Nethy Dharma Somba, Ina Parlina and Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jayapura/Jakarta – After 11 years behind bars, Papuan pro-independence leader Filep Jacob Semuel Karma, 56, was released on Thursday from prison by the government, a move applauded by democracy activists as a promising step toward resolving problems in one of the country's least-developed regions.

In 2004, the Jayapura District Court sentenced Filep to 15 years in prison for treason after he led a ceremony to hoist the Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag at an independence rally in Trikora Square in Abepura, Jayapura, on Dec. 1 that year.

A cultural symbol of the region, the flag is also associated with the Free Papua Movement (OPM), which campaigns for Papua to be independent of Indonesia.

Following the rally, Filep and Yusak Pakage, another pro-independence activist, were immediately arrested and brought to trial; Yusak, convicted of the same crime, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Filep was eligible to walk free after receiving combined remissions of 50 months. His release on Thursday was officiated through the signing of a document of release by Abepura Penitentiary chief warden Bagus Kurniawan and Filep's son-in-law Abraham Bonay and lawyer Olga Hamadi.

Filep, however, refused to leave his finger prints on his photograph and in the prison's registration book. Olga said that Filep had the right not to leave his fingerprints, adding that she had received the official notice of Filep's release on Wednesday.

Filep, meanwhile, refused to comment further, saying that he would talk to the press next week. "I haven't got any plan ahead after my release, which has come suddenly. I was forced to leave, just like I was forced to be in [prison]," Filep said, while waiting for his release documents to be finalized.

Outside Abepura Penitentiary, dozens of supporters of the Free Papua National Committee (KNPB) repeatedly cried pro-independence slogans as Filep emerged.

The situation remained peaceable, though hundreds of police personnel were deployed to guard the city's Ekspo Waena compound, where Filep joined a thanksgiving prayer for the seventh anniversary of the KNPB shortly after his release.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that no special security measure had been put in place in Papua following Filep's release. "The security we have now is security for all," he said.

The central government has long been accused of being solely interested in Papua's rich natural resources, with little regard for its people.

Separately, Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) chairman Haris Azhar called Filep's early release a "democratic inevitability", adding that Filep should never have been imprisoned for exercising his right to freedom of expression. He cautioned, however, that Filep's release was just one small step toward resolving Papua's many problems.

"While the release is commendable, Papua still has many problems that need to be resolved with concrete action from the government," he said.

Pastor Neles Tebay, the coordinator of the Papua Peaceful Network, meanwhile, saw Filep's release as a signal from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration that the long-standing conflicts in Papua would be resolved peacefully.

International Civilians of Strengthening (ICS) Papua director Yusak Reba, meanwhile, said that Filep's release would not silence Free Papua supporters. "They will continue their struggle for freedom, in defiance of Indonesian law," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/papuan-rebel-leader-walks-free-after-11-years.html

Ex-Papua governor imprisoned for graft

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Jakarta – The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced former Papua governor Barnabas Suebu to four years and six months on Thursday after he was found guilty for inflating prices for a designing project in 2008.

Barnabas was convicted for having directed detail engineering design (DED) projects for construction at Paniai and Sentani lakes in 2008 as well as similar design projects for Urumuka and Memberamo rivers in 2009 and 2010, respectively, to be executed by his company, PT Konsultasi Pembangunan Irian Jaya (KPIJ).

Aside from the sentence, Barnabas has been ordered to pay a total of Rp 150 million in fines or spend a further three months in prison. The panel of judges have stated that there were several reasons that led them to ease his sentence.

"[Barnabas] has shown that he tries to follow up [Supreme Audit Agency's clarification] requests on the DED project reports," said judge Tito Suhud on Thursday.

After having served as governor from 1988 through to 1993, during the Soeharto era, Barnabas had been re-elected governor in a regional election in 2006 and governed Papua until 2011.

Once named "Hero of the Environment" by Time magazine, Barnabas was a member at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) from 1997 until 2002 and named Indonesian ambassador to Mexico, overseeing Mexico, Honduras and Panama. Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/national-scene-ex-papua-governor-imprisoned-graft.html

Another soldier fired, imprisoned after fatal shooting

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The panel of judges at the Jayapura Military Court in Papua dismissed First Sgt. Ashar from the Indonesian Army on Thursday, sentencing him to nine years' imprisonment for his involvement in a shooting incident that killed two civilians in Mimika regency.

Ashar, who served with the Military District Command (Kodim) 1710/Timika, is the third soldier to have been dishonorably discharged and sent to jail in the case.

Speaking in a verdict hearing in Timika, the capital of Mimika regency, presiding judge, Lt. Col. Ventje Bulo said that Ashar had been proven to have violated Article 338 Point 1 and 3 of the Criminal Code on murder and Article 351 Point 1 and 2 on aggravated assault.

"The defendant's actions were against the humanitarian instinct as it cost the lives of others'," he said. The verdict, however, was lighter than that demanded by military prosecutors, who recommended an 11-year prison term and a dishonorable discharge.

Ashar, along with three fellow soldiers, First Pvt. Imanuel Imbiri, First Pvt. Makher Rehatta and Chief Pvt. Gregorius R. Geta, were charged with firing gunshots at local residents who were holding a thanksgiving ceremony in front of the Koprapoka Catholic Church in Mimika on Aug. 28.

The incident began when locals became infuriated with Makher and Imanuel for breaking through a road barrier at high speed while riding on motorcycles.

Imanuel, who was on the back of the motorcycle, then descended from the vehicle and brandished a knife at the locals, who later chased both soldiers away. The soldiers then ran to a guard post, grabbed guns and then returned to the church.

Ashar and Gregorius, followed along on another motorcycle, bringing rifles with them. Ashar fired his rifle and so did Makher, killing two civilians from the Kamoro tribe, Herman Mairimau and Yulianus Okoare, and injured four others. The four soldiers were reportedly under the influence of alcohol when they committed the offence.

Soon after the shooting incident, local residents carried the bodies of the victims to the Kodam base and placed them in the middle of the street in a show of their anger. The bodies were moved to the Koprapoka church only after negotiations were held with Papua Police chief Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw, mediated by Pastor Amandus Rahaded.

During the hearing, Ventje said Ashar's action had proven that he had disobeyed an instruction from the Cenderawasih Military Regional Command (Kodam) chief to protect the local community.

Last week, the same court also dishonorably discharged Makher and Gregorius and sentenced each of them to 12 and three years in prison, respectively. The panel of judges argued in their verdict that the actions of the two soldiers could trigger a security instability in Mimika that could expand to other regions in Papua. Imanuel, meanwhile, is still awaiting for his verdict hearing.

Kamoro community figure Marianus Maknaipeku earlier said that local residents had appreciated efforts from military leaders to run the trial in a transparent manner. He also applauded the Jayapura Military Court for conducting the military trial in Mimika, instead of the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura, so that locals could directly observe.

"We ask for one thing, a transparent process, until the dismissal, so that we can really be sure that the perpetrators will no longer remain members of the military," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/another-soldier-fired-imprisoned-after-fatal-shooting.html

Indonesia releases prominent Papuan pro-independence leader Filep Karma

Agence France Presse - November 20, 2015

A high-profile West Papuan separatist leader has been released from prison after more than a decade behind bars, in a fresh sign that Indonesia may be easing its tight grip on the restive eastern region.

Filep Karma, the most prominent of West Papua's political prisoners and convicted of raising a pro-independence flag, walked free from jail on Thursday to an emotional welcome by hundreds of cheering supporters.

His release had been held up for months after he refused to admit guilt in line with demands from the government. In the end, authorities agreed to grant him a sentence remission for good behaviour, according to Human Rights Watch.

However 56-year-old Mr Karma said he had been pressured by officials to leave the jail on the outskirts of the city of Jayapura, which he said felt like home after so many years.

"When I was jailed, I had in mind that I was going to be released in 2019, and suddenly I was kicked out – so I was shocked," he said.

The move came after Indonesian president Joko Widodo pledged to improve livelihoods in the poor region, where security forces have long faced accusations of rights abuses against the local population in the name of anti-rebel operations.

A low-level insurgency has simmered for decades in Indonesia's easternmost provinces, where poorly armed fighters are battling against rule from Jakarta, and the region has a heavy military and police presence.

Dozens of separatists are in jail for committing treason for acts such as raising the pro-independence "Morning Star" flag and taking part in anti- government protests.

Karma was the most high-profile of the separatist detainees. He was found guilty of treason and jailed in 2004 after raising the banned flag at a rally. The United Nations had condemned his detention as "arbitrary", while Amnesty International had designated him a prisoner of conscience.

Mr Karma's release came after five political prisoners were freed in May at a ceremony attended by Mr Widodo. The president also pledged to end decades-old reporting restrictions for foreigners in Papua, although rights groups said the government continues to block access.

There are still regular flare-ups of violence in West Papua, which consists of the two provinces of Papua and West Papua. Jakarta took control of the region, which forms half of the island of New Guinea, in 1963 from former colonial power the Netherlands.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-11-19/indonesia-releases-prominent-west-papuan-proindependence-leader-filep-karma-from-jail/1516578

Amnesty: Filep Karma detention was travesty of justice

Jakarta Globe - November 20, 2015

Jakarta – Amnesty International on Thursday welcomed the release of Papuan independence activist Filep Karma but stressed that his decade-long detention for peaceful opposition to Indonesian rule was "an outrageous travesty of justice."

"Filep Karma spent more than a decade of his life in jail when he shouldn't even have been jailed for a day. It was an outrageous travesty of justice and he should never have been brought to court," Josef Benedict, Amnesty's campaigns director for Southeast Asia, said in a press statement.

"Every Indonesian should have the right to freely express themselves and to the right to freely assemble but these rights were cruelly denied to Filep Karma," Benedict added.

Indonesia's chief of National Police, Gen. Badrodin Haiti, said separately that Filep had been released in accordance with the law, but that he had been rightfully detained. "If you say he's a political prisoner, I say [Filep was] a criminal," Badrodin said on Thursday.

Filep was arrested in 2004 after leading a peaceful demonstration in Jayapura, West Papua, calling for independence from Indonesia and raising the Morning Star flag.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for rebellion and refused to accept an offer of pardon earlier this year in exchange for an admission of guilt. He walked out of prison on Thursday after a sentence cut for good behavior, but has vowed to continue his peaceful struggle for Papuan independence.

Badrodin said police would keep an eye an on him, even though the situation in Papua at the moment was stable.

Amnesty said it hoped the activist's release "signals a move away from the repressive tactics frequently used by the authorities to silence peaceful dissent in the Papuan region."

[Additional reporting by Farouk Arnaz.]

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/amnesty-filep-karma-detention-travesty-justice/

Papua campaigner coming to grips with release

Radio New Zealand International - November 20, 2015

Human Rights Watch says Filep Karma is still coming to terms with his release after 11 years in prison in which he became West Papua's most high profile political prisoner.

Transcript

Human Rights Watch says Filep Karma is still coming to terms with his release after 11 years in prison in which he became West Papua's most high profile political prisoner.

Filep Karma was yesterday freed from a prison on the outskirts of Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's Papua province. Karma was jailed for raising a pro-independence flag at a political ceremony in 2004.

Human Rights Watch's Indonesia spokesperson, Andreas Harsono, spoke to Karma this morning and says although his release was anticipated, it's still come as a bit of a shock.

Andreas Harsono: He did not expect the release to be that fast. You can imagine if you stay in a house, in this case a prison for 11 years and suddenly you are asked to leave your house in the next 24 hours, he is mentally shocked but of course his family and himself they enjoy a good time, they had a family dinner last night, he also met with hundreds of Papuan activists, just commoners, common people who welcomed him. He is happy but at the same time he is weary because you know 11 years in prison and suddenly being released and he told me that he would like to take a break, he would like to cool himself down, to calm himself down, he needs time to re-integrate into his family, society, friends and dealing with other expectations that the people of Papua have on him becoming, you know their effective leader.

Bridget Tunnicliffe: Once he's taken some time to rest and recover do you think that he will continue to be outspoken?

AH: Well, knowing him for several years he is quite a stubborn man, I think he will be like what he is, he will be outspoken you know.

BT: Do you think that there might be a softening on part of the Indonesian government and we may see more people being released?

AH: Well I don't know but Human Rights Watch calls on the government to release all political prisoners. There are about 100 now because after May when President Joko Widodo released five prisoners, 14 more were arrested in Papua. In fact I just had a chat this morning with a top official in Jakarta, I told them that 'look this is very good to release Filep Karma but again there are still many others who are in jail because of their peaceful political activities and they should be released' and she offered me to meet with another high ranking very influential official in Jakarta to discuss again the list of names of people that should be released.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201779637/papua-campaigner-coming-to-grips-with-release

Human rights activists welcome release of political prisoner Filep Karma

Jakarta Globe - November 19, 2015

Jakarta – A prominent Papuan separatist leader on Thursday walked out of prison a free man in Indonesia's easternmost province after serving over a decade behind bars for treason.

Filep Karma, 56, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2004 after flying the banned pro-independence "Morning Star" flag and leading hundreds of university students in an anti-government rally in Jayapura, Papua.

The United Nations called his detention "arbitrary," while Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience.

Filep could have secured his freedom on Aug. 17, Indonesia's Independence Day, when the government offered him a pardon in exchange for an admission of guilt, said I Wayan Kusmiantha Dusak, director general of penitentiary at the Ministry of Legal and Human Rights.

The political prisoner remained defiant and refused, spurring the government to eventually grant him a sentence remission for good behavior, according to Human Rights Watch.

HRW researcher for Indonesia Andreas Harsono took to social media to welcome the release, tweeting that hundreds of Papuans and members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) had greeted Filep outside the prison with tears and chants of joy.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Indonesia's top human rights watchdog, hailed the move as a "democratic inevitability."

"[Filep] should not have been arrested over freedom of expression," Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said in a statement obtained by the Jakarta Globe on Thursday. The commission urged Filep to "continue voicing injustices taking place in Papua and speak of ways to solve them."

Kontras also called on the government to do more in protecting and advocating for political prisoners, while also resolving issues in Papua.

"The president must form a team to build a peaceful dialogue with Papuans and to quickly respond when there's violence, conflict and discrimination – which are often caused by security forces," said Haris.

Violent clashes over separatist movements or sectarian conflicts regularly take place on Indonesia's western half of New Guinea, which consists of two provinces, Papua and West Papua.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/human-rights-activists-welcome-release-political-prisoner-filep-karma/

'Opening' of Papua still needs to bridge gap between reality and rhetoric

The Conversation - November 18, 2015

Phelim Kine and Andreas Harsono – In September, Jakarta-based French journalist Marie Dhumieres decided to test whether Indonesia's decades-long barring of foreign media from Papua had indeed ended. In May, the Indonesian government had announced it would lift restrictions for accredited foreign journalists wanting to report on the Papua and West Papua provinces.

For decades, foreign journalists had to submit to a long and complex bureaucratic process to gain access to the region, where widespread public dissatisfaction with Jakarta and a small but persistent pro-independence insurgency exist. Minders from the intelligence agency would shadow the rare journalists who received permission, controlling their movements and restricting access to sources on the ground.

Dhumieres got lucky. The government gave her a police permit to visit Papua. On October 1, she flew from Jayapura, Papua's provincial capital, to Pegunungan Bintang to interview independence activists. She did not experience any police harassment or surveillance during her trip.

Her travelling companion, a Papuan activist, was not as fortunate. A week after Dhumieres had returned, police detained him and two of his friends. The police interrogated them for ten hours. Dhumieres responded by tweeting her dismay to Indonesian President Joko Widodo:

"So Mr @jokowi, foreign journalists are free to work anywhere in Papua but the people we interview get arrested after we leave? cc @jakpost"

Papua's media freedom challenges

A recent Human Rights Watch report shows that the ordeal of Dhumieres' activist companions was no accident. Although Indonesian authorities have granted foreign journalists access to Papua, often after months of jumping through "bureaucratic hoops", government obstacles to foreign media access linger.

The bureaucratic impediments range from demands for details of itineraries and focus of news coverage to the need to supply multiple "recommendation letters" from prospective interviewees/sources in order to get official permission to visit Papua.

These obstacles reflect Indonesia's deep ambivalence to allowing greater foreign media access to Papua. In some cases, officials and members of the police and the military are outright hostile to the idea. That hostility is rooted in more than 25 years of government suspicion of foreign nationals' motivations in the troubled region.

By declaring Papua open to foreign journalists, Widodo – known as Jokowi – symbolically fulfilled a promise he made as a presidential candidate in June 2014.

But so far he has yet to put the change in writing via presidential instruction. Meanwhile, various government officials and military commanders have made a series of contradictory statements regarding foreign media access to Papua. This suggests Jokowi's administration lacks a coherent, unified policy on lifting restrictions on foreign media access to Papua.

The challenges to media freedom in Papua are compounded by obstacles faced by Indonesian journalists – particularly ethnic Papuan reporters. Local journalists who report on sensitive political topics and human rights abuses are often subject to harassment, intimidation and violence by officials, members of the public and pro-independence forces.

No research allowed

In addition to media freedom challenges, the Indonesian government effectively blocks access to Papua by foreign academic researchers.

The government has often monitored, harassed and deported foreign academics who in recent years have attempted to do research in Papua. In at least two cases documented by Human Rights Watch, the government has imposed visa bans on Australian academics for their contact in Australia with Papuan independence groups. Anthropologist Eben Kirksey of Princeton University noted:

"I have been working [on Papua] since 1998, negotiating access in a legal situation where all basic science is viewed as being an inherently suspicious activity. In effect, almost all official applications to conduct research [there] are rejected by Jakarta."

Damien Kingsbury, a professor at Deakin University in Australia, also came under surveillance by security forces in Papua during a research trip to the region in 2003. He said:

"When you check into the hotel [in Papua], the guest list is checked [by Indonesian security forces], as it was in Aceh. You are monitored and you have to be very careful."

In 2003, Indonesia carried out a military operation in Aceh to crack down on the separatist movement.

Scott Burchill, also from Deakin University, has never visited Papua nor applied for an official Papua access permit. But the Indonesian government placed him on a visa blacklist. In 2006, Burchill had given public talks to Papuan independence groups.

The experiences of both foreign journalists and academics indicate that the Indonesian government's sensitivity to Papua access is deeply ingrained and that parts of the government are strongly resisting change.

To genuinely open Papua to foreign media, Jokowi must bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality. He should follow through on his commitment by issuing a presidential directive that specifies the obligations of government ministries and security forces to ensure unobstructed foreign media access to Papua.

The government should extend this commitment to unimpeded Papua access to foreign researchers. This will provide a much-needed legal foundation for foreign media and academics to assert their right to travel there and to resist efforts to deny that right.

[Phelim Kine co-wrote this article with Andreas Harsono, senior researcher on Indonesia at Human Rights Watch.]

Source: https://theconversation.com/indonesias-opening-of-papua-still-needs-to-bridge-the-gap-between-reality-and-rhetoric-50399

Military court praised for convictions in Papua murder case

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2015

Jakarta – The New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has praised the decision by a military court in Papua last week to convict two soldiers for their role in the deaths of two civilians on Aug. 28.

It said the court's ruling was the start of the end of Indonesian military injustice in Papua. "The case is notable because the perpetrators are being punished," HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said on Tuesday.

In the trial last week, the court sentenced First Pvt. Makher Rehatta and Chief Pvt. Gregorius R. Geta to 12 years and three years in prison, respectively. The cases of two other soldiers are still before the court.

On Aug. 28, all four soldiers allegedly got drunk and, with their assault rifles, opened fire on a group of Papuans that were holding a Thanksgiving ceremony in front of a church in Mimika regency.

Kine said an environment of impunity for military abuses in Papua remained, partly due to decades of restricted access for foreign media, diplomats and non-governmental groups wanting to enter the province.

Abuses have often gone unpunished due to technical reasons, the activist continued, such as the 1997 law on military tribunals that allows abuses by members of the military to be investigated without transparency or impartiality.

Indonesia, Kine said, had also long failed to properly investigate allegations of serious human rights abuse by members of its military, let alone prosecute anyone, and in rare cases where soldiers had been convicted by a military court, sentences had been extremely lenient.

"So last week's convictions are good news, but at best, just the start," Kine said. He made the statement ahead of the one-year anniversary of the killing of five protesters in Papua's remote town of Enarotali on Dec. 8.

HRW says that witnesses have told them that security forces in Enarotali fatally shot five people during a peaceful protest. The protest was against the actions of several soldiers who had beaten several local children the previous evening.

It is unfortunate that one year later, those who killed those protesters still walk free despite three separate official investigations into the shootings, conducted by the police, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and through an informal military-and-police effort.

Kine said the military had not cooperated with the Komnas HAM inquiry and the 1997 law had blocked the civilian investigators from accessing military personnel at crime scenes. None of the investigations had made their findings public, he added.

"That's not good enough," said Kine. "Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo told Papuans three weeks after the killings that he wanted them 'solved immediately so it [wouldn't] ever happen again in the future', and also that he wanted the root of the problem found."

"Until Jokowi releases the results of those three probes and ensures all those responsible are prosecuted, military injustice in Papua will remain alive and well." (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/17/military-court-praised-convictions-papua-murder-case.html

Dispatches: A start to ending Indonesian military injustice in Papua

Human Rights Watch - November 16, 2015

Phelim Kine – Something remarkable happened last week in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province. A military court convicted two soldiers of murder and aggravated assault for their role in the deaths of two civilians on August 28.

The court sentenced First Pvt. Makher Rehatta and Chief Pvt. Gregorius R. Geta to prison terms of 12 years and 3 years respectively. Two other soldiers are still on trial for their role in a case in which the four soldiers, who were allegedly drunk, opened fire with assault rifles on a group of Papuans who were holding a local Thanksgiving ceremony in front of a church in Mimika regency.

The case is notable because the perpetrators face punishment. The Indonesian government, which has deployed military forces in Papua since 1963 to counter a long-simmering independence movement, has for decades restricted official access to foreign media, diplomats, and nongovernmental groups in the province, fostering an environment of impunity for military abuses. Those abuses have often gone unpunished due to technical reasons: the 1997 Law on Military Courts allows investigations of military abuses that lack transparency, independence, and impartiality. But Indonesia has also long failed to properly investigate and prosecute alleged serious human rights abuses by members of its military, and in the rare cases where soldiers have been convicted by a military court, the sentences have been extremely lenient.

So last week's convictions are good news, but at best a start. December 8 marks the one-year anniversary of the killings of five protesters in Papua's remote town of Enarotali. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that security forces there fatally shot five peopleduring a peaceful protest sparked by the beating of several children by some soldiers the previous evening.

But one year later, those who killed those demonstrators remain at large. That's despite the fact that there have been three separate official investigations into the shootings: by the police, by the national human rights commission, and by an informal military-and-police effort. The military has not cooperated with the national human rights commission inquiry, and the 1997 law blocks civilian investigators from access to military personnel at the scene of crimes. Not one of those investigations has made public their findings.

That's not good enough. Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told Papuans three weeks after the killings that he wanted the shooting "solved immediately so it won't ever happen again in the future... as well as to find the root of the problems." The failure of Jokowi's government to keep this promise prompted an unprecedented statement from Papua's Catholic diocese in July, demanding justice for Enarotali's victims. Until Jokowi releases the results of those three probes and ensures all those responsible are prosecuted, military injustice in Papua will remain alive and well.

[Phelim Kine Deputy Director of the Asia Division.]

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/11/16/dispatches-start-ending-indonesian-military-injustice-papua

Human rights & justice

Local administrations true guardians of rights: Activists

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2015

Jakarta – Human rights groups have called on local administrations to apply a rights-friendly city concept as an attempt to prevent more human rights abuses in the future.

International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) senior officer for human rights Mugiyanto said on Sunday that the concept included inclusion of pluralism values in local regulations.

"[Supporting pluralism] is in line with commitments made by the central government," Mugiyanto told a press briefing, referring to Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 75/2015 on the 2015-2019 National Plan of Action on Human Rights (RANHAM) that elaborates the government's commitment on human rights.

Local administrations, he said, played a pivotal role because the peace and security of all regions in the country mainly depended on local rights enforcement and regulations by regional leaders.

He cited, as an example the recent circular issued by Bogor Mayor Bima Arya in October banning Shiite Muslims in the city from celebrating their religious feast day, Asyura, which contravened the principle of human rights.

The circular resulted in Bogor being recognized for its religious intolerance, which is now reportedly the worst in Indonesia according to a recent study by human rights advocacy group Setara Institute.

"The mayor, indeed, has the authority to issue such a circular, but that circular was not a positive move because it clearly violated freedom of religion," Mugiyanto said.

Mugiyanto mentioned the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) initiative to establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR), as an example of pro-human rights regulation.

The KKR would have the authority to solve problems related to past human rights violations in Aceh during the separatist conflict and also to accommodate the victims of such violations.

The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) said that local administrations could solve human rights problems faster and more effectively than the central government.

"The central government usually takes too long to respond. Many problems either cannot find a way out or face long periods of deadlock," ELSAM human rights researcher Zainal Abidin said.

He went on to say that human rights-friendly cities could never be realized unless local leaders showed the political will to protect their citizens from human rights violations.

According to him, there are three cities that can be used as best practice examples for political will – Sanggau in West Kalimantan, Palu in Central Sulawesi and Wonosobo in Central Java.

Sanggau is arranging several bylaws that tend to human rights, asking for help and guidelines from local rights groups, experts and civil society. The same effort is also happening in Wonosobo.

Palu is engaging local rights groups to arrange a bylaw that will facilitate and accommodate access for victims – the survivors and their families – of the 1965 massacre. This bylaw will give victims the freedom to express their trauma and to decide what they want the local authorities to do to restore their property and more importantly, their dignity.

"If all cities possess such a political will, rights commission reports on violence will likely decrease," Zainal said.

Yuli Asmini from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said that beside political will, the local government should also have a good control mechanism on human rights.

"The best way is to involve the public and society groups in every decision, including the making of regulations. Local administrations usually have divisions which specifically deal with human rights matters. Now they just need to make these work well," Yuli said. (foy)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/23/local-administrations-true-guardians-rights-activists.html

1965 mass killings

PKS Politician Wants 'Traitors' at IPT 1965 to Be Prosecuted

Jakarta Globe - November 22, 2015

Jakarta – Aboe Bakar Alhabsyi, a lawmaker for the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), wants the Indonesian "traitors" who attended proceedings of the International People's Tribunal 1965 in The Hague recently to be prosecuted upon return.

Aboe Bakar said that the presence of those people at the tribunal was proof of their support for the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), which remains banned in Indonesia.

Tribunnews.com, a local website, reported that Aboe Bakar felt a strong need for continued enforcement of the country's anti-communist laws and regulations that hail back to the 1960s.

Indonesia in the mid-1960s was the scene of a campaign of government- sponsored anti-communist purges that left hundreds of thousands and possible over a million people dead.

At the IPT 1965, activists from Indonesia and elsewhere argued that the Indonesian state should be held responsible for the killings and various forms of abuse of survivors and their relatives, including sexual violence and arbitrary detention, in the years that followed.

The massacres were kicked off after a failed coup attempt pinned on the PKI, during which a number of senior Indonesian military leaders were killed.

The tribunal is not an official court and its findings cannot be enforced, but Indonesian officials have expressed their displeasure about the proceedings regardless. Noted Indonesian lawyer and rights activists Todung Mulya Lubis led the prosecution.

Besides the military, some of the fiercest resistance against suspected communists came from Islamic organizations.

"The PKI were rebels, how can they be defended?" Aboe Bakar was quoted as saying by Tribunnews.com. "You can say that they [the activists in The Hague] have resisted the state by acting in violation of the [1966 ban on communism], that's why they can be convicted."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/human-rights-news/pks-politician-wants-traitors-ipt-1965-prosecuted/

UGM urged to apologize for alleged role in purge

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2015

Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University (UGM) was involved in the purge of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and its supporters in 1965 and the following years, a participant of the International People's Tribunal in The Hague has claimed.

UGM even supposedly received a plaque from the Indonesian Military (TNI) Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) for its involvement in crushing the PKI. However, UGM rector Dwikorita Karnawati has denied those claims, saying that UGM was never institutionally involved the in violence.

A number of the UGM alumni grouped under the UGM Alliance for the 1965 Tragedy, created a petition on the change.org site urging the UGM rector to acknowledge the involvement of the UGM academic community in the 1965 tragedy and apologize to the victims of the tragedy and their families who had suffered as a result.

"The petition should be viewed as an effort to support UGM to do the right thing regarding the 1965 tragedy. It's not an attack against UGM," one of the petition initiators, Naomi Srikandi, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Naomi said the UGM academic community must now have the moral responsibility to acknowledge the event and convey its regret.

By doing so, she said, UGM would be seen as an institution that prioritizes reason and conscience for the sake of resolving conflicts in the country and would also encourage reconciliation that will break the chains of violence and vengeance.

The petitioners gave the example of the moral leadership of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and Palu Mayor Rusdy Mastura, who are both famous for their efforts to reconcile with supporters of the PKI, as those who should be role models for the UGM rector.

At present, more than 500 people have endorsed the online petition.

UGM rector Dwikorita Karnawati admitted that there was the possibility of UGM academic society members' being individually involved in the 1965 communist purge, but added that at an institutional level, the university was not involved.

"We are firmly drawing a line between institutional and individual activities. It is impossible for us to monitor and be able to reach the activities of all individuals at UGM," Dwikorita said on Tuesday.

The rector's statement was in response to the testimony of Titin, a 1965 communist purge victim, during a hearing session at the International People's Tribunal (IPT) for crimes against humanity in 1965.

In her testimony, Titin claimed that one of the people who tortured her during the 1965 purge was Loekman Soetrisno, a notable UGM professor. Dwikorita said that the university would not seek clarification about Prof. Loekman's alleged involvement in the 1965 atrocities.

Commenting on an honorary certificate dated Dec. 15, 1965, received by UGM from the Army's Special Forces (RPKAD, now Kopassus), Dwikorita said the certificate was a form of appreciation of the university's great contribution to the country. There have been rumors that the RPKAD gave the certificate to show its respect for the university's support of the 1965 communist purge in Central Java.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/ugm-urged-apologize-alleged-role-purge.html

Labour & migrant workers

Government vows support for labor-intensive industries

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Khoirul Amin and Tassia Sipahutar, Manila/Jakarta – In an effort to propel economic growth and boost the business climate in the country, the government's upcoming economic policy package would focus on incentives for labor-intensive industries, a senior government advisor has said.

The government's seventh economic policy package, to be issued next month, would provide incentives for labor-intensive businesses and their employees, Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Vice President's advisory team, said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila.

Sofjan explained that the incentives could be in the form of tax facilities, such as a tax allowance or tax holiday, so that labor-intensive businesses would have additional funds to support their operations.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry's fiscal policy agency head Suahasil Nazara said the government was also assessing the possibility of revising Article 21 of the law on income tax as part of the new policy package, so that employees would pay lower taxes.

Suahasil said the revision would leave workers with higher take-home pay, which in turn would boost household spending. "We are thinking of revising it to boost domestic consumption, but past experience from 2008 shows that such a move wasn't really popular," he said on Thursday at the House of Representatives in Jakarta.

Back in 2008, the government introduced a temporary revision of Article 21 under Law No. 36/2008 on Income Tax, which reduced income tax payments for workers in certain business sectors. "If we eventually revise current regulations, it will only be temporary, just like the previous policy," Suahasil added.

The country's labor-intensive industries, such as the garment and textile industry, have been hit hard by the current economic downturn, resulting in massive layoffs. Growth in the segment continued to slow in the third quarter of this year.

Some 46,000 workers in garment and footwear businesses were laid-off during the first nine months of this year, according to data from the Manpower Ministry.

Bank Danamon economist Dian Ayu Yustina said the planned tax incentives should be able to help labor-intensive industries expand operations and hopefully, as a multiplier effect, allow the companies to absorb more workers.

"We need a breakthrough policy to boost workforce absorption," she said over the phone on Thursday. "However," she said, "what we also want is stimulus for the consumption side." She added that the government needed to boost consumption, as that remained the main driver of the country's economy.

Separately, Lana Soelistianingsih, an economist with Samuel Sekuritas, said the tax facilities would not be effective in helping the country reduce the unemployment rate and propel economic growth, as the underlying problem in the labor-intensive industries was labor productivity that could not compete with that of neighboring countries.

"The tax facility will not solve the productivity problem. What is more important is to provide proper training for the workers," she said.

According to Lana, most companies would just use the money saved on taxes to buy manufacturing machines to support medium-term production, replacing human labor. "I think it's better if the government sets aside part of its tax revenue to upgrade our workforce's skills to eventually raise their productivity," she said.

The government has introduced six economic policy packages since early September this year to provide fiscal incentives and streamline licensing procedures in a wide range of industries. The government promised to provide additional fiscal incentives for special economic zones to spur economic activity in selected provinces as part of the sixth economic policy package announced earlier this month.

The fiscal incentives will be given to eight special economic zones, namely Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Sei Mangkei in North Sumatra, Palu in Central Sulawesi, Bitung in North Sulawesi, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Morotai in North Maluku, Tanjung Api-Api in South Sumatra and Maloy Batuta Trans Kalimantan in East Kalimantan.

[Prima Wirayani contributed to this article.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/govt-vows-support-labor-intensive-industries.html

Bekasi minimum wage Rp 3.3 million, 5 percent more than Jakarta's

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Jakarta – The Bekasi payment committee decided on a monthly minimum wage of Rp 3.3 million (US$242.50) at a meeting on Thursday night. The figure is higher than Jakarta's minimum wage of Rp 3.1 million.

Head of Bekasi Manpower Agency's industrial division Sudirman said that next year's minimum wage would be 11.5 percent higher than this year's Rp 2.9 million. It was decided based on Gubernatorial Regulation No. 78/2015 on annual minimum-wage increases.

"The majority of meeting attendees agreed with the Rp 3.3 million figure," Sudirman said in Bekasi on Friday as reported by tempo.co, adding that only one workers' representative rejected it. He said that the meeting was attended by 24 representatives of workers, employers and the Bekasi administration.

Sudirman said that the result of the meeting would be conveyed to Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi, who would in turn recommend the minimum wage figure to West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan who would then, in all likelihood, issue a gubernatorial decree to make the figure official.

Head of Bekasi's branch of the All-Indonesia Workers Association (SPSI) R Abdullah accepted the decision, after considering the economic slowdown being felt by employers at present.

Purnomo Narmiadi, head of Bekasi's branch of the Indonesia Employers' Association (Apindo) that represents many of Bekasi's 1,018 employers, said that representatives of employers accepted the decision, but if there were businesspeople who could not afford to pay the new minimum wage, they would appeal to the governor for a delayed implementation of the decision. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/bekasi-minimum-wage-rp-33m-5-more-jakarta-s.html

Jakarta police beef up security ahead of minimum wage rally

Jakarta Globe - November 20, 2015

Jakarta – City police on Friday deployed more than 1,000 officers to one of Indonesia's national landmark in an upscale area of Central Jakarta as laborers gather to rally for an increase to the minimum wage.

Sr. Comr. Mohammad Iqbal, spokesman for the Jakarta Police, told reporters in Jakarta that some 1,500 laborers will flock to the Proklamasi Monument in Menteng, Central Jakarta. "We're sending 1,000 officers to beef up security for the group and surrounding buildings, and to control road traffic," Iqbal said.

Earlier this month Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama indicated he would not comply with a minimum wage increase of 11.5 percent in the capital as recommended by President Joko Widodo's administration and will instead continue to support a 15 percent increase to Rp 3.1 million ($230) a month.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/jakarta-police-beef-security-ahead-minimum-wage-rally/

Junior high school graduates dominate Indonesia workforce

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

Jakarta – Junior high school and lower-level graduates dominate the labor market in Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world.

Manpower Minister Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri said it would take a long time for the country to get a workforce with a better level of education. The situation could create problems for the country in building more competitive industries.

"We need to establish cooperation between the government and businesspeople, as well as workers, to improve the quality of our human resources. That is why I always mention the importance of competency upgrades," said Hanifin a press statement as quoted by Kontan.co.id on Wednesday.

The ministry, he continued, would proceed with the plan to develop several policies, such as on competency-based training, professional certification and revitalizing vocational training centers to create a more qualified workforce.

Business players' participation is needed to assure that human resources' competency and quality comply with the market, and labor unions' participation is also needed to improve the quality of their members, Hanif said. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/junior-high-school-graduates-dominate-workforce.html

Workers protest new wage regulation with 180km march to Jakarta

Berita Satu - November 17, 2015

Adi Marsiela/PCN, Bandung – At least 200 workers from the West Java Labour Alliance (Al-Jabar) began marching from the West Java provincial capital of Bandung to Jakarta on Monday November 16.

The workers, who are marching some 180 kilometers by foot and were accompanied by scores of people on motorcycles, four wheeled vehicles and an ambulance, are scheduled to arrive at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta on Friday November 20.

Indonesian Labour Union Confederation (KPBI) leadership representative Ilham Syah said that the action demonstrated workers' seriousness in opposing Government Regulation Number (PP) Number 78/2015 on wages, [which stipulates that annual minimum wage increases are calculated based on the inflation rate and economic growth – JB].

During the march, the protesters will be distributing a petition by workers and the people of Indonesia against the new wage regulation.

"This PP [effectively] annuls increases to workers' wages and abolishes the role of trade unions in each [annual wage] increase", said Ilham in a speech before the protesters.

The Al-Jabar is aiming to gather a minimum of 1 million signatures on the petition. If this is achieved, the alliance will consider cancelling a planned national strike that is to be held on November 24-27.

"Don't forget that when [you're] marching meet with people and socialise why we are calling on the government to repeal the PP 78/2015" said Ilham.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Buruh Jalan Kaki ke Jakarta Desak Penghapusan PP Pengupahan".]

Source: http://www.beritasatu.com/nasional/322557-buruh-jalan-kaki-ke-jakarta-desak-penghapusan-pp-pengupahan.html

Massive layoffs shake small businesses

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2015

Reportage – It is estimated that around 80,000 workers had been laid off as of September this year, according to Manpower Ministry data, as many businesses in the real sector have felt the pinch of the domestic economic slowdown, which saw growth weakening to a six-year low.

The Jakarta Post's Khoirul Amin explores the issue in a field report at Karawang and Bekasi in West Java, which is home to many electronics, automotive and textile factories.

It was lunch time; just a regular weekday in November on a street built up by thriving shoulder-to-shoulder food stalls. But on this day, in the hight of the midday heat, these once-crowded food stalls are deathly quiet, the few motorbikes and pedestrians now passing them by.

The street, situated near the 54-hectare Gobel industrial estate in Cibitung, Bekasi regency, used to be busy with crowds of workers from the nearby factories flocking to the stalls to buy meals and snacks.

"The situation here began to change in February Since then things have become increasingly quiet, as you can see today. This might be because many workers have been laidoff or haven't had their contracts extended," said Wasmen, who runs a food stall on the street side.

Wasmen recently informed The Jakarta Post that she now earned less than Rp 20 million (US$1,419) per month, a significant drop from the Rp 30 million or more that she had earned before the layoffs faced by many workers at the Gobel industrial estate. She no longer employs outsiders, her daughters now help serve customers as the extra money, once income for a paid employee, is needed to cover the growing rental fees for her 2-by-3 meter stall.

Similar trends of declining sales and less traction can be seen among the many other food stalls, boarding houses and laundry businesses located close to the industrial areas of the MM2100 in West Cikarang, Bekasi and Karawang International Industrial City (KIIC), where a number of automotive, electronics and textile factories are based.

According to data from the Manpower Ministry, 79,425 workers had been laid-off as of September this year, with Bekasi regency accounting for 2,197 and Karawang for 283.

The garment, electronics and footwear industries contributed most significantly to the reported job loss, with worker lay-offs reading 36,000 people, 15,000 people and 10,000 people, respectively.

Soni, who owns a food stall in West Karawang, near the KIIC area, said that his gross revenues declined to less than Rp 900,000 a day in recent months, from between Rp 1.8 million and Rp 2 million a day.

"I don't know where my customers have gone, but many of my regular customers, their familiar faces are not seen anymore. They've probably been laid-off and returned to their hometown or found jobs elsewhere," he said, adding that many of his customers worked on a contract basis with global brands like Yamaha, Honda and Daihatsu.

Soni, who also manages a boarding house, went on to voice further concern, mentioning that there had been no recent enquiries made with regard to his vacant rooms; prior to this year's layoffs he had fielded dozens each day. In fact, he added, five rooms had remained unoccupied for the last two months.

Located just 100 meters from Soni's stall, Siti's laundry shop is also experiencing a drop in sales. The 3-by-4 meter store currently receives 50 to 80 kilograms of laundry per day; it used to process around 100 kg per day.

"There had been considerable demand for laundry service from contract workers living nearby. From the Daihatsu factory, for example, there were usually five to six people delivering their laundry a day but now only two remain. Maybe some of the workers have lost their jobs," she said.

Lower consumer purchasing power due to the economic slowdown has resulted in lower demand in many industrial sectors, in turn leading to declining capacity utilization and use of labor.

According to Jongkie Sugiharto, co-chairman of the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), national car sales had reached around 800,000 units as of October this year, a 23 percent drop from 1.04 million units during the same period last year.

The association has estimated that total car sales will hit between 950,000 units and 1 million units by year-end, the lowest sales figure over the last three years.

Jongkie explained that a number of automakers had been undergoing efficiency measures such as annulling shift work and reducing overtime to adjust to lower demand from consumers.

"Car production this year will likely hit around 1.2 million units for both domestic and export markets, from a total production capacity of 1.9 million units a year," he said.

A recent survey by Bank Indonesia (BI) has revealed that capacity utilization across business sectors declined to 75.36 percent in the third quarter of this year, from 77.82 percent in the previous quarter, with the manufacturing sector recording a sharp plunge to 68.46 percent.

Net weighted balance for the use of labor in the first nine months of this year contracted by 1.75 percent and a contraction of 0.72 percent is expected to happen in the last quarter of this year, the survey has unveiled.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has confirmed that the open unemployment rate in August increased by 6.18 percent compared with that in February of 5.81 percent. The country's working population has slumped by 5.9 million people to 116.5 people as of August, from 122.4 million people in February.

Sutinah, who has a food stall near Bekasi's MM2100 area, said that she was worried that her business would continue to decline throughout this year. She attributed a 55 percent sales drop in her business to the layoffs that face workers living nearby, in addition to competition from new emerging food stalls.

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) executive director Enny Sri Hartati said that the current situations faced by industries might not see any sign of improvement in the fourth quarter, as consumer purchasing power was expected to remain low or stagnant.

Various workers' alliances in Bekasi and Karawang, such as the Indonesian Metal Workers Union (SPMI) and the United National Workers (SPN), meanwhile, stated that they had not got any massive layoff reports from their members.

In Bekasi, most layoffs in the garment and textile industry happened a few years back, when many of the garment and textile companies' opperating in the regency went bankrupt, said SPN Bekasi chairman Joko Sugimin.

Indonesian Textile Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat said previously that the textile industry had pinned their hopes on the government's economic policy packages and special textile-help desk to boost the industry's growth and avoid more layoffs.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/16/massive-layoffs-shake-small-businesses.html

Political parties & elections

Candidates flouting rules on campaign funding

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2015

Jakarta – The People's Voter Education Network (JPPR) has found indications that campaign funding regulations are being violated by candidates running in the December regional elections.

The election watchdog based its findings on a month-long monitoring of candidate activities in nine regions – South Tangerang, Banten; Depok, West Java; Palu, Central Sulawesi; Balikpapan, East Kalimantan; Jember, East Java; Maros, South Sulawesi; Semarang, Central Java; Seluma, Bengkulu; and Bantul, Yogyakarta.

The report said a regent and vice regent candidate pair from Seluma, who are supported by the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) and the National Mandate Party (PAN), received a total of Rp 75 million (US$5,500) from an individual, which is Rp 25 million more than is permitted by General Elections Commission (KPU) regulations.

"The amount was mentioned in their campaign funding report. The total amount they received clearly violates regulations," JPPR national coordinator Masykurudin Hafidz said in press briefing in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He cited KPU regulation No. 8/2015, which stipulates that an individual donor is allowed to donate only up to Rp 50 million, while organizations, institutions or companies can donate no more than Rp 500 million.

The JPPR report further shows that two holding companies split their donations among their subsidiaries so they could donate more than the limit.

"Such a strategy was found in Balikpapan with a mayor and deputy mayor candidate pair," Masykurudin said. The candidate pair is from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

He said the pair received a total of Rp 2 billion from seven companies, each of which donated Rp 250 million to Rp 300 million. The JPPR observers found that three of the companies were under one holding company. The other four companies were under another holding company.

Based on the regulation, he said, neither the candidates nor the companies violated the KPU regulation as each of them donated less than Rp 500 billion. "But it could affect the policy decisions made by the candidates if they're elected. They could arbitrarily make regional regulations that benefit those companies only," he said.

The JPPR also found vast amounts of money from individuals or companies with dubious identities, so-called "ghost donors".

Masykurudin said such a case was found in South Tangerang with an incumbent candidate pair supported by six political parties – PAN, NasDem, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Golkar Party, United Development Party (PPP) and National Awakening Party (PKB).

The pair was found to have received Rp 50 million from an individual whose identity is not the same as that mentioned in its campaign funding report.

"This also violates the regulation because all candidates have to mention the full identity of their donors," Masykurudin said.

He said the nine cities or regencies that were selected for monitoring represented several big islands in Indonesia. The JPPR chose the nine as they were rich in natural resources and surrounded by many large resource- based companies.

"So, the nine represent the 269 regions scheduled to hold regional elections this year," he said.

Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) commissioner Nelson Simanjuntak said his agency would immediately follow up on the JPPR report and hand it over to the Bawaslu offices at the provincial levels as the central Bawaslu would take to long to investigate the findings.

"Our offices at the provincial level can handle it better because they know more about the situation in those regions," Nelson said.

Nelson added that the candidates as well as the related individuals or companies might be guilty of violating Article 187 paragraphs 5 and 6 of the KPU regulation on campaign funding, which carries a maximum one-year prison sentence orRp 1 billion fine. "The KPU will also have authority to disqualify them," Nelson said. (foy)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/candidates-flouting-rules-campaign-funding.html

Mass organisations & NGOs

HMI congress participants burn tires

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2015

Pekanbaru – Scores of students from the Makassar chapter of the Association of Islamic Students (HMI) burned used tires and blocked off Jl. Sudirman, in front of the Youth Hall in Pekanbaru on Saturday night for protesting a lack of proper facilities.

"We hoped the local committee would meet us here. We have yet to receive proper facilities," HMI coordinator Zulkifli said through a megaphone as reported by tribunnews.com

Pekanbaru Police chief Sr. Comr. Aries Syarief Hidayat was seen appeasing the students, who reportedly hitched a ride to the city on a ship owned by state-owned shipping company Pelni.

Pekanbaru hosted the 29th HMI congress held at the Labersa Hotel in Kampar regency on Sunday. Vice President Jusuf Kalla was slated to inaugurate the event.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/23/islands-focus-hmi-congress-participants-burn-tires.html

Environment & natural disasters

Government to restore damaged peatlands

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The government is gearing up to restore as many as 2 million hectares of peatlands destroyed through decades of mismanaged oil palm plantations.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry said on Tuesday that the government had finished mapping the entire peatland ecosystem in Indonesia, which would serve as the base map of the five-year peatland restoration project.

"If we look at Sumatra, we want to look at where the peatland area is. What are their sizes? It's all here. But this is still an indicative map, we still need to do ground checks first to see whether the sizes of the mapped peatland have altered," the ministry's environmental pollution and damage control director general, Karliansyah, told reporters.

Besides ground checks, the ministry plans to boost the resolution of the map from the current scale of 1:250,000 to 1:5,000 in order to determine the category of individual peatland areas, separating them into either protected or cultivated.

"The environment and forestry minister [Siti Nurbaya Bakar] will determine the area in accordance with Government Regulation No. 71/2014 on peatland ecosystem protection and management," Karliansyah said. "The restoration attempt will be focused on protected peatland areas. The peatland areas that are small in size and scattered, we will just let them recover on their own."

The government plans to restore damaged protected-category peatlands by pumping in sufficient water to restore adequate dampness. If a peatland area has been taken over by oil palm trees, the government plans to begin the restoration process by blocking the canals that are built by palm oil producers to drain all the water out from the peatland.

"If the peatland is critically damaged, we will rehabilitate the area using a paludiculture method, as suggested by our friends from Wetlands International," said Karliansyah.

Paludiculture is a process whereby peatlands are cultivated with crops adapted to wet soil conditions, as opposed to oil palm plantations, which need dry soil in order to be cultivated.

"There are lots of native crops that have prospects for cultivation in peatland. We don't have to force crops [that are not suitable]. From now, industry should seek local crop alternatives, native crops that do not need drainage," Wetlands International senior forestry and rehabilitation specialist Yoyok Wibisono said on Tuesday.

He also urged the government to make sure that the sizable rehabilitation and restoration project would be sustainable long-term.

"In past rehabilitation attempts, the government approach viewed them as mere projects and the measurement of success was based on the number of trees planted. In fact, that is just the starting point. What we want to see is how many plants are alive [after being planted]," Yoyok said.

Last Friday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla confirmed the plan would restore at least 2 million hectares of peatlands in the next five years. Kalla also admitted that the peatland areas had been abused by previous administrations who gave permits to palm oil firms to cultivate peatlands.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti said that the government would start the restoration project in three peatland areas severely damaged by this year's forest fires: Pulang Pisau Regency in Central Kalimantan, Ogan Komering Ilir Regency and Musi Banyuasin Regency, both in South Sumatra.

"The total size of the three areas is around 460,000 hectares," she said on Tuesday. "This project will involve multiple ministries. In terms of construction, it will involve the Public Works and Public Housing Minister. I have talked to him."

Currently the government is still finishing the grand design of the project under the coordination of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) and the Coordinating Economic Ministry.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/govt-restore-damaged-peatlands.html

Industry will lobby government over peatland clearing license

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2015

Indonesia's forestry business players have urged the government to withdraw a draft Presidential Decree that would see an end to new licenses for peatland clearing and corporate licenses for cultivating new peatland for business purposes.

Executive director of the Indonesian Forestry Businesspersons' Association (APHI) Purwadi Suprihanto said the government should instead have created a map showing which peatland was off limits and which areas operators would be allowed to manage.

"We have expressed this verbally to the Environment and Forestry Ministry, and will formally deliver our request soon, before the Presidential Decree is released," he told kontan.co.id, on Monday.

A total prohibition would hit the forestry business hard, since some investors, Purwadi believed, had prepared long-term business plans. Thus, some are expecting to expand their use of peatland areas next year, and are lobbying hard for the government to allow such.

Industrial forest plantations (HTI) now cover less than 10 million hectares, with 1 million ha of that being converted peatland APHI data shows. Indonesia has seven million ha of idle peatland, including land for miscellaneous purposes.

Purwadi complained that forestry business operators had seen their expansion plans disturbed by the massive forest fires. If new licenses for peatland conversion are made unavailable, they would be forced to replant their existing plantations.

APHI vice chairman Irsyad Yasman added that the forestry operators have had their morale and their finances badly affected by accusations and smear campaigns regarding the cause of the forest fires.

Despite the investigation into the fires being ongoing, the public have accused forestry companies of starting the fires and some have boycotted their products. "They must respect the presumption-of-innocence principle," he said.

Purwadi claimed that forest fires has decreased Indonesia's timber yield in quarter three by 29 percent, bringing it down to 6.56 million cubic meters, compared to the quarter two's yield of 9.26 million m3. The shortage mainly came from Riau, Jambi, South Sumatera, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.

Due to the clog at the operational level, Purwadi continued, approximately 1 million workers in the forestry industry had been laid off, including many working with partner companies.

"Foreign exchange reserves from pulp and paper exports, worth US$5.6 billion per annum, will potentially drop," he stated.

The forestry operators, Purwardi said, were also worried that banks' confidence in injecting capital into the industry would lessen if the "fire starter" campaign got more traction. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/17/industry-will-lobby-government-over-peatland-clearing-license.html

Health & education

Indonesia's health ministry apologises for printing error on HIV campaign

Agence France Presse - November 19, 2015

Indonesia's health ministry has apologised after a printing error led to a poster campaign claiming HIV can be transmitted through mosquito bites, swimming and sneezing.

Social media was flooded with angry comments after the ministry's attempt to launch a campaign to debunk myths about HIV backfired badly in a country where people with the virus are much stigmatised.

The Indonesian plan involved putting up posters on commuter trains in the capital, Jakarta, stating that HIV cannot be transmitted through mosquito bites, swimming and sneezing, or through human saliva and sweat.

But the printing company missed out the word "not" from the posters and failed to get final approval from officials. The mistake resulted in the banners reinforcing the very beliefs they were intended to challenge. Hundreds of posters were plastered on trains at the weekend, but have been removed after the outcry.

"The ministry has to carry out a massive and systematic awareness campaign to undo this blunder," said Aditya Wardhana, an activist from Indonesia Aids Coalition. HIV activist Fajar Jasmin tweeted that the botched campaign was a "stupid, fatal mistake".

Senior health ministry official Muhammad Subuh said: "We have made a public apology and now the banners are being removed and will be replaced with the correct ones. They omitted the word 'not'; it was an honest mistake."

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/19/indonesias-health-ministry-apologises-for-printing-error-on-hiv-campaign

Gender & sexual orientation

LGBT people still suffer from widespread violent abuse in Yogyakarta

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2015

Bambang Muryanto, Jakarta – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in Yogyakarta celebrated on Friday the Transgender Day of Remembrance by staging a silent rally at the Yogyakarta Police office. They urged the Police to immediately apprehend the perpetrators of violent acts against LGBT communities in Yogyakarta, which had left LGBT people suffering from injuries and bone fractures.

"The level of violence against LGBT people in the public sphere in Yogyakarta has remained high," Mario Prajna Pratama, an activist from LGBT rights advocacy group People Like Us Satu Hati (PLUSH), told thejakartapost.com on Friday.

The group recorded that the most violent attack occurred last year when LGBT communities celebrated the Transgender Day of Remembrance at the Tugu monument on Nov. 20, 2014. In the midst of the rally, several members from a radical group suddenly attacked the LGBT people attending the event. Seven people were injured and a transsexual suffered an arm-bone fracture.

"Research conducted by rights group Arus Pelangi in 2013 showed that 89.3 percent of LGBT people in three big cities, namely Jakarta, Makassar and Yogyakarta, had experienced violence," said Mario. He said the violence experienced by LGBT people occurred in the economic, cultural, physical, psychological and sexual fields.

In Yogyakarta, violence against transsexuals has reportedly increased after a regional regulation (Perda) on homeless drifters and beggars took effect last year. Yogyakarta has since been considered an unsafe area for LGBT people. Recently, the police banned a discussion on LGBT issues at the University of Sanata Dharma following threats the organizers received from radical organizations.

The trend toward discrimination and violence has been rising of late. In 2010, the Q Film Festival was dispersed and in 2012, the Canadian activist, writer and liberal Muslim Irshad Manji was attacked. Manji's event had to be cancelled in light of the violence.

"Many transsexuals are arrested while begging or playing musical instruments. In shelters, they are forced to perform like men by cutting their long hair," said Mario.

Also on Friday, several transsexuals, accompanied by Yogyakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Yogyakarta) lawyers, came to the Yogyakarta Police office and asked for a progress report on how the police had handled violent attacks on their compatriots.

The head of the police's criminal investigations unit, Comr. Heru Muslimin, said the police would continue to pursue the perpetrators of the violence. He also promised that he himself would handle the police's investigations into the cases.

"We have faced difficulties in investigating the cases because the victims could not offer up to us the particular features of the attackers," he said.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance has been celebrated globally every Nov. 20 since 1999. Every year, dozens of LGBT people are tortured to death by people who do not like to see their presence in society. In 2015, around 79 LGBT people died of torture. The Transgender Day of Remembrance aims to decrease public hatred toward LGBT people. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/22/lgbt-people-still-suffer-widespread-violent-abuse-yogyakarta.html

Marriage & polygamy

East Java has Indonesia's highest divorce rate

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

The divorce rate in East Java is the highest in the country, with the province accounting for 47 percent of all national divorces.

Hasniah, a marriage and family consultant, said on Wednesday that the province had had the highest rate for the past five years.

East Java deputy governor Saifullah Yusuf said he predicted the province would reach 100,000 divorce cases by the end of this year, which would represent a sharp rise from the 81,672 divorces for the whole of 2014.

"Most divorces in East Java happen among teachers. There are many factors involved, including economic issues and unharmonious marriages," he said as quoted by Antara.

It was reported by kompas.com that based on Religious Affairs Ministry data, divorce rates in Indonesia rose continuously from 2010 to 2014. The data showed that the divorces settled in religious courts last year totaled 382,231, 100,000 cases more than the 251,208 in 2010, when roughly 2 million people got married.

Head of research and development at the ministry Muharam Marzuki said 70 percent of divorces are proposed by the wife. As well as money and harmony issues, Muharam cited unpreparedness for marriage, lack of responsibility and third party involvement as causes of divorce.

Hasniah suggested that there were two ways to make a marriage last – keeping the marriage focused on its religious meaning and being faithful with the marriage promises.

"The purpose of being married is to seek God's blessing," she said as quoted by Antara. She added that couples must be well prepared before tying the knot so that they know the roles and consequences ahead of them. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/east-java-has-indonesia-s-highest-divorce-rate.html

Refugees & asylum seekers

Lawmaker lambasts Luhut for offering islet to Oz for refugees

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Jakarta – A lawmaker has emphatically opposed an idea put forward by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan to provide an island to accommodate refugees heading to Australia.

Mahfudz Siddiq, head of House of Representatives Commission 1 overseeing foreign and security affairs, said on Friday that the idea would create a new problem for Indonesia.

"Offering an island as a temporary shelter for migrants would not solve the issues in Australia and instead cause problems for Indonesia," he said as quoted by state news agency Antara.

Luhut told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that during his visit to Canberra earlier this week, the government offered Australia the possibility of using an island to accommodate asylum seekers coming through the archipelago to reach Australia.

Still, Luhut said the proposal came with strict requirements including full financing from Australia and a limited period for the arrangement.

Mahfudz said Australia only wanted to make other countries their buffers from the waves of asylum seekers searching for a new life there.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician urged the government to be firm with Australia to prevent Indonesia becoming a transit country for its asylum seekers.

"By closing the transit door, Indonesia would lower the potential for issues," he said, adding that it would not interfere with bilateral relations between the two countries.

Located strategically in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is affected by refugees entering its waters to get through to Australia. Thousands of refugees have been reported as stranded in the archipelago after their boats capsized or were sent back by the Australian Navy.

There are 7,666 asylum seekers and 5,739 refugees in Indonesia according to data from the Indonesia's office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

There has been a growing number of people seeking refuge in Australia, with Australian government statistics showing that more than 18,000 people arrived in the country between 2012 and 2013, a surge from the 7,300 people that arrived between 2011 and 2012, following rising conflict in the Middle East. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/lawmaker-lambasts-luhut-offering-islet-oz-refugees.html

Graft & corruption

KPK refuses to investigate AGO director in bribery case

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2015

Haeril Halim, Bogor, West Java – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has said it will not move against special crimes division director Maruli Hutagalung from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) in its investigation into suspended North Sumatra governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho despite court evidence confirming that Gatot had funneled money to the prosecutor to halt a case implicating the governor at the AGO.

In its investigation into the case, the antigraft body has named former NasDem Party secretary-general Patrice Rio Capella a suspect for receiving bribes of up to Rp 200 million (US$14,600) from Gatot to bridge communications with Attorney General M. Prasetyo, also a former member of the pro-government party, and other AGO officials to stop a social aid fund case at the AGO.

Both Rio and Maruli were said to have accepted the money from Gatot but the KPK said that its investigation would stop at Rio and let the AGO launch an internal investigation to probe the validity of the accusation against Maruli. KPK deputy chairman Zulkarnen defended the KPK's stance on Maruli saying that the organization had decided not to investigate the allegations against Maruli because "there was a missing link in the case."

"The KPK investigation is not focused [on Maruli]. It's the AGO's job to follow up [the court evidence]," Zulkarnen said over the weekend in Bogor, West Java.

Gatot confirmed on Wednesday that his lawyer, OC Kaligis, had given Rp 500 million to Maruli to enlist his support to halt the social aid case.

The governor, who is also embroiled in three separate cases currently being handled by the KPK, said that he had given the money to Kaligis, adding that Kaligis, also a former NasDem executive, reported to him once he had passed on the money to Maruli.

Earlier, Gatot's wife, Evi Susanti, testifying during Rio's trial, made similar statements. Another witness also revealed that Evi had provided US$20,000 for Prasetyo in order to get his support in the scheme.

Widyo Pramono, junior attorney general for internal supervision, announced that an AGO internal investigation had found that Maruli had never received money either from Gatot, Evi or Kaligis in relation to the social aid case, adding that the AGO had also grilled Maruli in the case.

The AGO described the allegations against Maruli and Prasetyo as "total lies". "From our questioning of Gatot and his wife, they never gave the money either to the attorney general or the AGO's special crimes division director. So, the case is clear now. The allegations are total lies," Widyo said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday.

This is not the first time that the KPK, under the leadership of acting chairman Taufiequrachman Ruki, has let off law enforcement members from a graft investigation.

The KPK, under the leadership of chairman Abraham Samad, faced total paralysis after it named then National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan a bribery suspect in January.

Following the KPK's bold move, the police declared Abraham and another KPK commissioner, Bambang Widjojanto, criminal suspects in what many deemed to be trivial cases.

In March, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appointed Ruki, a former police general, to replace the combative Abraham and ordered the KPK to forge "a better relationship with other law enforcement institutions" in the future.

Under Ruki's leadership, the KPK appears to have avoided investigating cases involving members of law enforcement.

In April, the KPK, during a sting operation, arrested ranking police officer Brig. Agung Krisdianto for delivering bribes from a businessman to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Adriansyah in Bali. The KPK only named Adriansyah and the businessman, identified as Andrew Hidayat, as suspects in the case and let Agung walk free.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/23/KPK-refuses-investigate-ago-director-bribery-case.html

In denouement of $2 billion Freeport shakedown, cabinet fractures appear

Jakarta Globe - November 21, 2015

Jakarta – Cracks are beginning to show in the highest levels of President Joko Widodo's cabinet amid the unraveling of what could be the single biggest corruption case in Indonesian history.

Luhut Pandjaitan, the chief security minister, said at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday that he found it "very strange" that the energy minister, Sudirman Said, had filed a complaint with the House of Representatives alleging an attempted shakedown by House Speaker Setya Novanto of copper and gold miner Freeport Indonesia.

Luhut, whose name comes up frequently in the transcript of a recording of the alleged conspiracy, questioned Sudirman's motive for taking the issue public. "I feel it's very strange. Why would Minister S.S. report this? You'd have to ask him yourselves," he told reporters.

Sudirman alleges that Setya, in a meeting in June with Freeport Indonesia chief executive Maroef Sjamsoeddin and businessman Muhammad Riza Chalid, sought to have a 20 percent stake in the company divested through him, on the pretext that the shares would go to President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

In exchange, the House speaker gave his reassurances that the company – the single biggest taxpayer in Indonesia – would be allowed to continue operating. The key to making it all work, Setya is recorded as saying "lies with Pak Luhut and with myself."

Setya initially denied the allegation of a shakedown, but on Thursday finally admitted to it, saying he was joking when he demanded the shares.

Sudirman on Thursday confirmed speculation that the recording was made by Maroef, whom he said had been suspicious about Setya's requests to talk. The meeting is alleged to have been the third between the parties, and took place at the Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place hotel in South Jakarta.

"Based on the information from the [Freeport Indonesia] CEO, Pak M.S., indications of something fishy were already apparent in the first and second meetings," Sudirman told Detik on Thursday. "So to protect himself, Pak M.S recorded [the conversation during] the third meeting."

Freeport Indonesia's parent company, Arizona-based Freeport McMoRan, holds a 90.64 percent stake in the miner, and is require to gradually bring that figure down to 70 percent by 2019, starting with a 10 percent divestment this year.

Maroef's predecessor as CEO, Rozik B. Soetjipto, last year estimated the value of a 10 percent stake at around $2 billion. If the shakedown allegation is confirmed, that would make this case by far the single biggest corruption conspiracy in Indonesia's history.

The vast potential tied up in such a deal was apparently not lost on Riza, the businessman said to have sat in on the meeting with Setya and Maroef.

"Freeport runs, you're happy, we're happy," he is recorded as saying, apparent to Maroef. "We'll get together and play golf, we'll buy a nice private jet..."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/denouement-2b-freeport-shakedown-cabinet-fractures-appear/

KPK, AGO in fight over top prosecutor's reassignment

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has said that it would allow Yudi Kristiana, a prosecutor seconded to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), to wrap up his work on two graft cases involving two former NasDem Party executives before he would be transfered back to his home organization.

Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Friday that Yudi would not get his promotion until the conclusion of the two trials he is currently working on; one involving the NasDem Party former secretary-general, Rio Capella and, the other, the NasDem Party senior politician and prominent lawyer, OC Kaligis.

"He still has a task to complete as he is handling some cases [at the KPK]," said Prasetyo, a former NasDem politician, at the AGO headquarters in South Jakarta.

Prasetyo was keen to assure the public that there was no political pressure behind the decision to withdraw Yudi and maintained that it had only been a matter of time as the prosecutor was due for a promotion.

"There is no other objective and, in fact, this is not even a withdrawal, this is a rotation. He will get a a higher position because he will be promoted," Prasetyo said.

On Tuesday, AGO spokesman Amir Yanto claimed that Yudi would be promoted to an echelon III job at the AGO's training center.

However, Amir denied that Yudi's promotion had been due to his move to prosecute two NasDem politicians, submitting them to their respective trials at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

On Monday, Rio's trial had revealed a scheme to bribe Prasetyo to halt a graft case implicating suspended North Sumatra governor Gatot Pujo Nugoho currently handled by the AGO.

During Monday's hearing, a witness calimed that Gatot's wife, Evi Susanti, had set aside US$20,000 for Prasetyo.

Rio stands accused of receiving a Rp 200 million bribe from Gatot for his service as an intermediary between the governor and Prasetyo. However, Prasetyo has maintained his innocence and the KPK have yet to summon Prasetyo to testify in the case.

Yudi, who is one of the KPK's best prosecutors, was seconded to the antigraft body and has handled several high profile graft cases, including the Bank Century and the Bank Central Asia (BCA) scandals.

As a KPK prosecutor, Yudi managed to build a strong case against former Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Budi Mulya, who was sentenced to 10 years for offenses connected to the Bank Century scandal in 2014.

Yudi had renewed his contract with the antigraft body for another four year term in September, due to expire in 2019.

On Thursday, KPK acting chairman Taufiequrrachman Ruki said that the KPK had sent an informal request to the AGO to retain Yudi at the anti-graft body until he finished handling several high-profile graft cases.

Ruki said that although the KPK had assigned a subsitute prosecutor to replace Yudi, the antigraft body would suffer from the loss of one of its top prosecutors.

"He is a prosecutor, has a Ph.D in law and is also a lecturer. We really need his contribution," he said following a meeting with the House of Representatives's Commission III overseeing legal affairs.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/21/KPK-ago-fight-over-top-prosecutor-s-reassignment.html

Prabowo, allies throw weight behind Setya

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2015

Tama Salim and Rendi A. Witular – Members of the opposition Red-and-White Coalition (KMP) convened on Friday evening at the private residence of Gerindra Party patron Prabowo Subianto in Bogor, West Java, in support of senior Golkar Party politician and House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto, who has been reported to the House ethics council for alleged misconduct.

Aside from Setya, the meeting was also attended by Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie, National Mandate Party patron Amien Rais, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Sohibul Iman and United Development Party (PPP) chairman Djan Faridz.

The outcome of the meeting was an agreement to support Setya keeping his position as House speaker and to urge the ethics council to work based on facts, not on personal sentiments, according to a Golkar politician with knowledge of the gathering.

"KMP members have decided to throw their support behind Setya," according to the politician, who declined to elaborate. The KMP controls more than 55 percent of House seats.

Setya is fighting for his political life, with several House party factions announcing their intention to unseat him from his position.

Scores of lawmakers from the ruling Great Indonesia Coalition have threatened to push through a vote of no confidence against Setya if he refuses to resign amid allegations that he used the name of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to get access to copper and gold mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia.

"We are using a moral mechanism to convince him to step down. We no longer trust him," said NasDem Party lawmaker Teuku Taufiqulhadi, one of the initiators of the motion, on Friday.

Taufiqulhadi's move was joined by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Adian Napitupulu, Inaz Nasrullah of the Hanura Party and Arifin Hakim Toha of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

The four lawmakers professed exasperation at Setya's antics, which they considered to have tarnished the House's good name. The vote of no confidence, Taufiqulhadi said, would be promoted among House members next week in order to build up momentum.

Lucius Karus, a senior researcher at Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi), urged lawmakers to come out in support of the vote of no confidence against Setya.

"I think that this is the best response from legislators, especially those who feel that their dignity as members of the House has been violated by the ethical question hanging over the House speaker," Lucius said.

Setya is at the center of a controversy surrounding an alleged ethics breach involving the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported Setya to the House ethics council on Monday for allegedly claiming to have won the approval of Jokowi and Kalla to secure shares and projects from Freeport in exchange for helping the company extend its contract and continue operating its gold mine, one the world's largest, in Papua.

Setya was briefly reported to have stepped down from his position on Friday, with fellow Golkar member Fahmi Idris telling Reuters that the embattled politician had decided to step aside.

However, Setya's spokeswoman Nurul Arifin subsequently denied that the House speaker had made any such statement. "There was no such statement. [Reuters] has made a mountain out of a molehill," she said. Fahmi also denied making the statement, saying that the media had misquoted him.

Meanwhile, deputy House ethics council chairman Junimart Girsang of the PDI-P said the council would soon decide a course of action to take in response to Setya's alleged breach of ethics.

The council, he explained, might summon a number of people implicated in the recording, as well as Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, who filed the report to the council.

"[We'll summon] the plaintiff Sudirman Said, the reportee and certain witnesses. We will look into it during the hearing," Junimart said at the House compound on Friday.

Based on an agreement with National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti on Thursday, Junimart said the council would not verify if the recording in question was authentic.

"Since [Setya] acknowledged that the meeting did occur, there's no need to verify the voices. The recording will be played during an open hearing – unless its authenticity is brought into question, of course," he said after meeting with fellow council deputies Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Hardi Susilo.

Setya has since denied acknowledging that it was his voice that was heard in the recording, and urged the police to conduct a forensic investigation into the recording. "I never admitted [that my voice was heard in] the recording," Setya said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/21/prabowo-allies-throw-weight-behind-setya.html

Calls mount for Setya to step aside

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Tama Salim and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto's future is looking increasingly uncertain, as he faces mounting pressure to step down, in light of an alleged ethics breach involving the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported Setya to the House's ethics council (MKD) on Monday for allegedly claiming to have won approval from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to secure shares and projects from Freeport in exchange for helping the company extend its contract and continue operating the world's largest gold mine in Papua.

On Thursday, chairman of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs and security, Benny K. Harman, demanded Setya step down from his position as House speaker if the MKD probe found that his behavior constituted a breach of ethics.

"If the recording that is now circulating holds any weight, we urge Pak Setya to be graceful enough to relinquish his position as speaker and lawmaker in order to uphold the good reputation of this institution," Benny said, referring to a leaked recording in which Setya supposedly makes the statement.

Benny also urged the embattled Golkar politician to quickly issue a public statement clarifying his role as a broker in the deal with Freeport. If found guilty by the MKD, Benny said that Setya could be charged under the corruption law.

Before becoming the center of the recent Freeport scandal, Setya has weathered numerous scandals that have rocked his political career.

Since 1999, Setya has avoided being named a suspect in at least four graft cases in which witnesses claimed his involvement. He has also survived several attempts to implicate him in a number of corruption and money laundering cases.

This time Setya is unlikely to be able to muster enough support from his party colleagues to escape an ethics council hearing.

The current scandal placed Setya's entire political career on the line, but if he "survived this turbulence," he would emerge stronger, Hanta Yuda of the Poltracking Institute said on Thursday.

He said that if he weathered the Freeport scandal, not only would he retain his position as House leader, he would also be seriously considered to replace Aburizal Bakrie as the next chairman of Golkar.

"The turbulence surrounding this issue is bound to affect Setya's political might. It is a huge burden for him, as his rivals will use this as ammunition to attack him, while in the meantime, there is public pressure for him to be fired," Hanta told The Jakarta Post. "But if he manages to escape unscathed, his political power will improve."

Law No. 17/2014 on the People's Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives and Provincial Legislative Council stipulates that the House speaker can be dismissed if seven conditions are met, including violating the oath of office or being found guilty of violation by the House ethics council.

A meeting between National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti and members of the ethics council to discuss action to be taken against Setya was also held on Thursday.

MKD deputy chairman Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said that council members discussed what they should do with the transcript and recordings as evidence against Setya.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Panjaitan has also dismissed speculation that he had ambitions to secure any deals or acquire Freeport shares. "I have no business interest in Freeport anymore. I have decided to focus on my job as a government official and serve the nation," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/calls-mount-setya-step-aside.html

House speaker must step down, says community group

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

Erika Anindita, Jakarta – The Jakarta chapter of the social communication forum (FKB) Flobamora has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the House of Representatives ethics council to look into an alleged graft case involving House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto.

Setya, a Golkar Party politician, has been accused of falsely claiming to speak for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla and also seeking share allocations in exchange for helping gold and copper mining firm PT Freeport Indonesia (Freeport) extend its contract.

The group, which comprises 10 people, arrived at KPK headquarters around 1 p.m. on Wednesday and took about 2 hours to finalize and submit its demands to the anti-graft body.

FKM Flobamora said that its appeal represents the interests of the people of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province, who are concerned about Setya's conduct.

"We are calling on the House to demote Setya Novanto from House speaker, and dismiss him as a lawmaker if necessary, so that the House can be free from any wrongdoings of his," Petrus Selenius, a lawyer with the group, told the press on Wednesday.

Setya's name was mentioned in a conversation transcript submitted by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said to the ethics council. In a recorded conversation of what appeared to be a meeting to discuss the Freeport contract extension, Setya was alleged to have asked for a 20 percent shareholding in the company on behalf of President Jokowi and Vice President Kalla.

Setya repeatedly denied that he had mentioned the names of President Jokowi and Vice President Kalla during his meeting with Freeport executives, although admitted to meet Freeport Indonesia executives.

Setya has served as a lawmaker for three consecutive terms. Last year, he was elected as House speaker for 2014-2019, and he represents East Nusa Tenggara.

The activists requested the KPK prioritize investigations into the misuse of the President and Vice President's names. Flobamora handed over a 5-page dossier to the KPK, detailing the case chronology and several laws that they suspect have been violated. Most accusations were without evidence, however.

"This case must be settled through due legal process, not only through the House ethics council," Petrus said.

"He should step down voluntarily [and] wholeheartedly. It's been very hard to touch this man," Petrus said, referring to several cases in which Setya has been suspected of dishonest and unlawful actions. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/house-speaker-must-step-down-says-community-group.html

Freeport threatened legal action against Indonesia: Setya

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

Jakarta – House of Representatives speaker Setya Novanto says that gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia has threatened to bring legal action against the Indonesian government if does not immediately extend its mining contract (KK) until 2041.

The lawmaker said the threat emerged during his conversations with a Freeport executive with whom he had three separate meetings.

Outside his house on Wednesday evening, Setya detailed the chronology of the three meetings.

He said his first meeting with Freeport president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin took place in his office on the third floor of the House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, at around 2 p.m. on April 27. Maroef met him, he said, and asked him to help extend Freeport's mining contract until 2041.

According to the Golkar Party politician, Freeport had agreed to build a smelter in return for the contract being extended. The smelter, Freeport reportedly said, would not be built in Papua but in Gresik, East Java, and preparations for it were nearly complete. If the contract was not extended, claimed Setya, Maroef threatened international arbitration against Indonesia in July 2016.

Soon after the meeting, Setya reported the discussion, including Freeport's extension demand, to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. However, Setya said, the President firmly said that the government would not discuss Freeport's contract extension before 2019, two years before the miner's current contract expired, in 2021.

"The President firmly said that any Freeport-related measures the government took had to be in line with the law and in the interests of the Indonesian people, especially the Papuans," said Setya as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday.

After receiving the President's explanation, Setya and Maroef met for the second time in a hotel in Jakarta at 5 p.m. on May 13. Setya said that as he was concerned about the pressure Maroef was applying, especially his threat of legal action, so he decided to invite a businessman along, namely Riza Chalid.

In the meeting, Setya said he conveyed the President's position of not extending the contract before 2019. Acting on Jokowi's explanation, Setya also told Maroef that Freeport's mining contract would have to be revised to deliver greater benefits to the Indonesian people, especially Papuans.

"I have never misused the names of the President and the Vice President. They are both state symbols that we must protect and pay respect to," he said. Setya said Maroef could not accept the explanation and instead reasserted his threat of legal action.

Unsatisfied, Maroef requested a third meeting with Setia. At 4 p.m. on June 8, they met again at the same hotel with Riza again in attendance. Setya claimed that in that meeting Maroef tried persistently to get him to help expedite the renegotiation of the Freeport's contract extension.

"We were still discussing the international arbitration matter. We thought this was something we needed to resolve [and] that's why I agreed to meet with him again," said Setya.

Setya said it was in the pair's third and final meeting that his conversation with the Freeport executive was secretly recorded. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said then used the audio file as evidence when reporting him to the House ethics council. In Sudirman's report, Setya and Riza were accused of asking for Freeport shares and falsely suggesting that Jokowi and Kalla were aware of the move.

Setya has rejected Sudirman's accusations but admitted that there was talk about shares in the third meeting. However, Setya said, the shares spoken of related only to Freeport's share divestment being managed by the Finance Ministry. He also said the audio files and their transcripts, which went viral on social media, were incomplete.

Separately, Freeport spokesperson Riza Pratama said as quoted by kompas.com that as the Indonesian government's contractor, Freeport had adhered to existing rules and regulations.

As the subsidiary of US-based Freeport McMoran, he continued, Freeport had also adhered to the US Foreign Corrupt Practice Act. Based on that evidence, Riza claimed it was unlikely that Freeport would act illegal by distributing share allotments to Indonesian officials to expedite the company's contract extension process. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/freeport-threatened-legal-action-against-ri-setya.html

Luhut denies involvement in Freeport talks

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Panjaitan has denied allegations that he was involved in the misrepresentation of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla in a closed-door discussion about PT Freeport Indonesia's mining contract extension.

He claimed on Thursday that had no intention of seeking personal gain from his current position in the government. "I promised my wife that I would not debase my position as minister," he said as reported by kompas.com newsportal.

Luhut said he had no interest in Freeport, especially concerning discussions about its contract, which could not be extended at this time.

The 2009 Minerals and Coal Law states that a mining contract renewal can only be negotiated two years before the contract expires, which means discussions on Freeport's contract extension can commence only in 2019, two years prior to the 2021 expiry.

He also cited Jokowi's requirements for the mining giant to secure a contract extension, which included increased royalties, smelter development, development in Papua and share divestment.

Luhut responded nonchalantly when ask about his name being mentioned in connection to the closed-door meeting on Freeport's contract. "I don't feel defamed," he told journalists, adding that he would not take legal action.

He also denied that one of his former subordinates, Darmawan "Darmo" Prasodjo, was involved in the meeting, as Darmo's name is also mentioned in the alleged conversation transcript. Darmo was Luhut's subordinate when he served as the presidential chief of staff.

He said he had instructed Darmo, an oil and gas economist, to research Indonesia's mining and oil and gas fields, such as Freeport and the Mahakam and Masela blocks. "He has done his job well and professionally," he said.

In the alleged transcript, Luhut's and Darmo's names were mentioned along with those of House of Representative Speaker Setya Novanto, oil and gas businessman Muhammad Riza Chalid and Freeport president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported Setya to the House's ethics council on Monday for allegedly using Jokowi's and Kalla's names in the meeting with Freeport to ask for shares in return for helping the company renegotiate its contract. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/luhut-denies-involvement-freeport-talks.html

AGO withdraws prosecutor from KPK

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2015

Haeril Halim and Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) announced on Tuesday that it would withdraw a prosecutor it had assigned to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Yudi Kristiana, who is currently handling two graft cases involving two former Nasdem executives.

Yudi, who is one the KPK's best prosecutors, was seconded from the AGO and has handled some high profile graft cases, including the Bank Century and Bank Central Asia (BCA) scandals. He is currently working on the trial of the NasDem Party's former secretary-general, Rio Capella, and of the party's senior politician and prominent lawyer, OC Kaligis.

AGO spokesman Amir Yanto confirmed that Yudi had returned to his old institution and said it was because of a "promotion to a higher post at the AGO". Amir said that the "promotion" had nothing to do with his current prosecution of two Nasdem politicians at the Jakarta Corruption Court.

"This is a promotion to an echelon III job as he was assigned as the head of the AGO's training center. This promotion is for the sake of the institution and it is good for Pak Yudi as well," Amir said on Tuesday.

The current Attorney General M. Prasetyo is a former NasDem politician. The cases against Rio and Kaligis have also involved NasDem chairman Surya Paloh, the media magnate who runs the MetroTV news channel and the Media Indonesia daily newspaper.

Rio's trial on Monday also revealed a scheme to bribe Prasetyo to halt a graft case implicating suspended North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho currently handled by the AGO. A witness claimed on Monday that Gatot's wife, Evi Susanti had set aside US$20,000 for Prasetyo. Prasetyo has maintained his innocence in the case.

Rio stands accused of receiving a Rp 200 million bribe from Gatot for his service as an intermediary between the governor and Prasetyo. So far, the KPK has not yet been able to summon Prasetyo.

Separately, KPK spokesman Yuyuk Indriyati said on Tuesday that she was surprised to learn of the AGO's move, given that Yudi had renewed his contract with the antigraft body in September for another four-year term.

"A prosecutor at the KPK has a four-year contract and it is renewable for another term. As soon as the two terms are completed, a prosecutor still has the right to have another short two-year extension. Yudi extended his second contract three months ago," Yuyuk said. Yuyuk warned the AGO against withdrawing Yudi until his contract expired in 2019.

Yudi also led a KPK prosecution team that brought charges against former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum. The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced him to seven years in 2014 as a result of corruption and money laundering cases.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/ago-withdraws-prosecutor-KPK.html

Influential Setya uses up one more of his nine lives

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2015

Rendi A. Witular and Haeril Halim, Jakarta – In his influential 16-year political career, senior Golkar Party politician and House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto, 60, has never given in to the myriad attempts by rivals to bring him to his knees.

Like a cat with it's mythical nine lives, Setya has always seemed able to dodge the latest bullet.

But his current embroilment in an ethics case revolving around allegations that he abused his power during negotiations with the local unit of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan may pose one of the most severe tests yet to his survival.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported Setya on Monday to the House's ethics council for allegedly citing the names of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla while attempting to secure shares and projects from Freeport in exchange for helping the company extend its contract and continue mining the world's biggest gold deposit in Papua.

Sudirman has also alleged that Setya conspired with influential businessman Muhammad Reza Chalid to demand shares in a soon-to-be constructed power plant near Freeport's site, from which the company would be required to buy electricity.

The minister's allegation is based on a recorded conversation involving Setya, Reza and PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin, a former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief and close associate of the Vice President's family.

Although Setya was quick to clarify on Monday the accusations with Kalla, also a senior Golkar politician, his hope of a savior arriving from that quarter anytime soon looks unlikely to be fulfilled, as Golkar has yet to voice any strong statement in defense of Setya.

"The ethics council should not hesitate to process the report. But they should also be just and work based on facts. The Golkar faction supports the process as long as it is for the greater good of the House," said outspoken Golkar legislator Bambang Soesatyo.

Bambang, who is in the same camp with Setya, as supporters of Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie, also urged Setya to apologize to Jokowi and Kalla.

This time around, Setya is unlikely to galvanize enough support from his party colleagues to escape the ethics council, particularly when Setya has been regarded as among the strongest candidates to succeed Aburizal.

Setya's main rival for the chairmanship is Ade Komarudin, 50, Golkar faction leader in the House and the protege of veteran Golkar luminary Akbar Tandjung, according to a source in Golkar.

"Certain groups within Golkar are actually happy with Setya being implicated in the case. His chance of leading Golkar will at least be diminished regardless of the outcome of the ethics council [investigation]," said the source.

Ade is known to have forged close ties with Jokowi, and the President has often invited him for discussions as well as accepted his invitations to the activities of the Organization of Independent Employees of Indonesia (SOKSI). SOKSI is chaired by Ade and is the biggest contributor of votes to Golkar.

Unlike Setya, Ade has openly praised the Jokowi administration and has pledged to extend his support in passing crucial issues in the House. According to a source in Golkar, Jokowi seems to be comfortable with the idea of Golkar being led by Ade.

Golkar, the second-biggest party after Jokowi's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), is still officially part of the opposition Red-and- White Coalition. The support of Golkar would boost Jokowi's coalition, giving it control of more than 55 percent of House seats.

Unlike Ade, Setya has long forged an extensive network that spans various levels of government and the judicial system, dating back to the early 1990s when he was accepted by then president Soeharto and his children into their circle of friends.

Setya was the publisher of two books on Soeharto's management style during this period. Soeharto's fall in mid 1998 did not hamper Setya's business or political career, as he secured a legislative seat with Golkar for the first time in 1999.

Since then, Setya has been known to be a generous politician wielding huge financial contributions to keep the party's engine running, particularly when Aburizal's group of companies began to stall in the past five years.

This has earned Setya, who has more than a dozen companies ranging from property to mining, loyalty and support within Golkar, and other parties, that have enabled him to weather any storm.

Setya, along with deputy speaker Fadli Zon, recently emerged unscathed from charges of ethics violations after both appeared at a campaign event for US presidential candidate Donald Trump in New York in September.

The ethics council concluded that the two legislators had merely committed a minor misdemeanor. For Setya, the Trump incident was trivial compared to previous cases implicating him in graft.

In April last year, Setya was named by witnesses in allegations of bribery and money laundering in a graft case relating to local election disputes that were heard at the Constitutional Court, and which led to former chief justice Akil Mochtar being imprisoned for life.

In December 2013, former Democratic Party chief treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence, implicated Setya in the 45 percent mark-up of an electronic identity card (e-KTP) project worth Rp 5.8 trillion (US$422.5 million).

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has never followed up these leads. Since 1999, Setya has avoided being named a suspect in at least four graft cases in which witnesses revealed his alleged involvement.

But unlike the previous cases, the Freeport controversy will pose a more serious threat to Setya's career, given that Jokowi and Kalla are reportedly furious at Setya's misuse of their names.

Jokowi seems to have weighed up the impact of bringing down Setya as he has given the nod to Minister Sudirman to publicly expose the case.

"The President is very irritated [...] The report that I filed with the ethics council was based on my consultation with the President and the Vice President," said Sudirman.

Cases in which Setya has been implicated

1999: Bank Bali scandal, which causes state losses of Rp 904 billion.

2013: Imprisoned former Democratic Party chief treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin implicates Setya in the mark-up of an electronic identity card (e-KTP) project worth Rp 5.8 trillion

2013: Setya is accused of soliciting a US$1 million bribe from an official in Riau in return for Golkar lawmakers approving construction projects for the PON XVIII games.

2014: Setya is named by witnesses as being involved in alleged bribery and money laundering in a case that saw former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar jailed for life.

Several lines from the transcript of the tapped conversation

– Setya says: "I met with Energy and Minerals Minister [Sudirman Said] in Surabaya (East Java). He told me about three things. First, that revenue sharing should be increased. Second, about the privatization of shares from 30 to 51 percent. The third was the construction of a smelter."

– Setya claims that Jokowi approached him during a lunch and told him that Luhut wanted to talk.

– Maroef quickly countered him, saying that Setya's arguments did not comply with the law and government regulations, adding: "[...] If in Gresik it costs [$] 2.3 billion [to build a smelter], then how much will it cost in Papua? It is impossible to build it in Papua."

– Their conversation later moved to a power plant project in Papua. "A power plant? Who is going to have its shares. Is it from Pak Luhut?" Maroef questioned Reza, who responded by saying that the project was being eyed by Luhut.

– "The share allocation is a demand of Pak Luhut's, [he is] looking for [...] Freeport and other businessmen [to become investors in the project]. Pak Luhut actually had a talk with Jim Bob [Freeport chairman James Moffett] in the US. If we can do it [the project], then let it just stay as a secret between the four of us," Reza explained.

– Maroef again disagreed with the plan because Setya and Reza demanded Freeport become an investor as well as buyer of the to-be-produced electricity.

– Maroef questioned whether Reza, Luhut and Setya were demanding a 49 percent share in the power plant, while the remaining 51 percent would be owned by Freeport.

– Setya told Maroef that Jokowi had originally agreed that the smelter be built in Gresik, but later changed his mind to Papua, but he guaranteed that Jokowi would agree with the plan Setya proposed.

– "I talked to Pak Luhut and he said he agreed to just take the 11 percent and give the remaining 9 percent (of Freeport's shares) to Pak JK [Vice President Jusuf Kalla]. It should be a fair (allocation) because if it is not it will become a dispute," Reza added.

– Setya said: "According to Pak Luhut's talk with Jim in Santiago four years ago, [Luhut and others will receive] 30 percent [of the shares], 10 percent of which will be paid for by the dividends. This has become a debate that has influenced the situation. The President doesn't like the scheme but Pak Luhut will go ahead with it."

– "[The contract of] Freeport will be okay, and you [Maroef] will be happy, as will we. We will play golf [afterwards] and we will buy a new private jet, a good one," Reza said.

– Maroef later said that he was upbeat that the contract deal would be made according to the existing regulation, but Setya said: "We have to be clever. The key is Pak Luhut [now], and don't worry about him, because [you] have me [in the scheme]."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/influential-setya-uses-one-more-his-nine-lives.html

Freeport denounces extortion bid as focus settles on House speaker Setya

Jakarta Globe - November 16, 2015

Rangga Prakoso & Novi Setuningsih, Jakarta – Freeport Indonesia has pledged its full cooperation in an impending inquiry by the House of Representatives into allegations that Speaker Setya Novanto may have demanded shares from a highly anticipated divestment by the miner's US parent in exchange for political support in contract renegotiations.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said on Monday lodged a complaint against an unnamed legislator, including submitting wiretapped phone conversations purportedly showing the legislator demanding a 20 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia, the country's single-biggest taxpayer.

Neither the minister nor the House would reveal the identity of the legislator in question, although speculation is settling on Setya, from the Golkar Party.

Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama said the company was the first to alert the minister to the attempted shakedown, saying that "such practices cannot be tolerated by our company."

Sudirman, in his complaint, alleges that the legislator approached officials from Freeport Indonesia on the pretext of representing President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

The miner's parent company, Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan, is required to divest its current 90.64 percent holding in Freeport Indonesia to 70 percent. Sudirman alleges that the legislator demanded that those shares be divested through him.

While all sides are staying tight-lipped about the perpetrator's identity, attention is focusing Setya, a Golkar stalwart who has already been admonished once this year by the House Ethics Council, for appearing at a campaign rally in New York for US presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

Setya was seen leaving Vice President Kalla's office on Monday afternoon, soon after Sudirman lodged his complaint. Quizzed by reporters on his way out, Setya did not deny that he was the one who met with executives from Freeport, but refuted allegations that he had claimed to be representing Joko and Kalla at the meetings.

"I never exploited this issue for any other interests [than national ones]. I never brought up the president or vice president's names," he said.

Responding to Sudirman's filing of the complaint, Setya said, "Of course I respect whatever he does. Hopefully I didn't do any of the things alleged [in the complaint]."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/freeport-denounces-extortion-bid-focus-settles-house-speaker-setya/

Lawmaker asked Freeport for shares in power plant project: Minister

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2015

Erika Anindita, Jakarta – A lawmaker who allegedly cited the names of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla when asking for shares in mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia also asked for shares in a power plant project in Papua, said Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said on Monday.

Sudirman reported the lawmaker to the House of Representatives' ethics council on Monday. He said the lawmaker allegedly promised to help Freeport secure an extension of its contract but asked for shares in the mining company for Jokowi and Kalla in return.

However, Sudirman said it was not the only attempt by the lawmaker at securing illicit personal benefits.

"The lawmaker also asked for shares in a power plant project in Timika. He asked Freeport to be both investor and purchaser of the electricity coming from the project," he told journalists at the House complex after the meeting.

Sudirman said the lawmaker proposed a 51 percent stake for Freeport in the project while the lawmaker getting the remainder. The power plant project was not included in the government's plan for a 35,000-megawatt increase in power generation, he said.

Sudirman has given the full details of conversation transcripts and the identity of the lawmaker as well as the chronology of meetings conducted by the lawmaker to the ethics council.

The lawmaker, who Sudirman has declined to name, is reported to have met Freeport executives three times accompanied by a local businessman.

"I know about the meetings because I asked the Freeport executives to always report any interaction with stakeholders to maintain a transparent decision-making process," he said.

From the reports, Sudirman discovered that the third meeting took place on June 8 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m in a hotel in the Sudirman Central Business District in South Jakarta. It was at this meeting that the lawmaker proposed helping Freeport to accelerate their new contract and also requested 11 percent and 9 percent shareholdings, respectively, for Jokowi and Kalla.

Jokowi and Kalla are reportedly furious about their names being used by an individual seeking to make perrsonal gains involving Freeport.

The unit of US-based mining company Freeport McMoRan has been operating in Papua since 1967 and its contract is due to expire in 2021, the company is currently negotiating an extension until 2041.

House ethics council deputy chief Junimart Girsang said the council would hold a plenary meeting with its members to decide whether the report should be submitted for questioning and investigation.

"We are still conducting verification and Sudirman has said he welcomes further communication with us and will provide recorded evidence," he said after the meeting. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/16/lawmaker-asked-freeport-shares-power-plant-project-minister.html

Coalition lambasts selection of new graft court judges

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2015

Haeril Halim, National – Anticorruption activists have criticized the Supreme Court's choice of 15 new ad hoc judges for the Jakarta Corruption Court, saying the selectees lack integrity and the ability to properly try corruption cases.

According to a statement posted on the Supreme Court's website, the 15 winners, who were among 58 candidates interviewed by the nation's highest court on Friday, include M. Yulie Bartin Setyaningsih and Uding Sumardina of the Jakarta High Court, Hulman Siregar of the Palangkaraya High Court and Tigor Samosir of the Medan High Court.

The other new ad hoc judges are Soeharman of the Tanjung Karang High Court, Dedi Ruswadi and Ibu Kholik of the Bandung High Court, Gustap Paiyan Maringan Marpaung and Bernard Panjaitan of the Medan High Court, Edward and Darwin Panjaitan of the Pekanbaru High Court, Ali Muhtarom of the Semarang High Court, Mulyono Dwi Purwanto and Efendy Hutapea of the Jakarta High Court and Aminul Rahman of the Makassar High Court.

"The selection result is final and not subject to change," read a circular on the website signed by Supreme Court justice Artidjo Alkostar.

The Judicial Watch Coalition, which comprises several NGOs including the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Indonesian Legal Roundtable (ILR), opposes the 15 selected ad hoc judges, arguing that none meet the coalition's standards of integrity, competency and independence.

"We have conducted background investigations into nine of the 15 and found that they lack the qualities required to serve as ad hoc judges. One of them also has questionable integrity, having applied for several government jobs while in office," Aradi Caesar of ICW said, without revealing the name of the judge in question on ethical considerations.

The coalition's investigation also found that one of the selected judges lacked a taxpayer identification card (NPWP), while others received black marks with regard to their handling of cases at their respective courts.

Antigraft activists had urged the Supreme Court to prioritize integrity in choosing ad hoc judges; a number of such judges have in the past been arrested by the KPK in relation to corruption cases.

An ad hoc judge is defined as a judge who has special knowledge on a specific field; a special court such as the Jakarta Corruption Court needs to employ ad hoc judges to collaborate with career judges to examine corruption cases that involve fields such as banking and energy.

A shortage of ad hoc judges has forced the Jakarta Corruption Court to reschedule and postpone a number of hearings. Some recent hearings have even had to be heard by three judges, rather than the usual five, after ad hoc judges resigned from their posts.

Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi, who is also a Supreme Court justice, did not return calls from the Post on Sunday night to seek a response to the coalition's allegations.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/16/coalition-lambasts-selection-new-graft-court-judges.html

Terrorism & religious extremism

Religious leaders condemn Paris attacks, demand justice

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The country's religious leaders have condemned a series of coordinated terrorist attacks that left more than 120 people dead in Paris on Friday.

Haedar Nashir, the chairman of the second-largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah, said that the attacks were "inexcusable" and that all religious groups must join hands to condemn them.

"No form of violence can be tolerated. Allah's message was extremely clear: Taking the life of one person is the same as taking the life of all of mankind. Whoever saves one soul has saved all of mankind," he said on Sunday.

Haedar, on behalf of Muhammadiyah, offered his condolences to the victims and their families. He also denied that the attacks, for which militant group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility, were representative of Islam and its followers.

"I am not responsible for any groups behind this incident, especially those who claim to act in the name of Islam; they do not represent Islam. Islam does not teach violence or brutality," he said, adding that he hoped no innocent Muslims would be attacked in the wake of the incident.

According to Reuters, French Police have identified one of the assailants in the coordinated attacks as Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old French national. The suspect, allegedly one of the gunmen who blew himself up at a Paris concert hall, had previous arrest records for petty crimes and is suspected to have lived in Syria, where IS is heavily present, between 2013 and 2014.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said that the current investigation had led police to suspect that three coordinated teams had carried out the attacks, which have been described as the worst in Paris since World War II. French President Francois Hollande has described the attacks as an "act of war".

Masdar Farid Mas'udi of the central board of Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, also denied that such acts of terrorism were based on any Islamic teachings, arguing that the religion was essentially peaceful.

"These acts of terrorism have tainted Islam's image when Islam, as we know, is based on peace. Peace is a theme found throughout the teachings of Islam," he told The Jakarta Post. "This is serious; it has made Islam look bloodthirsty, even though it is not at all."

Separately, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), Gomar Gultom, also offered his condolences.

"We truly regret what has happened and we offer our deepest condolences. The Communion of Churches perceives life as something that must be maintained and protected and we condemn these terror attacks, no matter what their cause," he told the Post.

Gomar said that religious groups all over the world must work together to demand justice for the killings. He called, however, on the world community to maintain its values of peace in the face of major provocation.

"There can truly be no peace without justice. This applies not only across the globe, but also in each country," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/16/religious-leaders-condemn-paris-attacks-demand-justice.html

Freedom of religion & worship

Indonesia's least tolerant city now home to national anti-Shiite movement

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2015

Jakarta – Islamic hard-liners in Indonesia's least tolerant city have declared a national anti-Shiite movement, in a clear-cut case of hate speech that the police have blatantly chosen to overlook.

The movement, calling itself the National Anti-Shiite Alliance, or Annas, was inaugurated on Sunday in Bogor, the Jakarta satellite city recently ranked as the most religiously intolerant city in Indonesia.

Organizers of Sunday's event had to make a last-minute change of venue after Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto said he would not allow the inauguration of such a movement go ahead.

Tellingly, however, he failed to send in police and public order officers to break up the gathering, as he has numerous times against the GKI Yasmin Protestant congregation that remains locked out of its church despite a Supreme Court ruling ordering the city to unseal the building, and against Shiites who, in October, were barred from celebrating the holy day of Ashura.

The mayor was also listed on leaflets circulated in the past week by the Annas organizers as one of the keynote speakers at Sunday's event. He has admitted to receiving an invitation to speak, but said he declined to respond. (The other keynote speaker was Didin Hafiduddin, a senior cleric with the Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, the country's highest Islamic authority.)

Muhammad Nur Sukma, the newly appointed Annas chairman, told attendees at Sunday's event that Annas's mission was to "preach the truth" that Shiites were not true Muslims and that the faith posed a serious threat to national integrity. He did not explain why this was so.

He said that as part of the group's campaign, it would send volunteers to preach at schools, stressing the importance of teaching children from an early age to view Shiites and their faith with suspicion.

It remains unclear why the police allowed Sunday's gathering to take place, given Mayor Bima's claim that he had prohibited the event.

Even without a ban, the police should have been able to crack down on the event on the grounds that it was clearly spreading hate speech against a given group, following an instruction by the National Police chief last month for all officers to take a hard line on hate speech.

The problem, said Sugeng Teguh Santoso from the social affairs NGO One Justice Foundation, or YKS, is that the mayor has failed to be clear in his policies on religious tolerance.

He questioned why Bima would criticize the formation of an anti-Shiite organization while at the same time banning Shiites in the city from observing a religious holiday.

"The mayor has been far from consistent in his own stance, and a lot of people are disappointed in him," Sugeng told the Jakarta Globe.

He also called on the Bogor administration to keep a close eye on the newly established Annas, warning that if left unchecked, its activities could give rise to more conflicts.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/religion-news/indonesias-least-tolerant-city-now-home-national-anti-shiite-movement/

Activists file lawsuit against Bogor mayor over Shiite holiday ban

Jakarta Globe - November 23, 2015

Jakarta – Activists in the Jakarta satellite city of Bogor have filed suit against Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto for banning public celebrations of the Shiite holy day of Ashura last month.

Sugeng Teguh Santoso, a lawyer with the One Justice Foundation (YKS), one of several civil society organizations filing the lawsuit, said on Monday that the mayor's order was a clear violation of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of worship for all Indonesians.

"This lawsuit will be a test case for whether the [courts] can protect the citizens' rights," he told the Jakarta Globe after registering the lawsuit with the Bogor District Court.

Bima, who came to office in April 2014 touting a more moderate brand of Islam than his predecessor, Diani Budiarto, riled religious tolerance and human rights activists in October when he barred public celebrations of Ashura, one of the most important holidays in Shiite Islam.

Sugeng said his foundation initially sent two letters to the mayor's office, the first seeking clarification for the prohibition and the second warning of a possible lawsuit if the order was not repealed.

With the lawsuit now filed, the court will mediate in talks between the two sides in the coming weeks. Only if they fail to reach an agreement will the matter go to trial.

It appears highly unlikely that Bima will back down in light of the lawsuit, given that for more than a year and a half now he has continued to ignore two Supreme Court rulings to unseal a church closed off during Diani's administration at the behest of Muslim hard-liners.

He also failed to take any action when, this weekend, Sunni hard-liners declared a national anti-Shiite movement at a gathering in Bogor. Bima was originally scheduled to be the keynote speaker at that event, but claimed he ignored an invitation sent by the organizers.

Bogor was earlier this month ranked by a leading think tank as the least tolerant city in Indonesia.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/religion-news/activists-file-lawsuit-bogor-mayor-shiite-holiday-ban/

Islamic law & morality

Liquor raid? Call in the cavalry

Jakarta Globe - November 19, 2015

Jakarta – Authorities in the Central Java capital Semarang have deployed the Army to crack down on sales of alcohol, seizing more than a hundred bottles of liquor and beer and 77 liters of moonshine.

The raids on a series of stores were conducted on Wednesday by the local public order agency, or Satpol PP, working with the police and soldiers from the provincial military command.

Aris Muji Widodo, a Satpol PP official, said the store owners had violated local ordinances on alcohol sales, but did not say whether they faced fines or criminal charges.

He added the raids were carried out as part of a public order campaign ahead of elections on Dec. 9. Authorities say they will destroy the seized liquor.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/liquor-raid-call-cavalry/

Land & agrarian conflicts

Land distribution 'unfair' to the underprivileged

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2015

Jakarta – The land-distribution system in Jakarta, as well as in other Indonesian cities, which is based on price rather than social benefits is unfair to the poor and therefore violates the Constitution, experts told a recent discussion.

Jo Santoso, urban planner and head of the Planology Master Study Program at Tarumanagara University, said the system violated a principle in the Constitution, which favors social benefit over private ownership as well as the Agrarian Law, which stipulates that land distribution be made in the spirit of social benefit.

"Land being distributed to those who can pay the highest price is the only land-distribution system we have. This is against our Constitution," Jo said recently in a seminar in Central Jakarta.

Article 6 of the Agrarian Law, No. 5/1960, stipulates that all land ownership should have a social benefit.

He said the current system required the government to pay a higher price in order to control land before it could build public facilities, such as roads, schools and hospitals.

"And if a private developer wants to get the land by paying an even higher price than the government can offer, the government will not be able to build the facilities," he explained. "How can the social benefit principle [in the Agrarian Law] be implemented if we are still using such a system?" he said.

Suparjo Sujadi, legal expert at the University of Indonesia, said local governments, such as the Jakarta administration, should translate the social benefit principle in the Agrarian Law into bylaws to be effectively enforced.

During the seminar, Jo encouraged the participants – students, social activists, and scholars – to file a petition challenging the land- distribution system at the Constitutional Court. According to him, the principle of social benefit in land distribution should be enforced to make Jakarta a better human settlement.

He said that if the Jakarta administration was committed to making the city a better human settlement, evictions, such as the recent evictions of residents of Kebon Melati in Central Jakarta and Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta, would not have taken place. "Evictions are a process of destroying a city as a human settlement," he said.

Kampung Pulo and Kebon Melati were two low-income kampungs built on the banks of the Melati Reservoir and Ciliwung River, respectively.

The city administration said it had demolished hundreds of buildings on the banks of the reservoir and the river because they were built illegally and obstructed the flow of water.

The administration said the evictions were carried out to safeguard city residents affected by floods every year. The administration has refused to provide compensation to the residents, accusing them of being squatters.

Law No. 2/2012 and Government Regulation No. 71/2012 on land procurement for public purposes stipulate that residents occupying state land with good intentions are among "rightful stakeholders" entitled to "fair and adequate" compensation.

Urban-poor activist Sandyawan Sumardi said in the discussion that the administration should involve residents before implementing any policy, such as evictions. "Ideally, the creation of urban spaces should involve three elements: communities, business people and the city administration," he explained.

In his presentation, he suggested that the city administration learn from the experience of Porto Alegre, a city in Brazil, where residents were involved in the city management. "Porto Alegre residents discuss their city's problems in various local and regional forums," he said. (saf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/23/land-distribution-unfair-underprivileged.html

Language & culture

Indonesian language study headed for extinction at Australian universities

Australian Associated Press - November 20, 2015

It would be an "irreversible national scandal" if Australia allowed Indonesian studies to cease in this country, the federal shadow treasurer warns. The language is on track for extinction at Australian universities in the next decade because not enough high school students are coming through at junior levels, despite efforts by the Rudd government to inject resources into Asian language studies.

"It is an outrage that more Australian people were studying Indonesian in 1972 than are today," Chris Bowen said.

Bowen is studying a university language course by correspondence and wants more politicians and Australians generally to give it a shot.

"Those of us in politics who lecture young people to study Asian languages run the risk of being hypocritical, unless we are prepared to put some skin in the game ourselves," he said.

In fact, Bahasa Indonesia might become the secret language of a tiny club of Labor MPs in the party's caucus room – frontbench colleagues Andrew Leigh, and Stephen Jones as well as Penny Wong who speaks Bahasa Malay.

Bowen said there was a reluctance among those north of 40 to start learning a second language but people needed to remember it wasn't about perfection – it was about having a go.

He also pointed out that with the decentralisation of power across the Indonesian archipelago some governors and mayors wouldn't be able to necessarily speak English like cabinet ministers from Jakarta.

Bowen has already tested his language skills on the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, but hasn't been to Indonesia this year for a chance to speak Bahasa with politicians.

"Our relationship with Indonesia is under-done. We need to have less transactional relationships with the country," Bowen said. He declined to reveal what policies Labor would take to the next election to boost second-language learning in Australia.

University of Melbourne professor Tim Lindsey says the only way to fix the problem is a $100m federal government investment. Bowen attended the inaugural National Australia Indonesia Language awards in Melbourne on Friday.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/21/indonesian-language-study-headed-for-extinction-at-australian-universities

Governance & administration

Jokowi gets new helicopter, draws criticism

Jakarta Post - November 23, 2015

Jakarta – The Indonesian Airforce has purchased a $55 million helicopter set to arrive in the country next year to support President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's busy schedule.

The new helicopter, an AW-101 from Rome-based helicopter design and manufacturing company AgustaWestland, had been included in the Air Force's five-year strategic plan (renstra) 2014 to 2019, Air Force spokesman First Marshall Dwi Badarmanto said on Monday.

"It was not bought specially for the president only, but it will also be used by VVIP guests including the President, Vice President and state guests," he said as quoted by newsportal Tempo.co.

Dwi said the helicopter was purchased to replace the old Super Puma, which had been used for the past 25 years. The first AW-101 will arrive in Indonesia next year and two more will be imported to the country in 2017.

Despite claiming that the helicopter was not purchased specially for Jokowi, Dwi said the new AW-101 would support the President's mobility due to its more advanced technology and speed with its three engines and greater passenger capacity.

"The Super Puma could only carry seven passengers, whereas the AW-101 can carry 13. It is also more comfortable," he said.

The aircraft is 19.53 meters long with a rotor diameter if 18.59 meters. The 6.62-meters tall helicopter uses three Rolls Royce Turbomeca RTM322-01 turbo shaft engines of 1,566kW.

TB Hasanuddin, a lawmaker of the House or Representatives Commission I overseeing foreign and security affairs, slammed the purchase and urged the government to purchase one from Bandung-based state-owned aircraft-maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) instead.

The PDI-P lawmaker said that PT DI owned a license for assembly and modification of mid-lift helicopter NAS-330 Puma and NAS-332 Super Puma. NAS-332 Super Puma, he said, was cheaper than the AgustaWestland AW-101.

"Article 43 of the 2012 law on the defense industry states that it is not allowed to purchase foreign defense and security equipment if the state has the capability to produce it," he said as quoted by news agency Antara.

Moreover, Hasanuddin added, the government would not only spend $55 million for the new helicopter, as it would take another $5 million to install FLIR (forward looking infrared), chaff and flare dispenser, infrared scrambler and laser warning systems for protection from attack.

"By buying a domestic product, the state will benefit 30 percent from the base price at least for the domestic materials. [The order for PT DI] would also employ at least 700 people a year, investing Indonesians with developing skills," he said. (liz/rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/23/jokowi-gets-new-helicopter-draws-criticism.html

Jakarta & urban life

Jakarta bans cigarette advertising in public spaces

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

Edna Tarigan, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration has taken initial steps to ban all forms of cigarette advertising in the city by taking down billboards and banners in Mampang Prapatan district, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.

"Cigarette advertisements are forbidden in Jakarta. So, if there are banners or advertising boards, we will take them down," Jakarta Tax Agency head Agus Bambang Setyowidodo told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday.

The decision was made based on Gubernatorial Regulation No. 1/2015 on the prohibition of cigarette and tobacco product advertising in outdoor media. "We began taking down cigarette advertisements three months ago," Agus said.

Kompas.com reported that Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) and technical implementation unit (UPTD) officers from Mampang Prapatan took down four advertising boards and dozens of banners which had passed their permit dates.

The officers took down boards and banners in four locations on Jl. Tegal Parang Utara, Jl. Mampang VII and Jl. Kemang Raya.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/jakarta-bans-cigarette-advertising-public-spaces.html

Ahok scores low on traffic but high on public services

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

Jakarta – Entering into his second year in office, Jakarta Governor "Basuki" Tjahaja Purnama still faces considerable problems related to traffic congestion. Nonetheless, he is believed by many to have improved public services.

In a survey carried out by the Cyrus Network, Ahok received a low score in his efforts to address traffic congestion in the city but received high marks in relation to his work on public services.

The survey gave Ahok a total score of 7 out of ten for his first year in office. Ahok was inaugurated Jakarta's governor on Nov. 19, 2014.

"Transportation received the lowest score from the people. Many were not satisfied with his performance in transportation," said Cyrus Network CEO Hasan Nasbi as quoted by kompas.com, on Thursday.

People tended to believe that Ahok had failed to improve public transportation services because the city administration had been unable to immediately deploy more buses along the 12 corridors of the Transjakarta busway.

Hasan said that because of this failure, PT Transportasi Jakarta had been forced to operate substandard buses, many of which were not considered roadworthy. The city-owned transportation mode also failed to shorten headways from one bus to another, forcing passengers to wait for long tine at bus stops and in bus terminals.

That aside, Hasan said that people were generally happy with the performance of the city administration in delivering healthcare and education services and establishing the one-stop integrated service centers.

Hasan said that the service centers had managed to eliminate the image of a complicated city bureaucracy. "Services in licensing, education and healthcare gained the highest scores. The mentality of the bureaucracy also improved," he added. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/ahok-scores-low-traffic-high-public-services.html

Armed forces & defense

Official dies during state defense training

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2015

Jakarta – A middle-ranking official of the local transportation agency in Pasuruan, East Java, died on Tuesday while undergoing physical training held as part of the state defense program.

The civil servant, identified as Dyah Umiyarti Purnamaningrum, died while participating in a morning marching program, tribunnews.com reported. Dyah complained of dizziness before being taken to a medical room where she received treatment.

She was then rushed to an emergency room at a local community health center before being pronounced dead. Her body was taken to a local hospital in Pasuruan for an autopsy.

The Defense Ministry kicked off the Bela Negara (state defense) program in late October throughout the country's 34 provinces.

The ministry said that the program was aimed at building people's character, instilling discipline and building solidarity that could eventually prepare citizens to deal with threats and play a role in defending the nation.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/national-scene-official-dies-during-state-defense-training.html

Criminal justice & prison system

Police chief orders rehab, not prison, for drug users

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The National Police chief has ordered police personnel nationwide to send drug users immediately to rehabilitation centers, instead of locking them up in detention.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said in a classified telegram on Thursday that a team of doctors and legal experts were to assess whether a suspect was a drug trafficker or drug user.

If the team suggests that the suspect is only a substance abuser then the individual must be sent to a rehabilitation center pending their case dossier to be completed by the local prosecutor's office.

Although the instructions given by Badrodin, and signed by detective division chief and former National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar, were in line with Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics, police officers rarely chose the option of sending drug users to rehabilitation centers as officers often used the threat of arrest to extort money from them.

Badrodin acknowledged on Friday that there had been cases of police investigators extorting money from drug abusers in exchange for rehabilitation.

"Everything can be abused and that is why there needs to be supervision, although this policy is already written in our laws. Yes, there is a chance that [the law] could be interpreted in different ways but we have already signed an agreement with the Attorney General's Office [AGO], Law and Human Rights Ministry and the Supreme Court [to overcome the problem]," he said at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.

Badrodin also assured that the decision to either send someone to rehab or undergo prosecution would be made as objective as possible, as the assessment team would also consist of police, prosecutors, doctors and BNN officials. "The assessment is not based on the police's subjective view but that of doctors as well," he said.

According to BNN data, 3.8 million to 4.1 million people aged between 10 and 59 were estimated to have used or were actively using drugs throughout 2014. Jakarta has the highest concentration of drug users among provinces at 364,174, or 4.74 percent of the population of 7,688,600 people.

Police expert Bambang Widodo Umar said that Badrodin's fresh order was a reminder for officers to act appropriately when arresting an alleged drug abuser.

However, he reminded that the decision to rehabilitate a suspect continued to be in the hands of inves-tigators implementing the current laws.

"This means that rogue investigators might continue [to legally process or extort money from drug abusers]. This is why it is necessary for the police chief to set up strict supervision and penalties for those who disobey the order," he said.

Separately, Anti-Narcotic National Movement (Granat) founder Henry Yosodingrat said that the police force needed to treat casual drug users and drug addicts differently. He said that casual drug users could still be charged depending on what type of drugs they used.

"If experts assess [the suspect] and say the suspect is an addict then yes, they should be sent to rehab. However, if [the suspect] is just someone who liked to use crystal methamphetamine at a club then they must be charged," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/21/police-chief-orders-rehabnot-prison-drug-users.html

Indonesia denies moratorium on death penalty

Sydney Morning Herald - November 19, 2015

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – One of Indonesia's most senior ministers has denied there will be a formal moratorium on executions in Indonesia.

Co-ordinating Minister for political, legal and security affairs Luhut Panjaitan had earlier on Thursday said there would not be any executions for the time being because Indonesia was focusing on its economy.

This prompted media reports that the Indonesian government had declared a moratorium on the death penalty.

However when asked by reporters if it was true Indonesia would stop executions, Mr Panjaitan said: "No, I told them we will not carry out executions for the time being because we are now focusing on the economy."

The softening economy, the international backlash and a desire to attract foreign investment have dampened talk of a further round of executions in the near future, although many prisoners remain on death row.

Indonesian Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo said in October that his office would not carry out a third round of executions of inmates until the country got out of the current economic slowdown.

"The Attorney-General's Office is currently helping the government in prioritising the economy," Mr Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post. "We are still very busy with our economy," Mr Panjaitan said, when asked about executions at the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club last week.

Fourteen people were executed by firing squad in Indonesia this year, including Bali nine heroin smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesia-denies-moratorium-on-death-penalty-20151119-gl36nc.html

Police & law enforcement

Public don't trust cops, force needs revamp, says expert

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2015

Jakarta – A police observer has expressed concern over recent viral videos showing confrontations between police officers and civilians, recommending that the police encourage their field officers to improve their public service and image.

"Nowadays, the public have easier access and means – like mobile-phones and videos – to monitor and criticize the police's service in the field," said Bambang Widodo Umar of the University of Indonesia. "Police officers can no longer act arbitrarily, for example by exerting physical force, when enforcing the law."

Earlier this month, a video went viral on social media showing a traffic police officer intimidating an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver by cornering and pushing him up against a police truck, as well as slapping his face.

In March, the police also came under fire after a social media video showed a traffic police officer reproving a Transjakarta bus driver to the chagrin of passengers, who vocally noted the injustice of the reprimand.

According to Bambang, the videos are evidence of a lack of public-service ethos among officers. As law enforcers and civil protectors, he said, the police should instill security and trust among the public, instead of fear and anger, the emotions most in evidence in the two videos.

The police should take steps to improve their service and build good relations with the public, he went on, warning that doing so would require sincere commitment at all levels of the police, from chiefs to field officers.

Bambang suggested that the police start to engage their field officers, for example the traffic police, in training to improve their service, as such officers acted as the front-line of the institution, dealing directly and daily with the public.

The police should not, moreover, charge those who uploaded videos implicitly or explicitly critical of police to social media with hate speech, he added, describing such measures as "antidemocratic".

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian concurred with Bambang, noting that viral videos were covered by freedom of expression and served to demonstrate areas where the police needed to improve.

The police, he said, should indeed thank netizens responsible for footage showing police misdeeds, as such videos were evidence both of police failings and public exasperation with those failings.

"We [the police] belong to the public, and the public has the right to monitor and criticize us," Tito said, adding that the National Police had taken action against officers identified in the videos.

Separately, Yuliardi, 48, an ojek driver operating at Palmerah station in Central Jakarta, said he deplored the physical violence used by officers in the videos, adding that such actions could only tarnish the police's image and destroy people's trust in officers' ability to protect them.

"Most people, me included, have little faith in the police – they're seen as arrogant. In light of the incidents shown in the videos, I reckon there'll be even less public trust in them," Yuliardi said. "I hope the police will realize that and take action to ameliorate their image." (agn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/21/public-don-t-trust-cops-force-needs-revamp-says-expert.html

Police claim innocence in Lubuklinggau shooting incident

Jakarta Post - November 16, 2015

Palembang – The Muara Enim Police in South Sumatra have defended personnel involved in a recent shooting that wounded two Indonesian Army (TNI) personnel, arguing that their actions were part of the force's ongoing investigation into a criminal case.

Muara Enim Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Nuryanto said the incident, which took place on Friday evening in the neighboring Lubuklinggau municipality, occurred when the police were investigating the kidnapping of a local resident.

"Our personnel were carrying out their duties by following up on a report about the kidnapping of a resident from Pagar Dewa subdistrict in the Benakat district," Nuryanto said, as quoted by tribunnews.com on Sunday.

"Our personnel were chasing the alleged kidnappers to Lubuklinggau. We didn't know that [the alleged perpetrators] were TNI personnel. We were just carrying out our duties as usual."

Gunfire broke out between police and military personnel at 11 p.m. local time on Friday in Lubuklinggau, a city located about 300 kilometers west of the South Sumatran provincial capital of Palembang – Two soldiers were left injured with gunshot wounds.

The injured soldiers, identified as Capt. Edy Sutrisno and Second Sgt. Deden, are members of III/Siliwangi Military Command (Kodam), which oversees the Banten and West Java provinces. Both victims, as of the weekend, were undergoing treatment at Siti Aisyah General Hospital (RSUD) in Lubuklinggau.

Kodam III/Siliwangi spokesman Col. Robertson confirmed that Edy and Deden were members of the Kodam's intelligence detachment. The two soldiers, he said, had been in South Sumatra, which is under the jurisdiction of Kodam II/Sriwijaya, for official duty at the time of the incident.

"They were on official duty. There was something that they were looking into," he said, without elaborating on the soldiers' assignment. Robertson also said that he considered the shooting incident to have been a misunderstanding.

Tribunnews.com reported that prior to the incident a group of Muara Enim Police personnel were hunting down five people who had allegedly kidnapped 41-year-old Hedianto, a local businessman who was abducted from his house on Tuesday.

The day after he was abducted, Hedianto called his wife, saying that he had been taken to Lubuklinggau and asking her to transfer Rp 10 million (US$734) to his kidnappers. Hedianto's family immediately reported the kidnapping to the police.

Muara Enim Police later managed to track down the position of an SUV that allegedly transported Hedianto and his kidnappers to Jl. Jenderal Ahmad Yani, Lubuklinggau, and deployed personnel to the spot. After confirming that Hedianto was in the car, the personnel quickly surrounded and ambushed it.

During the ambush, some people hurriedly exited the car, shouting that they were military personnel. Despite that, however, the shoot-out still took place. Afterwards, the police rushed the injured soldiers to the RSUD for emergency treatment.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/16/police-claim-innocence-lubuklinggau-shooting-incident.html

Foreign affairs & trade

TPP does not protect national interests: NGO

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – The government must take into account certain risks before joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), as the final investment chapter of the agreement contains many dangers for member countries, according to Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ).

IGJ manager of research and monitoring Rachmi Hertanti said on Friday that the partnership would elevate individual foreign corporations to equal status with the TPP's member countries. It would also empower foreign firms to sue signatory governments in extrajudicial investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) tribunals over the state's domestic policies.

Rachmi said joining the TPP would eliminate state controls over the public sector and prove counterproductive to what the government is doing right now to provide various protections in the national interest.

"We consider the TPP unfair because it brings heavier obligations to member countries. The TPP actually only benefits foreign corporations," said Rachmi in a discussion held in Jakarta.

The TPP, he continued, included an overreaching definition of "investment" that would extend the coverage of TPP investors far beyond real property, permitting ISDS attacks over government actions and policies related to financial instruments, intellectual property and regulatory permits.

The TPP's chapter of investment defines "investment" as every asset that an investor owns or control, directly or indirectly, that has the characteristics of an investment, including such characteristics as the commitment of capital or other resources, the expectations of gain and profit, or the assumptions of risk. Forms that an investment may take include: an enterprise, shares, stock and other forms of equity, bonds, futures and other derivatives.

"This definition is very broad and could have serious legal consequences as it could be used to challenge the government," she added.

Third World Network researcher Lutfiyah Hanim added that the TPP would also empower foreign firms to demand compensation from governments for performance requirements imposed on domestic and foreign firms alike. Article 9.9 of the agreement, Hanim said, allowed foreign firms to challenge policies used by governments to support local job creation and business growth.

"This investment clause seeks to remove 'performance requirements' usually required of foreign investors. For example local content and construction of a production facility obligations," she said, adding that if Indonesia insisted on joining the TPP, the government would have to deregulate drastically to conform to its rules.

Furthermore, the agreement states that each party should accord to investors of other parties no less favorable treatment than it accords to its own investors. "Foreign companies are even more privileged than local companies, because if they were treated unequally by local investors, they could file a dispute with arbitration," she added.

Considering these disadvantages of joining the TPP, Hanim urged the government to make sure it read all TPP clauses before joining the trade pact with the other 12 countries already signed up. "Because the TPP is not merely a free-trade agreement, but an agreement on investments, services and intellectual property rights," Hanim said.

During his first visit to the US last month, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo expressed his intention to join the trade pact along with the US, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The 12 countries of the TPP represent 40 percent of world trade.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/tpp-does-not-protect-national-interests-ngo.html

Mining & energy

Newmont gets green light to resume mineral exports

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2015

Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara is set to resume exports following a nearly two-month hiatus after the mining company secured a recommendation for an extension of exports permit from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

"Newmont Nusa Tenggara received the recommendation on Nov. 18," Newmont spokesperson Rubi Purnomo said on Thursday. "Regarding the refining facility partnership to be developed by PT Freeport Indonesia, we will continue our partnership commitment."

By securing the recommendation, Newmont's export permit will be extended for another six months. The mining company's export permit expired in September.

The government has set a requirement that mining companies process mineral ore domestically before they are allowed to ship overseas as part of efforts to give added-value to commodities.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry mineral and coal director general Bambang Gatot Ariyono said that Newmont had agreed on new details in its partnership with Freeport for the development of a new copper smelter.

"They have a new memorandum of understanding in which Newmont Nusa Tenggara has made an early commitment of US$3 million to support the smelter development," Bambang said on Thursday.

The funds will be disbursed pending a definitive agreement to be inked by the two firms in the near future, he added. "We are certain about the commitment as there has also been an official statement from Freeport Indonesia regarding the agreement," he said.

Under the agreement, Newmont Nusa Tenggara will supply around 400,000 tons of copper concentrate per year to be processed by Freeport's smelter.

Enforcing the 2009 Mining Law, the government has partially imposed a ban on the export of mineral ore starting from January 2014. However, the government is allowing the export of semi-finished products – such as copper concentrate – until 2017 in return for the companies' commitment to develop processing or refining facilities to process the minerals into metal end products.

The development of the facilities can be undertaken individually by each company or by partnerships among them. Newmont has not developed a smelter on its own investment as it considers that its copper reserves are not sufficient for such a development.

The permits for concentrate export can only be secured if companies obtain a recommendation from the mineral and coal office, which oversees the progress of smelter development.

Freeport Indonesia spokesperson Riza Pratama also declined to give details about the plans.

"We are the company that is developing the smelter. Therefore, we cannot comment, the [responsibility for] clarification is on Newmont Nusa Tenggara's side," he said.

Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc., secured an extension of export permits last July after convincing the government that its development of a smelter has progressed. The company, which operates Grasberg mine in Papua, is planning to build a new smelter in Gresik, East Java, near an existing copper smelter operated by PT Smelting Gresik. The new smelter is estimated to require $2.3 billion in investment.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/20/newmont-gets-green-light-resume-mineral-exports.html

Economy & investment

Govt, political parties still biggest advertisers in Indonesia

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2015

Anton Hermansyah – After enjoying windfall profits during the 2014 elections – the nation's biggest political festival – ad agencies have continued to enjoy a bountiful income from political advertising this year, a Nielsen survey says.

Media director of Nielsen Indonesia Hellen Katerina said that even without an election campaign so far this year, political advertising had still dominated advertisers' incomes, with money going toward congratulatory or condolence-offering ads from government institutions and political entities.

"About 36% of advertising earnings in the third quarter of 2015 came from the government and political organizations. Compared to the same period last year, this is down 15 percent but still dominates the advertising industry, which is worth Rp 4.6 trillion [US$335 million]," she said to the press in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The spending also came from regional administrations, with East Kalimantan province being the biggest spender. In the third quarter, it disbursed Rp 404.9 billion for advertising, a 79 percent increase year-on-year (yoy).

East Kalimantan – dubbed the richest province in Indonesia thanks to coal, palm oil and oil and gas – received many awards from the finance minister last month related to excellent public service performances and financial reporting.

Riau province spent the second most on ads in quarter three, totaling Rp 355.3 billion, a 3 percent rise yoy. To compare, this amounts to half the advertising spending of Indomie – the country's biggest individual spender – with Rp 723 billion.

In terms of media, TV was still the main choice for advertising, taking 72 percent of the market. It defeated newspapers and magazines, which received 26 percent and 3 percent of the market, respectively.

But in terms of market-share growth, magazines led the way with 13 percent growth, followed by TV, which gained 8 percent, and newspapers, whose market share increased by 6 percent. One reason for that, Katerina said, was that many newspapers had shut down.

In 2014 there were 170 media companies monitored by Nielsen, but that decreased to 132 in 2015. Sixteen TV stations closed down this year in Indonesia, and 22 print media companies went bankrupt.

Nielsen's survey was taken in 11 big cities across Indonesia: Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Medan, Palembang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Banjarmasin and Makassar – It surveyed a wide range of individuals and organizations, including 2,273 households and 8,736 organizations, all selected using stratified random sampling. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/19/govt-political-parties-still-biggest-advertisers-indonesia.html

Ministry estimates Indonesia industry growth to remain stagnant in Q4

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2015

Khoirul Amin, Manila – The country's non-oil and gas manufacturing industry is forecast to remain stagnant in the last quarter of this year as most of the government's economic policy packages will not have had an affect on the country's economy by that time, the Industry Ministry's top official has said.

Industry Ministry secretary-general Syarif Hidayat said recently in Jakarta that he projected that manufacturing industry growth would rise by around 5 percent in the fourth quarter of this year, the same as that of the previous quarter. "The effects of the government's economic packages are not going to show instantly," he said.

The government has issued six economic policy packages, ranging from deregulation to electricity price cuts, designed to boost growth amid current economic slowdown.

In the third quarter of this year, non-oil and gas manufacturing industry grew by 5.2 percent, a drop from 5.73 percent growth in the same period last year.

Machine and equipment industry recorded the highest growth with 14.98 percent in the third quarter of this year, a surge from only 7.24 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

According to Syarif, the surging growth in the sector can be attributed to a growing national demand for locally made machinery and equipment by expanding small to medium sized enterprises.

Local machinery and equipment companies might also obtain benefits from the strengthening US-dollar exchange rate as they export their products overseas, Syarif said.

Meanwhile, the textile and garment sector has posted the lowest growth at minus 6.14 percent in the third quarter of this year, compared to 1.38 percent in the same period last year, resulting in massive layoffs in the sector.

As many as 46,000 workers in the garment and footwear sector were laid off during the first nine months of this year, according to data from the Manpower Ministry.

Overall non-oil and gas manufacturing industry accounted for 17.82 percent of the country's total gross domestic products (GDP) in the third quarter of this year, relatively similar to its contribution for the same period of last year. The contribution is still expected to expand.

Syarif added that while the industry would still grow in the fourth quarter, it would be far lower than the initial target of 6.8 percent.

However, as the country's economic growth was relatively low, moderate industry growth would help to prevent more layoffs during the quarter. Layoffs nationwide hit a total of 79,425 workers as of September this year.

Syarif argued that positive impacts on the country's industry could show immediate effect if the government issued policy packages that directly affected industry players. Policy packages such as tax allowance on income tax, for example, would instantly improve industry growth as it would support business efficiency.

The Association of the Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) secretary general Noegardjito said previously that he expected national auto sales to improve next year if national economic growth could hit 5.6 percent on the back of the government's policy packages – which are expected to start showing impact next year.

Indonesia's car sales hit 853,292 units in the first ten months of this year, far lower compared to 1.04 million units during the same period last year.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/18/ministry-estimates-ri-industry-growth-remain-stagnant-q4.html

Friendlier climate yet to woo investors

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2015

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Although many have recognized improvements made by the Indonesian government to create a better investment climate, foreign investors remain cautious about investing in Indonesia, an analyst has said.

Indonesia Australia Business Council (IABC) chairman Kris Hidayat Sulisto said that although some changes had been made many of his Australian business counterparts still believed it was too early to invest in Indonesia.

"As potential investors they see important points that have not yet been significantly improved," said Kris on the sidelines of a two-day IABC conference in Yogyakarta. Kris said such points included the legal system, facilities, restrictions and nationalistic sentiment.

A speaker of the conference, Paul Rowland of Reformasi Weekly, said he saw contradictions between what President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said regarding foreign investment and what his cabinet members did regarding the same matter.

While the President said he welcomed foreign investors, related ministers seemed to do the opposite, he said. "What they did in fact is drive foreign investors away," he told the conference.

Kris shared the same view, saying that such criticisms were not just expressed by Australian business people but also investors from other countries.

However, he said he realized that it was not a problem that could be dealt with overnight. That was why support from Indonesian employers was also needed to help convince foreign investors to invest in the country.

There would also be a time when employers would also need Indonesian government officials to further convince them that what they heard about could actually be implemented in Indonesia. "They need to hear it directly from the respective government officials," he said.

Some 100 participants from Indonesia and Australia took part in the conference, which is held annually and alternately in both countries. This year's theme is "Business as Usual?".

Among the honorary speakers are Australian Minister of Trade and Investment Andrew Robb scheduled to deliver a keynote speech on Tuesday. "This year's conference is unique because the Australian Minister of Trade and Investment will be here and he will bring with him a group of potential Australian investors," Kris said.

He also expressed the hope that Indonesian employers would hear more from the minister regarding what was on offer in Australia during a bigger forum to be held in Jakarta after the conference in Yogyakarta.

He expressed concern that regardless of the fact that Indonesia and Australia were neighbors, the trade balance between Indonesia and Australia was only some US$15 billion. "As neighbors we should have a bigger trade balance," he said, adding that Indonesia only ranked 15th in trade with Australia.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/17/friendlier-climate-yet-woo-investors.html

Analysis & opinion

The week in review: Political divide in the making?

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2015

The nation has been spectator to an extremely shrewd political game in the past week; the political showdown was preceded by a revelation of devious business deals in relation to a proposed extension to the contract of US mining giant Freeport McMoRan's contract in Timika, Papua, and concluded with the eventual disclosure of crafty rivalry among the nation's political elite.

The controversy began on Monday when Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said reported House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto to the House ethics council for allegedly using the names of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to demand shares and projects from the local unit of the US mining firm. Sudirman claimed he had secured the President's approval to file the report.

PT Freeport Indonesia is currently negotiating with the Indonesian government the extension of its contract to exploit a gold deposit, one of the world's largest, in Papua.

The company is eager for the government to speed up its decision on extending its contract of work (CoW), which expires in 2021.

According to Government Regulation No. 77/2014 on coal and mineral mining operations, however, no mining company, including Freeport, may apply for a renewal until two years before the contract expires at the soonest.

Sudirman, in apparent reference to a taped conversation that has been widely circulated on both mainstream and social media, said that Setya, along with oil and fuel kingpin Muhammad Reza Chalid, had met several times with Freeport executives to offer the contract extension in return for 20 percent of the shares in Freeport given to Jokowi and Kalla. The minister accused the Golkar Party politician of also demanding shares in a power plant to be built in Timika, asking Freeport to become an investor in the project as well as the buyer of the to-be-produced electricity.

The minister's report, while mainly targeted at Setya, has implications far beyond the House speaker, revealing the weight of pressure put on President Jokowi by vested interests in relation to Freeport's future in Papua.

Freeport has aggressively employed campaigns and high-level lobbying to win support and obtain Jokowi's endorsement to grant another 20-year contract. It has repeatedly emphasized its contribution of huge tax payments to the state coffers, its hiring of tens of thousands of local workers and its help in improving the well-being of Papuans thanks to its tax and royalties and generous corporate social responsibility programs.

The company has even issued a reminder that without US support for the UN- organized Act of Free Choice in Papua in 1969, the result of the referendum could have been damaging for Indonesia. Freeport's presence in Papua at that time was reportedly the main reason for the US decision to make it possible to reunite Papua with Indonesia.

By doing so, the company has indirectly warned the Indonesian government of the extremely severe consequences it would face if it failed to provide legal certainty of Freeport's operation beyond 2021.

To the surprise of many, the President remained calm in his response to the controversy. "[Freeport] may apply for a renewal two years before the contract expires at the soonest and five months at the latest," the President said on Friday, referring to the 2014 government regulation.

Asked about the naming of him and Kalla as potential recipients of Freeport shares, the President simply said he would wait for the House ethics council to complete its investigation.

A strong rebuttal of Sudirman's claims, however, came from Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Panjaitan, who said Jokowi had never instructed nor approved a decision by Sudirman to file a report to the ethics council.

According to Luhut, the President believes the allegations are part of a plot against him, and is aware of the identities of figures behind Sudirman who initiated the report.

Luhut, who was also named by Setya and Reza in the leaked report as having a role to play to ensure the success of the Freeport deal, dismissed speculation that he too stood to gain Freeport shares. He had, he claimed, decided not to get involved in any new business deals since he was appointed as chief of presidential staff and then minister.

Luhut admitted, however, that his company was one of three offered Freeport shares in 2011; one of the others was a company owned by businessman Edward Soerjadjaja, he said, while the third was a company identified as Indika.

Luhut revealed that Freeport executive Jim Moffet had repeated the offer to him after he was appointed as chief of presidential staff, but that he had refused.

The case has indeed moved far beyond an economic issue, apparently developing into a critical tug-of-war that goes deep into the political elite. Unless it is properly settled, the whole nation will suffer.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/22/the-week-review-political-divide-making.html

Politically charged import

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 17, 2015

The country's failure to secure its rice-import target of 1.5 million tons from its traditional suppliers – Thailand and Vietnam – to beef up its stocks shows just how high a politically charged commodity this staple food is and how confusingly inaccurate the national data has been on rice output and consumption.

Many analysts cautioned early this year that the government should import rice because domestic production would fall owing to the impact of the El Niqo weather phenomenon. But President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, apparently influenced by the optimistic output estimate by the Agriculture Ministry and hesitating to backtrack on his own political promises to stop imports, insisted that domestic stocks were still fairly adequate.

Only after rice prices continued to increase did the President eventually relent to allowing imports. But stocks in the biggest exporting countries – Thailand and Vietnam – had run out as several other Southeast Asian countries, hit by the prolonged drought, had also replenished their stocks with imports.

Allowing rice prices to continue to rise as a way to give higher earnings to farmers, as several politicians have suggested, goes entirely against common sense and will instead only hurt the majority of the people, 80 percent of whom are net-rice consumers themselves.

Data at the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said that more than 75 percent of rice growers were net-rice consumers. High prices mostly hit the poorest group because almost 30 percent of their household spending goes to rice. Worse still, because of the country's long and porous coastline, close to several major rice exporting ports in Thailand and Vietnam, it is nearly impossible for our domestic rice prices to be kept much higher than border prices without causing import smuggling.

The present rice-pricing policy is fairly adequate because it manages rice prices within an annually reviewed range of floor and ceiling prices to ensure affordable prices for consumers and allows for fair margins for rice farmers. Importing rice only as a contingency measure has been considered fairly adequate as well. But this price mechanism must be based on fairly accurate data on national production and consumption.

The biggest challenge is to ensure that the government-controlled State Logistics Agency (Bulog) has enough funds for domestic rice procurement whenever needed to defend floor prices and maintain enough stocks to release to the market whenever prices tend to rise far above the fixed ceiling.

Yet more important is that Bulog, the only licensed importer of medium- quality rice, should be given the mandate to quietly carry out imports whenever necessary to beef up domestic stocks without having to go through the noisy process of gaining a political consensus.

The problem is that Indonesia, given its consumption of over 35 million tons of rice a year, could easily turn into the world's single largest importer whenever its own production declines as it did this year due to the impact of the prolonged drought. But there are only a few rice exporting countries.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/17/editorial-politically-charged-import.html