to make Indonesia prosperous but instead they make their supporters suffer," Prabowo-Hatta campaign legal affairs head Ahmad Yani said.

The campaign implied that a viable candidate should be wealthy enough to fund his own bid. "The presidential candidate should be rich so his constituents won't have to beg for money on the street, this is a social anomaly that lowers human dignity," campaign official Suryo Prabowo said. "Why ask people to beg?"

But on Friday, the campaign announced that it would begin taking donations nonetheless.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-flip-flops-campaign-donations/

Online journalist admits writing for tabloid questioning Jokowi's ethnicity

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2014

Camelia Pasandaran, Jakarta – An online journalist admitted on Friday to having contributed articles critical of Joko Widodo to a tabloid that was distributed for free in Islamic boarding schools.

Darmawan Sepriyossa, editor of Inilah.com, said he had agreed to work with Setiyardi, his former colleague at Tempo magazine, to produce the tabloid called "Obor Rakyat."

Setiyardi, who is a commissioner of state-owned plantation company PTPN XIII (Persero), was a member of former Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo's campaign team.

Darmawan said he agreed to join Setiyardi in publishing the tabloid because of what he described as a lack of critical reporting of the Jakarta Governor's record.

"We see that mainstream media are in euphoria, they can only clap hands [for Joko] but could not raise red flags against Jokowi," he said. "Jokowi is close with the media – he's a media darling. It makes media forget their work as a watchdog. The media are actually leaving Jokowi alone.

"I was aware that there might be problem with inilah.com, the media I work for. It's impossible to work in two media organizations without sanctions, or even being fired by Inilah.com. Therefore we made an agreement that I would use a pen name, while the chief editor, Setiyardi, used his real name."

He said that Setiyardi wanted to publish the tabloid, because they were both supporters of Jokowi, but were disappointed because that he had vacated his position as Jakarta governor. "The idea of being a watchdog while some of the mainstream media were asleep attracted me," he said.

Obor Rakyat – a free publication distributed to several Islamic boarding schools, mosques as well as several religious leaders by mail – recently published reports saying that Joko, a Muslim, was instead a Chinese Christian.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/online-journalist-admits-writing-tabloid-questioning-jokowis-ethnicity/

Prospect of a presidential run-off looms large

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2014

Hans Nicholas Jong, Semarang – Although the July 9 presidential election features just two competing candidates, the General Elections Commission (KPU) is anticipating the possibility of a second round of voting as required by the current Presidential Election Law.

The KPU said on Thursday that in order to be declared the winner in the presidential election, a candidate must receive at least 50 percent-plus- one of the votes, while also garnering a minimum of 20 percent of the votes in more than 17 provinces.

Therefore, if neither the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Joko "Jokowi" Widodo-Jusuf Kalla ticket, nor the Gerindra Party's Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa ticket were able to meet both conditions, then another round of voting would be required by law. The second round of voting would be held on Sept. 9.

"It is possible," KPU commissioner Arief Budiman said. "What is clear is that meeting both conditions is mandatory for securing the presidency." He added that the KPU had consulted legal and constitutional law experts, all of whom agreed with the KPU's legal analysis.

"We have met with the experts. They too believe that the first basic principle is that a ticket needs to win as many votes as possible. The second principle is that there must be an even electoral distribution, meaning that the pair is elected by voters from many areas, not just by a majority of voters from a few areas," Arief said.

The KPU issued the statement following mounting calls for the commission to consult the Constitutional Court on the matter.

Many groups have advised the KPU to file a judicial review with the court, hoping the court would then decide to make winning 50 percent-plus-one of the popular vote the sole presidential election requirement.

The Association for Election and Democracy (Perludem) executive director, Titi Anggraini, urged the KPU to file the judicial review. She said that without changing the law, voters faced the prospect of voting twice for the same candidates.

"I'm sure that the voters don't wish to see a second round of voting for the same candidates," she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Titi said that based on the distribution of voters, it was likely that this year's presidential election would be staged in two rounds. "The highest concentration of voters is in Java. It is possible for the winner to receive a majority of his votes from Java rather than from other provinces in the country," she said.

Titi said that Perludem planned to file a judicial review to the Constitutional Court on Friday. Commenting on the prospect of a judicial review, Arief said that the KPU would stick to the Presidential Election Law in the election.

"This is the course we must take. I agree that this election has to be effective and efficient, but whether it will be held in one round or in two rounds, we'll have to wait for the results [of the election]," Arief said.

He said that the KPU was ready to hold the election in two rounds if neither of the presidential candidates met the two conditions set by the law.

"From the very beginning, the KPU has been prepared for three rounds of elections [this year]: One legislative election and two rounds of the presidential election. Without a doubt, the KPU is ready. It's no problem at all," Arief said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/13/prospect-a-presidential-run-looms-large.html

Aburizal deemed a 'liability' to Prabowo-Hatta ticket

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2014

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie will be making less appearances on the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa campaign trail because of concerns his presence could adversely impact the pair's efforts to win the July 9 presidential election, says a senior Golkar politician.

The chairman of the forum for Golkar's regional chapters, Muntasir Hamid, said Aburizal was a "problematic" politician who could "drive away" voters.

"I have received many complaints from party leaders in the regions who were not happy with Aburizal's presence in the campaign. Aburizal could cast a negative image to the pair," he said in a statement.

Muntasir also called on Prabowo-Hatta's campaign team not to involve other Golkar executives, who he called "Aburizal's cronies", such as secretary- general Idrus Marham and treasurer Setya Novanto. "They are also problematic politicians," said Muntasir.

Meanwhile, Golkar's decision to support the Prabowo-Hatta ticket continues to divide the party.

On Thursday, Suhardiman, the founder of the Central Organization for Indonesian Employees (SOKSI), one of Golkar's oldest wing organizations, said that he had dismissed Ade Komaruddin from his position as chairman for supporting Prabowo in the July 9 race.

"As founder, Suhardiman has used the power afforded by SOKSI to issue a decree on Ade's dismissal," Robinson Napitupulu, a member of the SOKSI advisory council, said.

SOKSI is officially supporting presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his running mate Jusuf Kalla, a move that goes against the official party line. Suhardiman also decided to name Lawrence TP Siburian the organization's interim chairman until 2015.

In spite of calls for Aburizal to be distanced from the campaign, on Thursday he joined Prabowo in Palembang, South Sumatra, alongside PKS chairman Anis Matta and Golkar chief advisor Akbar Tandjung.

Aburizal decided to join the coalition after failing to strike a deal with Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chair of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the leading party of the Jokowi-Kalla coalition.

Golkar's attempt to form another coalition with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party also failed to materialize. At the eleventh hour, Aburizal decided to drop his presidential bid and instead joined Prabowo's ticket.

The move divided the party with top Golkar politicians including Suhardiman; Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, a senior adviser to Aburizal and deputy head of the party's advisory council; Fahmi Idris, a former minister; and prominent lawmakers such as Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Indra J. Piliang and Poempida Hidayatulloh, deciding to leave the party to support Jokowi's bid.

Members of the opposition in Golkar were mainly concerned about Golkar's status as the second best performer in the April 9 legislative election, a position that could have enabled Aburizal's nomination as either a presidential or vice presidential candidate.

Many other Golkar senior members have also jumped ship and joined the rival camp, arguing that Kalla is a former Golkar chairman.

Aburizal's controversial decision to support Prabowo has heightened tension within the party, Muntasir confirmed speculation that many Golkar regional leaders were gearing up to push forward an extraordinary congress to unseat Aburizal.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/13/aburizal-deemed-a-liability-prabowo-hatta-ticket.html

Dems members officially support Prabowo-Hatta

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2014

Jakarta – An official of the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa presidential election campaign team says the Democratic Party has joined with the Gerindra Party-led coalition to support the candidate pair in the run up to the July 9 presidential election.

"It is true that the Democratic Party has joined us," Zulkifli Hasan, council board member for the Prabowo-Hatta campaign team, said as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday evening.

Zulkifli, who is also Forestry Minister and secretary-general of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said the Democratic Party members announced the official statement after conducting a closed meeting with the candidate pair on June 1.

Democratic Party chairman President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had previously said that he would not take sanctions against party members voting for either candidate, even though he decided that the party would be officially neutral in the July 9 presidential election, however party officials now feel the Prabowo-Hatta ticket most resembles their own party's platform.

"Starting from now, I want to make all Democrat members and supporters aware that the programs proposed by Prabowo-Hatta most resemble those of our own," Democratic Party executive chairman Syarif Hasan said.

In front of Democrat officials, Prabowo gave a speech to promote several of his programs, which he claimed were a continuation of the programs implemented by the ruling Democratic Party for the last 10 years.

With the additional member, the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa ticket, which has the number "1" slot on the ballot papers, is supported by the Gerindra Party, the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Justice Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which could secure 353, or 56.19 percent, of the total 560 seats at the House of Representatives. (gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/12/dems-members-officially-support-prabowo-hatta.html

Prabowo, Jokowi trade barbs

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2014

Hans Nicholas Jong and Sita W. Dewi, Bandung, Medan – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto told his supporters on Wednesday not cast their votes for a leader who pretended to be a populist and who tended to break promises, while his rival Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said a leader with an affluent background had less empathy with the people.

In his campaign in Medan, North Sumatra, Prabowo was initially scheduled to arrive at the venue at 9 a.m. but only appeared at 12:30 p.m.

He was accompanied by top officials from his coalition, including Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, Golkar advisory council head Akbar Tandjung, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Anis Matta and PKS politician Gatot Pujo Nugroho, who is also the North Sumatra governor.

"We will prove on July 9 [election day] that Indonesia will still have a leader who doesn't lie to the people and who doesn't pretend to be a populist while stealing people's money," he said. After the campaign, Prabowo flew to Aceh to meet supporters.

During the campaign, Anis Matta told the audience to vote for Prabowo because of the latter's handsome appearance. Anis quoted a hadith (a saying or custom of Prophet Muhammad and his companion), which said, "If you send me an envoy, send me the one with good looks."

After citing it, Anis turned people's attention to Prabowo's face. "Just look at our presidential candidate's face. He's good looking and has the aura of a president," he said.

Prabowo's supporters, who were predominantly women, replied by saying they agreed with Anis' statement. Prabowo only smiled and nodded, before taking off his sunglasses.

Meanwhile in Bandung, West Java, Jokowi moved the audience by telling of how he struggled to make ends meet in his younger years. He told of how the authorities had once evicted him and his family from their house without compensating them.

"I know where you are coming from. If you have one leader with a common background and another who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who will understand your plight better?" Jokowi asked the crowd, which repeatedly shouted his name.

Jokowi is the son of a carpenter from Surakarta, Central Java, while Prabowo is the son of Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo, a top minister during the administrations of former presidents Sukarno and Soeharto.

Jokowi's running mate Jusuf Kalla, who campaigned in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, took the time to assure the audience that Jokowi was a faithful Muslim.

"There are voices suggesting that Jokowi is not a good Muslim. I can assure you that Jokowi is a good imam. And I bet he's better than the one on the other side [Prabowo]," said Kalla.

Weeks before the presidential campaign was due to kick off on June 5, the supporters of both candidates started to question the opposing candidate's "level of Islam".

In a separate event, Indonesia's biggest rock band, Slank, held a free concert on Wednesday in support of the Jokowi-Kalla ticket at Parkir Timur Senayan in Central Jakarta.

Slank was joined by several other musicians under the umbrella group Revolusi Harmoni, including Kla Project, Krisdayanti, Trio Lestari and Yuni Shara.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/12/prabowo-jokowi-trade-barbs.html

Jokowi vs Prabowo: 1-0

Jakarta Post - June 10, 2014

Sita W. Dewi and Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The Joko "Jokowi" Widodo- Jusuf Kalla ticket swept all five segments of the live TV debate against the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair on Monday evening.

Jokowi responded to widespread skepticism of his oratory skills and poor vision with short but firm answers that emphasized his achievements and proposed down-to-earth policies. Kalla not only cited his own proven record as a vice president but also openly touched on one of Prabowo's most controversial weakness – the human rights question.

Most of Prabowo or Hatta's remarks and answers were normative and too general. Prabowo repeatedly emphasized nationalistic economic policies, especially on natural resource management, while Hatta failed to come up with any concrete accomplishments during his 10-year Cabinet career under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Megawati Soekarnoputri.

On democracy, bureaucratic reform and legal certainty, Jokowi answered: "Democracy, according to us, is listening to the people's voices and realizing [their requests]. Pak JK [Kalla] has settled many conflicts through dialog. I settled problems at Tanah Abang market and Pluit reservoir through dialogs."

On corruption eradication, Prabowo said that he would increase the salaries of law enforcers, citing as an example that "a chief justice's salary in the UK exceeded that of its prime minister."

This first of five public debates was moderated by Zainal Arifin Mochtar, Gadjah Mada University Corruption Studies Center (PUKAT) director. Apart from answering questions from the moderator, the pairs were also given the space to pose questions to their rivals and make their own closing statements.

Answering a question from Kalla on Prabowo's controversial past, the former son-in-law of Soeharto answered: "I am a former soldier who has done his duty as best as I can. Aside from that, it is up to the judgment of my superiors.

"I am the toughest human-rights defender in the republic." His tone rose noticeably when Kalla pushed him to elaborate on incidents surrounding the fall of Soeharto in May 1998.

Prabowo, who was dismissed from the Indonesian Military (TNI) following the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998, was quick to defend himself. He said that as a soldier, he was obliged to ensure the safety of all people and to prevent radical groups, including those who carried bombs, from threatening the safety of innocent people. "I know where this is going," Prabowo said to Kalla.

Meanwhile, Prabowo asked Jokowi and Kalla about their opinion of regional expansion and regional elections, the annual budget allocation of which was in the trillions of rupiah. "If we returned [the regional elections] to the legislative, we could save Rp 13 trillion."

Jokowi answered by saying that he would maintain the current system while improving its implementation. "We could do elections in one region at the same time to save money," he said.

On regional expansion, Jokowi said that he would take a number of aspects into consideration before approving requests to expand regions, such as resources, economic capital and size.

The moderator then pressed the candidates on their commitment to the principle of Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

"There must be no discrimination in legal processes [to remove] the reluctance to [criminalize] leaders while being tough on citizens. In this country of Pancasila, people should not be the subjects of discrimination [because] of their backgrounds," Hatta answered.

Jokowi cited his decision to maintain a Christian subdistrict head in Jakarta despite strong protest from local Muslims who refused to be led by a non-Muslim.

Prabowo, in order to reflect his commitment to protecting diversity, said that he had supported the nomination of a Christian of Chinese descent – Gerindra member and acting Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama – as Jokowi's running mate in the Jakarta gubernatorial election in the face of protest from some Muslim groups.

"As the leader of Gerindra, it was I that strongly defend [Ahok] amid protest suggesting it was unsuitable for a minority to become deputy governor," he said. This was Prabowo's strongest and most convincing statement of the debate.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/10/jokowi-vs-prabowo-1-0.html

Stinging and weaving in a presidential debate that enthralled

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2014

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The calm and collected start by former Army general Prabowo Subianto turned into a high-pitched, hoarse speech toward the end of the first televised debate of this year's presidential election campaign, after Jusuf Kalla, the running mate to Joko Widodo, pressed the issue of Prabowo's role in the abduction of pro-democracy activists in 1998.

Prabowo confidently answered the debate's first question; he got to go first by moderator Zainal Arifin Mochtar, a lecturer at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and anti-corruption activist.

When asked what the most important issues were in the context of the theme of Monday's debate – "Development of Democracy, Clean Government and Legal Certainty" – Prabowo said smoothly – albeit in rather highfalutin words – that the people of Indonesia needed political education in order to create "constructive democracy" for the "prosperity and welfare" of the nation.

He stumbled a bit on the second question, on corruption and human rights, and began to unravel by the third question, which was on the high cost of Indonesia's elections.

By the fourth segment of the debate – when the two tickets got a chance to ask each other questions – he seemed to lose his cool when Kalla tagged him over his role in the abductions and alleged involvement in the shooting deaths of student activists during the heady days of 1998, when he served as commander of the powerful Army Strategic Reserves.

"I know the direction [of your question]. You're [accusing me] of not protecting human rights," Prabowo said, his tone audibly higher and his usually mellow voice straining at a higher pitch.

"You don't understand, we [military members] were stationed in difficult places, and we often had to take actions to protect the Indonesian people at large. As a soldier, we did our duties as best as we could; it was our supervisors who appraised us. I'm the staunchest defender of human rights in this country!" Prabowo flared up as he ended his speech.

When Kalla kept pressing him on the issue – asking what the result of the appraisal was, in a jab at Prabowo's dismissal from the armed forces – Prabowo only answered with, "We report to our supervisors. If you want to know the result of the appraisal, why don't you ask my supervisor at that time."

The armed forces commander back then was Wiranto, now the chairman of the People's Conscience Party, or Hanura, and a supporter of Joko and Kalla.

If Kalla was the bee doing the stinging, Joko was the butterfly weaving through the jabs, reminding Prabowo that he'd failed to answer Kalla's question – "How can a leader with a checkered human rights record be expected to uphold human rights?" – and pointing out that he had been "too passionate" in responding to the rights abuse allegation.

"Because of your too passionate response to the human rights answer, [you] haven't given answers on concrete future plans [for human rights issues]. And also on discrimination, please pay more attention," Joko said.

Not dressed for the part

Joko and Kalla were both dressed in black suits, white shirts and red ties, while Prabowo and his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, rocked a more casual look of white shirts with their trademark red Garuda logo and khaki pants.

But it was Joko and Kalla who appeared more relaxed and in general answered most of the questions quite smoothly; at the other end of the stage at the Balai Sarbini convention center in Jakarta, only Hatta remained collected throughout the two-hour debate broadcast live on TV.

Prior to the debate, the first of five, Prabowo was generally considered a good public speaker, known for his impassioned speeches offering substance, structure and clear platforms, which had long enchanted many of his supporters. Joko, meanwhile, some observers have noted, is less blessed in the rhetoric department.

But while Prabowo stumbled through the debate, resorting to a rather heated speech in the second half of the evening, Joko surprised the audience with generally eloquent speeches, smoothly bringing up his various achievements from his stints as mayor of Solo, Central Java, and governor of Jakarta, as well as Kalla's own renown for conflict resolution in Aceh and Poso, Central Sulawesi.

When answering the first question on the candidates' main platform, for instance, Joko said his ticket offered concrete evidence for "system development" programs aimed at creating a clean government, with his introduction of a largely paperless bureaucracy after taking over Jakarta City Hall in 2012.

"Our ticket has proof: we've run e-budgeting, e-purchasing, e-catalogues, e-audits, online tax [payment system]," Joko said. "We can introduce this system to all regions if people give Jokowi and J.K. their mandate. Planning is crucial. But what is most important is implementation and management of evaluation. Our country is weak on evaluations."

Prabowo and Hatta, despite the latter's nearly 10 years in the cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, failed to use the opportunity to promote their ticket through mentions of previous achievements or even the highlights of their campaign platform, focusing strictly on the very questions thrown at them and responding to them mostly with conceptual rather non-committal answers.

The pair also a few times appeared to imitate the answers from Joko and Kalla, as on the issue of religious pluralism. Joko said his defense of a Christian ward chief in Jakarta, amid opposition by Islamic hard-liners, was proof of his support for a pluralist Indonesia.

Prabowo said he was also a staunch supporter of a pluralist Indonesia, emphasizing that Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese-Indonesian Christian, was from his Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra. "It's obvious and clear we nominated a person from a minority group, Ahok, as a deputy governor," Prabowo said.

When responding to a question on the high cost of holding regional elections, Hatta, who commented after Joko, similarly said regional elections should be done simultaneously in order to reduce the amount of times people have to cast a vote, and suppress election costs. Kalla, not done stinging, considered this too good an opportunity to miss: "Thank you, Pak Hatta. You agree [with us]."

Social phenomenon

The first televised debate ahead of Indonesia's July 9 presidential election drew the interest of Indonesian voters, with many seeming to want to have their own says with comments, support or criticism on social media, mainly Twitter and Facebook.

The hashtag #debatcapres (presidential candidate debate) topped Indonesia's trending topic on Twitter on Monday, followed by other debate-related hashtags. Kalla's direct attack on Prabowo's troubled past triggered quite many thumbs up.

Twitter user @harjon_pua, for instance, wrote: "J.K. sure knows how to push the right buttons when mentioning the opponent's human rights violations."

"Man of the match: J.K. Most favorite: Moderator," wrote @monstreza.

The user @aosny2011, meanwhile, said, "Yes, Prabowo delivered a good closing statement #hitthespot."

The second and third debates (on June 15 and June 22, respectively) will feature only the two presidential candidates, while the fourth, on June 29, will be between Hatta and Kalla. The fifth and final showdown, on July 5, four days before the election, will once again see all four men in a tag team match. The next debate will focus on the theme of "Economic Development and Social Welfare."

With only two tickets contesting this year's election, observers had warned of less lively debates than in 2009, when three tickets ran. But the hot topics of pluralism and human rights, which have been a sore spot for the Prabowo-Kalla camp thanks to Prabowo's 1998 baggage and the presence of three Islamic parties in the coalition have served to spice up the race.

That Kalla would directly bring up Prabowo's past should have come as little surprise, given the former vice president's penchant for an outspoken and easygoing style, but Joko surprised the audience with his own jabs at his rival.

Hatta was criticized by some for being the most passive and wooden of the participants, but he seemed to complement Prabowo well on a number of points, including when the candidate was busy throwing counter arguments to answer questions addressed at them.

Monday's televised debate was Joko's and Hatta's first, but Prabowo's and Kalla's second, when Prabowo appeared as the running mate of then presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri and Kalla ran for the presidency with Wiranto in 2009 election, the first time that presidential election debates were broadcast live on TV in Indonesia.

So who was the winner of the first TV debate of Indonesia's third direct presidential election? @ParodiHukum, a parody Twitter account, offered an impartial answer in a short tweet: "Expert: The winner of Tonight's #debatcapres is the moderator! kwkwkwk."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/stinging-weaving-presidential-debate-enthralled/

Fresh doubt cast on Prabowo's suitability to rule

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2014

Jakarta – A leaked document circulating on the Internet detailing the reasons behind the dismissal of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto from military service on Aug. 21, 1998, has cast doubts on the former general's suitability to serve as president, if elected on July 9.

The document, which was a scanned copy of the official letter signed by members of the Indonesian Military's (TNI) Officer's Honorary Council (DKP) tasked with hearing the cases of Prabowo's complicity in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998, revealed that the former Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander was also fired from his position due to insubordination.

Signatories in the document include then Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the current President; then Army chief of staff Gen. Soebagyo Hadi Siswoyo; Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi; and Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar.

If the authenticity of the document is verified, it could deal a blow to Prabowo's credibility as a military man and presidential candidate.

The document states Prabowo, as Kopassus commander, overstepped his authority by ordering the Mawar and Melati units to "arrest and detain" the activists of the radical People's Democratic Party (PRD).

Mawar and Melati are military units under the command of Kopassus, which answer to the commander of the TNI. However, the document reveals the Mawar unit did not act on its own initiative, like Prabowo's campaign team have repeatedly claimed.

The document suggests the Mawar unit carried out the kidnappings after Prabowo reassured them that it "had been reported" and that the operation was based on "a direct order from on high", when in fact a report was never made by Prabowo to then Indonesian Armed Forces (or ABRI, as the TNI was then known) commander Gen. Wiranto.

The kidnapping was only reported in April 1998 after pressure from then head of the Armed Forces Intelligence Body (BIA) Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim.

The document, which was uploaded on the website indonesia-2014.com, is the first document made public that details how Prabowo was dismissed from the military.

The document states the DKP not only dismissed Prabowo on charges of human rights violations in relation to the abductions, but also on a number of other actions that demonstrated his insubordination and disregard for the military code.

Among the other charges brought against him in the DKP hearing were that Prabowo had carried out or had taken over several operations that were under the authority of the ABRI commander, including the involvement of military forces in East Timor (now Timor Leste) and Aceh; the release of hostages in Wamena in then-Irian Jaya; and Kopassus' involvement in securing president Soeharto's visit to Vancouver, Canada in 1997, shortly before the strongman was ousted from power.

In conclusion, the DKP said Prabowo had disgraced and disregarded the military system and committed a criminal offense.

In response to the circulating document, the leader of the Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa election campaign team, Mahfud MD, reiterated that Prabowo was honorably discharged from the military.

"Pak Prabowo did receive his marching orders, but take note that he was discharged with respect," Mahfud told reporters at Polonia House in East Jakarta.

"There is no problem with this document circulating, I want to emphasize it [the dismissal] was done with respect. It would only be a problem if he were dishonorably discharged," the former Constitutional Court chief justice said. (tjs)

http://www.kaskus.co.id/thread/539331d90e8b461a1a00002c/mohon-klarifikasi- dkp-dokumen-pemecatan-prabowo-muncul-di-ttd-presiden-sby/

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/09/fresh-doubt-cast-prabowo-s-suitability-rule.html

For presidential hopeful Prabowo, hero bid for Suharto may be a blunder

Jakarta Globe - June 9, 2014

Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – For more than half a decade now the issue has been debated and dissected ad nauseam, only to be swept under the rug for another year: should Suharto, Indonesia's iron-fisted ruler for 32 years, but under whom the country saw rapid development, be named a national hero?

It's a topic that gets a fresh airing every year ahead of National Heroes Day on Nov. 10, when a handful of named are inscribed to the list of sometimes polarizing figures to whom Indonesia owes not just its independence, but also its current progress.

This year, however, the debate over Suharto, whose death in 2008 made him eligible for the honor, has come several months early, after one of his former sons-in-law, presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto, reportedly promised to grant the former strongman the elusive title of national hero.

Various local media quoted Prabowo, a former commander of the Army Special Forces, or Kopassus, making the pledge during a meeting with members of an organization claiming to represent the families of retired and serving military and police personnel.

Among those in attendance at the meeting in Jakarta last Tuesday was Siti Hediati Hariyadi, better known as Titiek Suharto – the former president's daughter and Prabowo's ex-wife.

For many observers, the statement comes as no surprise, and is seen as a natural extension of a mounting nostalgia for the Suharto years, marked by, among other characteristics, narrower wealth inequality, a stable political scene (because the rubber-stamp parliament was largely a front), and an absence of Islamist terrorism – albeit the press was heavily gagged, political dissent was cracked down on, and extra-judicial killings by the military were commonplace.

But for those who fought in 1998 to remove Suharto from office are horrified by Prabowo's promise to afford him hero status.

"If Suharto is a hero, then who's the villain?" asks Adian Napitupulu, one of the protesters from 1998 who famously led the storming of the House of Representatives on May 16, 1998, five days before Suharto resigned. "If he's the hero, then that makes us the villains," Adian says.

The notion of recognizing as a hero someone who was unseated by popular unrest is also anathema to J.J. Rizal, a historian at the University of Indonesia, who says Prabowo's move can be seen as an attempt to rewrite history.

"Prabowo's statement is an obvious example of the kind of short-term memory the government elites have regarding this nation's past," he says. "It's a statement that implies that [he is] willing to bury the truth of our history."

Suharto and his cronies, Rizal says, "created incredible pain for this nation." "The ruinous mistakes he made during his long term left not just material losses, but also mental scars, which we as Indonesians continue to bear even today," he says.

Rizal also notes that the camp of Joko Widodo, the other presidential candidate in the two-horse race, has been notably silent on the issue of Prabowo's statement. That, he says, is because Joko suffers from the same "historical amnesia" as those seeking to have Suharto recognized as a hero.

Rizal points to Joko's proposal last August to rename Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat – the road running along the western perimeter of the National Monument, or Monas, park in Central Jakarta and passing in front of the National Museum – to Jalan Suharto.

The plan by Joko, the Jakarta governor, was widely panned at the time, and while two of the four roads around the Monas square have since been renamed, the western stretch has not. (The fourth, Jalan Medan Merdeka Timur, running along the park's east, was to be renamed in honor of Ali Sadikin, a former Jakarta governor, but the change has not been approved by the central government.)

"We have problems regarding government officials who come from the New Order" – Suharto's regime – "and have a problem comprehending history," Rizal says. "It's terrible that we can't even determine who is a role model and who we should condemn."

He says that the two candidates' take on the past makes them equally unsuitable to run for the highest office in the land. "We're in a crisis where we lack leadership figures," he says. "Prabowo is a figure who has strong ties to Suharto's regime, while Joko is blind to the historical facts."

Contributed a lot

Some, however, concede that Suharto oversaw a rapid rate of development during his three decades in office, including bringing about near-universal literacy, tamping population growth through an extensive family planning program, and ushering in an economic boom that was ultimately undone by the corruption of his government.

"He certainly contributed a lot to the development of Indonesia," says Bonnie Triyana of Historia magazine. In deciding whether to grant him national hero status, though, Bonnie says the debate should center on Suharto as "an institution, rather than only as a person."

Nevertheless, he argues against Prabowo's proposal, given that Suharto stood against all the democratic conventions for which the protesters of 1998 gave their lives, and which Indonesians today almost take for granted, including freedom of the press, direct elections and the right to gather for protests.

"Everyone has an important role in a history. But what Prabowo calls for is based on a misreading of history," Bonnie says. "He's undermining our ideals of reform. The purpose of the reforms was to create fair democracy and to fix the rotten conditions that we had during Suharto's military regime. If Prabowo wants to grant him national hero status, he will be disrespecting the sacrifices of the reformers."

Bonnie calls Suharto's downfall "the turning point for Indonesia, and the start of the democratic reforms."

"The current batch of politicians owes a priceless debt to those who had sacrificed their lives to dethrone Suharto," he says. "It's because of the reforms that today we enjoy the freedoms that we have. There may be many shortcomings, but at least we're free from the military's dominance."

Political blunder

Bonnie cautions Prabowo to "think carefully" about the hero status for Suharto. But for the candidate, it may be too late to back down, says Asvi Warman Adam, a historian with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPI.

"Whatever statement a presidential candidate makes to the public, they're obliged to fulfill it once they assume office," he says. To that end, he adds, Prabowo's statement wasn't so much a show of support for his late former father-in-law, but a political blunder.

"Prabowo will be trapped between his obligation to keep his promise, and the unpopularity of the idea," Asvi says.

The historian acknowledges that Suharto was responsible for much of Indonesia's development through to the late-1990s, but that should not entitle him to recognition as a national hero in a democratic state.

"To recognize someone as a hero, they have to have high moral integrity and decency," he says. "Suharto was corrupt and linked to several human rights violations. With such a track record, is he really qualified to be a national hero? No sane person would say he is. "That said, however, Suharto was the great developer of Indonesia," Asvi goes one. "But he was also the great destroyer of this nation."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/presidential-hopeful-prabowo-hero-bid-suharto-may-blunder/

PAN official denies nod to FPI support

Jakarta Globe - June 9, 2014

Jakarta – A spokesman for the campaign team of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has denied welcoming the endorsement of a hard-line Islamic group known for attacking religious minorities.

Bara Hasibuan said on Sunday that a report in the Jakarta Globe on Saturday, which quoted him as saying that the coalition behind Prabowo "can't refuse" the support of the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, was a misquote.

"I have no comment on the coalition's ties with or support from the FPI and like-minded groups. We never condone violence," said Bara, a politician from the National Mandate Party, or PAN, whose chairman, Hatta Rajasa, is Prabowo's running mate.

The Globe had quoted Bara as saying on Thursday that although the FPI was notorious for its violent methods, the coalition "welcomes all support, no matter the background of the supporter."

On Sunday, though, Bara said the coalition eschewed violence in all its forms, and did not condone the repression of religious minorities, as the FPI has done for years.

"Indonesia stands on a foundation of pluralism, and we will continue to strengthen this," he said. "Every citizen has the right to practice their beliefs without fear, and the state is obliged to provide protection for [them]."

The claim, however, jars against Hatta's own courting of the FPI at a Jakarta mosque on May 27, in which he called for the hard-liners to support him and Prabowo in the July 9 election.

The FPI responded last Wednesday not with a direct endorsement of the ticket, but by throwing its support behind the three Islamic parties that are part of the coalition, including the PAN.

But it set several conditions for its support, including a commitment by the parties to encourage the proliferation of shariah-inspired bylaws across the country.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/pan-official-denies-nod-fpi-support/

Surveys & opinion polls

Prabowo-Hatta popularity climbing: Analysis

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2014

Jakarta – The Nurjaman Center for Indonesian Democracy (NCID) has said that according to surveys done by Survey Focus Indonesia (FSI), Survey and Polling Indonesia (SPIN) and the Indonesia Survey Institute (LSI), the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa presidential ticket's popularity has begun to surge.

NCID executive director Jajat Nurjaman said in a press release, that the Prabowo-Hatta electability rate had risen because the Joko "Jokowi" Widodo-Jusuf Kalla campaign team were perceived by the public as cornering Prabowo and Hatta on specific issues, as reported by kompas.com.

"The public has started to get bored with Jokowi-Kalla's style of campaigning while people also regard their campaign team as bullies in relation to the other pair," he said on Thursday.

According to the survey done by FSI, Prabowo-Hatta was leading marginally at 45.7 percent, while the Jokowi-Kalla pair garnered 45.2 percent.

In the SPIN survey, Prabowo-Hatta had a popularity rating of 44.9 percent with Jokowi-Kalla on 40.1 percent.

Finally, the LSI's survey results show that in Banten and Jakarta, Prabowo-Hatta leads the race with 35 percent compared to Jokowi-Kalla's electability of 26.25 percent.

However, the NCID found that in both the Populi Center and the United Data Center's (PDB) surveys, the Jokowi-Kalla presidential ticket led. In the Populi Center survey, Jokowi-Kalla polled 47.5 percent, while Prabowo-Hatta only received 36.9 percent.

Furthermore, in the PDB's survey, Jokowi-Kalla was leading at 32.2 percent while Prabowo-Hatta only garnered 26.5 percent.

Prabowo-Hatta, the ticket nominated by the Gerindra-led coalition comprising the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), received the number "1" slot on ballot papers in the upcoming presidential election during a recent election number draw at the General Elections Commission (KPU). The coalition has secured 292, or 45.3 percent, of the total 560 seats in the next House of Representatives.

Jokowi-Kalla, who received the number "2" slot, is supported by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), along with its coalition partners, the NasDem Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Hanura Party, which have secured a total of 36.97 percent or 207 out of the total 560 seats in the next House. (fss)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/12/prabowo-hatta-popularity-climbing-analysis.html

Media & journalism

Partisan media diminishes quality of democracy in Indonesia, say experts

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2014

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Experts have warned that Indonesia's mass media, especially television channels, have delivered poor quality news coverage of the 2014 elections, forcing the public to seek out unconventional information sources that have not yet been proven to be reliable or accurate.

"Lacking information about the latest updates on political situations, people have started to find information from unreliable sources, such as a number of suddenly popular blogs about whose reliability we cannot be sure," a Media Regulator and Regulation Observer (PR2Media) researcher, Puji Riyanto, said in a discussion in Yogyakarta on Saturday. He said such a situation could endanger the quality of democracy in Indonesia.

The PR2Media research has revealed that the news policies of private television stations in Indonesia have been distorted by the economic and political interests of their owners. It further said that 10 television stations that broadcast nationally belonged to only four media groups, namely PT Media Nusantara Citra, PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi, PT Visi Media Asia and CT Corp.

"Most of the media tycoons who own the television stations have become politicians and they have used their media to achieve their political goals," said Puji.

He said the media outlets, such as TV One, Metro TV, MNC Group and newspapers under the Jawa Pos Group, were proven to have taken sides with their owners who participated in the presidential race. The researcher said such partisan media had tended to create a good impression of their owners and unfairly 'sank' their competitors.

"The situation has been made worse by their journalists' paternalistic cultures, in which they tend to define themselves as workers who have to support the political interests of their owners," said Puji.

He went on the say that the partisan media had meant the public were unable to identify reliable and accurate information on candidates that they might need when deciding who they should vote for in the election.

Meanwhile, Yogyakarta State University (UNY) media expert, Bayu Wahyono, said the mass media in Indonesia had been relatively difficult to control. They continued their unbalanced reporting on certain presidential candidates despite criticisms.

"Metro TV and TV One have shown that they take sides with their preferred presidential and vice presidential candidates, worsening dissension within Indonesian society that has been torn apart. This is very dangerous," he said.

Bayu reminded that dissension within the Indonesian people had been alarming and this could potentially trigger horizontal conflicts. Mass media, as one of pillars of democracy should not have adopted such a hypocritical news policy, he added.

"We have clear regulations on the media and we also have the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) but it has been toothless in regulating the media," said Bayu. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/15/partisan-media-diminishes-quality-democracy-ri-say-experts.html

In Indonesia's presidential race, ex-general a winner in proxy TV battle

Reuters - June 15, 2014

Fransiska Nangoy and Randy Fabi, Jakarta – If Indonesia's presidential election were to be decided by favorable coverage on its television channels, ex-general Prabowo Subianto would be in the driver's seat and frontrunner. Joko "Jokowi" Widodo would trail far behind.

Jokowi is ahead in opinion polls but Prabowo is catching up with less than a month to go for the July 9 election, according to surveys. But the surveys say about 40 percent of the electorate is undecided and television channels could decide, or at least heavily influence, who will lead the world's third-largest democracy for the next five years.

"The real war is to win the 41 percent of voters that are still undecided. In this case, the role of the media will be crucial," said Amir Effendi Siregar, the head of pr2media, a private media watchdog group.

The viewership numbers heavily favor Prabowo – two media moguls who control nearly half of Indonesia's TV audience are firmly with the former special forces chief.

Aburizal Bakrie, the head of the Golkar party which has thrown its weight behind Prabowo, owns media group PT Visi Media Asia and its two free-to-air nationwide television stations, ANTV and TVOne.

Hary Tanoesoedibjo, a member of Prabowo's inner circle of advisers, owns the Media Nusantara Citra group and its three national TV stations RCTI, MNCTV and Global TV.

The other presidential hopeful, Jokowi, is backed by media tycoon Surya Paloh, chairman of the small National Democrat party that is part of his alliance, and owner of leading news channel MetroTV.

"The use of media in political campaigns this year compared to other elections is much more intense and the bias is more obvious because TV owners are involved," said Siregar, adding that the owners could use their businesses as bargaining chips to further political ambitions.

Paloh's MetroTV however has just 3 percent of the country's viewership, compared to 44 percent for the five stations that are pro-Prabowo, according to Nielsen Indonesia.

According to the market research group, Indonesia's 11 privately-owned national TV stations reach 95 percent of the country's 240 million people. Newspapers reach only 12 percent.

Most of Indonesia's people live on the islands of Java and Sumatra, but the rest are scattered across thousands of islands spread over 5,000 km (3,000 miles). The role of mass media in political campaigns, especially in close contests, is crucial.

"It is definitely having an impact on the election. In terms of TV stations, Prabowo's camp has much more than Jokowi's," said Tobias Basuki, a political analyst at think tank CSIS. "We can't say exactly how much of an impact it will have, but the election (media watchdog) is not able to force TV stations to be objective."

Profess to be neutral

The TV stations profess to be even-handed, but, with highly partisan owners, neutrality is noticeably absent.

For example, Paloh's MetroTV showed live coverage of Jokowi speaking at a campaign stop in West Java last week, while Bakrie's TVOne ignored the event, keeping to a regular talk show.

On the same day, TVOne devoted nearly all of its noontime news to the Prabowo campaign, interviewing supporters and repeatedly showing a video highlighting the former general's career. There was no such coverage for Jokowi.

But Jokowi has fared well in the first of the nationally televised debates between him and Prabowo, which was aired live last week on several stations. The next debate was scheduled for Sunday and there will be at least two more before the election.

The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) agrees many channels devote far more air time to one of the candidates or the other and has issued warning letters to the three TV owners.

Some stations use quizzes, reality shows, soap operas and religious programs for campaigns and political advertising, it has said.

"Our findings show that the tendency for bias is mostly found on the news- based television channels. They are MetroTV and TVOne," Idy Muzzayad, the deputy chairman of KPI, told Reuters.

Indonesian regulations require that free-to-air television stations remain politically neutral and independent. KPI, however, only has authority to recommend action against a media company to the Telecommunication and Information Ministry, which can terminate a company's broadcasting license.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who must step down in October after serving a two-term limit, has urged more balanced coverage. "I hope the press and media will have accurate and constructive reporting. Easy to say, but maybe not as easy to do for the press and media owners," he said last month.

Media company officials said their TV stations cover what they can from the two presidential campaigns. "There is no owner intervention in our editorial content, but I think every media has their priority," said Arya Sinulingga, a spokesman for Tanoesoedibjo's MNC Group.

TVOne officials could not immediately be reached for comment. A MetroTV official denied any bias in coverage, but did say it was more difficult to cover Prabowo than Jokowi.

"Our reporters do not receive the same treatment when covering Prabowo. It is not that we don't want to cover Prabowo," said Suryopratomo, a news director for MetroTV. "We never pick sides. Politics is just for five years, while the existence of media is for the long term."

[Additional reporting by Fathiyah Dahrul; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Raju Gopalakrishnan.]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/indonesias-presidential-race-ex-general-winner-proxy-tv-211453009 – finance.html

Environment & natural disasters

Montara leaves questions across Timor Sea

Australian Associated Press - June 13, 2014

Empty fishing nets, weeping sores, mysterious deaths and mass dolphin strandings. In Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara islands, all these problems and more are being blamed on an oil spill in Australian waters five years ago.

The company responsible for the 2009 Montara disaster, PTTEP Australasia, says there's no credible evidence that supports the complaints. Our neighbours across the Timor Sea from us want evidence, too.

Five years after Australia's worst offshore oil industry disaster, there has been no research into the environmental impacts in Indonesia's land and waters.

On August 21, 2009, workers were evacuated after a blow out on Montara's West Atlas rig, 250km off Australia's coast. Over more than 10 weeks, at least 30,000 barrels of oil spewed into the Timor Sea, but the actual quantity will never be known.

While the operators kept trying, and failing, to plug the spill, the Rudd federal government approved the use of chemicals to disperse the oil. Even so, its spread was vast. Satellite pictures showed a sheen over 90,000 square kilometres.

When the oil finally stopped, studies found Australia's environment escaped long-term damage, and inquiries ended with those remote reefs and coasts.

But fishermen off Rote Island had captured grainy mobile phone footage of muck and dead fish on the water's surface. They are still waiting for someone to explain what they saw, and what has happened since.

In one of Indonesia's most disadvantaged areas, the fish catch has plummeted, the seaweed industry has been crippled and illnesses have plagued people who work on the water.

The men who videoed the oil live in the village of Oesapa, near West Timor's capital Kupang. Lasman Ali says they could smell it before they saw it – a "lake" of oil on the sea's surface.

Since then, Ali says there's barely anything to catch in the fishing grounds that once sustained hundreds of families.

He now relies on the charity of neighbours and a few cents his wife Rosna makes from selling sweet drinks to survive. He can't afford to send his sons to primary school, so they mostly play in the sand outside their rusting tin home.

The only hint that Oesapa was a thriving fishing town is a few boats on the beach, and boys drying small fish in the sun.

Haji Mostafa says they've lost about 70 per cent of their income. He guesses about 20 per cent of children have been pulled out of the local school as their fishing families move to other islands, or like Ali, save every cent until things improve.

Mostafa thinks he knows what killed this industry, and he wants someone to acknowledge it. "We've been here for generations, the only cause we could think of is the oil," he says.

Another industry experiencing losses since 2009 is seaweed farming. In the village of Tablolong, production peaked in 2008 when 500 tonnes was harvested for the cosmetic industry. In 2009, production fell below 400 tonnes. Now they can barely yield 10 tonnes of seaweed that isn't diseased.

It's not only the seaweed that's sick. Villagers complain of itchy skin and sores that never heal, which doctors can't explain. Some also report eye irritations and breathing problems from "vapour" on the water.

In nearby Lifuleo, only three seaweed farmers remain, after the sudden death of Philipus Liman in April. His community fears his death is somehow linked to the rashes, and the dead seaweed, and reports they've heard of dolphin and whale strandings.

Widow Maria Liman Mulik says her husband took up the seaweed business in 2002. The rashes appeared in 2010. "They disappeared then came again. I don't know why," she says.

Reluctantly, Maria will now tend what little seaweed will grow. She has little choice.

Here, the difference between poverty and prosperity is a house made from tin or concrete blocks. Maria's home is made of blocks, built in better times, and swept spotlessly while her family mourns their breadwinner.

Representing these people is a vocal West Timor businessman, Ferdi Tanoni, who says the isolated region suffers from being out of sight and out of mind to Indonesia and Australia.

He now has Indonesian government backing to lobby Canberra, but it's not compensation he's asking for, it's science. "We will go to the Australian government to protect our rights," he says. "This all began in their territorial waters."

The company behind Montara, PTTEP Australasia, say they are always open to dialogue with the Indonesian government. PTTEP's official report on the spill says satellite images showed no impact to the Indonesian coast or inshore waters.

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/06/13/montara-leaves-questions-across-timor-sea

New push for Montara oil disaster study

Australian Associated Press - June 11, 2014

Gabrielle Dunlevy – Indonesia's government has added its weight to a new push to make Canberra and the Thai company behind the Montara oil disaster survey for damage beyond Australian waters.

For more than 10 weeks in 2009, an unknown quantity of oil and gas flowed unabated into the Timor Sea after the blowout on PTTEP's Montara wellhead platform, 250 kilometres off Australia's coast.

Authorities dropped 184,000 litres of chemical dispersant to clear the slick, while the oil sheen spread over 90,000 square kilometres towards Indonesia.

Environmental studies of the aftermath found no damage to Australian waters or the remote Kimberley Coast. But five years later, there has been no study in Indonesia, where fishermen and seaweed farmers blame the spill for massive losses and health complaints.

The long-awaited Indonesian government decision gives advocacy group West Timor Care Foundation consent to pursue Australia's government and Thai- state owned PTTEP to investigate a raft of environmental, economic, and social problems since the spill.

Darwin-based lawyer Greg Phelps, representing West Timor Care, says the backing of Indonesia's Transport Minister, EE Mangindaan, should end any concerns the group doesn't have government authority.

"This study should have been done years ago, it can still be done, it needs to be done, and the only people who should pay for it are the oil company that caused the mess in the first place," Mr Phelps told AAP. "What's required now is for everyone to get into a partnership and get it resolved."

A spokesman for PTTEP Australasia says the company is aware of the claims the spill negatively impacted West Timorese communities, but to date hadn't received any credible evidence. Independent studies found 98 per cent of Montara oil stayed in Australian waters, he said.

"We have been consistently willing to engage with the government of Indonesia to address these claims," a statement said. "We have always acted cooperatively and in good faith in our past discussions with the Government of Indonesia, and we will continue to do so."

An Indonesian study put the losses to fishing and seaweed farming in the impoverished East Nusa Tenggara area at $A1.5 billion per year since the spill. Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane was approached for comment.

Source: https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world/a/24215628/

Sumatra sees surge in hotspots after relative lull

Jakarta Globe - June 10, 2014

Jakarta – Satellites on Sunday detected 227 hotspots across Sumatra – the highest number in three months, after a relative lull – including 37 in the hard-hit Riau province, where blazes have caused school cancelations and widespread respiratory illness.

According to information obtained by NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites, fires were burning over the weekend in Aceh, Jambi, North Sumatra, Riau, South Sumatra and West Sumatra, state-run Antara news agency reported. "There are three helicopters on standby, as the [rental] contract expires in September," National Disaster and Mitigation Agency (BNPB) information division head Agus Wibowo said on Monday, as reported by Antara. The helicopters could carry a combined 8,600 liters of water, he said.

Riau officials said that plans for cloud seeding and water bombing were underway.

As of Friday, two days before the surge, NASA only detected eleven Sumatra hotspots, and only two in Riau. BNPB predicted that El Nino, at the end of June, would bring hot, dry weather, causing blazes to flare up again.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/sumatra-sees-surge-hotspots-relative-lull/

Health & education

Curriculum drives intolerance

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2014

Jakarta – A group of educators has warned that failings in the country's education system and curriculum played a role in encouraging violence and intolerance in society, and that unless the next government was able to implement an overhaul, the nation faced a social crisis.

"In the last decade, there has been systemic violence in education policy and praxis that kills pluralism – such as adopting a half-hearted curriculum, school book development that is not in line with the spirit of pluralism, class and cultural bias and education-evaluation policy that defies standardization," said Doni Koesoema, a teacher and advisory council member of the Federation of Indonesian Teachers Association (FSGI).

Speaking in an education seminar organized by The Jakarta Post on Thursday, Doni also pointed out how education on religion was more focused on conveying dogma and doctrine than the importance of dialogue, mutual help and mutual trust.

"The teaching of religion tends to prioritize ritual and doctrinal aspects, and is much less accomodating to the spirit of dialogue and promoting tolerance among followers of different faiths," said Doni.

Komarudin Hidayat, rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN), agreed. "Our current education system does not reflect the condition of our nation, which is built upon the principle of multiculturalism," said Komarudin.

He also emphasized the paramount importance of teachers and cited research showing that the current education system had failed to maintain high- quality teachers – resulting in what he called an "assassination of students' creativity".

"Children under 10 are so creative, but that will be useless if their teachers lack substance and methodology in their teaching. Children should feel motivated in their learning," he said.

Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan said the country's education system had neglected the quality of teachers and focused too much on assessing students, which could be seen in the lack of character and integrity in the society and bureaucracy.

"Teachers are the main key to education. We have quite many teachers, but the quality is low. We tend to put the onus on students, not teachers. This probably explains why there is so much corruption and lack of integrity in our society," he said.

Anies, who is the founder of Gerakan Indonesia Mengajar (GIM), also said the current education system had forgotten the importance of proper management in schools, which should be improved by principals.

"Poor management in schools has alienated the best teachers from their students. This condition can be improved by the private sector," he said.

Meanwhile, Phillia Wibowo, a partner at McKinsey & Company, mentioned four potential initiatives for the next government, which will take over in October, to consider.

Philia also suggested the government move toward a demand-driven curriculum and continue to develop alternative educational pathways along with public and private partnerships. She also emphasized the need for education to match the likely needs of employers.

Citing an official document from the company, Philia said the government should "raise the standard of teaching, including by offering competitive compensation, raising the quality bar and elevating the status of teachers".

Meanwhile, Deputy Education and Culture Minister Musliar Kasim revealed that his ministry would provide review-based recommendations for local administrations to improve education facilities and school infrastructure in each region.

"We will conduct more censuses and surveys regarding our schools' conditions, but we already have a complete map to help local administrations improve education facilities in their regions," Musliar said.

According to Musliar, since 2011 the ministry had renovated tens of thousands of schools. He added that local administrations should also be responsible for maintaining and improving facilities.

"However, we still find damaged schools in many areas. That's because a lot of local regents and governors do not allocate much for education in their regional budgets," he said. (gda)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/13/curriculum-drives-intolerance.html

Mounting challenges await next government

Jakarta Post - June 10, 2014

Jakarta – The education system needs a drastic shake-up following the transition of government, according to experts in the field.

The secretary-general of the Federation for Indonesian Teachers Associations (FSGI), Retno Listyarti, criticized the current government for its mismanagement of the education sector.

"The system is marred by a 'sickness'. In the 10 years President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been in power, the government produced two curriculums and not much else," said Retno. She said that the new government should provide teachers with more training, whether they were civil servants, part-time or private teachers.

In a 2013 report entitled "Spending more or Spending Better: Improving Education Financing in Indonesia", the World Bank said that Indonesia's teacher certification program needed to be reviewed, since it did not guarantee students a high-quality learning environment.

Retno also said that the national exams should be renegotiated. "Both teachers and students have fallen prey to a broken system with severe complications," she told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

She said she hoped the next government would pursue more effective policies and "really" try to understand the issues that plagued the sector.

"Neither presidential candidate has shown any real mastery of the issues that matter. There are several programs that are similar, but it seems Jokowi understands the practical implications more than his competitor," said Retno, referring to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Terbuka University rector Tian Belawati said that higher education was dependent on the ability of tertiary institutions to produce high-quality graduates. "Currently, tertiary institutions are highly varied in terms of facilities and human resources," she said.

According to Tian, the government was unable to provide sufficient support for tertiary institutions.

She said the next government should strive to improve access to tertiary institutions, citing that only 30 percent of those aged 19-23 enrolled in college education. "But it would be useless if the participation rate was high and the graduates were not competitive."

Tian suggested that the education system needed to give universities and other tertiary institutions the freedom to determine the kind of teaching they provided. "Let universities define what they do best; the government should support that," she said.

The Education and Culture Ministry's directorate general of higher education (DIKTI), Djoko Santoso, said it was important for tertiary institutions to meet industry demands for qualified, professional graduates to compete in the workforce.

"Tertiary institutions should not only be able to instruct and enlighten, but they should also allow the populace to sustain their own economic needs," he said.

Djoko said that the higher education system should be able to provide opportunities for scientific research, which would drive innovation. "Higher education is tasked with producing human capital and innovation, both of which are needed to further expand the job market," he said.

Djoko suggested that the DIKTI should be managed by its own ministry. Only then could the Tri Dharma – the three pillars of education: instruction, research and public service – be achieved. (tjs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/10/mounting-challenges-await-next-government.html

Sex workers & prostitution

Dolly should not be closed: Komnas HAM

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2014

Surabaya – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) urged on Thursday the Surabaya administration not to forcibly close Dolly, dubbed Southeast Asia's largest red-light district, as the sex workers had rejected the planned closure.

"In a democracy, there should be no coercion. The government should not forcibly close [Dolly]," Komnas HAM commissioner Dianto Bachriadi told hundreds of sex workers at a sit-in in the district.

Dianto said the local administration needed to protect its residents whatever their professions, adding that the policy to close Dolly had the potential to cause economic losses. "Dolly has generated income not only for the sex workers but also for the inhabitants living nearby," he said.

Dianto added that the administration could only close down the red-light district if there had been violations against the law. "Any alleged violation needs be proved first in court."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/13/dolly-should-not-be-closed-komnas-ham.html

Graft & corruption

KPK targets alleged graft in disability funds

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2014

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Tuesday it would kick off a preliminary investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the disbursement of government funds intended for people with disabilities.

KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto spoke of the antigraft body's surprise at the finding. "We were truly shocked to find out that funds allocated to help people with disabilities were allegedly being stolen. There are indications of corruption in disability welfare funds," Bambang told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Bambang said the KPK had agreed to launch the preliminary investigation after receiving reports from a number of NGOs on Monday. He said according to the report, many people with disabilities in a number of regions did not receive the facilities they deserved.

"Some of the [graft] methods include a reduction in funds used to procure nutrition for children with special needs, and funds to build training and work facilities for people with disabilities," Bambang said.

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) said people with disabilities in Indonesia accounted for 12-14 percent of the total population.

Earlier on Monday, seven NGOs from a number of regions in the country met with KPK commissioners at the antigraft body.

The NGOs are the Bandung Independent Living Center (BILiC), the West Nusa Tenggara Disability Union (PPDI); the Institute for the Education and Development of Professions for People with Disability (LP3AD), also from West Nusa Tenggara; the Makassar and Central Lombok branches of the Indonesian Disabled Women's Association (HWDI); the Yogyakarta-based Disabled Women and Children Advocacy Center (Sapda); and the Jakarta-based Association for the Foundation for the Blind (YMN) in Jakarta.

Aria Indrawati of the YMN said the organization had found indication of corruption in 25 government programs that focused on people with disabilities in a number regions in the country, especially programs handled by social agencies at the provincial level.

She said the 25 government programs were distributed through three ministries – the Social Affairs Ministry, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and the Education and Culture Ministry.

"We found a case where government officials cut Rp 40 million [US$3,385] from the Rp 90 million aid intended for a NGO. Most people with disabilities had no choice but to accept the fact because it's very difficult for them to receive any funds from the government," Aria said.

Yuyun Yuningsih of the BILiC said government officials also collected illegal levies when disbursing funds for people with disabilities.

"For example, a person with a disability is supposed to receive Rp 300,000 in monthly aid, which is disbursed once every three months. But in the field, the officers of social agencies usually collect illegal levies of Rp 100,000 from them when dispensing the aid," Yuyun said.

The program, the name of which Yuyun did not specify, served more than 17,000 people with disabilities in 2009 and had run since 2005. She added that this year the program had 22,000 beneficiaries, all registered with the Social Affairs Ministry.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/11/kpk-targets-alleged-graft-disability-funds.html

Big-name legislative candidates received illegal funds: PPATK

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2014

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) said on Sunday it had sent reports to the Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) on scores of legislative candidates who allegedly received funds from illegal sources to pay for their campaigns in the April 9 legislative election.

According to PPATK deputy chairman Agus Santoso, the PPATK initially received a request from Bawaslu to probe the bank accounts of a number of legislative candidates, some of whom are incumbents.

Its investigation later found that the bank accounts of the candidates, whose number the PPATK did not specify, contained suspicious transactions.

"The PPATK found many alleged suspicious transactions in the collecting of campaign funds by legislative candidates," Agus told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He refused to reveal the identities of the legislative candidates, saying such a move would hamper the ongoing investigation being conducted by Bawaslu. Some incumbents were re-elected in the 9 April legislative election for the 2014-2019 term at the House of Representatives.

Separately, Bawaslu chairman Muhammad confirmed his office had received what he called "secret documents" from the PPATK, containing the names of the legislative candidates with suspicious transactions in relation to their campaign funds.

He said he was surprised to learn from reports that the names of a number of prominent politicians, who have important positions in political parties, appeared on the documents.

"The PPATK chairman has handed the secret documents to Bawaslu and I was surprised to learn that the documents mentioned high profile individuals who are very well-known to the public," Muhammad said.

Muhammad, however, declined to give details about the individuals. "I don't want to talk about the details of the investigation by revealing the identities of high profile political figures and what parties they belong to," Muhammad went on.

He said as soon as Bawaslu's investigation confirmed criminal violations had taken place, his office would file an official report with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to launch a criminal investigation into the legislative candidates.

The Post has learned that individuals suspected of illegal transactions hold positions in political parties ranging from secretary-general to former chairman.

The PPATK, Bawaslu and the KPK are slated to hold a coordination meeting on Monday to discuss the fate of the legislative candidates before the case is officially handed over to the KPK.

Meanwhile, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the antigraft body would welcome Bawaslu's move to file reports on the legislative candidates. "We will first analyze Bawaslu's reports then we will decide on what to do next," Johan said.

Johan said any illegal financial support to fund legislative candidates' campaign activities could be categorized as gratuities.

According to Law No.8/2012 on elections, legislative candidates are only allowed to receive financial support from their respective parties. However, political parties are allowed to receive donations from individuals and companies.

The law says an individual can donate a maximum Rp 1 billion (US$84,000) to a political party, while companies can give a maximum Rp 7.5 billion to a political party.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/09/big-name-legislative-candidates-received-illegal-funds-ppatk.html

Freedom of religion & worship

Another hard-line group implicated in violence

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2014

Bambang Muryanto – One hard-line group allegedly involved in violent acts in Yogyakarta is the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI).

Among the more recent incidents was the attack on a sealed Pentecostal church in Pangukan, Sleman, by local residents after the church was reopened by members of the congregation for religious activities.

A local community leader named Turmudzi alleged that he received help from several mass organizations, including the FJI, to stop the congregation.

The FJI's leader, Abdurahman, was seen with Turmudzi on Wednesday at Sleman Police headquarters. The group was launched in November 2011 and, ironically, is headquartered near the Kasihan Police station in Bantul, Yogyakarta.

"We have some 150 members in Yogyakarta and some 500 supporters," Abdurahman claimed. The group even apparently has an official website and Facebook page.

The FJI's flag is black, showing a Koran framed between two swords. Its motto is "live a noble life or die as a martyr". Among its objectives are improving the morality of members, upholding sharia law and improving people's understanding about Islam.

The group has recently been in the media for protesting against the presence of minority Shia Muslims in Yogyakarta, against the Adiyuswo Easter celebration for the elderly in Gunungkidul and against Christians opening a house of worship in Baciro.

Members of the group also allegedly assaulted Gunungkidul Interfaith Forum activist Aminuddin Azis. "We did it in Gunungkidul because there were efforts toward Christianization," Abdurahman was quoted as saying.

The FJI, however, has less than cordial relations with the infamous Islam Defenders Front (FPI). Members of both groups traded insults and threw stones at each other during the trial of local FPI chief Bambang Teddy in 2012 on charges of assault and defamation.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/15/another-hard-line-group-implicated-violence.html

In Yogya, police and officials fiddle as hard-liners run rampant

Jakarta Post - June 15, 2014

Sri Wahyuni and Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Yogyakarta's reputation as a city of tolerance for people of all religions is slipping.

In the latest in a series of incidents of religious intolerance, a Pentecostal Christian church in Pangukan, Sleman, was sealed off by an angry crowd and members of a mass organization after the congregation reopened the church for divine services on June 9.

This came only a few days after an attack led by men in traditional gamis (Islamic robes) on those assembled in the home of Julius Felicianus in Besi, also in Sleman, for a private rosary prayer session.

The incidents have moved the administration of Margoluwih subdistrict in Sleman said to take what they call "precautionary measures", asking another congregation, the Isa Almasih Christian Church (GKIA) in Ngentak village, to stop holding divine services as of June 4.

Margoluwih subdistrict secretary Agus Wiseso claimed that officials had not yet received a license or a building permit for the church.

"We did so in anticipation, to prevent members of mass organizations from outside the subdistrict from doing the same as they did to the church in Pangukan," Agus said on June 6.

A local minister, Rev. Benardino Saryanto Wiryaputra, said he was worried that such cases were evidence of increasing intolerance in Yogyakarta.

He attributed part of the problem to stagnant interethnic and interfaith dialogue and a lack of follow-on community initiatives. "If dialog at the action level can be realized, intolerance can be eventually decreased," Benardino said.

He also said the failure to bring perpetrators of intolerance and violence to justice had worsened the situation. "If this continues to prevail, the struggle for plurality and diversity will get tougher and tougher," Benardino said.

The key, he said, was local law enforcement and local government. "They are the protectors of the people regardless of their faith."

Abdul Muhaimin, chairman of the Yogyakarta Interfaith Brotherhood Forum (FPUB), expressed a similar sentiment, saying that the hands-off approach of police and government officials in cases of religious intolerance guaranteed that such incidents would reoccur.

"No 'chilling effect' [against intolerance] has been created. It makes the perpetrators feel that they are untouchable and are even above the law," said Muhaimin.

Civil society groups have been active in stemming intolerance in Yogyakarta, working through sympathetic Muslim congregations, promoting interfaith youth camps and holding conventions from the provincial to the international level, he added. "The domain is now the legal one," he said.

Unfortunately, law enforcers have been subject to politics, among other things, according to Muhaimin. "We all know that these [hard-line] groups are just a minority. I am quite sure that they are just moved by some power using remote controls," he said.

Official impotence in failing to prosecute the persecutors is obvious: The Yogyakarta Anti-Violence Community (Makaryo) said that none of the 18 cases of (mostly sectarian) violence committed in Yogyakarta since 2000 have been brought to court.

Regardless, Makaryo coordinator Benny Susanto is taking a legal approach, citing the provisions of the 2012 law on Yogyakarta's special status guaranteeing differences.

"Especially since Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X has the title of 'sayidin panoto gomo', which means the protector of religions," Benny said.

Hamengkubuwono has previously said that after holding several discussions with hard-line Muslim groups, the time for talking was over. The governor has told police not to tolerate religious violence, saying that it was time for law enforcers to act.

Seperately, Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti claimed that while officers remained serious in handling such incidents, it was difficult to find witnesses who would speak out against the perpetrators.

Abdul Muhaimin dismissed Anny's statements as obfuscation, citing cases where the police did not name suspects when witnesses were available and evidence was clear.

"What we need here is the police's good will, bravery and integrity in handling cases of violence and bringing the perpetrators to court," Muhaimin said.

According to M. Najib Azca, a sociologist studying violence from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta, intolerant groups began to emerge in the area after 1998.

However, the police – and their many local intelligence units – have not tracked the groups or taken action against those suspected of intolerance or religious-inspired violence.

Neither have the police been proactive in stopping such incidents, he said. "What they do when violence is committed is just muffle it, so as not to make it bigger."

Najib's statements are backed up by a 2013 report from Human Rights Watch titled "In the Name of Religion: Violating Minority Religions". The report alleges that the National Police convinced some victims of religious persecution by Muslims to move away, or closed their places of worship under the pretext of maintaining "public order".

Najib said that intolerant groups might have the tacit support of political elites eager to exploit religious tensions for their own purposes.

However, Budi Setiawan, the imam and chairman of the Masjid Gedhe Mosque at the Yogyakarta Palace compound in Kauman, Yogyakarta, suggested another reason.

Budi said that some people may have an "inlander mentality", fearing domination by more powerful and wealthier minority groups, just as when the Dutch colonized what would later become Indonesia.

Such attitudes might explain – but not justify – intolerance. "Being a majority in this predominantly Muslim country, they actually don't need to feel that way," he says.

Quoting Islamic teachings, Budi said that even during war in the time of Muhammad, Muslims were banned from attacking women, children and places of worship. "I cannot understand why – in today's era, while we are not in a war – they attack a place of worship and divine services," Budi said.

The recent attacks have left some adherents of minority religions afraid. "I am really scared of the violence," said Olivia Lewi Pramesthi, a Catholic resident of the area.

Olivia said that after much deliberation, she decided not to go to mass at the province's biggest church last Sunday, choosing a smaller church in Baciro instead. "I have even been reminded by some friends not to hold a prayer meeting at my house once it is finished, because it is close to a mosque," Olivia said.

However, Saryanto remains optimistic. Calling the recent violence small- scale, the minister said that wounds would heal and intolerance could be decreased. "But we really have to work hard on it," Benardino says. "Otherwise, the small wounds could just grow."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/15/in-yogya-police-and-officials-fiddle-hard-liners-run-rampant.html

KWI wants more protection for minority groups

Jakarta Post - June 12, 2014

Jakarta – The Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) has called on the next government to step up efforts to safeguard religious freedom through legal means.

The secretary of the KWI's commission on justice, peace and missions, PC Siswantoko, said that the future government of the country must put a stop to the politicization of religious intolerance, as it had created discord in the community.

"In the midst of the current political debate, the issue of religious intolerance has become a serious infringement of human rights," Siswantoko said on Tuesday.

The KWI also called on the new president elected in the July 9 election to defend the rights of those who fall victim to religious discrimination.

"The next president will need to courageously defend victims of violence and injustice," said Siswantoko, adding that the current presidential candidates had been non-committal in their statements on the matter.

He said that the country's next leader should issue a new law that safeguards the right to religious freedom and provides legal standards to facilitate action by law enforcement agencies.

"As long as there is no avenue for comprehensive law enforcement, our democracy will remain a procedural one, which does not contributed to justice and equality," he said.

Meanwhile, Guido Suprapto, the KWI's executive secretary for the lay congregation commission, said the national ideology of Pancasila provides clear guidelines for interfaith dialogue and harmony.

Even so, the introduction of a specific law governing religious freedom would help law enforcers handle cases of intolerance, Guido said.

He suspected that there had been a lack of political will among regional leaders to solve religious discrimination in the country as they were only concerned with maintaining religious harmony as a formality.

Agustinus Ulahayanan, another member of the KWI, said that training and education for public servants could help to instill multicultural values. "Law enforcers have a certain bias or fear of handling situations of religious intolerance. They even tend toward inaction," Agustinus said.

According to Agustinus, there is no system in place to allow law enforcers to work professionally in cases of religious friction.

Last month, a group of people wearing Muslim garb attacked a house in Sleman, Yogyakarta in which a rosary prayer recital was taking place. The house's owner, Julius Felicianus, Kompas TV journalist Michael Aryawan and three other members of the prayer group were injured in the attack.

The incident was one of several that 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. (tjs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/12/kwi-wants-more-protection-minority-groups.html

Study blames government for rising religious intolerance

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2014

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The government bears responsibility for the rise of religious intolerance across the archipelago over the past few years, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based organization that examines religious freedom.

"The government, the President and ministers contribute to this situation," said Benedict Rogers, while delivering a report entitled "Indonesia: Pluralism in Peril, The Rise of Religious Intolerance across the Archipelago', in Yogyakarta on Tuesday.

The report cited President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's tendency to support the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) issuances of fatwas (legal edicts), as a contributing factor in the erosion of respect for pluralism in the country.

At an MUI congress in 2005, for instance, the President said that the MUI played an essential role in debating Islamic issues.

"Such remarks offered conservative [Islam] a green light, and within days, a series of fatwas were issued that served to undermine notions of pluralism," Rogers said.

The government, Rogers added, had issued additional rulings that provoked religious intolerance against minority groups. Those rulings include a 2006 joint ministerial decree (SKB) regarding houses of worship, and a 2008 joint ministerial decree that bans the Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect, from spreading its beliefs.

The report also criticized weak and unbalanced law enforcement practices. "The most worrying development is the absence of the state in various acts of violence. This makes the police seem helpless [...] they [the police] even tended to let the violence occur right in front of them," Rogers said.

He expressed concerns about a rising trend whereby in cases of religious intolerance, victims were often criminalized while perpetrators walked free.

"According to sources mentioned in the report, the radical groups are often backed by political elites and high-ranking police and military officers," Rogers said.

"If the government does nothing [about rising religious intolerance], Indonesia could follow the example of Pakistan, where religious violence is common," he added.

Rogers, who authored a book entitled "Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads", said that religious intolerance in Indonesia bore resemblances to the situation in Myanmar, as Burma is also known, where the government employed violence to suppress minorities, including Muslims and Christians.

Moreover, Rogers called on the presidential hopefuls to pay more attention to human rights issues in the country.

Meanwhile, Elga Sarapung, director of the Yogyakarta interfaith organization Dian/Interfidei, urged the government to seriously address the rising number of religious intolerance cases in Indonesia, saying that to not do so would risk tarnishing the nation's image abroad.

"We can no longer just believe that whether something is right or wrong, it's 'still my country'," Elga said. She also aired hopes that the Yogyakarta Police would immediately act on the wave of religious intolerance in the province over the past month.

Yogyakarta, long regarded as a province of peace, has witnessed a sharp rise in incidents of religious intolerance. On May 30 in Ngaglik, Sleman regency, dozens of people attacked the house of Galang Press director Julius Felicianus while a number of Catholics were inside praying.

On June 1, a group of residents, along with members of hard-line groups, vandalized a Pentecostal Church in Pangukan, Sleman, claiming that it had not obtained a permit. A few days later, a group of people demanded that the Isa Almasih Church in Ngentak cease holding church services.

Escalating tensions were heightened again on Sunday, when preacher Ja'far Umar Thalib told Muslims gathered at the Masjid Gedhe grand mosque in Kauman that it was time to declare war on pluralism.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/11/study-blames-govt-rising-religious-intolerance.html

Stop provocative speech: Muslim leaders, activists

Jakarta Post - June 10, 2014

Sri Wahyuni and Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Muslim leaders and activists in Yogyakarta have expressed regret over the preaching of cleric Ja'far Umar Thalib on Sunday that focused on pluralism and jihad and was held at the Masjid Gedhe grand mosque in Kauman.

They branded Ja'far's words as provocative and misleading. "Provocative preaching that stirs up violence has to be stopped. We need a secure situation to make the upcoming presidential election a success," said Abdul Mu'thi, the secretary of the central executive board of the country's second largest moderate Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, on Monday.

At the tablig (gathering), Ja'far, a former commander of the now-defunct Laskar Jihad paramilitary group that was allegedly involved in bloody conflicts in Ambon, Maluku, repeatedly called on Muslims to wage jihad against so-called infidels and pluralism.

He said pluralism had the potential to cause conflict as it taught that all religions were equally right and that was not the case. Ja'far also said Islam was "a religion of war" and that Muslims had to love war. If they did not, Ja'far went on, they needed to question why they were Muslims.

Responding to Ja'far's words, Abdul Muhaimin, the owner of Nurul Ummahat Islamic boarding school in Kotagede, Yogyakarta, called on Muslims not to listen to such preaching. "It's not preaching. It's provocation," he said.

He added that what Ja'far conveyed at the gathering was not religious understanding but ideological understanding motivated by political interests. Muhaimin said in the Koran there were 38 verses that talked about jihad, yet only two referred to war.

"There is only one jihad that is considered the ultimate form, which is the jihad within the self, against our own desires," said Muhaimin, who is also chairman of the Yogyakarta Interfaith Brotherhood Forum (FPUB).

Muhaimin added that one verse on war in the Koran even used polite wording. "The Prophet was only allowed, to go to war, not told to go to war," he said.

Muhaimin added that the concept of war in Islam was for defensive purposes only. Violence, similarly, could only be used in self defense, not for repression. Mu'thi concurred, saying that Muslims had a duty to protect and reassure others who were from different backgrounds.

The director of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), Samsudin Nurseha, said the police could take action against Ja'far if the latter was deemed to have been spreading hatred in the tablig.

"If a criminal dimension is identified, the police can take legal action," said Samsudin, quoting Article 156(a) of the Criminal Code (KUHP) that carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment for showing hostility in public and defaming religion.

Expressions of regret were also conveyed by the chairman of Masjid Gedhe, Budi Setiawan, who said he considered the tablig as a fait accompli. He said that he did not expect Ja'far to preach in that manner, especially after he asked the organizing committee not to use a provocative theme for the tablig following recent sectarian violence committed in Yogyakarta.

He referred to the attack by a group of men wearing gamis (long clothes) on a house hosting a rosary prayer session, and an attack by local residents on a sealed Pentecostal church in Sleman after its congregation reopened it for prayer activity.

Separately, the spokesperson of the Yogyakarta Police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti, said no new suspect had been arrested in the first case. She said police were still looking for two other suspects.

For the second case, she said, the police had questioned a local resident who was suspected to be behind the attack on the church. "We cannot reveal the result of the questioning," Anny said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/10/stop-provocative-speech-muslim-leaders-activists.html

Preacher declares war on pluralism

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2014

Bambang Muryanto and Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Preacher Ja'far Umar Thalib whose followers have been linked to alleged religion-based conflict, told Muslims in a Yogyakarta mosque on Sunday evening to declare war on pluralism.

Speaking at a tablig (gathering) entitled "Muslims Unite for Developed Indonesia" at Masjid Gedhe grand mosque in Kauman, Ja'far lambasted pluralism because it taught that all religions were equally right.

"This is a statement of war against Muslims because it's an apostasy of Muslims," Ja'far told the congregation of about 2,000 people. He said it was obligatory for Muslims to oppose pluralism because of the potential for conflict.

"There is no tolerance when religion is degraded," said the former commander of Laskar Jihad Ahlussunah Wal Jamaah, whose members were reportedly involved in bloody conflicts in Ambon in early 2000.

The event was jointly organized by the Yogyakarta Islamic People's Forum (FUI) and Muslim Green Zone.

The mosque's imam, Budi Setiawan, said that previously the tablig was titled Umat Islam Bersatu Melawan Pluralisme (Muslims Unite to Fight Against Pluralism) but he had asked the organizing committee to change it to make it less contentious.

Budi said he had received complaints about the title after the invitation for the tablig went viral on social media.

He said the organizing committee had promptly changed it, yet, he was not sure if everyone had received the second version of the invitation. "The first title was not conducive for the moment, especially after recent events," Budi told The Jakarta Post prior to the event.

Budi was referring to the recent attacks by a group of men wearing gamis (Arab clothes) on a house that was hosting a rosary prayer group and on a Pentecostal church in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.

Budi said he was fearful that the first version of the invitation would worsen the sectarian violence that had plagued Yogyakarta recently.

Speaking at the opening of the gathering, Budi told the congregation that the content of the sermons should not incite hatred.

He also said that Islam had its fair share of differences. "It's our task to find similarities, not differences," Budi said.

Meanwhile, Coordinator of Yogyakarta Anti Violence Community (Makaryo) Denny Susanto said that Ja'far's preaching was provocative. "Yogyakarta is facing the hard task of maintaining pluralism," Denny, who attended the event, said.

Budi Setiawan concurred, saying that Islam as understood by Ja'far was not necessarily the same as Muslims in general. He was referring to Ja'far's comment that Islam was a "religion of war".

Many feared that the event was politically motivated. But there were no local politicians at the tablig.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/09/preacher-declares-war-pluralism.html

Land & agrarian conflicts

Air Force denies shooting at locals

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2014

Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – The Indonesian Air Force (TNI- AU) said that their officers were not responsible for the shooting and injuring of five civilians in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Wednesday.

It is alleged that officers and around 20 locals were involved in an altercation that led to the shooting. The Air Force claims a unit of its Special Forces (Paskhas) was in the area for presidential election security training at the Palembang Air Force Base, which is next to a residential area.

Air Force spokesperson First Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto said on Thursday that prior to the training exercise, Paskhas had deployed two officers in plain clothes to inform locals of the security drill.

"We conducted the training within our territory, but we felt that we needed to inform the neighborhood. However, just as we were about to begin the exercise, 20 people wielding machetes attacked Paskhas officers," Hadi said in a telephone interview.

According to Hadi, Paskhas officers dispersed the crowd in peaceful manner and did not fire shots. "The officers were only equipped with empty guns," he said. Hadi's statements run contrary to some local residents' claims.

The residents, as reported by several news outlets, claimed that the officers had damaged their farm before assaulting and shooting at them.

Five residents allege they sustained bullet-related injuries, four of them – identified as Mukayah, Nurhamid, Narto and Mustakim – were rushed to Moehamad Husin Hospital in Palembang – The fifth victim, Sumanto was admitted to Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Palembang.

According to the victims, the officers intended to take their farm and homes by force. Hadi confirmed that the neighborhood was located on land belonging to the government.

"The government has authorized the Palembang Air Force Base to use 200 hectare [ha] of land in that area. So far, 140 ha has been reclaimed, while the remainder is still illegally controlled by locals. This neighborhood is among of them," he said.

Hadi, however, declined that the Air Force had attempted to take the land by force. "We have tried to settle this matter through dialogue with the locals," he said.

Separately, National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Siti Nurlaila said that the commission would look into the case. "We first need to gather information and testimony from the related parties to analyze whether there was a human rights violation in the case," she said on Thursday.

Hadi pledged the Air Force's full cooperation if Komnas HAM investigated the incident. "I believe that Komnas HAM will be objective," he said.

According to Hadi, Palembang Air Force base commander Lt. Col. Sapuan had visited the victims to gather information on the accident. "He is studying the medical examination to find out if the injuries were due to sharp weapons or bullets," he added.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/13/air-force-denies-shooting-locals.html

Brimob officers used to clear illegal occupants

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2014

Jakarta – Hundreds of women and children fled their homes when two officers from the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) fired shots on Tuesday in Sukmajaya, Depok, in an attempt to drive residents away from a plot of land they are occupying.

The shots were fired only moments after the Brimob officers disseminated pamphlets that called on those occupying the land to leave within two weeks or face eviction by force.

The pamphlets claimed that state-run radio station RRI was the legitimate owner of the 65-hectare plot of land, which is reportedly being illegally occupied by around 400 families.

Jeremias, who witnessed the event, said that two officers fired shots when a group of residents posed questions to six officers who disseminated the pamphlets, regarding the intention of their visit to their village.

"We asked them politely but two of them fired at the ground to intimidate us. No one was hurt but their actions were really unnecessary," he said as quoted by tribunnews.com, adding that many women and children were frightened by the event.

Aside from delivering the flyers, the Brimob officers also put up a sign stating that the land was owned by RRI.

Jeremias, however, said that the residents inhabited the land legally and held certificates of ownership. "RRI has the right to use the land, but it does not have land ownership documents," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/11/brimob-officers-used-clear-illegal-occupants.html

Agriculture & rural life

Government pays salary to village heads

Jakarta Post - June 13, 2014

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has issued a government regulation that would entitle village heads to a salary.

Under the new regulation, which was drafted to implement the 2013 Village Law, also stipulates that village heads should also get allowance. The new regulation said that the salary and allowance would be covered by a specific from the central government

In December last year, the House passed the Village Law, a new regulation that, the government claims, will improve the welfare of people living in the country's 73,000 villages.

Under the new law, which was unanimously approved by all political factions in the House during a plenary session on Wednesday, villages will be allocated part of the 10 percent of the state budget, which is earmarked for the regional administration.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/13/govt-pays-salary-village-heads.html

Regional autonomy & separatism

Solving conflict in Papua, South Moluccas

Jakarta Globe - June 13, 2014

Giacomo Tognini, Jakarta – This year's presidential election has roused Indonesia's young, vibrant democracy in ways no previous vote has done before. As the two-candidate race is getting closer, it captivates millions at home and abroad.

But as the republic seems to flourish, freedoms seen as fundamental to a functioning democracy are continuously denied across the archipelago. Whether this will change under either Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, or Prabowo Subianto remains to be seen.

Indonesia's easternmost provinces of West Papua and Papua have long seen a low-level insurgency by the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and other armed groups who have fought for independence since 1963.

In the Maluku province, composed of the southern Moluccan islands and centered on Ambon, there is a history of small protests to re-establish the Republic of the South Moluccas (RMS), which was crushed by Indonesian forces in 1963.

Both movements are known for their wide usage of two banned symbols: the Benang Raja, or "rainbow" flag of the RMS in Maluku, and the "Morning Star" flag of the formerly independent West Papua in Papua.

Many peaceful protesters raise these flags as a symbol of nonviolent resistance to the Indonesian state, yet they are prosecuted under anti- terror laws because the authorities view their actions as separatist activities. This is a violation of freedom of expression, which a democracy should guarantee.

Articles 106 and 107 of the Indonesian criminal code set a punishment of life imprisonment or a maximum of 20 years in jail for "attempt[s] undertaken with intent to bring the territory of the state wholly or partially under foreign domination or to separate part thereof" and for "attempt[s] undertaken with the intent to cause a revolution."

On June 23, 2010, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on the imprisonment of over 100 peaceful political demonstrators in Indonesian prisons in Java, Maluku and Papua.

The report accuses members of the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police, and the police's counter-terrorism wing Densus 88 of torturing protesters who raised the illegal flags during the independence anniversaries of the defunct West Papuan and South Moluccan republics.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued its legal opinion in 2011 that the police's arrest of Papuan political activist Filep Karma in 2004, for raising the Morning Star flag, constituted a violation of international law.

"The UN group believes Indonesian courts do not proportionally interpret the written law," Indonesian human rights journalist Andreas Harsono told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. "Most of these prisoners are in jail for treason, they are not violent and not a serious threat at all."

When asked about the HRW report's accusation of police torture, National Police spokesman Boy Rafil Amar said "the police in Papua and Maluku are working based on standard operating procedures."

"The police is working based on the law against separatist activity," he added. "They are against Indonesian law so we just investigate based on Indonesian law."

While armed groups such as the OPM do pose a military threat, Andreas believes that the flag-raisers pose "no threat at all towards Indonesian sovereignty."

Of 197 UN members, Vanuatu alone recognizes West Papua as a separate country, after passing a recognition bill two years ago. Indonesia's embassy in Canberra, which is also accredited to Vanuatu, was not available for comment.

Joko is the only presidential candidate in Indonesian history to have visited Papua during a campaign, having visited the province last week. He announced that, if elected, he would lift restrictions dating back to 1963 that deny foreign journalists, diplomats, and non-governmental organizations entry to the restive region.

"This is positive because it has widened the debate on the elections, involving not only the more populous regions of Indonesia but also the least populous," Andreas said. "Electorally, South Maluku and Papua only have 5 million voters."

Outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also promised to remove restrictions on foreign media in Papua, yet nothing has changed under his administration. In 2007, he passed the 77/2007 presidential decree that made lifting the RMS or Morning Star flags a crime punishable by life in prison.

"Those opposed to opening up Papua are military intelligence," Andreas said. "The military, police, and intelligence have their own self-interest in Papua, they want promotions, a ladder to climb to a better career."

"An area within Indonesia can only be closed if there is an emergency, but there is no emergency in Papua," he added. "Some high ranking government officials told me they agree Papua should be opened up, but they cannot make this decision by themselves because they need the NGOs and the media to educate the public and put pressure on the military."

A spokesperson for the military was not available for comment.

The Free West Papua Campaign is a pro-independence movement led by Benny Wenda, who organizes the group's activities from abroad. It opened offices in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands last year, and another in Perth two months ago.

A spokesperson from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta told the Jakarta Globe that while the Australian government was aware of the office's existence, it had no involvement in its opening and that its "long-standing position on Indonesia's Papuan provinces is that it unreservedly recognizes Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

On April 25 this year, Maluku Police arrested Simon Saiya, the Ambon-based leader of the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM), an outlawed separatist organization headed by Alexander Manuputty, who is in exile in the United States.

Simon had been wanted since 2007, when his followers unfurled an RMS flags at a National Family Day celebration attended by Yudhoyono. The TNI and police arrested them, in line with the anti-terror laws.

Looking for signs

As human rights abuses continue in the run-up to the election, foreign and local analysts will be looking for signs from Joko or Prabowo that the situation will change under them.

Joko's running-mate, former vice president Jusuf Kalla, has been touted by Indonesian politicians as a possible mediator for the Papua conflict, given his experience in negotiating peace accords in Aceh and the religious conflicts in Central Sulawesi and Maluku.

However, in a 2010 letter, OPM military leader Thadius Magai Yogi rejected Kalla as an intermediary, instead calling on international organizations to mediate an end to the conflict.

On the other hand, John Wattilete, president of the self-declared RMS government-in-exile in the Netherlands, told a Dutch newspaper in 2009 that he would be open to special autonomy for Maluku instead of outright independence.

Haris Azhar, chairman of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), praised Joko's approach, but noted that he has "people standing in his circle with a negative record" in regard to human rights and Papua.

Former president Megawati heads Joko's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and is suspected by many Indonesians of controlling the Jakarta governor and presidential candidate from behind the scenes.

In 2003, she passed a law that divided Papua into three provinces, later reduced to two by a court ruling, and directly contradicted former president Wahid's 2001 law granting special autonomy to Papua.

The measure, although popular in Papua's far west for bringing in more government jobs, splintered the territorial unity that was intended to underpin the autonomy of Papua.

Joko's rival Prabowo is often criticized for his alleged human rights violations in East Timor and Jakarta. Joko may be considered clean himself, but he is supported by several figures with histories similar to that of his competitor.

Former general Ryamizard Ryacudu, who supports Joko, was involved in the TNI's heavy-handed campaigns against the secessionists in Aceh. In 2003, he told Tempo that the killer of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay was a "hero."

The People's Conscience Party (Hanura) forms part of Joko's coalition. Its leader, former general Wiranto, is seen as the chief architect behind the TNI's brutal retreat from East Timor in 1999, and was accused of fomenting violence between Christians and Muslims in Ambon during the deadly sectarian conflict that raged from 1999 to 2002.

As for Prabowo, Andreas believes that "there is nothing new: he has said what was said by other presidents in the past, that Papua is an integral part of Indonesia."

In spite of Joko's relative strengths in human rights – compared to Prabowo's emphasis on security – Haris says he did not know "how far they would put aside their interests to go on with solving the genuine problems in [conflict areas]."

"For the future, it's very important to ask these two candidates how they will deal with the conflict and post-conflict areas," Haris told the Jakarta Globe. "We request that the national election commission open a debate on human rights and on the issue of peace in conflict areas."

Indonesia has made incredible strides in democracy since the Suharto era. The mere fact that last Monday's presidential debate featured Kalla asking Prabowo a difficult question about his checkered past is a positive sign for the future.

But as long as anti-terrorism laws are still used to sentence harmless people who raise flags, as long as Papua remains closed off to reporters and diplomats, and as long as there is an absence of a lively discussion on past and present human rights abuses in this country, there is more progress to be made.

Both Joko and Prabowo's coalitions have skeletons in their closets. Time will tell if they can match their electrifying campaign with an equally assertive push to protect the rights of all citizens – regardless of geographic origin.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/solving-conflict-papua-south-moluccas/

Armed forces & defense

KPK says it has power to investigate TNI

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2014

Jakarta – Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said on Tuesday that the antigraft body had the authority to investigate corruption cases involving the Indonesian Military (TNI).

"According to Article 44 of the Corruption Law, we have jurisdiction over the military," Bambang said in a seminar on Tuesday.

Bambang said, however, that the KPK could only launch an investigation into graft allegations involving the military if it had solid evidence, meaning at least two pieces. "If we don't, we won't [launch an investigation]," Bambang said.

Bambang shrugged off the notion that KPK investigators would have a hard time dealing with the TNI. "We can summon the vice president, why couldn't we do the same for the military?" Bambang said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/11/kpk-says-it-has-power-investigate-tni.html

Slap on the wrist for Babinsa canvasser

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2014

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) said Sunday that it had taken disciplinary action against two officers allegedly involved in political canvassing for Gerindra Party's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, a former Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander.

Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Andhika Perkasa said that a village supervisory non-commissioned officer (Babinsa), identified as First Corp. Rusfandi, had been found guilty of vote canvassing in Gambir in Central Jakarta.

"It was purely on his own initiative and [as member of the Army] it is a violation. However, our two-day investigation found that First Cpl. Rusfandi did not have the intention of forcing AT [the resident who lodged the complaint] into voting for one of the presidential candidates," Andhika said.

Andhika said that Rusfandi was not campaigning for Prabowo. "Rusfandi unintentionally pointed to the picture of candidate number one [Prabowo] when trying to confirm AT's preference. This may have meant that AT felt Rusfandi had 'directed' him to vote for that particular candidate," Andhika said.

Rusfandi has been sentenced to 21 days in the Army detention center and will not be promoted for the next 18 months.

The Army has also reprimanded Gambir military district commander Capt. Inf. Saliman for negligence. Saliman is also barred from promotion, in his case for six months. "Saliman made no attempt to warn or stop Rusfandi," Andhika 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 who said he had been assigned to verify the data of eligible voters in the neighborhood. He was later seen to be registering those locals intending to vote for Prabowo.

Separately, TNI commander Gen. Moeldoko maintained that the Gambir incident was an isolated case. He said that there had been no instruction from the TNI headquarters to conduct vote canvassing.

Moeldoko also said that the Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) had allowed the Army to conduct an internal investigation and did not consider it to be an election violation.

"Bawaslu did a spot check and found no election violation. What was reported by residents was not proven. Residents in the neighborhood said that they were ready to testify that no such incident happened," Moeldoko said in press conference Jakarta on Sunday.

Despite Moeldoko's assurance of the TNI's neutrality, spokesman for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Abdul Karding Kadir, said that there had been a systematic effort to use Babinsa to mobilize support for the Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa ticket.

"I sense that the incident is not isolated, but rather a well-planned move based on instruction. I sense that this is an elaborate move masterminded by those with connections to the TNI," Karding said as quoted by kompas.com on Sunday.

Karding said that his allegations were not without evidence because similar incidences had also taken place in Yogyakarta, North Sumatra and Central Java. He said that it was impossible for junior officers in the TNI to carry out such action without the consent of their superiors.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/09/slap-wrist-babinsa-canvasser.html

Analysis & opinion

Handling Prabowo – Australia's dilemma

Jakarta Globe - June 14, 2014

Duncan Graham, Malang, East Java – In a secret underground vault somewhere in the Australian Capital Territory sit two documents – Plan J and Plan P. One will be unsealed after July 9, the other shredded, though their preambles are identical.

The opened document will first need a brisk shake in the Canberra frost to sanitize some of international diplomacy's most mouldy cliches. Nonetheless they're the yeast that helps keep world peace.

Australia will welcome the Indonesian people's choice; the prime minister and opposition leader will personally phone to congratulate the winner; the government will look forward to a long and amicable relationship; the foreign minister will travel to Indonesia as soon as practically possible to discuss matters of mutual interest.

It's also common to offer an invitation to visit. Read carefully to see if one is included – a good barometer to gauge the political climate.

That's where any similarity in the two documents ends, because Plan P deals with responses to the election of military man President Prabowo Subianto, Plan J to the victory of civilian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. The first paper is thick and full of appendices – the second brief.

Should the former Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander win, then Australian-Indonesian relationships, reportedly now back on track following meetings between Prime Minister Tony Abbott and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Batam last week, will be in danger of a major derailment.

To understand why Australians are concerned about Prabowo, read Professor Gerry van Klinken's forensic biography in the prestigious journal Inside Indonesia (http://www.insideindonesia.org/current-edition/prabowo-and-human-rights).

Elsewhere it has been reported that Prabowo is on a US visa blacklist for alleged human rights abuses; Australia is believed to have the same prohibition, as Canberra usually trails Washington.

If Prabowo is Indonesians' democratic choice there's no way the triumphant head of a nation of 240 million and the world's most populous Islamic country is going to be marched into an airport detention cell like an asylum-seeker should he front a Sydney immigration desk minus visa.

Of course Prabowo might take the position of US comedian Groucho Marx: "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member," and snub his neighbor. This would leave Australian diplomats counting floor tile patterns in an antechamber off the Presidential Palace waiting room every time there's a need to discuss urgent matters.

Should Prabowo fly south the terms used to justify stamping his passport will be collectors' items – allegations unproven, changing times, practical considerations, national interest – but the language wouldn't be so mealy mouthed once his limo leaves airport security.

Indonesia's fourth president, the late Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, and present incumbent Yudhoyono were enthusiastically accepted, with the latter addressing the federal Parliament in 2010, giving a splendid speech that still resonates. Soeharto was never welcome, making only one known official visit (to Townsville, northeast Queensland) in 1975.

The only way Prabowo could be universally applauded would be through engineering the peaceful cessation of hostilities in West Papua, settlement of just concerns and robust prosecution of the military involved in alleged human rights abuses.

As the former Kopassus commander's record has been force first, a speedy and fair resolution of the conflict seems unlikely. He has already been quoted wanting a return to an era where the police are feared by the citizenry.

With Prabowo as president, it's unlikely Abbott would be praising a "statesman" and "good friend" (the words he's used for Yudhoyono). Nor would Foreign Minister Julie Bishop be predicting relationships will "strengthen, broaden and deepen".

The trouble with democracy is that sometimes electorates install leaders that outsiders who claim to be democrats don't like. The Lebanese election of candidates from Hezbollah, a terrorist organization in the eyes of Western countries, is a classic example.

After the Indonesian election, the US and Australia will recite the diplomat's pledge: We'll work with the people's choice. But if that man is Prabowo, relations across the Arafura Sea could become choppy indeed, making the waves from revelations that Australian spies tapped the phone of Yudhoyono's wife Ibu Ani Yudhoyono just gentle ripples.

Imagine President Prabowo's motorcade in Australia driving through gauntlets of protestors, his speeches heckled, demonstrators in pursuit, flags burned. Indonesian sensitivities would be inflamed, and the air thick with the haze of retaliatory threats.

The late Ali Alatas, longtime foreign minister, once described Timor Leste – then the major problem in Australian-Indonesian relations – as "the pebble in the shoe". With West Papua the irritant is set to become a rock.

The official bipartisan position is that "Australia is fully committed to Indonesia's territorial integrity and national unity, including its sovereignty over the Papua provinces."

However, minor parties like the Greens, aren't bound by such statements. They are backed by churches, non-government organizations and an active separatist lobby.

These groups may be small, but they are shrill and usually get traction in the media. The Morning Star flag, banned in Indonesia, flutters regularly in Australia.

Then there's International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP), established in Britain in 2008, with members from many nations. The Australians include Melissa Parke from Fremantle, Western Australia, Queensland Senator Claire Moore and Laurie Ferguson from Sydney. All are feisty members of Labor, the second largest party in Parliament.

The IPWP is pledged to "support the inalienable right of self determination for the people of West Papua".

This is a highly provocative statement. Most Indonesians are committed to the "unitary state" and fear separatism. As president, Jokowi would have no blood on his hands. He'd likely find friends everywhere in Australia, not just because he appears to be a mild-mannered reformist, but for what he's not: an authoritarian Soeharto-era leftover.

He's already been to West Papua and promised access by foreign media, though that pledge could be thwarted by the military.

Whatever the outcome, Indonesians are embracing democracy and doing it their way. Australians are the ones who'll have to adjust to the new people moving in next door, whoever they are.

[The writer is a journalist based in Malang, East Java.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/14/handling-prabowo-australia-s-dilemma.html

'Comedy of Errors' and other Indonesian political farces

Jakarta Post - June 11, 2014

Julia Suryakusuma, Jakarta – Do you like comedy? I love it. Not so much The Three Stooges slapstick type, but more farcical drama such as Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest or Moliere's Tartuffe (aka The Impostor or The Hypocrite).

With their buffoonery, horseplay, ludicrously improbable situations and exaggerated characters, they are enormously entertaining. What I also like about farce is the way it turns something that is supposed to be serious into a foolish show, a mockery or a ridiculous sham.

In that case, I should love the current presidential election campaigns (pilpres), which have more than their fair share of farcical absurdity, right? So, how come I've been feeling increasingly distressed, appalled and sick to the stomach as I witness the comedy of errors of our so-called democratic election?

There are many things that are deeply disturbing – the cast of dodgy characters, the lies, the hypocrisy, the turncoats, the opportunists, the unscrupulous characters, the vote buying and those practicing what we call in Indonesian "menjilat ludah sendiri" (literally "to lick back your own spit", meaning, to recant).

Even Jusuf Kalla himself once declared that Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was not fit to be a presidential candidate, but here he is now, as his aspiring vice president. Hello? I guess that's real politics for you huh?

The most perturbing part of the election however, is how some people could get into the race at all, given what they represent: abuse of power, human rights violations, militaristic rule and elitism despite their populist rhetoric.

Who are they fooling? Dodgy and unsavory vestiges of Soeharto's authoritarian regime, they are Tartuffes, posing as leaders who care for the people and the nation, but in reality they are power junkies.

That these putrid leftovers want to hang on to their hegemony is natural. But the fact that we, the people, allow this to happen, is deeply disturbing.

It's true that all nations have their maladies. One of Indonesia's is denial, big time – an unconscious defense mechanism to protect us from unwelcome truths about ourselves. We're not alone in this: Japan, Cambodia, China, Guatemala are also afflicted with this malady, among many others. There are even Holocaust deniers, despite the fact that the Holocaust is one of the best documented events in history. Some even say that Adolf Hitler was the best friend the Jews had in Germany, and that he actively worked to protect them. That, dear reader, is beyond risible.

Despite being plagued by human rights violations allegations, Prabowo Subianto must be a more charismatic figure than Hitler as he has managed to charm and recruit several former activists whom previously his troops had allegedly kidnapped and tortured.

Pius Lustrilanang, Aan Rusdianto, Haryanto Taslam and Desmond J. Mahesa are four of the activists allegedly kidnapped by members of a special forces unit under the command of then Lt. Gen. Prabowo. However, they joined Gerindra, Prabowo's party and hold important positions. Is this a case of Stockholm syndrome, when captives grow to feel attachment to their captors?

I'm beginning to wonder, are we also victims of this Stockholm syndrome? At least those of us who support Prabowo's Gerindra.

We were held hostage (or appeased, or bribed) by Soeharto's authoritarian regime for 32 years, but now about 40 percent of the electorate are supporting a candidate that may again hold us hostage to his former father-in-law's repressive measures. Do we have such short-term memories? Or are we simply a sick society due to having been raised for so long by Soeharto's unscrupulous political pragmatism whereby the end justifying the means is normal?

There's certainly something to be said about Jokowi's call for a "mental revolution". He says that the changes that have occurred have only been institutional. After 16 years of reformasi (the reform movement) he says, our society is becoming even more galau (confused) because what is needed are changed mind-sets, paradigms and Indonesia's political culture. He says only then can we achieve true and genuine nation-building.

I couldn't agree with him more. But as we all know changing mindsets is the most difficult thing to achieve, which indicates how badly we need it.

What about Jokowi's performance as a leader? He had an excellent track record as mayor of Surakarta for seven years. Given that he's only served one-and-a-half years of his five year term, it's more difficult to give a fair assessment of his performance as governor of Jakarta.

What is certain is that he – with his Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama – have presented a new leadership style, which is transparent, fresh, appealing and genuinely populist. Have you ever seen Prabowo wading knee deep in dirty flood water, trousers rolled up as Jokowi has? It's not a very dignified look, but very consistent with Jokowi's blusukan (impromptu visits) style. Compare that to Prabowo grandstanding on his US$250,000 Lusitano horse.

It's obvious where my sympathies lie, right? So you might be surprised if I say that the emergence of Jokowi as a presidential candidate is also a sign of an unhealthy society. Not because he is not a good leader, but the fact that he is immediately catapulted onto the national stage – and international, if he wins – before he even has a chance to complete his term as governor of Jakarta, is a serious sign of our leadership deficit.

Nevertheless, he is obviously the leader that Indonesia's psyche yearns for. Jokowi is also the man that his supporters are looking to for easy answers.

We're a corrupt country, so get a clean guy. Will this end Indonesia's corruption problems? We need to accept, there's a lot of hard work ahead of us. Yes, beginning, with ourselves: a mental revolution.

Jokowi is a leader that wears a checkered shirt, but he doesn't have a checkered past. And electing someone with such a checkered past as Prabowo could quickly turn the farce into tragedy.

[The writer is the author of Julia's Jihad.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/11/view-point-comedy-errors-and-other-indonesian-political-farces.html

Controversial alliances open rifts in Prabowo presidential campaign

Pacific Scoop - June 12, 2014

Patrick Tibke, Jakarta – An intriguing 10 days of presidential campaigning in Indonesia has culminated in mild disarray for Prabowo Subianto's "red- and-white" coalition as tensions emerged among senior members of the old general's Gerindra party with just four weeks left until election day on July 9.

The contention in question is the coalition's nascent alliance with a grouping of violent thug organisations, particularly the Front Pembela Islam (Islamic Defenders Front, of FPI), which is well-known for attacks on Indonesia's religious minorities and so-called tempat maksiat (places of vice or iniquity).

Prabowo and his running mate Hatta-Rajasa's willingness to get into bed with some of Indonesia's most notorious radical Islamists has called into question the duo's commitment to religious tolerance and human rights. Prabowo has been accused of tacitly condoning violent bigotry and turning a blind eye to religiously-motivated attacks on Indonesian citizens.

The most conspicuous cleavage has pitted Prabowo's billionaire younger brother and deputy chief patron, Hashim Djojohadikusomo, against author and deputy chairman of Gerindra, Fadli Zon. Evidently dismayed by the possibility of his brother's party courting an alliance with known Islamic radicals, Hashim has pledged to quit Gerindra if the movement ever accepted the backing of the FPI.

As a practising Christian, Hashim seems acutely aware of the threat to religious freedoms posed by the thug collective, and has sought to distance both himself and his party from any such pact with the FPI. Hashim has taken a strong stance on this particular issue for quite some time now, and even cited "growing religious intolerance" as one of three "urgent threats" to Indonesia's future in an article for the Huffington Post earlier this year.

These sentiments were reiterated by Hashim at the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents club late last week, where the businessman cum big-money politician also attempted to take the flak off his older brother's back, assuring his audience that Prabowo "has been defending Pancasila and pluralism all his life."

Both domestic and international media remain unconvinced, however, and key Gerindra party figures such as Fadli Zon have done little to quell the fears of Indonesia's persecuted minorities.

Worryingly indifferent

So far Fadli has adopted a worryingly indifferent attitude towards serious accusations that his coalition is currently pandering to religious extremists. Last Wednesday, for example, Fadli proclaimed that Gerindra welcomes political support from any group, nonchalantly adding that the FPI is just "one organisation" among "thousands" of others who lend their support to Gerindra "every day".

Without even a hint of concern, Fadli also dodged questions on the FPI's back catalogue of religious violence, telling reporters that, "We [Gerindra] do not talk about track records, we talk about the presidential election."

Consequently, two of the most senior members of Prabowo's entourage now appear to be at loggerheads. Prabowo seems to have firmly sided with the FPI already, rendering Hashim's threat of resignation somewhat unsubstantiated, to say the least.

Since entering into the much-condemned electoral pact with the FPI just before horrific mob attacks on Christian minorities in Yogyakrta at the end of last month, Prabowo's public rhetoric has been conspicuously inconsistent, incorporating an unworkable mixture of both Fadli's indifference and Hashim's concern.

On Tuesday, May 27, at a meeting with FPI members and the group's grand imam, Rizieq Shibab, Prabowo spoke of the need to "embrace all community organisations, including the FPI."

Just one week later, however, Prabowo was under pressure to give censure to the attacks in Yogyakarta, claiming that, "We [the 'red-and-white' coalition] do not justify violence of any sort, let alone unlawful attacks on [different] ethnicities, religions or other groups."

If this was true then we could expect to see Prabowo explicitly pulling out of his alliance with the FPI, but the embattled old general has stuck his newfound pact and merely tried limit the damage done to his campaign by shifting the blame onto the radicals themselves.

On Thursday, June 5, for example, a spokesperson for the red-and-white coalition, Bara Hasibuan, told the media, "It wasn't us looking for the support of the FPI, but it was they who came to a religious gathering to offer their support to Prabowo and Hatta."

Teetering on edge

The Gerindra-led coalition now appears to be teetering on the edge of a major internal breakdown as it flip-flops on important issues of religious violence and refuses to rescind its alliance with the FPI.

Fadli Zon has since tried to limit the impact of Gerindra's infighting by characterising religious conflict as something which the party needn't have an official stance on: "We have private opinions", he told reporters last week, "and we have the opinions of the [campaign] team. Differences in opinion are just normal."

Hashim, on the other hand, has attempted to execute a sort of smoke-and- mirrors manoeuvre in claiming that he would quit the party if and when it agrees to accept an endorsement from the FPI, when in actual fact, Gerindra already accepted that endorsement almost two weeks ago, and the FPI is not shying away from making the agreement public. Last week, for example, an FPI representative for Central Java promised 10,000 votes for Prabowo-Hatta from FPI sympathisers in his province, based on the 'red-and-white' coalition's perceived "commitment" to Islamic law.

Gerindra's stance on Islamic fundamentalism and the violence which typically accompanies its advocates remains incredibly obscure, all the more so considering Hashim's vocal rejection of any such alliance with the FPI.

The only thing that we can say for sure is that Prabowo is looking ever more desperate to garner votes from all sources in the final stages of the campaign season, and is evidently willing to work with some of Indonesia's most reviled Islamists in order to augment his chances of victory.

As we have seen over the past week or so, however, such dangerous politicking could have serious unintended repercussions for Gerindra's intra-party relations, and the fissures could well expand beyond Hashim and Fadli to other cadres much less senior in rank. In the coming days we will see how Prabowo attempts to patch this one up, lest he risk creating a rift between himself, his deputy chairman and his indispensible sibling bankroller, Hashim.

[Patrick Tibke writes for Asian Correspondent.]

Source: http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2014/06/indonesia-controversial-alliances-open-rifts-in-prabowo-presidential-campaign/#more-22911

Voters' right to know

Jakarta Post Editorial - June 12, 2014

The manner in which presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto was discharged from the military in 1998 has become the subject of contention as the election campaign intensifies. Documents by the Officers Honorary Council (DKP) recommending Prabowo's dismissal, leaked by the military, have put the issue in a clearer perspective.

This debate could have been prevented had the General Elections Commission (KPU) done a better job scrutinizing Prabowo's military records. If it had access to these documents, they probably should have disqualified him. As it is, Prabowo is a legitimate candidate for the July 9 race, but this should not stop the public from finding out more about his military past, which the KPU failed to disclose.

The right to know is guaranteed by the 2008 Access to Public Information Law. Prabowo's military records, including the circumstances of his dismissal, are matters of public interest and concern since he is a presidential contender.

The Prabowo camp has claimed that he acted "valiantly" by resigning from the military to take moral responsibility for the kidnapping of dozens of activists opposed to the Soeharto regime in 1998. A military tribunal found fault with a team from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) but cleared Prabowo, then commandant-general of the elite unit, of any role.

The leaked documents, however, suggest that Prabowo was dismissed from the military for insubordination. One honorary council member, Agum Gumelar, has come out in public saying it would have asked for a harsher penalty, were it not for the fact that Prabowo was at the time former president Soeharto's son-in-law. The council recommended dismissal with honors, although as any good officer knows, there is nothing honorary about insubordination in the military.

Agum said that several years later, Prabowo confided in him about his contempt for rules and procedures because he took his orders straight from Soeharto, the supreme commander of the military.

In Monday's presidential debate, when answering questions about his human rights record, Prabowo said he was an officer who carried out his duties, and that protecting the people from enemies of the state was his primary concern. He said if anyone wanted to know more about his precise duties then, they should ask his superior. Now, we understand he must have been referring to president and erstwhile father-in-law Soeharto, who is dead and thus unable to tell us anything.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also a member of the honorary council, has vouched for the validity of the leaked documents. His spokesman said the President had demanded an investigation into how the documents had gone viral.

Irrespective of who leaked the documents, the circumstances of Prabowo's dismissal should be disclosed fully. The Prabowo camp should take the lion's share of the blame for not fully revealing the information and instead engaging in lies and deceptions about his military past.

If a person has a track record of insubordination, what kind of a president would he make? Would Prabowo play by the democratic rules of the game or would he, once again, show contempt for rules and procedures?

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/12/editorial-voters-right-know.html

Indonesia and Australia: mates no more?

Online Opinion - June 10, 2014

Duncan Graham – Kiwis have a marvellously grotesque way of describing the acceptance of unpalatable policy changes: Swallowing dead rats.

There'll be much consumption of deceased vermin in Washington and Canberra should former Indonesian general Prabowo Subianto get elected president of Indonesia in the 9 July poll; the man is on a US visa blacklist for alleged human rights abuses, and Australia is believed to have the same prohibition.

If Prabowo is Indonesians' democratic choice – as seems increasingly possible – there's no way the head of a nation of 240 million and the world's most populous Islamic country is going to be escorted into a sealed sideroom should he front at a Sydney airport immigration counter.

The words used to justify this fricassee a la rodent will be collectors' items – allegations unproven, changing times, practical considerations – but the protests once President Prabowo is out of the airport carpark are likely to seriously damage Australian-Indonesian relations.

Past president, the late Gus Dur, and present incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) were enthusiastically accepted, with the latter addressing the federal Parliament in 2010. Soeharto was never welcome, making only one visit to Townsville in 1975.

The only way Prabowo would be universally applauded would be through engineering the peaceful cessation of hostilities in West Papua and robust prosecution of the military involved in alleged human rights abuses.

As the former Kopassus (special forces) commander's record in problem solving so far has been force first, a speedy and fair resolution of the strife seems unlikely. He has already been quoted wanting a return to an era where the police are feared by the citizenry; his party colleagues have been seducing Islamic organizations, including the Front Pembela Islam (Islam Defenders' Front).

This is the para-military pseudo-religious group whose thugs specialise in threatening those they consider anti-Islam. During the fasting month of Ramadhan (starting this year on 28 June) they like to trash bars and aren't fond of Christians or female pop stars who don't wear headscarves. They usually act with impunity. God knows what they'll want in return for their support.

Imagine the new Indonesian president's motorcade in Australia negotiating gauntlets of protests, his speeches heckled, demonstrators in pursuit, flags burned, Indonesian sensitivities inflamed.

With Prabowo as President it's unlikely Prime Minister Tony Abbott would be praising the "statesman" and "good friend" (the words he's used for SBY). Nor would Foreign Minister Julie Bishop be predicting relationships will "strengthen, broaden and deepen".

The US and Australia will have to chant the mantra that they'll work with whoever is democratically chosen. But if that man is Prabowo relations between the two nations could hurtle back to the darkest days of the despot Soeharto, the candidate's former father-in-law. (Prabowo is now divorced).

Although the position of Labor and Liberal is to respect Indonesia's sovereignty, minor parties like the Greens don't hold back when criticising Indonesian administration of West Papua.

They are backed by churches, non-government organizations and an active separatist lobby. These groups may be small, but they are shrill and usually get traction in the media.

Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is still leading the polls. As president he'd have no blood on his hands and would likely find friends everywhere in Australia. He's already been to West Papua and promised access by foreign media, though that pledge could be thwarted by the military.

However unless he lifts his game significantly in the next few weeks chances are he'll be overtaken. This hasn't been the campaign for Prabowo to win but for Jokowi to lose.

Two months ago the then Jakarta Governor was the media darling far in front of any rival, his popularity founded on his humble man-of-the-people image, something the arrogant Prabowo has always lacked.

Metro, the TV station backing Jokowi, regularly shows him cycling to the office and inspecting roadworks alongside clips of Prabowo in helicopters and limos.

It's a programming policy that's backfiring; television audiences don't see Barack Obama crawling out of manholes after sewer inspections. The US President waves from the doorways of Air Force One as world leaders gather below to pay homage. Prabowo's not there yet, but choppering into rallies helps craft the image.

For the older generation of Indonesians, presidents carried an aura of ruthless authority, a presence that tolerates no questioning. If they did step into a selected crowd it was to show the peasants how to do things properly, like plant rice.

Prabowo's contrived appearances in military style garb, riding a Palomino, standing tall in jeeps, hectoring crowds, reinforce that return to the past. Stories of his bullying and temper are widespread.

The man is an iron-clad product of the 32-year Soeharto era of shameless patronage, gross corruption and total authoritarianism. Like all soldiers he's been trained to give and take orders, to see enemies and eliminate them. He's a hawk in the Dick Cheney eyrie.

Prabowo wears the freshly tailored camouflage of democracy only to win office. He's a life member of the unreconstructed elite that controls the nation through an incestuous network of patronage. Orde Baru (Soeharto's New Order administration born in 1965) never really died when the old man stepped down in 1998, it just hibernated awhile.

For a thorough analysis of Prabowo's past read Gerry van Klinken's piece in Inside Indonesia: http://www.insideindonesia.org/current-edition/prabowo- and-human-rights

By contrast Jokowi is just a self-made businessman from a provincial town who has done well in local government. He seems to genuinely want reform, though finds his Mental Revolution philosophy hard to articulate. His mates don't carry guns or shout orders, his relatives aren't married to generals.

In talk shows he listens intently and appears to respect questioners. His answers tend to be thoughtful, though faltering; they're not glib or dismissive. An electorate desperate for change is projecting too many qualities on the man. They laugh too easily at his limp jokes, clap too wildly at his statements.

If Jokowi really does want the top job he's so far not displayed the raw, snarling hunger shown by his opponent desperate to capture the palace.

Jokowi is also handicapped by the presence of former president Megawati who often accompanies him on the campaign trail (along with her ambitious daughter Puan Maharani), like a mother ensuring son's jocks are clean. She's also there to remind the electorate that she's the kingmaker, rightful daughter of the nation's founder Soekarno who has selected Jokowi to do her bidding. Surveys indicate this rankles with the electorate.

There's no Mummy figure in Prabowo's battalions blitzing their way through the electorate suggesting a return to the golden era of cheap rice (because it was subsidized) and less crime (because suspected criminals were shot on the street, their fly-blown corpses a warning to the lawless), and to make the nation great.

What else matters to the average voter? Human rights abuses – who cares? International relations – nothing to do with us. Foreign investors – kick them all out, we'll do everything ourselves. Religious intolerance? If they don't like it let them leave. Only a public outcry has forced Prabowo to modify a policy clause that 'the State must regulate religious freedom'.

Overblown rhetoric and wild statements soon collide with reality once candidates turn winners. That's true worldwide. Pledges are shredded and the language twisted and warped to explain why words aren't being honoured. John Howard's 'not a core promise' is a classic in the genre.

Watching the passionate debates night after night on Indonesian TV arouses admiration: For all the screamingly obvious faults this is a nation with the most free and robust media in Southeast Asia.

Indonesians are embracing democracy, and whatever we think, they're doing it their way. We're the ones who'll have to adjust to the new people moving in next door.

Source: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=16387&page=02

Post-debate: Jokowi comes of age, Prabowo aged by his past

Jakarta Post - June 10, 2014

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – In the run-up to last night's presidential candidate debate, the conventional wisdom among constituents was that Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was a softly spoken leader with a quiet assertiveness, while Prabowo Subianto was the leadership figure reared with a military background.

After making a career out of quips and anecdotes, many wondered whether the former mayor of Surakarta could hold his own against the strong figure of a trained and experienced military officer.

It is hard to be truly neutral in such a decisive election season, but any objective analysis would have to conclude that Jokowi and his running mate Jusuf Kalla more than stood their ground in the debate.

It was a display of quiet confidence from the frontrunner, whose unobtrusive Javanese mannerisms will suit the majority of voters who want forthright answers but are reluctant to witness backbiting.

It was also a masterful display of strategy to let Jokowi reinforce his image as a humble figure while allowing Kalla to address the more "difficult" questions. What the public did get a glimpse of was that Jokowi not only portrayed his established image, but was knowledgeable too.

His reply, when pressed on the issue of the expansion of regional administrations, showed a clear line of thinking toward what is to come.

The twosome reminded us just why the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration worked better in its first term. And as they double-teamed in their presentations last night, one can imagine how complementarily the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla pairing would work in government.

Obviously this first debate was mostly bereft of real substance. It was the first time that 250 million Indonesians got a chance to window-shop the two candidates side by side. Image-wise, Jokowi showed he could look as presidential in a suit as he can look the everyman in his iconic plaid shirt.

Meanwhile Prabowo seemed to be a throwback to the past in his all-white attire with a large Garuda brooch on his chest. His voice seemed shaky and broken, lacking the thunderous tone people associate with his Sukarno-like imagery.

Both candidates mostly answered with platitudes. Initially playing it safe. Other than style, it was hard to distinguish between the two. But halfway into the debate we started to be able to glimpse the deepest strengths and weaknesses of the candidates' characters.

As the debate progressed with a mild yawn at the normative responses, a question was posed by Kalla on how his opponent would protect the future and resolve "past" human rights abuses.

Posing that question signified two things. First, that Jokowi and Kalla were ready to tackle difficult and uncomfortable issues and, second, that it reminded the present generation that sacrifices of Reformasi in 1998 were just as propelled by a desire for accountability and rights.

It was a question that Prabowo took personally, and one could see he was struggling to keep his emotions in check before a televised audience. His answers became personal as it was a personal affront to him.

Even though Kalla made no specific reference, Prabowo replied: "I know where you're heading [with the question]".

The Prabowo camp over the last few days has been dogged by the much- forgotten facts of Prabowo's dismissal from military service in 1998.

A scanned document signed by members of the Indonesian Military's (TNI) Officers Honorary Council (DKP), tasked with hearing the cases of Prabowo's complicity in the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998, revealed that the former Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander was also fired from his position due to insubordination.

Prabowo's response to the question last night was pitiful and sadly unremorseful. He insisted that he did his best as a soldier and that it was up to his superiors to judge. Inexplicitly, he was acknowledging "whatever" he did in his past – which is filled with allegations of rights abuses – and that he had no remorse.

His example of a security approach in handling threats in Singapore confirmed his militaristic style, which becomes suspect in a liberal democratic climate. It was also hard to be convinced of Prabowo's statements on protecting plurality.

While Jokowi and Kalla could easily point to their past factual records, one is hard pressed not to connote the candidate clad in white with the uniform of right-wing religious thugs who have openly endorsed and campaigned for Prabowo.

So who was the winner of this first debate in a five-round series? It was the Indonesian people, because they can now begin to judge for themselves the true nature of the stark choice before them on July 9.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/10/commentary-post-debate-jokowi-comes-age-prabowo-aged-his-past.html

Prabowo: The (unwanted) hope for military power revival

Jakarta Post - June 9, 2014

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta – Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has clearly given the military strong hope that it might regain the political power it lost following the fall of his former father-in-law, Soeharto, in May 1998.

There are strong public fears of efforts by the Army – or certain elements within the military – to coerce people to vote for the former general in the July 9 presidential election.

The presidential bid of Prabowo, who was dismissed from the military for his alleged role in the kidnapping of anti-Soeharto activists, has revived the sweet memory of the New Order, when the military enjoyed lucrative privileges – as well as carte blanche to abuse human rights in the name of "protecting" the state from evil elements.

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Moeldoko and Army chief of staff Gen. Budiman have repeatedly assured the public that the military would be neutral in the election. But a recent incident in Central Jakarta of TNI personnel intimidating voters and similar media reports from other places are strong indications that the military's temptation to re-enter politics should be closely watched by civil society.

Also alarming is Prabowo's move to bring problematic and questionable groups or persons into his camp. How can he fulfill all the promises he has made to his unruly farrago of supporters?

Moeldoko was ridiculous when he denied an already incredulous statement from the Army that explained the intimidation incident as simply an Army captain and a non-commissioned officer "trying" to identify voters' preferences in a sub-district in Central Jakarta.

As reported by several media outlets, Moeldoko insisted there was no evidence that the Gambir district military chief Capt. Saliman and Corp. Rusfandi were guilty of "guiding" residents to cast their ballot for the pair of Prabowo and Hatta Rajasa in the July 9 presidential election.

Moeldoko and Budiman have used the tactics of "denial" and "pointing the finger at much lower subordinates", practices rampantly employed by military generals when the public demanded accountability for gross human rights abuses amid the fall of Soeharto.

Junior officers should take responsibility and bear the consequences for the mega-crimes because the generals easily argued that their "instructions were misunderstood" by their subordinates.

Prabowo was discharged from the military, and he fled to Jordan, apparently to prevent "unnecessary implications" arising from public suspicion and allegations. The question is not about Prabowo's alleged dual citizenship (Indonesian and Jordan) but about his fundamental military spirit of responsibility.

Indonesians are likely to agree that we should have a strong and powerful military, but one that makes foreign enemies tremble, not the children of its own nation, as Soeharto's military did. Kidnap the foreign soldiers who try to invade Indonesia, not the young Indonesian activists fighting for a much better country.

Also, it is very natural that Prabowo would try to gain as much support as possible from various groups in society in his presidential bid against rival Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. However, that Prabowo has warmly welcomed the notorious Islam Defenders Front (FPI) into his camp has triggered fears. The former general should have thought twice before enlisting the FPI as an ally.

As an ordinary citizen, I cannot understand his decision. To me, it looks like a desperate attempt to get as many votes as possible without considering the implications of where they come from.

Today, Prabowo and Jokowi will square off in the first of five live debates broadcast by several TV networks. Indonesians will have the opportunity to get a closer look at their potential future leader. But we need to bear in mind that those impressive in public speaking are not necessarily equally impressive in delivering on what they promise.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Monitoring Agency (Bawaslu) will continue to work hard (and hopefully also intelligently) to ensure that we will have a fair, just, direct and secret election in July 9.

Many voters think that Prabowo would be a firm leader in defending the country's interests because he is a former general. But we should also remember that we have been led by a retired Army general – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – for the last 10 years, and we were often frustrated by his slow actions. He is often described as Mr. Doubtful.

Do you want to know my choice in the presidential election? I will vote for a candidate who I can trust, although probably he is not as smart or as promising as many people expect. I will cast my vote for a candidate who, according to me, has done his best to serve the interests of ordinary people like me. I will a choose a leader who has a good track record on human rights, and who has a simple life like most of us – ordinary Indonesians.

Let voters decide the future of the nation. They have the constitutional right to choose whether Prabowo or Jokowi will lead us for the next five years.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/09/commentary-prabowo-the-unwanted-hope-military-power-revival.html