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Indonesia News Digest 44 – November 24-30, 2015

West Papua

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West Papua

Jakarta Legal Aid Institute: Papuans being arrested ahead of 1 December

Tabloid JUBI - November 30, 2015

Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Jubi – "In Papua, not only the freedom of expression is restricted, but the freedom of worship as well," Director of Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), Alghiffari Aqsa told Jubi on Sunday (29/11/2015).

LBH Jakarta, Aqsa said, condemned the arbitrarily arrest of 17 people in Nabire on Saturday (28/11/2015) when cleaning the area at Taman Bunga Bangsa Papua in Nabire. The arrest was connected with the preparation of a orayer rally on 1 December 2015.

"Nabire Police made the arrest without apparent reason, without a warrant or detention letter. Those who were arrested include Markus Boma, Frans Boma, Habakuk Badokapa, Sisilius Dogomo, Agus Pigome, Matias Pigai, Jermias Boma, Yohanes Agapa, Ales Tebai, Yesaya Boma, Adolop Boma, Matias Adli, Martinus Pigai, Aluwisius Tekege and 3 others," said Aqsa.

This incident increases the number of violations against the freedom of expression and aspiration in Papua. And this time the freedom of worship is also violated. The local police's act has violated the constitution, which guarantees the freedom of every citizen to worship.

"If cleaning the park for worship is enough for an arrest, what is going to happen to those who plans to do a rally on 1 December? What is the police's reference to arrest people who were preparing a space for worship?" stated Aqsa.

He further said commemorating the Papuan identity on every 1 December is part of the freedom of expression and aspiration of Papuans that guaranteed by the constitution, thus the Indonesian Government must protect it. The government should use a dialogue approach instead of repressive approach.

Therefore, LBH Jakarta urged the President Jokowi, Papua Police Chief and Indonesian Police Chief to not taking repressive act on next 1 December. The constitution must be enforced. "Guarantee the freedom of expression for Papuans in Indonsia on 1 December!" Aqsa firmly said.

Earlier, as reported by Antara News Agency, the Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw, on Saturday evening, told 17 civilians have been arrested because of raising the morning star flag. However, soon he corrected the statement by saying they were arrested not because of raising the morning star flag but rather trying to against the officers when to be dispersed in doing celebration at Lapangan Gizi Nabire.

They even submitted an announcement letter about the celebration of the Papua Independence Day on 1 December and put the raising of the morning flag in the agenda. They were cleaning the field at that time and refused to be dispersed, said Waterpauw while adding the police have also sowed the flagpole. (Abeth You/rom)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/jakarta-legal-aid-institute-papuans-being-arrested-ahead-of-1-december/

Freed Papua activist pledges to reinvigorate independence movement

Reuters - November 30, 2015

Randy Fabi & Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Jakarta – Prominent Papua activist Filep Karma, released this month after more than a decade behind bars, promised on Monday to reinvigorate the independence movement against Indonesia and was prepared to go back to prison if necessary.

President Joko Widodo wants to open up the remote and impoverished region to foreign journalists and investors, but a more aggressive separatist movement could lead the military and police to quickly reverse such efforts.

A small separatist movement has kept the resource-rich region, home to Freeport McMoRan's Grasberg copper and gold mine and BP's Tangguh LNG plant, under the close supervision of security authorities. Papua province makes up the western half of an island that includes the country of Papua New Guinea to the east.

"We are in high spirits to fight for our freedom because our struggle can be heard globally as Papua has been opened up to foreign journalists," said Filep, who was one of the most high-profile Papua political prisoners before his release on Nov. 19.

"In the past, people said that our struggle for independence was only a dream. But now, people... say that it is something certain," he added in a telephone interview from Papua's capital of Jayapura, without elaborating on his strategy.

Filep was arrested in December 2004 for taking part in a ceremony raising the pro-independence Morning Star flag. A court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, sparking protests from Amnesty International and other human rights groups.

Indonesian authorities approved his early release months ago, but Filep refused to admit guilt in line with demands from the government. Authorities in the end agreed to release him on good behavior.

Filep welcomed the president's efforts to open up the province, but did not think Joko had enough power over the military and police to really decide Papua's future.

"I trust Jokowi as a person, but I do not trust him as a president," Filep said referring to the president by his nickname. "As president and the highest commander, he has no influence over the military and police."

Palace officials were not immediately available for comment.

Papua was incorporated into Indonesia under a widely criticized UN-backed vote in 1969, after Jakarta took over the area in 1963 at the end of Dutch colonial rule.

Asked whether he would conduct another ceremony with the Morning Star flag, Filep said: "I will not say here whether I will raise the flag or not. I have been raising the flag in my heart and in my mind."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/freed-papua-activist-pledges-reinvigorate-independence-movement/

Dutch journalist goes undercover in West Papua

Vision Times - November 30, 2015

James Burke – Dutch journalist and filmmaker Rohan Radheya spent five months undercover to document West Papua's ongoing struggle for independence from Indonesia's brutal rule.

During Radheya's time there, the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, lifted a ban on foreign journalists in the province. That occurred in May, but Radheya says it won't change anything because the press still has strict conditions, most notably that foreign journalists are not allowed to report critically on the Indonesian government.

Because of press restrictions – past and present – any reporting on West Papua's struggle for independence is rare.

From his time working undercover, Radheya has compiled an hour-long documentary, Melanesian Dreams, which has its first screening at the European Parliament in Brussels under guidance of the UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and People Organization) at a member meeting in December. Radheya is currently editing two further documentaries about the plight of the West Papuans. The following is a Q&A that Radheya did with Vision Times:

Would you explain the plight of the Papuans in Indonesia's Papua region?

"In 1945, Indonesia got independence from the Dutch after Japan was defeated. The Japanese had then returned all power into the hands of previous colonialists. Indonesia's agreed borders were from Sabang to Maluku, which is the last archipelago before reaching West Papuan borders to the east. Maluku also has an independence struggle. The first Indonesian vice president had then acknowledged that West Papuans should get their own state, because West Papua is Melanesian and not Asian.

"West Papua was a Dutch colony, as was Indonesia, and the Dutch had promised West Papuans an independent state. Just before their departure, the Dutch gathered tribal leaders and representatives from all corners of West Papua, and created a committee which would be in charge for a transition of power back to West Papuans. This committee was called "The Nieuw Guinea Raad." In collaboration with the Dutch, the West Papuans proclaimed a constitution, national anthem, a national flag, and a plan for transition of power.

"At that time, the Americans had discovered huge deposits of gold and copper reserves in Timika, West Papua. They realized that these were probably the largest and finest gold and copper reserves in the world. Around that time, Indonesia changed presidents. President Suharto came to power and made a secret agreement with the then American president Nixon. The US had already threatened the Dutch with war if they would oppose an Indonesian invasion. The Dutch were not capable of fighting both sides, so they were silenced.

"At that time, Indonesia invaded West Papua, and the US started their mining operations. The Indonesian government promised the representatives of "The Nieuw Guinea Raad" that they would help develop their land, and not stay permanently. They would leave within five years. The Indonesian government then launched secret crackdowns on their leaders, and the Papuan independence movement was systematically targeted. Assassinations and mass killings began on a large scale.

"In 1969, the now Indonesian Papua province was officially ousted from the Dutch in the so-called act of free choice under the New York Agreement. There were 1,025 handpicked tribal leaders, out of a population of around a million Papuan natives, who were forced to vote on behalf of Indonesia, while back home the Indonesian army held entire villages at gunpoint, and thus Indonesia won that referendum, and West Papua became a part of Indonesia.

"Ironically, President Suharto was later trialed on high profiled corruption, and even accused of committing war crimes and other offenses throughout Indonesia. Despite this, the replacing of the Indonesian government still did not acknowledge West Papua as an independent state, despite the fact that Suharto was a key figure and mastermind behind the colonization of the area. So West Papua remains part of Indonesia till today."

Could you explain who the Papuan people are (in contrast to the Indonesians, i.e., religion, society, etc.)

"West Papuans are Melanesians, and everything about Papuans are different to that of an Indonesian or an Asian. Their languages, culture, religion, customs, traditions, etc., etc. The Indonesian colonization has drastically influenced the way of life in Papua in ways of dress, language, and traditions.

"Many Papuan leaders, including Papua's governor, Lukas Enembe, have warned that the cultural identity of the Papuan may disappear within 20 to 50 years due to the transmigration program from rural Indonesia. West Papuans are already no longer the majority on their own land. West Papua had 275 different languages, and as much tribes. This has changed now, and almost everything is critically on the brink of extinction now through Indonesian colonization."

What is the general feeling of the Papuans toward being ruled by Jakarta?

"Today, many Papuans are on the payroll of the Indonesian government. For instance, the highest police commissioner and the governor inside West Papua are native Papuans. The Indonesian army has also recruited many natives as senior commanders inside their ranks. Of course, they all report back to Jakarta, but there is no choice today. It's very hard to make a good and honest living in Papua as a Papuan nationalist opposing Indonesian colonization. It doesn't matter if you are a journalist, a soldier, a politician, or a community leader, and so on. At the end of the day, every Papuan wants freedom.

"When I was in Papua, I had talked to some very high-profiled Papuan politicians and church leaders who all preached Papua as a legal part of Indonesia. At the end of the day, they always ended up telling me that they wanted independence, but they couldn't say so openly because it is very dangerous for them to speak out. During my time in Papua, I never met a single Papuan who openly cheered for Indonesian colonization."

Do they [the Papuans] get much support from the international community?

"Many foreign countries have huge investments in West Papua, especially the US, Australia, and Japan. For instance, the US mining giant Freeport- McMoRan owns much of the world's largest gold-copper mine, Grassberg, in Papua. After the closure of the Panguna mine in Bougainville, Grassberg is officially the biggest gold-copper mine in the world on daily production and estimated reserves alongside the Lihir mine in neighboring Papua New Guinea.

"Freeport-McMoRan commissions the Indonesian army a heck of security money for protection of the mine, including the area around it, which is a hotspot for human rights violations inside West Papua. For the generals and elites in Papua, it's a big business. The Indonesian army has repeatedly been accused of even staging incidents to extract more protection money from foreign mining companies in the name of unrest created by West Papuan freedom fighters from the Free Papua Movement (Indonesian: Organisasi Papua Merdeka [OPM]).

"The Indonesian army is the major reason for the human rights violations in West Papua. Furthermore, the lack of interest from foreign media outlets to engage in West Papua has also led to the demise of West Papuan identity and its history today. But if foreign outlets are truly sincere in covering West Papua, they can collaborate with local journalists, which can also be a milestone for local social development, and shed light on the human rights situation inside West Papua.

"Today, there remain only two or three foreign news outlets regularly publishing about West Papua. It's a total lack of willingness that stops foreign editors in engaging in West Papua. The foreign media restriction is an ultimate excuse. It's certainly possible to cover West Papua if they truly want to."

Jakarta says it is opening up the region – is this true?

"The Indonesian government claims it has relaxed some policies for foreign journalists in West Papua, but it's not the first time they have said that, and I don't believe it. There have been some foreign outlets who were granted access to West Papua, but with a lot of restrictions. I was still in Papua at that time. The journalists were forbidden to visit militant independence movements, such as the TPN-OPM, who are the biggest opposition of the Indonesian government inside West Papua."

How much of a presence does the Indonesian military have in Papua?

"I tried to do detailed research about this during my time in West Papua, and I was shocked to learn that nobody knew the exact answer on the basis of credible paperwork. Even local journalists or political representatives within the government didn't know how big the military's presence is. I think the real figures are carefully guarded by the elites in Jakarta, but I estimate that the Indonesians have around 45,000 armed personnel there. This number may drastically increase with the construction of new bases in Manokwari and Biak in the coming years. Not to forget that there are numerous separate groups of volunteers and nationalists.

"They are very feared by locals, and they are very extreme in their approaches. They often intimidate, stalk, and even use violence in the name of Indonesian nationalism. They are often government-backed groups with own agendas, and often participate in riots. They are in the thousands, and are ruthless even against Indonesian human rights activists in Papua. This issue is very similar to the situation back in the days of Indonesia's occupation of East Timor."

Are any forms of peaceful protest or dissent allowed by the Indonesian authorities?

"Conflict is lucrative in West Papua. It may be the only place in the world where conflict is profitable on a day-to-day basis. When there are demonstrations, these are allowed and welcomed by security officials except on critical political momentums. These allowances come with a huge security presence, with up to 100 heavily guarded military police per demo, and of course with a lot of restrictions. If the conditions are breached, the circumstances are often exaggerated and exploited, and thus more security money is hooked in. I feel that these things are chronicles of a very successful colonization."

Is there much of an armed resistance against Indonesian rule?

"As said, conflict is lucrative in West Papua. The Indonesian army is paid a lot of security money from foreign mining companies and from Jakarta for separate, escalating incidents such as the recent Tolikara incident. It's totally to the advantage for the Indonesian army to create an image of panic, chaos, and danger in the eyes of local and foreign audience, and by even creating incidents.

"There are three major armed OPM factions inside West Papua. They have factions and men in all corners of West Papua, but two of the biggest factions in 2011 signed a secret ceasefire with the Indonesian government, which still stands. The factions were very afraid that fighting could displace local villagers and create another exodus to Papua New Guinea, such as in 1984. Papua New Guinea already has around 10,000 West Papuan refugees.

"There is currently only one fighting OPM faction in West Papua, Puncak Jaya, that still offers armed resistance against the Indonesian army. Indonesia also has one of the most sophisticated air force capabilities in the entire region. If the rebels would pose a true problem, they could easily use this capability and end it in no time. Furthermore, the Indonesian government has created numerous fake OPM rebel factions to impose an image of fear and intimidation, often through censored media. It's very complex, and not easily understandable."

What is the human rights situation like in Papua and how will/can it improve?

"There was a dialogue program between Papuan leaders and the Indonesian government almost 15 years back, at the initiation of the Special autonomy law for West Papua. Many prominent Papuan church leaders and other Papuans are participating in this program today. Many general Papuans, however, have lost all hope in this. The program has costs millions and millions of dollars.

"Now, 15 years later, the Papua governor, who was part of the dialogue program, came out complaining, and sent out a press release about how another transmigration program from rural Indonesia is going on, and how these people will overwhelm Papuans. Dialogue has completely failed in West Papua, and it became something that further disadvantaged Papuans even more than before. At the same time, the human rights situation is becoming worse by the day, and so West Papuans are asking: 'What's next?'"

How difficult was it for you to film there?

"West Papua is as good as off limits to foreign journalists. Many shelters of activists and independence movements in West Papua are tightly monitored. These areas are surrounded by plain clothes intelligence informants who could be a betel nut seller or a cabdriver. I requested my subjects to come up with a plan of approach. I was often smuggled in at night when the informants already left, or during local holidays when everyone was on leave.

"I improved my Bahasa, and that helped tremendously. It was only myself, so I did not have access to a team. So I had to take care of the interview, camera, video, sound, light, and still photographs myself. I also had to watch my back at the same time. It was also very hot! I used very small DSLR cameras, GoPROs, and minimal equipment. Papuans knew who I was, and they were very eager to speak to me. They watched over me, and this was the main reason why I could stick around for so long. "

Are any of the people you interviewed and/or filmed in your documentary now in a risky situation because they have helped you?

"I was terrified to death that the people around me could face arrest and punishment. The Indonesian government systematically targets the friends and sympathizers of undercover journalists. An example is Areki Wanimbo, a West Papuan tribal leader from Wamena, who volunteered to be the fixer of the two French journos. The Indonesians sentenced him to 20 years jail time on treason charges. The thought that my friends would be in trouble because of me was constant torture for me, and still is now.

"I worked a lot with the local people. They always insisted that it was the right thing to do to help me. They were very eager to get the news out for the sake of their country and people no matter what the consequences. They never asked me anything in return for this. I felt very little by their kindness, and without them I couldn't achieve this film. There were also many times I wanted to give up and leave, but their commitment to me, and the thought of letting them down, is what kept me going.

"I had simply asked all Papuans and Indonesians appearing in the documentary whether they wanted to feature in this film. All of them said yes, but I still cut most of them out if I found that their circumstances were too sensitive to exposure. They were willingly filmed, and they knew I was an undercover journo."

Do you have any hope that things could change for the better?

"Of course, West Papua should be free and independent! Merdeka!"

Source: http://www.visiontimes.com/2015/11/30/read-this-qa-with-a-dutch-journalist-who-went-undercover-in-west-papua.html

Stray bullet hits civilian in Wamena

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2015

Jayapura – A member of the military police in Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, Papua, is under investigation for allegedly shooting an 18-year-old student at an areca nut-eating party at the house of a local resident early on Friday.

The member, identified only as Pvt. FAN of the military police sub-detachment (Subdenpomdam) XVII – Wamena, allegedly took out his pistol and aimed at wood located some 5 meters away from him. Allegedly under influence of alcohol, he shot at the wood but the bullet passed through the wood and hit student Paskalis Marey on the back part of his waist.

"The victim is being treated at the Marthen Indey Hospital. He is conscious," spokesperson for the Military Regional Command XVII/Cenderawasih, Col. Teguh Rahardjo, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Teguh, however, denied that FAN was drunk and blamed the incident on the soldier's negligence. He also said FAN was currently detained at the local military police (Pomdam) headquarters in Wamena.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/28/islands-focus-stray-bullet-hits-civilian-wamena.html

Ustadz Ali Muktar allegedly forced to testify in Tolikara

Tabloid JUBI - November 24, 2015

Victor Mambor, Jayapura, Jubi – Papuan Legislator from Tolikara Electoral area, Orwan Tolli Wone, criticized the trial against two GIDI young members JW and AK related to the incident occurred in Tolikara on 17 July 2015.

Wone, who's Deputy Chairman of the Commission I of the Papua Representative Council for Politics, Government, Law and Human Rights Affairs, said he suspected there are parties who forced the Tolikara Muslim figure Ustadz Ali Muktar to testify in the trial.

"I assume there are those want to force Ustadz Ali Muktar to testify on the trial. Please stop it. Do not mess up the situation. Ustadz Ali Muktar also knew the problem is over," said Wone on Monday (23/11/2015).

According to him, Ustadz Ali is certainly do not want to misstep. He knew if he made a mistake, people would have questioned his attitude. "Finally he tried to escape. He is an ustadz (religious teacher), so he won't do a mistake," he said.

Further Wone asked the law enforcement in particular the prosecutor to terminate the legal process against JW and AK. He said do not let the situation arising clash among people, while now people in Tolikara are now living in harmony, secured and peaceful. He said stop to play a scenario to charge both suspects with lawsuits.

"It's not too complicated issue. GIDI and Muslim in Tolikara have agreed to reconcile. The local government has been built Mushola (small mosque) and stalls that were burned in the incident. But certain parties want the case taken to the court. I assume there is a political interest behind it," he said.

He said now the public emphasizes the law enforcement in this case that the law was not executed according to the principle of justice. 11 people were shot and one was died but it has never been investigated.

"They are also Indonesian citizens, are they? But why did it get less attention from the Military Commander, Papua Police Chief and other officials to investigate it. It's a failure of law enforcement in Papua. Do not because of law it triggers a friction in the community. "Because if the trial against both suspects still continue, people would think they are discriminated, especially the shooting victims families," he added.

Earlier, the trial of Tolikara incident on Tuesday (17/11/2015) was suspended to Thursday (19/11/2015) due to the absence of witnesses including Ustadz Ali Muhktar who was in Java for the family reason.

When contacted by Jubi, Ali Muktar said he would like to come if he was asked to. However, right now he cannot leave his wife who currently under medical treatment. "Yes, if I was asked I will go there (Jayapura), but currently my wife must get a therapy, so I must accompany her," he said by phone at that time.

According to him he expected the interfaith communities in Tolikara could live peacefully as previous. Related to the request to withdraw his report and release the two young men, he said he also should ask the opinion from other Muslim community in Tolikara.

"I really understand if these young men were still in custody, people in Tolikara must feel uncomforted. I want them to be released, their legal process to be terminated, but also must think the Muslim communities in Tolikara. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/ustadz-ali-muktar-allegedly-forced-to-testify-in-tolikara-case/

Indonesia expected to release more Papuan political prisoners

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Jakarta – Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has praised an Indonesian government move to release Papuan political prisoner Filep Karma, who has spent 11 years behind bars for raising the Morning Star flag, a West Papua independence symbol.

"This raises hopes that others arrested for exercising their rights to free expression and association in Indonesia may also be released," HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said in a statement on Monday.

Originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, Karma was released on Nov. 19 thanks to remissions he received.

HRW noted that in November 2011, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called Filep a political prisoner and asked the Indonesian government to release him "immediately and unconditionally", but the latter rejected the recommendation.

"Some hope that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's willingness to release Karma shows that his government may finally make meaningful moves to empty Indonesian prisons of the dozens of other political prisoners [they hold]," said Kine.

During a visit to Jayapura, Papua, in May, President Jokowi announced clemency for five Papuan political prisoners. However, NGO Papuans Behind Bars lists a total of 38 Papuans who are currently locked up or awaiting trial on charges that violate their freedom of expression and association.

Meanwhile, the Tamasu human rights group reports that there are an estimated 29 political prisoners in the Maluku Islands.

HRW says most political prisoners in Indonesia were convicted of makar (rebellion or treason). Both the Papuan Morning Star flag and the Benang Raja (rainbow) flag of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) are banned, along with other symbols, flags and logos that relate to separatist movements, it says.

"Jokowi should make the release of all of Indonesia's remaining political prisoners a political priority," Kine said. "Until he does, every one of those political prisoners makes a mockery of Indonesia's claim to be a rights-respecting nation," he declared. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/ri-expected-release-more-papuan-political-prisoners.html

Sexual & domestic violence

Net activism to combat gender violence

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, National – In commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25, the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) is launching on Wednesday a 16-day campaign, including activities on social media.

This year's campaign is focusing on eradicating violence against women as the number of cases reported to the commission keep increasing every year. "Sexual violence is a crime against humanity," Komnas Perempuan chairwoman Azriana said on Tuesday.

"The number of cases increases every year but this is due to an increase in victim reporting. We all know that the number of reported cases is only the tip of the iceberg," said Azriana.

There were 293,220 cases of violence against women reported to the commission in 2014, up from 279,688 in 2013 and 216,156 in 2012. Of those figures, around 25 percent were sexual violence.

During the campaign, the commission will work together with various related organizations to raise public awareness through talkshows, public dialogue, movie screenings and so on.

This year's campaign also aims to raise Rp 160 million (US$11,683) in funds to support Women Crisis Centers (WCC) through crowdfunding site kitabisa.com.

"There are lots of WCC that operate for free. They don't get any funding from the government. This year, we will try a different crowdfunding approach by involving the public even more. Therefore, we are working together with kitabisa.com," Indonesia for Humanity (IKA) program officer Virlian Nurkristi, who is in charge of the crowdfunding campaign, said on Tuesday.

She said that the crowdfunding campaign would use the hashtag #SaveOurSisters in order to try create an online social movement.

"We have gathered 50 volunteers to become fundraisers. During the next 16 days, these volunteers will become pioneers in campaigning for SaveOurSisters through the hashtag and encourage more people to donate," Virlian said.

According to Azriana, WCCs are crucial as most victims of sexual violence are reluctant to report incidents to the police.

"Sexual violence cases are seldom reported to law enforcement agencies because both the victims and their guardians know that they won't find justice there. Instead, they will be publicly exposed while the cases go nowhere due to lack of evidence," she said.

The lack of law enforcement in sexual violence against women was a result of the absence of a lex specialis to protect women from sexual violence, said Azriana.

While Indonesia already had a law on domestic violence and a law on child protection, they were not enough to protect women against sexual violence, she added.

"The law on domestic violence acknowledges sexual violence, but it can only be used for sexual violence inside a marriage, it cannot be used for incidents outside of marriages. Furthermore, while the law on child protection also includes sexual violence, it can only protect girls under the age of 18. But sexual violence doesn't only happen in those groups. What about adult women who fall victim to assault? Which regulations should they seek protection under?" Azriana said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/net-activism-combat-gender-violence.html

Labour & migrant workers

On 2nd day of national strike workers sweep factories, hold solidarity

Solidarity Net - November 26, 2015

Bekasi - On the second day of the national strike, Tuesday November 25, the United People's Committee (KPR) conducted sweeps of factories, held a convoy and a solidarity action for workers who have been dismissed.

Karawang

Resistance by the KPR was centred in the Karawang International Industry City (KIIC) in West Java where protesting workers held a convoy and blockaded the area. In the Surya Cite industrial zone, protesters almost clashed with security personnel from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob), although in the end the Indonesian Metal Trade Workers Federation (FSPMI) and the Confederation of the All-Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) decided to withdraw.

"The PPMI [Fraternity of Indonesian Muslim Workers] focused the action in the KIIC, because there are many FSPMI factories that didn't strike, ie were still operating", said the regional leadership board chairperson of the PPMI, Wahidin, which is part of the KPR.

Wahidin added that as a result of the many workers who were still working, the KPR decided to focus its protests at one point, in the KIIC, because if they spread out their forces would be weakened. He also commended on the defeat of workers in Bekasi regency during the national strike.

"The link in the 'stop production' was broken in Bekasi regency because the workers' resistance was blunted by repression on the part of police. If it [keeps up] like this the PP 78 [the government's new regulation on wages] will continue to exists", he said.

Cibitung

Protesters from the KPR and the Solidarity Alliance for Labour Struggle (GASP) conducted sweeps of factories along Warung Bongkok in Cibitung, Bekasi. They also went to other factories, particularly work places with workers who had received instructions from their trade union leadership to join the national strike, such as the FSPMI and the SPSI, urging the workers to leave the factories and join the action.

Cikarang

Scores of PPMI-KPR members held a solidarity action in front of the PT Hi-Tech Ink factory in the Delta Silicon industrial area of Cikarang, West Java. Mujiyo, a contract workers employed as a transport driver at PT Hi-Tech Ink, was arbitrarily sacked by the company. Mujiyo and five other workers joined the PPMI and demanded to be promoted to permanent works in accordance with Article 55 of Law Number 13/2003 on Labour. After a bipartite process however, the company sacked Mujiyo and his colleagues.

During the action, Mujiyo and his friends received the support and solidarity of PPMI workers from PT Try Industry and PT Seta Guan Solaris (SAGS) who had also been arbitrarily sacked by the company. Members of the FSPMI from PT Hi-Tech could also be seen leaving the factory to join the national strike. The FSPMI at PT Hi-Tech has not however supported Mujiyo and his colleagues' struggle and has consistently supported the company's position during bipartite negotiations.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Hari Kedua Mogok Nasional, Perlawanan KPR Sweeping Pabrik, Konvoi dan Solidaritas".]

Source: http://solidaritas.net/2015/11/foto-hari-kedua-mogok-nasional-perlawanan-kpr-sweeping-pabrik-konvoi-dan-solidaritas.html

Jakarta minimum wage should be highest: Workers

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2015

Jakarta – Thousands of laborers demonstrated on Thursday in front of City Hall on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, demanding that Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama make the Jakarta minimum wage (UPM) the highest of any region in Java.

"We demand that the sectoral minimum wage in Jakarta be the highest in Java," said chair of the Jakarta chapter of the All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) Yulianto during the demonstration.

The protesters were members of the SPSI's Federation of Metal, Electronic and Machine Workers Union (Jakarta FSP LEM SPSI). They called on the Jakarta payment council to discuss the sectoral minimum wage (UMSP), not just the provincial minimum wage (UMP) in general.

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama previously decided on a 2016 Jakarta minimum wage of Rp 3.1 million (US$226), lower than the Bekasi's planned Rp 3.3 million.

The demonstrators also called on the Jakarta city administration to reject the new formula for calculating the minimum wage in Government Regulation No. 78/2015 on the payments, which is based solely on the current fiscal year's inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate.

Instead they demanded the government to return to Law No. 13 that also considers the basic cost of living in a given province based on the prices of 84 commodities and daily needs in that province.

Some 500 police officers guarded the demonstration, which was held on the third day of a national strike called by number of leaders of trade unions that will end on Friday.

Ahok refused to comment on the new government regulation concerning payment formulas. "I don't want to comment on it. They should ask the President," he said. About the demonstration, he only said: "I would just like them to play good dangdut songs." (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/26/jakarta-minimum-wage-should-be-highest-workers.html

Labor attaches to protect Indonesian migrant workers

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2015

The Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI) plans to set up representative offices abroad to protect Indonesian migrant workers in major destination countries.

The BNP2TKI's deputy chairman for foreign cooperation and promotion, Anjar Prihantoro, said the planned system was similar to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), where regulation and protection of migrant workers were managed under labor attaches.

"We have proposed this plan to the House of Representatives and are now waiting for their response," he said to thejakartapost.com in Jakarta.

The agency aimed to formalize the status of migrant workers employed in households to prevent slavery, he said, adding that in some cases housemaids worked 18 hours a day without having time off to rest or pray.

Formalizing their status would be achieved by compelling them (housekeepers, chefs, and drivers) to be employed through agencies. Rather than employing them informally as in-house workers, people whishing to use their services would then need to sign a contract with the agencies to employ the migrant workers in an outsourcing arrangement, Anjar added.

"It is better to have one employment agency with lots of migrant workers as employees than having each migrant worker employed directly in each house," he said.

The government planned to verify migrant workers' documents in the destination countries to prevent human rights violations. It would help them assess the competency of prospective agencies and direct employers hiring Indonesian workers abroad, Anjar said.

The verification should be proper and detailed, he further said, analyzing every aspect related to the migrants' work, from a work contract to acceptable working hours. After that, the government would hand out permits to agencies or direct employers who could guarantee proper working conditions.

"If we do this right, cases of [human rights violations] will stop in the long-run, because unqualified agencies or employers cannot attain permits to employ our workers," Anjar stated. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/labor-attaches-protect-indonesian-migrant-workers.html

Greater Jakarta strike passes off peacefully

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2015

Bekasi – Thousands of workers came out on strike in a number of areas of Greater Jakarta on Tuesday, demanding the revocation of Government Regulation (PP) No. 78/2015 concerning wages.

The strike passed off without major incident and no workplace sweeps were reported although some groups did visit companies asking workers to join them.

Agus Setiawan, secretary of the Bekasi Regency Businessmen's Association, said as quoted by tempo.co that most factories in the industrial area continued to operate as only a few workers took part in the strike.

According to Agus, Bekasi Police had vowed that they would ensure no sweeps would occur in industrial areas.

Meanwhile, hundreds of workers in North Jakarta went to PT Tainan Enterprises 3 to persuade their fellow workers to join them having previously sought permission from the management.

Jakarta Police spokesman Mohammad Iqbal said the police had deployed 6,000 officers to safeguard industrial areas and prevent sweeps.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/greater-jakarta-greater-jakarta-strike-passes-peacefully.html

Bekasi workers join call for national strike against new wage regulation

Solidarity Net - November 25, 2015

Bekasi City – Responding to the call for a national strike on November 24-27, on Tuesday November 24 thousands of workers in the city of Bekasi, West Java, held a convoy opposing Government Regulation Number 78/2015 on Wages.

The protesters, who came from the Bekasi City Labour Forum (FBKB) and the Fraternity of Indonesian Muslim Workers-United People's Committee (PPMI- KPR), rallied along Jl. Ahmad Yani towards the Bekasi mayor's office.

Protesters from the Solidarity Alliance for Labour Struggle (GSPB) could also be seen in a convoy head towards the same location which passed through Jl. Pondok Ungu, Medan Satria. Workers from the All Indonesia Democratic Trade Union Federation also took part.

Several different trade unions united in the action demanding the repeal of PP Number 78/2015 which determines annual wages increases based on the inflation rate and economic growth. Based on this formula, wage increases for 2016 have been set at no more than 11.5 percent.

"The administration of Jokowi-JK [President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla] has failed to fulfill their pledge to bring prosperity to workers. This has been demonstrated by the issuance of PP 78/2015 on wages. Workers will become even poorer", FBKB chairperson Heru Budianto was quoted as saying by Berita Satu in a speech on top of the command car.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Buruh Bekasi Kota Berkonvoi Tolak PP Pengupahan".]

Source: http://solidaritas.net/2015/11/foto-buruh-bekasi-kota-berkonvoi-tolak-pp-pengupahan.html

Migrant workers in Malaysia and Hong Kong reject new wage regulation

Solidarity Net - November 25, 2015

Malaysia – Indonesian migrant workers (BMI) working in Malaysia have joined in opposing Government Regulation (PP) Number 78/2015 on Wages with posters reading, "We as workers in Malaysia reject the PP 78".

In a photograph dated November 24 migrant workers could also be seen declaring their support for a national strike in Indonesia organised for November 24-27.

Meanwhile the Progressive Migrant (Worker) Alliance (AMP) in Hong Kong declared its support through a poster that was unfurled during a dialog organised by the Hong Kong Migrant Workers Community (KOBUMI) at the Victoria square on Sunday November 22. The AMP is also calling for a fight back against militarism and the criminalisation of workers.

Government Regulation Number 78/2015 has generated massive opposition among workers because the new regulation limits annual wage increases. The regulation determines annual wages increases based on the inflation rate and economic growth. Based on this formula, wage increases for 2016 have been set at no more than 11.5 percent.

In essence this means eliminating the role of wage councils in negotiating wage increases since the percentage increase is now determined by the central government based on data from the National Statistics Agency (BPS).

Workers in Indonesia are fighting back with protests and a national strike planned for November 24-27.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "BMI di Malaysia dan Hong Kong Juga Tolak PP Pengupahan".]

Source: http://solidaritas.net/2015/11/foto-bmi-di-malaysia-dan-hong-kong-juga-tolak-pp-pengupahan.html

National resistance movement paralyzes industrial areas in Karawang

Solidarity Net - November 25, 2015

Jakarta – Rejecting Government Regulation (PP) Number 78/2015 on Wages, the Fraternity of Indonesian Muslim Workers (PPMI) together with the United People's Committee (KPR) launched a national resistance movement on Tuesday November 24, which was marked by a convoy action.

As a result of the convey by around 75 thousand protesters, several industrial areas were totally paralyzed including the Karawang International Industrial City (KIIC) area, the Surya Cipta industrial estate and the Indotaise industrial estate in Cikampek, along with the Klari-Cikampek Java North Coast Road which is used to exit the factory areas.

The PPMI said that the government has failed to listen to workers' demands through protest actions demanding the repeal of the PP on wages so a national resistance movement is needed.

According to instruction number 98/A/DPP PPMI/XI/2015 dated November 23 and signed by PPMI president Ahmad Fuad Anwar PPMI secretary general Mas'Ud Ibnu Rasyid, this national resistance movement will be protesting on November 24-27 in several different industrial areas and other strategic points to covey the wishes and desires of workers.

In addition to the Karawang, Purwakarta and Bekasi chapters of the PPMI, several other organisations that make up the KPR will also take part including the Solidarity Alliance for Labour Struggle (GSPB), the National Labour Movement Centre (SGBN), the Indonesian Multi-Sector Trade Union Federation (F-SPASI), the PPMI-All Indonesian Workers Union (PPMI-SPSI), the Indonesian Cultural Society Union (SEBUMI NANBU), the Independent Workers Solidarity Movement (GSBM), the Bekasi Health and Pharmacy Trade Union (Farkes bekasi), the Indonesian Migrant Workers Trade Union (SBMI), the Populist Democratic Trade Union (Sedar), Solidarity Net (Solidaritas.Net), the Johnson Trade Union (SP Johnson), the Movement for State Owned Enterprise Employees (Geber BUMN), the People's Youth Movement Centre (SGMK), the Student Struggle Center for National Liberation (PEMBEBASAN), the Working People's Association-Organisational Saviours (KPO-PRP), the People's Liberation Party (PPR), the Indonesian People's United Resistance (PPRI), the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH-Jakarta), the Bekasi Boundary All Indonesia Democratic Trade Union Federation (F- SBDSI TAPAL BATAS), the Indonesian People's Union of Struggle (SPRI), the Karawang Interdependent Trade Union Forum (Forum SP Mandiri Karawang) and the Karawang Indonesian Christian Communication Forum (FKKI Karawang).

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Gerakan Perlawanan Nasional Lumpuhkan Kawasan Industri di Karawang".]

Source: http://solidaritas.net/2015/11/gerakan-perlawanan-nasional-lumpuhkan-kawasan-industri-di-karawang.html

Police forcibly break up labour protests in Cikarang, five arrested

Solidarity Net - November 25, 2015

Bekasi - Thousands of workers who were gathered at the East Jakarta Industrial Park (EJIP) in Cikarang in the Bekasi regency of West Java were forcibly disbursed by police on Wednesday November 25.

By 10am, the roads in the EJIP and the areas around the PT Epson and PT Kalbe factories where packed with protesters who had left their factories to take part in a convoy. An hour later the command vehicle arrived.

Five minutes later, police and [pro-company] mass organisations attempted to disburse the protesters gathered in front of PT Epson.

Tensions rose when the protesters refused to disburse and tried to fight back. Contract workers from PT Epson who resisted were deemed provocateurs by police and arrested. Police also succeeded in forcing workers back to their respective factories using trail bikes, pepper spray and a water cannon.

"Police forcibly disbursed protesting comrades so that they would return to their respective factories, the worst was at the Epson (factory) where all of the employees, both men and women were [forced] to jump over the fence", said Yudi, one of the workers who witnessed the incident.

Five workers were arrested and taken to the district police station, including Bekasi Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) member Nurdin Muhidin.

Protesters who had gathered along the side of the road could only watch helplessly as their colleges were arrested. One of the workers suffered a broken arm and was taken to hospital.

And it was not just at the EJIP. Police and mass organisations also disbursed a convoy of workers in the Hyundai and Jababeka industrial zones after police absolutely refused to allow the protesting workers to rally outside their factories.

The five protesters who were arrested were: Nurdin Muhidin; Ruhiyat, the head of the PT Namicoh work unit; Udin Wahyudin, the head of the PT Hikari work unit; Amo Sutarmo, the head of the PT Epindo work unit and; Adika Yadi, the head of the PT NGK work unit.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Massa Buruh di Kawasan EJIP Cikarang Dibubarkan Paksa oleh Polisi, 5 Orang Ditangkap".]

Source: http://solidaritas.net/2015/11/massa-buruh-di-ejip-dibubarkan-paksa-oleh-polisi.html

Thousands of workers to hold strikes across Greater Jakarta

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Indra Budiari, Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of industrial workers across Greater Jakarta are set to hold mass strikes on Tuesday as part of a three-day national strike protesting Government Regulation No. 78/2015 on wages.

Subianto from the All-Indonesia Workers Union Confederation (KSPSI) said Monday that dozens of workers' unions across the country had agreed to fight against the regulation, which they said was an indication of the government's indifference toward workers.

"We are going all out in the next three-day strike. We will empty the factories including those located in Greater Jakarta," Subianto told reporters during a press conference at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) office in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Industrial areas in Greater Jakarta – including Jababeka Industrial Zone in Bekasi, West Java, and the Kawasan Berikat Nusantara (KBN) industrial bonded zone in North Jakarta – have been named by workers as gathering points to express their rejection of the newly issued regulation.

In October, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo signed a regulation stipulating measured annual wage increases taking into account the current fiscal year's inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates.

Reportedly, minimum wages multiplied by the inflation rate would ensure steady purchasing power, while the GDP rate factor would guarantee that increases in overall productivity were appreciated.

The regulation replaced a formula that was based on the basic cost of living (KHL) survey of 84 basic commodities and other daily needs of workers.

The unions have argued that the new formula would not take into account their voice. With the old formula, a tripartite meeting was held annually, consisting of the government, employers and workers. Labor unions are the biggest grassroots power in Indonesia.

"The government no longer listens to its people. We, as the main stakeholder in the wage issue, do not have any say since the regulation was issued," said Ilham Syah from the All-Indonesia United Workers Confederation (KPBI).

Ilham said that with the power of hundreds of thousands of workers, the three-day rally would cripple the capital's economic activity, adding that workers would not hesitate to extend the strike period if the government refused to revise the regulation.

"For example, there are tens of thousands of workers from almost 100 factories in Cakung, East Jakarta, alone. They will empty the factories and march to stage a rally in their area," he vowed.

He said the strike would be held in a peaceful manner and gave his assurances that unions would not force workers to join the strike.

Confederation of Indonesian Workers' Unions (KSPI) chairman Said Iqbal took the opportunity to protest the Jakarta Police's decision to name the union's secretary-general, Muhammad Rusdi, a suspect following an incident during an October rally protesting the regulation.

According to Said, at the Tuesday rallies, workers would also demand that the police discontinue the investigation into his secretary-general, saying he had not committed any violations. "If the case goes on and Rudi is arrested, the strike will keep going for days," he said.

On Oct. 30, 34 workers, including Rusdi, were arrested during a demonstration in front of the State Palace demanding the revision of the regulation. The demonstration turned violent as two activists from the LBH Jakarta suffered serious injuries when police dispersed the protesters.

Later, the police named Rusdi a suspect in the incident and charged him under Article 216 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that those who disobey orders from officials could face a maximum 10-week jail sentence.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/thousands-workers-hold-strikes-across-greater-jakarta.html

Capital's workers take to the streets

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Jakarta – Hundreds of laborers demonstrated in Jakarta on Tuesday after trade union leaders called of a national labor strike scheduled to take place from Tuesday to Friday.

Many others, however, continued to work in the face of calls to join the rally.

Trade union leaders called a national strike in opposition to Government Regulation No. 78 on payment, which among other things regulates annual provincial minimum wage increases.

The unions oppose the regulation, particularly the stipulation that the minimum wage should be based on the current fiscal year's inflation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The new mechanism replaced the old formula based on the basic cost of living (KHL) survey of 84 basic commodities and other daily expenses.

Hundreds of laborers joined motorcycle convoys or marched around areas near the Pulogadung industrial estate in East Jakarta, carrying banners that called for the revocation of the new payment regulation. Dozens of police officers escorted the rally.

Meanwhile, dozens of other laborers carried out similar actions near the bonded zone in Cilincing, North Jakarta. Action coordinator Jumingsih said that the laborers would continue rallying for the next few days.

"We will paralyze the factories in the bonded zone. We will block the containers from leaving the area," Jumingsih said as reported by kompas.com.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Mohammad Iqbal said the force had prepared 6,000 officers to be deployed to police the labor strikes and prevent laborers from forcing their fellows to join the demonstrations, blocking the roads or engaging in violence. The police, he added, would not intervene as long as demonstrators respected laws and regulations.

The police had anticipated industrial action in a number of areas, including Bekasi central industrial zone in West Java, Pulagadung industrial estate, Tangerang in Banten and a number of bonded zones in Cilincing, Marunda and Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/capital-s-workers-take-streets.html

Unions, workers take to streets to protest 'unfair' minimum wage reforms

Jakarta Globe - November 24, 2015

Jakarta – Thousands of members of the Indonesian Workers Union, or KSPI, will stage nation-wide strikes from Nov. 24 to 27 protesting against President Joko Widodo's minimum wage reforms which the union argues will leave them worse-off financially.

The union is demanding the government revoke this year's regulation which sees the minimum wage based on inflation and overall economic growth, and for governors across the country increase the minimum wage by around Rp 500,000 ($37).

"We would like to sit together with the Indonesian Employers Association [Apindo], the workers and the government to discuss a new regulation for wages.

"About 400,000 laborers will join the strike in Jakarta itself. We will focus the strike on the industrial zones and governmental areas," KSPI head Iqbal told okezone.com on Monday.

Th KSPI said the abandonment of the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL) under the new regulation does not adequately address the needs of workers. "This regulation is killing us because it is only based on the inflation and the Gross Domestic Product," Iqbal said.

If wages are determined by inflation and the GDP, the existing minimum wages must first be increased to between Rp 3.6 million to Rp 3.7 million – minimum wage workers in Jakarta currently earn Rp 2.7 million a month.

Apindo, the peak body of Indonesia's employers, meanwhile rejects both the wage rise and the national strike.

"We disagree with the national strike because it disrupts the companies' productivity," head of Apindo's Bekasi chapter Purnomo Narmiadi said on Tuesday.

"Compared to the past three years, wages could not be estimated. The regulation is very moderate and it can channel the aspirations of the companies and the laborers."

The four-day event will take place across 22 provinces including in Jakarta, Sumatra, South Sulawesi and Papua.

"Approximately 1,300 to 1,500 labors are doing a long march from the Harapan Indah Roundabout and Bantargebang [both located in Bekasi, West Java] heading to the Bekasi City Hall," Adj. Comr. Bayu Pratama of the Bekasi District Sector Office, said on Tuesday.

Jakarta Regional Police have deployed 6,000 officers to ensure of safety of the event and have asked demonstrators to refrain from violent acts, including shutting down toll roads.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/labor-news/unions-workers-take-streets-protest-unfair-minimum-wage-reforms/

Freedom of speech & expression

Criticizing the government is not hate speech: Police chief

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Jakarta – Critic directed toward the government is not considered hate speech, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said on Tuesday, shedding some light on concerns over the limiting of people's freedom of speech.

He said that the circular he issued in October on hate speech was a move to regulate people so that they cannot easily provoke others in terms of ethnicity, religion and race.

"Critic delivered [against the government] is not included in hate speech. If the critics corner a certain religion or ethnicity, then it is hate speech," he said as quoted by state news agency Antara on Tuesday.

Hate speech that instigated libel, insult, provocation and the spread of false news is considered a crime according to the criminal code (KUHP), he continued.

Human rights activists had slammed Badrodin for issuing the circular over fears that it would be used by the police to restrict the people's freedom to express their own opinion, including being critical of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's government.

Suwarjono, the chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) said earlier this month that AJI urged police to take legal action against people who spread hate speech without violating the citizens' right to freedom of expression.

Badrodin denied that, saying that the circular served as a guideline for his officers to work on a hate speech case as well for people to be more careful in stating their opinions directly or through social media.

The recent example of a hate speech case in Magelang, East Java, came in the form of a picture of a pig biting the Holy Koran. "That is defamation against religion and we have to take action on it," he said.

Badrodin called for all local police officers to be firm in order to create safety and order in society. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/criticizing-government-not-hate-speech-police-chief.html

Political parties & elections

Golkar seen distancing itself from Setya

Jakarta Globe - December 30, 2015

Jakarta – The Golkar Party looks to be distancing itself from its beleaguered stalwart Setya Novanto, with one politician predicting that it would be hard for the House of Representatives to dismiss accusations the speaker had attempted to shake down one of the world's biggest mining companies.

Priyo Budi Santoso, one of Golkar's most prominent members, told Tempo on Sunday that he had reviewed the evidence against Setya and found it "scary" and "undeniable."

Setya stands accused of trying to extort from mining giant Freeport Indonesia up to $4 billion in shares.

In his complaint filed earlier this month, Energy Minister Sudirman Said alleges that Setya claimed to be acting on behalf of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla when demanding a 20 percent stake in the copper and gold miner.

The council is scheduled to convene on Monday to determine the date of a tribunal hearing against Setya and who will be invited to testify.

Priyo's remarks came after Golkar abruptly replaced three of its members inside the ethics council in what pundits speculate as an attempt to get the final ruling to sway in Setya's favor. However, Priyo said his party would fully support the ethics council's decision, including a ruling to remove Setya from office.

"If [the accusations] are true, we will embrace any decision made [by the council], because whatever happens, Golkar will choose to clean itself up and stay away from [extortion] practices," he said. "Besides, Golkar has many figures [who can replace Setya]."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/golkar-seen-distancing-setya/

Campaign reports rife with irregularities

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has found irregularities in the campaign fund reports of candidates participating in the simultaneous local elections scheduled for next month.

Bawaslu commissioner Daniel Zuchron said on Wednesday that tracking down the irregularities was easier now that all candidates were required to submit their campaign fund reports before balloting took place.

"In the past, many candidates did not submit their campaign fund reports even after the election results came out. But not this time," he told a press conference at the Bawaslu headquarters in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

After poring through campaign fund reports, Bawaslu found that some candidates had received donations that amounted to higher than the imposed limit, had received donations from dubious contributors or outrightly engaged in vote-buying.

Bawaslu found that the backgrounds of several donors did not seem to match the amount of money they donated. Daniel cited an example of a driver in Surabaya named Taufiqurahman, who lives in a fisherman village in Kenjeran, Surabaya, but contributed Rp 50 million (US$3,630) to a candidate.

"Why does this report include an individual who surely could not afford to make such a donation considering his economic background?" he said.

Bawaslu also found some individual donors who contributed amounts above the limits imposed by local General Elections Commissions (KPUD). In a number of regions the total amount of funds pooled by candidates reached a staggering Rp 62.1 billion.

Daniel also blamed the KPUDs for having no clear standard on campaign fund limits. "The limit doesn't jibe with the regional budgets [APBD] or population size," he said.

Kediri regency in East Java, for instance, set a limit of Rp 23.3 billion, while Surabaya, the capital of East Java, set its limit at Rp 14.2 billion.

"If we look at the population size, Surabaya, with its 2.9 million people clearly outweighs Kediri, which only has 1.5 million people. Surabaya's regional budget also stood at Rp 7.2 trillion, compared to Kediri's regional budget of Rp 2.3 trillion," said Daniel.

Furthermore, the quality of some of the campaign fund reports submitted by each candidate lack key details.

"Overall, we still need to verify the reports during the campaign period," Daniel said. "Some of the reports reported small funds while others have an excessive amount. This shows that the reports are merely a formality, a requirement to avoid punishment, without having an accountability report in mind."

Despite the findings, Daniel said that Bawaslu would have to wait for regional election candidates to submit their latest campaign fund reports on Dec. 7, which would then include spending during the campaign period.

In the meantime, Bawaslu would instruct all regional election supervisory committees (Panwaslu) to follow up on the findings, Bawaslu expert staffer Rikson Nababan said.

"We will instruct all of them to record all campaign logistics used by candidates, whether they are goods, services or money. We have also come up with a method to measure or convert campaign tools and other expenses that are difficult to record," he said on Wednesday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/26/campaign-reports-rife-with-irregularities.html

Mass organisations & NGOs

Police raid HMI congress participants

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Pekanbaru – Hundreds of police and Army personnel conducted sweeps on Monday against South and West Sulawesi delegates of the 29th Indonesian Islamic Students Association (HMI) in Pekanbaru, Riau.

The security personnel seized various weapons, such as knives, machetes, kris, bows and arrows, blowpipes, three bottles filled with poison and home-made firearms and airsoft guns when they raided the students' accommodation at the Pekanbaru Youth Complex, and Riau University.

Scores of students were taken to the Riau Police headquarters for questioning. Police dogs also found an empty plastic bag that had contained crystal methamphetamine at the Riau Youth Complex.

Pekanbaru City Police chief Sr. Comr. Aries Syarief Hidayat said the raid on the congress participants and uninvited students was conducted following an attack using poisoned darts allegedly by students from West Sulawesi on two congress participants from Riau, identified as Syahroni and Syafrizal, at a hotel in Pekanbaru early on Monday.

"The victims are still receiving treatment in hospital, and the police are hunting the perpetrators," said Aries at the Riau Police headquarters.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/islands-focus-police-raid-hmi-congress-participants.html

Environment & natural disasters

COP21: Indonesia's palm problem

IRIN - November 30, 2015

Jonathan Vit, Jakarta) – Progress in the fight against global warming may hinge on the future of one tiny fruit in Southeast Asia.

Produced from the dark red fruit of the African oil palm, palm oil is the leading engine behind deforestation and peatland destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Chopped down trees release carbon into the atmosphere as they decompose, while setting fire to peat soils to clear the forests generates yet more climate warming gases. Add that together and deforestation in Indonesia causes far more climate pollution than all of the country's cars and power plants combined.

The global demand for palm oil is behind the widespread environmental damage in Indonesia, where the expansion of plantation land has been linked to the destruction of ecologically rich rainforests and annual forest fires that this year alone burned through an estimated two million hectares of forested area in the span of five months – turning a forest roughly the size of the US state of New Jersey into ash and cinder.

At their height, the forest fires produced more greenhouse gas than the average daily emissions of the entire US economy, according to an analysis by the World Resources Institute.

This year's forest fires were among the world's worst. Experts now wonder whether the industry and the government are ready to adopt the serious reforms needed for the environmentally sustainable production of palm oil.

Demand drives expansion

"Within the Indonesian landscape, two of the main drivers of deforestation are the expansion of pulp and palm plantations," said Gemma Tillack, agribusiness campaign director at the Rainforest Action Network, a US-based NGO that tracks the impact of so-called "conflict palm oil" on the environment and workers' rights.

"So it is clear for us that any global climate deal needs to tackle the expansion of both palm and pulp and paper, and to change the way that it is expanding so that it no longer is leading to the destruction of rainforest and peatland."

Palm oil is a little-known ingredient found in nearly half of all supermarket goods, from brand-name foods like Doritos and Coca-Cola to products like lipstick and cake mix.

Indonesia is the world's largest supplier, producing more than 30 million tonnes a year as demand for this cheap edible oil continues to drive the expansion of plantations in regions like Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Indonesian farmers have historically relied on slash-and-burn techniques to clear their land, torching grass and underbrush in the months leading up to the rainy season, the start of the county's main growing period. This year's forest fires spread with alarming speed, blanketing cities like Palangkaraya under a thick layer of acrid smoke as the haze spread to affect countries as far-flung as the Philippines and Thailand.

"I had to use a mask, even in our hotel room," said Teguh Surya, a campaigner with Greenpeace who flew to Palangkaraya at the height of the haze crisis. "If we wanted to sleep, we had to seal all the windows and the door to avoid letting the haze come in the room. I saw a huge area that was burned and some of the area was already prepared to plant palm oil."

Big players respond

The industry has taken steps towards adopting sustainability measures in recent years that ban outright the use of slash-and-burn clearing techniques.

Wilmar International, the world's largest palm oil trading company, adopted a sweeping "no deforestation, no peatland destruction" pledge in late 2013, promising sustainability measures that went well beyond the protections required by Indonesian law.

Similar measures have also been adopted by members of the industry-led Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the signatories of the Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP), which now include the five largest palm oil companies operating in the region.

"[In order to] comply with each company's sustainable policies, every IPOP member is committed to no-burn practices throughout their business chain," said a spokesman for the IPOP management team. "By signing the pledge, there is a strong collective commitment to ensure each member can work together and share best practices to solve common problems on the ground as well as to push their third-party suppliers to follow in their footsteps."

But the RSPO says these companies are still in the process of discovering what issues exist within the operations of the small-scale farmers in their supply chains. The palm oil industry relies on a highly fragmented ecosystem of smallholders who together are responsible for as much as 40 percent of the global palm oil supply.

Smallholders can't afford to change

The palm oil sector is rife with issues at the smallholder level, where thousands of growers run farms less than 25 hectares in size on razor-thin margins. Smallholders are allegedly responsible for much of the destructive practices still associated with the industry, including the use of slash-and- burn land clearing and the ongoing encroachment of new plantation land into carbon-rich primary forests.

The Indonesian government's own issues compound the problem. The country lacks a single map that clearly defines which communities or individuals own which plots of land. Meanwhile, a lack of communication between individual ministries within the central government and corruption among local officials have resulted in numerous instances of overlapping land concessions that make it difficult to determine who is ultimately responsible for setting fire to scrubland.

"I think the problem that still exists is that the scale of action that is being taken by the traders is falling short of what's needed," Tillack told IRIN. "Forests are still falling, peatlands are still burning, and we see that the forest fires are still causing haze like they did this year. The problem is getting worse. The real question is are they going to be able to actually reach the operators and can they contend with the system of corruption and failed governance in Indonesia?"

The ministry of agriculture is now working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on a national initiative called the Indonesia Palm Oil Platform (InPop), which aims to tackle these issues by enforcing sustainable practices under Indonesian law, and including smallholders in its ambit. UNDP also supports the government's own mandatory certification program – Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil, or ISPO.

UNDP's Asia manager for its Green Commodities Programme, Tomoyuki Uno, said that the industry's RSPO certification scheme – supposed to show which producers are using sustainable practices – has failed to address the underlying problems. Smallholders get little return and can't afford to be picky about how they operate, while some 80 percent of the product is sold on the local market to consumers who remain uninterested in sustainable palm oil certifications.

"At the moment, it is almost like there is a state of paralysis where no one is willing to take on the task of dealing with deforestation outside their own plantations," Uno said. "Big global supply chains don't want to tackle the problem. It's massive. It is like 80 percent of the market. The instinct is 'no, let's lock down our supply chain'."

UNDP is currently working with the Indonesian government to figure out how to engage smallholders and offer incentives to push them toward adopting sustainable practices. The ministry of agriculture initially planned on having all of the country's palm oil growers certified by 2013, but progress has been slow. To date, only 10 percent of Indonesia's palm oil farmers are certified under ISPO. "It's still early days," said Uno, explaining that the ministry now needs to draw on wider support in the central government to achieve its goal.

"I am being optimistic definitely," he said. "I am not saying it is going to be a silver bullet. It is putting down a framework. If you look at where the fires are starting and listen to what the companies are saying then it points to this unregulated informal sector. It's not that they are evil. I don't think so. They are very poor. They need to put their children through school. It's for economic [reasons]."

Mixed signals

As the Indonesian economy struggles, some government figures have recently begun to lash out at sustainability commitments like the IPOP pledge for overstepping national regulations and putting smallholders out of business by cutting them out of supply chains.

And plantation companies also complain that government ministries have tried to take back land set aside for conservation by classifying it as "abandoned" in order to reallocate it as new palm oil concessions. The ministry of the environment and forestry is trying to convince other wings of the central government to recognise the conservation commitments of these companies.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is expected to sign a landmark regulation ordering the rehabilitation and conservation of more than two million hectares of degraded peatland at the Paris climate summit.

The president, popularly known as Jokowi, has already said the country will ban all future peatland development in light of this year's haze crisis. His administration has also committed to reducing carbon emissions by 29 percent by the year 2030, setting aside an additional 12.7 hectares of forest for conservation and promising to boost renewable energy sources in order to reach that goal.

"I think there is an opportunity for Jokowi and the country to get some real support from the global community about deforestation issues," Uno said. "Indonesia is tired of being blamed and their argument is: of course developed countries have already cut down their forests and you need to support us to get out of this." jv/oa/ag

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report/102255/cop21-indonesia-s-palm-problem

Police detain managers suspected of causing fires in Jambi

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2015

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – The Jambi Police say they have named officials from several corporations as suspects in the peatland and forest fires that spread a choking haze across the province and further afield, several of the suspects may soon be detained.

Jambi Police Brig. Gen. Lutfi Lubihanto said the police were still working on the case dossiers of the suspects and once the documents were completed, they would move to detain them.

"It is certain that we will detain the suspects but we are still waiting to complete their case dossers," he said on Sunday.

Lutfi identified four of the corporate suspects by their initials: MN, the manager of PT RKK; SP, the manager of PT TAL; PL, the operational manager of PT ATGA and IW, the president director of PT DHL.

He said that in their cases the suspects had allegedly allowed the fires to start, or were derelict in carrying out their duty to tackle the fires. Lutfi said the police were also dealing with individual suspects who also started fires.

All suspects, both individuals and corporations, could be charged under Articles 108 and 56 of Law No.9/2014 on plantations and Law No.32/2009 on the environment, he added. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/29/police-detain-managers-suspected-causing-fires-jambi.html

Indonesia to show the world how to prevent forest fires at COP21

Jakarta Post - November 27, 2015

Jakarta – Indonesia will present it's ideas on how to prevent forest fires and rehabilitate damaged peatland as part of climate change mitigation efforts at the upcoming UN climate change conference in Paris, France.

National Development Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil said on Friday that Indonesia's agenda at the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP21 conference scheduled to begin on Nov. 30 was to promote serious management of forest fires.

"The most important thing is serious prevention, so that there will be no more forest fires, especially ones caused by humans. If they were caused by natural factors it would be different, but we also need to emphasize readiness," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The government has said it would accelerate peatland rehabilitation and halt new peatland clearing concessions following the massive forest fires that blanketed parts of the country over the last few months. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will lead the Indonesian delegation to Paris and is scheduled to depart on Monday. The event will be attended by 147 state leaders with the aim of deliberating measures to address climate change.

Indonesia will bring its previously announced target of 29 percent lower carbon emissions by 2030 as it's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) as part of the climate negotiations.

Sofyan said that Indonesia would focus on energy, transportation, waste management, food and other sectors in its efforts to lower carbon emission.

Separately, cabinet secretary Pramono Anung said Indonesia would also raise global awareness about the forest and peatland fires.

"Indonesia expects that the world will also be concerned about [the fires] and not only blame us. Because they have said that our forests are the lungs of the world," he said as quoted by kompas.com

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the government would summarize Indonesia's climate change policies in the conference and also remind the world that Indonesia was geographically prone to climate change, but at the same time, also needed space to boost its economic development.

Millions of Indonesians were affected by toxic haze due to severe forest and peatland fires in some parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra in recent months from slash-and-burn land clearing methods and a prolonged dry season.

Analysis using data from the NASA satellite has shown that Indonesia's emissions from forest and land fires skyrocketed this year and surpassed those from the country's severe 2006 fires, straittimes.com reported last month.

In October, total emissions from the fires soared from nearly one billion tonnes to nearly 1.4 billion tonnes. The fires also pushed Indonesia into the position of the country with the third-biggest polluter, after China and the US. (afr/rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/27/indonesia-show-world-how-prevent-forest-fires-cop21.html

Scientists turn up haze heat on Indonesia ahead of COP21 Paris talks

Mongabay Haze Beat - November 25, 2015

Indonesia is under pressure to properly enforce sweeping land-management reforms to improve its record on devastating wildfires with less than a week to crucial climate talks in Paris.

"As a global disaster, this massive spike in Indonesia's emissions will be a major challenge for global efforts to address climate change, especially in light of the Paris COP21 climate negotiations next week," said Andhyta Utami, climate program manager of the World Resources Institute in Indonesia.

Singapore's deputy prime minister Teo Chee Hean met with Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at Indonesia's State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss preventative measures to tackle future haze crises. Teo also met with Indonesian chief security minister Luhut Pandajaitan.

Luhut is understood to have told Singapore's deputy prime minister that the city state would see tangible differences in subsequent years because of the policies put in place by the Indonesian government in recent weeks. Jokowi has said he will ban all development on peat, restore at least 2 million hectares of land and block the drainage canals that make the marshes highly flammable.

"Burning forests and peatlands kills virtually everything living there and many plantations are landscape scale," said Dr. Ian Singleton.

While the government's new policies have yet to be made law, there are some signs local actors are increasing pressure on district and provincial governments to enforce Jokowi's plans to restrict land used for plantations. "We reject the presence of oil palm plantations along the Musi River basin, especially in Banyuasin," said Ahmad Syaifudin Juhri, head of an indigenous people's organization in South Sumara province. "Currently, indigenous peoples are demanding a moratorium on concessions being issued."

Adio Syafri of Forest Kita Institute (IPR), an Indonesian NGO, supported the group's call for conservation of the Musi basin. "The Musi river should be maintained and, if need be, reorganized and restored," said Adio. The acting governor of South Sumatra, Alex Noerdin, has been under significant pressure to improve the province's capacity to address its wildfires after it became the epicenter of the international firefighting operation in September and October.

"South Sumatra province is committed to green growth by addressing land and forest fires," the governor said in a statement. "By moving forward through sustainable palm oil initiative, with the help of key stakeholders, farmers' productivity and people's lives can be improved while also helping to overcome the challenges of fire protection and legality of peat land."

Rains over Kalimantan and Sumatra have calmed many fires but blazes continue to burn in the sparsely populated – but densely forested – eastern region of Papua, which continues to battle dry conditions. Data for the last 24 hours from Global Forest Watch show several "high-confidence" fires burning in Merauke regency in Papua province.

Other parts of the archipelago also continue to battle fires, such as East Kutai regency in East Kalimantan.

"Whilst some people, somewhere, are lining their pockets through unsustainable use of Indonesia's forests, the resulting fires and haze that incinerate the land, and our wildlife in the process, and the massive contribution we are making to global climate change are a huge source of embarrassment to the rest of us," said Dr. Sunaryo of the Research Center for Climate Change.

Scientists and researchers warn that increased scrutiny needs to be placed on local governments in order to see adequate implementation of the central's government's reform plans.

"Satellite data shows over 135,000 hotspot alerts in Indonesia over the last six months that have severely damaged at least 2 million hectares of land, of which, 600,000 were peatlands," said WRI's Andhyta.

"We need clear, decisive action now. We need the government to implement effective policies to reduce emissions, including a single countrywide 'one map' of land use and dramatically improved spatial planning at all levels, and to enforce the law."

Source: http://news.mongabay.com/2015/11/scientists-turn-up-haze-heat-on-indonesia-ahead-of-cop21-paris-talks/

Fishermen, mussel farmers hit hard by reclamation projects

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2015

Tangerang – A bitter smile crept across the face of mussel farmer Muhammad Ali, 41, as he described his struggle to make ends meet amid an ongoing coastal reclamation project in Dadap, Tangerang regency, Banten.

"Like all other fishermen and mussel farmers around here, my income has decreased significantly because of the damage to the ecosystem done by the reclamation," Muhammad said. "But there's no other way for me to earn money; mussel cultivation is my only skill."

A reclamation project is currently ongoing in the Dadap coastal area. The project, named PIK 2, is understood to be part of the Tangerang regency administration's plan to build a new town.

In 2013, Tangerang regent Ahmed Zaki Iskandar revealed that the administration had teamed up with PT Tangerang International City (TIC), a developer belonging to conglomerate Salim Group, to reclaim seven islands – or 9,000 hectares of sea – off the north coast of Tangerang. The islands would stretch 52 kilometers along the coast from Kronjo to Dadap.

Under the plan, the administration would establish facilities on the islands including housing and an alternative seaport to lessen the burden on Tanjung Priok seaport in North Jakarta.

Meanwhile in Kamal Muara in Penjaringan, a border area between Jakarta and Tangerang, a project to reclaim land off the coast of North Jakarta is also underway.

The Kamal Muara project has similarly sparked fury among fishermen and mussel farmers, who say they have been hit financially by the resultant ecosystem damage.

Zaki claimed, however, that the marine ecosystem in the area had long been contaminated by waste and garbage from nearby rivers. "Even before the reclamation, the regency's coastal areas were already contaminated," he said.

On Monday, Muhammad and around 500 other fishermen and mussel farmers staged a rally aboard their boats, demanding the two projects' reclamation permits be revoked.

After the rally, Muhammad pinpointed the cause of mussel farmers' losses as mud, generated by the projects, that disrupted the mussel ecosystem, lengthening cultivation periods.

"I used to harvest the mussels after four months, now it's seven months," Muhammad said, adding that his mussels were also becoming smaller.

Before the reclamation began, he added, he had earned between Rp 500,000 (US$36.5) and Rp 700,000 daily, the figure dropping to between Rp 300,000 and Rp 400,000 in recent times.

Azis Suhendi, leader of the Traditional Fishermen's Union (SNT), echoed Muhammad's points, adding that the reclamation had also caused losses to fishermen, whose equipment, such as traditional fish traps and platforms, had been destroyed or damaged by developers piling up sand on the fishing platforms and hitting the fish traps with their boats.

No compensation for the damage had been offered by developers or the administration, he went on.

As such, Azis said, fishermen and mussel farmers were demanding that the Tangerang regency and Jakarta administrations revoke the projects' reclamation permits to prevent any further blows to the livelihoods of those who depend on the area's marine ecosystem.

In response to the demands, Zaki said that his administration no longer had the authority to issue reclamation permits, let alone revoke them, since the issuance of Law no. 23/2014 on regional administration.

According to Zaki, reclamation permits – and revocations – are now handled by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. Officials from the ministry could not be reached for a comment as of Tuesday evening. (agn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/fishermen-mussel-farmers-hit-hard-reclamation-projects.html

Mangroves turned into oil palm plantations

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2015

Medan – Thousands of hectares of mangroves along the eastern coast of North Sumatra have been seriously damaged due to large areas being converted into oil palm plantations.

Head of the North Sumatra Environment Agency (BLH), Hidayati, said that almost 50 percent of the mangroves in the area had been severely damaged due to the conversions.

"Conversion of mangroves into oil palm plantations is rapidly increasing due to support from the local administrations. This is very ironic," Hidayati told The Jakarta Post after officially opening a workshop on the role of mangroves in mitigating climate change and adopting green lifestyles held in Medan on Tuesday.

She said that apart from oil palm plantations, some mangroves were also converted into fish ponds. She said that most of the owners of the oil palm plantations and fish ponds were 'powerful people' who were notorious for being untouchable by the law.

Hidayati blamed the situation on regional heads who issued licenses for the establishment of oil palm plantations in coastal areas. This, she said, was completely against the government's efforts to preserve mangroves.

Among the worst-affected regions was Langkat regency, she said as the Karang Gading and Langkat Timur Laut wildlife parks in the regency were currently completely damaged due to the massive conversions.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/islands-focus-mangroves-turned-oil-palm-plantations.html

Health & education

Most new HIV infections recorded in Jakarta

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2015

Jakarta – The Jakarta AIDS Prevention Commission (KPAP) has circulated data showing that Jakarta recorded the highest number of new HIV cases in the country this year.

The data, issued by the Health Ministry, revealed that there were 1,075 new cases of HIV infections in the capital as of March. West Java and East Java had the second and third highest number with 1,066 and 871 new HIV cases, respectively.

The data also revealed that Jakarta was the city with the third-highest number of new AIDS cases after South Sulawesi and East Kalimantan. The capital recorded 56 cases, while South Sulawesi and East Kalimantan recorded 107 and 102 cases, respectively.

"The data shows that more residents in Jakarta are well-informed about this issue and therefore become more active in checking their HIV status," KPAP secretary Rohana Manggala said recently.

Rohana further explained that the KPAP helped residents in Jakarta to check their HIV/AIDS status by providing free voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) facilities at every community health center (Puskesmas) in 33 districts throughout the capital.

The KPAP held the city's third VCT event at St. Carolus Hospital in Salemba, Central Jakarta, last Thursday.

The event was part of the VCT program launched in October ahead of World HIV/AIDS Day, which falls on Dec. 1. The event involved around 300 medical personnel and paramedics, as well as representatives from a number of non- governmental organizations.

Rohana said that last Thursday's VCT and similar programs on offer at various Puskesmas were ready to test 20,000 Jakartans for HIV/AIDS this year.

Based on Health Ministry data, by March of this year, 7,212 people nationwide were infected with HIV, while 595 others had contracted AIDS. Of those infected with HIV, 3,015 were women and 4,197 were men.

In addition to the data, Rohana said that during the same period, 136 housewives had contracted AIDS, a number significantly higher than the seven sex workers recorded by the KPAP to have contracted AIDS.

"Most of the housewives were infected because their husbands often had sex with different partners, including sex workers," said Rohana.

She added that housewives were also more prone to HIV/AIDS because, feeling safe with their husbands, they tended to not use condoms. By contrast, most sex workers understood how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS by using condoms. (agn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/30/most-new-hiv-infections-recorded-jakarta.html

HIV prevalence grows among Indonesia teens

Jakarta Post - November 30, 2015

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Indonesia is witnessing a growing rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among adolescents, the most vulnerable population, a UN Asia Pacific report has shown.

The report, released by the Asia Pacific Inter-Agency Task Team on Young Key Populations and UNICEF just ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, finds that Indonesia is one of two countries in the region to have seen an increase in the estimated number of new HIV infections among adolescents aged 14 to 19 from 2004 to 2014.

"The HIV burden among adolescents falls heaviest on 10 countries, namely India, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan, which together account for 98 percent of adolescents living with HIV in the region," the report said.

According to the report, the estimated number of new HIV infections among adolescents in Indonesia stood at 15,000 in 2014, rising from 12,000 in 2004.

Besides Indonesia, new HIV infections among those aged 15 to 19 in the Philippines also rose from an estimated 800 in 2010 to 1,210 in 2014 and 1,403 in 2015.

Other countries in the region, however, achieved substantial drops in the number of new HIV infections among adolescents.

The figure in Vietnam, for instance, dropped to 2,600 in 2014 from 5,900 in 2004, while Myanmar's fell to 1,600 in 2014 from 4,300 in 2004. Thailand enjoyed similar success, the rate there decreasing to 1,500 in 2014 from 4,300 in 2004.

The Health Ministry's director of disease control and environmental health, Mohammad Subuh, said that while HIV infections in Indonesia were most prevalent among people between the ages of 20 and 49, many in this group may have been infected since adolescence.

"The incubation period [of HIV] is between five and 10 years. So if someone is diagnosed with HIV when he is 20 years old, he might have been infected since he was 15 years old," Subuh told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The report also said that individuals in their second decade were more vulnerable to being infected with HIV than adults, and harder to care for after transmission, for a host of biological, social, psychological and legal reasons.

"Yet they are a much less powerful constituency, often with low visibility and weak voices. To date they have been a neglected component of national HIV testing, treatment, care and support strategies. This inequity needs to be redressed – urgently," the report said.

Indonesia's number of HIV infections among adolescents defied the global trend. Between 2000 and 2014, the global annual rate of new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15-19 fell substantially, mainly because of the decline in new cases from almost 200,000 to 100,000 in eastern and southern Africa.

Meanwhile, the annual number of new HIV cases among adolescents in the entire Asia Pacific region has declined only slightly since 2004. Overall, the number of HIV infections in Indonesia rose to 177,000 in 2015 from 150,296 cases in 2014, according to data from the Health Ministry.

"But the number mainly rose because there were more people getting tested. So we are currently only seeing the tip of the iceberg," Subuh said. "We are targeting HIV prevalence of below 0.5 percent in Indonesia, or around 550,000. So even if the incidence of HIV in Indonesia keeps rising, as long as it is below 550,000, it means it is still under control."

Furthermore, the number of deaths from HIV in Indonesia has dropped significantly from 40 percent in 2005 to 0.4 percent in 2015, showing remarkable strides since the advent in 1996 of antiretroviral drugs, which suppress HIV, according to Subuh. Though not a cure, the therapy creates a virtuous circle. The less the virus is in circulation, the less likely it is that people become infected.

Since the first case in Indonesia in 1987, HIV has spread to 381 of the nation's 498 regencies and cities. Last year, Jakarta, with 32,782 cases, had the highest prevalence of HIV of any province in the country.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/30/hiv-prevalence-grows-among-ri-teens.html

Luwu in South Sulawesi bans the sale of condoms

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Jakarta – The local administration of Luwu regency in South Sulawesi has banned the sale of condoms over concerns about teenagers having casual sex.

Luwu regent Andi Mudzakkar said on Tuesday that the administration decided to ban retail stores from selling condoms to prevent local teenagers from buying them freely.

The Luwu administration will apply the policy to stores in Belopa, the capital city of Luwu, like Alfamidi and Indomaret. The administration will also conduct spot inspections to monitor compliance.

"If we find there are still stores selling condoms, we will confiscate the condoms and we may also revoke the store's permit," he said as quoted by tempo.co.

Opposing the regulation was Sul Arrahman, a member of Luwu's regional council (DPRD), who said that it was counterproductive for the central government's mission with its family planning program.

"The regulation is ridiculous and premature. There is no guarantee that banning the sale of condoms will lessen promiscuity. The more we forbid them, the wilder teenagers will get," he said.

There are around 10 retail stores such as Indomaret and Alfamidi in Luwu. Staff at an Indomaret store refused to comment on the policy.

Several areas in Indonesia, such has Surabaya and Bengkulu, have limited the sale of condoms to attempt to prevent casual sex among teenagers. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/luwu-south-sulawesi-bans-sale-condoms.html

Refugees & asylum seekers

Indonesia protests boat push-back policy after asylum seekers found

Sydney Morning Herald - November 27, 2015

Jewel Topsfield – Tensions have once again flared between Indonesia and Australia over asylum seeker policy after a boat that was pushed back from Christmas Island by the Royal Australian Navy ran out of fuel off Indonesia.

On Thursday evening – just hours before a two-day summit on refugees began in Jakarta with 14 countries participating including Australia – the boat carrying 16 asylum seekers and an Indonesian captain washed up at a beach in West Kupang.

The whereabouts of the boat had been a mystery after it was towed out to sea when it came within 200 metres of Christmas Island last Friday.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry on Friday reiterated its opposition to Australia's boat push-back policy, which it says puts lives at risk and is not a sustainable solution.

"Unilateral action is not in line with our spirit of co-operation," Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Muhammad Fachir said outside the meeting. "Those who were sent back – what about their fate? It should become our common concern."

Mr Fachir said the latest boat incident would not disturb the refugee round table, which would focus on the root causes of the irregular movements of persons. However Indonesia will seek an explanation from the Australian government.

Australia is being represented at the round table by the ambassador for people smuggling issues for Australia, Andrew Goledzinowski, who will chair a panel on Saturday on future co-operation among affected countries.

"Indonesia's stance remains that boat push-backs are endangering," Arrmanatha Nasir, a spokesman from the office of Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, told Fairfax Media.

"The irregular migrant issue must be addressed comprehensively, it cannot be solved by only one party such as the destination country or source country."

Mr Nasir said the Bali process was the mechanism in the region to discuss asylum seekers. "So if we want to have a sustainable solution we have to go beyond our own self interest," he said.

One of the police officers who assisted the 16 male asylum seekers off their boat, Farah, at Tablolong beach told Fairfax Media they could have died if no one had found them.

"They were in OK condition, they were given enough food and plenty of water, but they ran out of fuel. They could've died if they sunk or if no one found them," he said.

The asylum seekers, who are from India, Nepal and Bangladesh, say they reached Christmas Island but were turned back by the Royal Australian Navy after being detained for five days.

Bangladeshi man Muhammad Anwar, 22, told Fairfax Media their vessel was leaking water so they were transferred to another boat. "I don't know about Australia turning back boats before. The agent said Australia is good now, they take immigrants now."

Mr Anwar said he paid a people smuggling agent $USD5000 ($AUD6890) to take him to Australia. "In my country there are many problems, everything is expensive, wages low, many killings. All I want in Australia is to make a living, and they didn't help," Mr Anwar said.

The Director-General for Multilateral Affairs at Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hasan Kleib, said there was a principle of protection at sea and a code of disembarkation at a safe place.

"So this is what we would like to see as well when they are already in the middle of high seas with the unseaworthy boat... It must be better to disembark at a safety place and then deal with them (the asylum seekers) afterwards."

However he said he did not wish this incident to become a stumbling block for co-operation between the two countries.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and opposition spokesman Richard Marles refused to comment

Green senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Turnbull government has "serious questions" to answer if the boat was allowed to run out of fuel before washing up in Indonesia.

[With Amilia Rosa, Karuni Rompies and Nicole Hasham.]

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/indonesia-protests-boat-pushback-policy-after-asylum-seekers-found-stranded-20151127-gl9zzi.html

Graft & corruption

Kalla defends plan to revise KPK law

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2015

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla has defended a proposed revision of the law on Indonesia's anticorruption body.

There was nothing unusual about the amendment to Law No. 30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as the government and the House of Representatives had discussed it for a long time, Kalla insisted.

Responding to widespread public criticism of the proposed amendment, Kalla denied the government and House were engaged in a blame game with one another.

"Any law, not only the law on the KPK, can be revised, including the Constitution. We're not throwing responsibilities [to the House], because any amendment of a law needs both sides' agreement," Kalla said on Sunday at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport Jakarta, as quoted by Kompas.com.

The planned KPK law revision has stirred controversy in the country, with a number of public figures saying the move opened the doors for efforts to undermine the KPK's role in the future.

In their latest meeting, the government and the House's legislation body (Baleg) agreed to shift the initiative for the KPK law amendment from the government to the House.

The result would be brought to the House's steering committee (Bamus) for further discussion on Monday (Oct. 30) and to a plenary meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 1).

A Baleg member from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Al Muzzammil Yusuf, suggested inviting a KPK member to the first discussion of the revision, in a bid to allay fears that the House was aiming to weaken the KPK.

All participants in the meeting, including Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly, agreed to the suggestion. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/29/kalla-defends-plan-revise-KPK-law.html

KPK tells lawmakers to cut corruption-related articles from bill

Jakarta Post - November 28, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has requested that specific articles connected to corruption and money laundering not be included in the final version of the amended Criminal Code (KUHP) bill.

Acting KPK chairman Taufiequrrachman Ruki said that as an alternative, the House of Representatives should work on the 1999 anticorruption law, which was amended in 2001, to cover specific corruption and money-laundering crimes and give specific rights to investigators from any law enforcement institution to handle such cases.

"As one of the KPK leaders, I hope that [lawmakers] don't include regulations on corruption in the KUHP amendment. [Corruption] is a special crime and needs its own law that also regulates procedures to prosecute the cases," he said during a discussion on the KUHP draft bill.

The House has included the KUHP revision on its National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list and plans to deliberate on more than 700 stipulations.

Ruki said that the goal to stamp out corruption would not be achieved if the KPK continued to be the only institution given special privileges in handling corruption cases. He said that it would be more effective if the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) were also given these privileges.

"Right now, if [law enforcement] wants to interrogate a state official, they need to ask permission from the President. However, the KPK does not need to do that. Why should the KPK be any different?" Ruki said.

He said that such a privilege should be distributed to other law enforcement agencies. "These privileges should be given so that the competition [between institutions] is more fair. Right now, there is no equality before the law."

Other KPK privileges include the ability to wiretap officials without needing to gain permission from the courts and the inability to drop a case once a suspect is named, which makes for a stronger case.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said that he did not take issue with the KPK's privileges and declined to comment on whether or not a separate law should be established just for corruption case procedures.

However, Badrodin expressed his own concerns about the revision of the KUHP, particularly on the stipulations regulating crimes against religion.

Badrodin said that in a copy of the draft bill that he had obtained, Articles 348 through to 353 could be easily manipulated to discriminate against or even criminalize certain groups.

"The articles discussing religion-related crimes could make way for criminalization. Although [the draft's] intentions are good in that they seek to protect those who subscribe to state-recognized religions, those who don't follow these [six] faiths remain unprotected. Actually, the draft even says in Article 358 that being an atheist or encouraging people not to follow a certain religion could be punished," he said.

"This is a clear violation of our Constitution which states that we all have freedom of religion," he said. Badrodin also said that several stipulations on hate speech could be abused to limit press freedom.

"If a journalist reports on a case that has something to do with racial, religious or ethnic conflict then they could potentially be charged with these stipulations [in the draft bill] and it would discourage them from doing their jobs," Badrodin said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/28/KPK-tells-lawmakers-cut-corruption-related-articles-bill.html

Jokowi urged to intervene in KPK deadlock

Jakarta Post - November 27, 2015

Haeril Halim and Tassia Sipahutar, Jakarta – A former advisor to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has urged President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to encourage the House of Representatives to accelerate the final screening to select the antigraft body's new commissioners for the 2015- 2019 period.

Former KPK advisor Abdullah Hehamahua said on Thursday said that Jokowi could use his authority as the head of state to summon House leaders and discuss the issue.

House Commission III on legal affairs, which is in charge of the confirmation hearing of the 10 candidates proposed by the government in August, has been delaying the final screening process despite the looming deadline of Dec. 16.

A vacuum of power could leave 195 graft cases the KPK is currently investigating in limbo as KPK leaders must give approval at many stages of the investigative process. The lawmakers have claimed irregularities in the selection process run by a government-sanctioned committee, have resulted in poor quality candidates.

They are currently considering the option of returning the candidates to Jokowi for another selection process to pick "better candidates", a move that Abdullah deemed as having the potential to violate Article 30 of Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK, which obligates the House to hold a confirmation hearing for KPK commissioner candidates proposed by the government.

As Article 30 does not stipulate punishment should the House refuse to hold a confirmation hearing for government-proposed candidates, Abdullah also urged Jokowi to consult with the Supreme Court, as the highest interpreter of the law in the country, to define the phrase "oblige" in order to force the House to comply with Article 30.

"After seeking advice from the Supreme Court the President can issue a Perppu [regulation in lieu of law] to appoint acting commissioners for the KPK to fill the vacuum of power should the House fail to meet the 21 deadline," Abdullah told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Abdullah further said that Jokowi could also issue a Perppu instructing the current KPK leaders to remain in their posts until new KPK commissioners were selected. "The President could take either way because it is his prerogative to do so," the former advisor added.

Commission III has also argued that the final candidates did not include a prosecutor from the Attorney General's Office (AGO), citing an article in the KPK Law that stipulates that KPK leaders have the right to act as prosecutors or investigators on corruption cases during their tenure.

Abdullah said that the House had misinterpreted the KPK Law as Article 21 automatically gave selected KPK leaders additional authorities despite their backgrounds, adding that the House had overlooked the fact that none of the KPK leaders for the 2004-2008 period was an AGO prosecutor.

Former KPK commissioner Chandra M. Hamzah said that the additional rights of KPK leaders were regulated under the KPK Law based on the thinking that there could be a situation in which a KPK leaders could step into a case to become an investigator or prosecutor if there was no investigator or prosecutor available in the field.

"The Article gives KPK leaders a mandate to prosecute or investigate cases on their own in an extraordinary situation," prominent lawyer Chandra, told the Post on Thursday.

Jokowi said that he had heard that Commission III would soon conduct the screening of the KPK commissioner candidates.

"I have heard that Commission III will soon make a decision. The House will select five of the 10 candidates because it is a legal order," Jokowi said on Thursday.

The House will select five of the ten candidates through the screening process, for the President to approve before commencing their jobs in December.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/27/jokowi-urged-intervene-KPK-deadlock.html

House buying time on KPK leadership

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2015

Tama Salim and Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has once again delayed its final decision on whether to return to the government the names of candidates for the leadership of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

According to members of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, the decision to postpone comes as a result of differences among political party factions.

Commission III chairman Aziz Syamsuddin of the Golkar Party said the House would make the decision next week, in order to "give time for several factions to conduct a thorough analysis of the situation".

"In tonight's meeting, a number of factions and commission members proposed that we postpone the final decision [...] until next week," Aziz said after the meeting at the House complex late on Wednesday.

He declined to give details about the meeting, but he gave assurances that lawmakers would convene on Monday. He also said that the failure to select a new group of KPK leaders by the deadline would not lead to the paralysis of the antigraft body.

"Whatever the decision on Monday, it will not impede the functions of the KPK, as the three acting commissioners will continue to fulfill their duties until new leaders are sworn in," Aziz said.

Acting KPK chairman Taufiequrachman Ruki said in a meeting with Commission III that three of the five acting commissioners would be able to continue serving without a term limit. Current KPK data shows that as of September the antigraft body was handling 195 graft cases.

Commission III deputy chairman Desmond J. Mahesa from the Gerindra Party claimed that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) were responsible for the delay.

He insisted that it was customary to postpone any final decisions if a Commission III plenary meeting failed to reach a consensus. "This is a commission on law; we have to stay on track," he said.

Previously, United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker Arsul Sani said his faction would support the issuing of a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) that would extend the tenure of the current acting KPK leaders if Commission III decided to reject the candidates and return their names to the government.

Arsul said that returning the names to the government would inevitably result in the need to extend the KPK commissioners' period of service beyond the Dec. 16 deadline.

He said that his party faction had yet to decide whether to proceed with the screenings or to return the names to the President, arguing that the PPP was unwilling to nominate any questionable candidates who would pose a potential threat to the KPK.

"If the selection [process] needs to be repeated, the House would not dare reject the Perppu," Arsul said.

PDI-P lawmaker Masinton Pasaribu proposed the issuance of the Perppu if the people on the current roster of candidates were deemed unqualified. Other party factions agreed to proceed with plans to conduct screenings for the candidates and determine what the next steps would be. Talks of returning the candidate names to the government emerged following recent House consultation meetings with two initiators of the 2002 KPK Law.

Padjadjaran University law professor Romli Atmasasmita and Trisakti University professor Andi Hamzah were both convinced that the now-defunct KPK leadership selection committee had violated a number of regulations.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said earlier in the day that the government expected the House to immediately decide whether to approve five or four names.

"The government has no intention to meddle with the vetting process, but the government indeed hopes that the House approves the names on the list that have been reviewed by the selection team."

According to Pramono, the government has twice "communicated with the House" and has acknowledged that "there are still differences in perspective between House factions", although he also said he believed the House would be able to settle such differences and immediately make a decision.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/26/house-buying-time-KPK-leadership.html

Ex-PDI-P lawmaker gets 'lenient' sentence for bribery

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

Haeril Halim, National – The panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday sentenced Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Adriansyah to three years behind bars for accepting bribes from a businessman in April, while in power as a House of Representatives lawmaker.

Adriansyah is the first active House lawmaker for the 2014-2019 period as well as the first ruling party politician to be arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and sentenced in a graft case in a series of sting operations by the antigraft body in 2015. He was arrested in his sixth month of serving as a first-time lawmaker between October 2014 and April 2015.

In addition to the lenient sentence, the member of House Commission IV overseeing agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the environment was also ordered to pay a Rp 100 million fine for his offenses of receiving Rp 1 billion and US$50,000 from businessman Andrew Hidayat in return for helping to secure a coal mining permit for the businessman's company in Tanah Laut, South Kalimantan. If he cannot pay the fine, he will be required to serve another month behind bars.

"Our examination into the case has found the defendant guilty of corruption," presiding judge Tito Suhud said at the court on Monday night.

Adriansyah, prior to his election as a lawmaker, was regent of the resource-rich Tanah Laut from 2003 to 2013. In order to retain control of the regency, the PDI-P politician installed his son Bambang Alamsyah as Tanah Laut regent in 2013.

Adriansyah was caught red-handed accepting money on the sidelines of the PDI-P's national congress in Bali, where President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and party chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri were also present.

Adriyansah was fired from the party days after his arrest due to what the PDI-P deemed as "committing an inappropriate act on the sidelines of the party's highest decision-making forum".

The sentence was lighter than the five-year punishment demanded by KPK prosecutors, who also called on the court to order the politician to pay Rp 250 million in fines or serve an additional three months in jail should he fail to make the payment.

The court found Adriyansah had violated Article 12 of the 1999 Corruption Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars for state officials who accept bribes while in office. The court said that Adriansyah deserved the sentence because he had admitted to his wrongdoings in the case.

Meanwhile, another Rp 500 million was given to Adriansyah on Nov. 20, 2014, as well as Rp 500 million on Jan. 28, 2015. He was arrested while accepting $50,000 at the PDI-P congress.

Adriansyah said that he accepted the sentence and would not challenge it at the Jakarta High Court. Meanwhile, KPK prosecutors said they were considering challenging the lenient sentence.

The KPK has charged 37 lawmakers in its investigations, seven of whom, including Adriansyah, were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes from businessmen.

The other six former sitting lawmakers are Al Amin Nasution of the United Development Party (PPP), Bulyan Royan of the Reformation Star Party (PBR), Abdul Hadi Djamal of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Chairun Nisa of the Golkar Party, former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan and Dewi Yasin Limpo of the Hanura Party.

All of them have been thrown in jail except Dewi, who was arrested and apprehended by the KPK in late October for allegedly accepting S$177,700 in bribes from businessman Septiadi Jusuf with regard to deliberations on state funding for a micro-hydro power plant in Papua worth hundreds of billions of rupiah. The KPK is still completing Dewi's dossier before sending her case to court.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/ex-pdi-p-lawmaker-gets-lenient-sentence-bribery.html

Terrorism & religious extremism

Government should involve community in combating radicalism

Jakarta Post - November 27, 2015

Jakarta – Experts have urged the government to strengthen ties within communities to increase public participation in combating radicalism.

A senior researcher from the Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) at State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Dadi Darmadi, said that until now the government had only involved scholars, researchers and law enforcers, but seemed to ignore the public.

"Women, specifically mothers, could play an important role in deradicalization. They are directly involved with social activities, such as educating their children," Dadi said at a workshop held by the German Embassy on Thursday.

He also emphasized the role of netizens in fighting radical narratives. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can be easily used to spread extremism.

A video of Indonesian Abu Muhammad al-Indonesi calling on Indonesian Muslims to join the Islamic State (IS) group was disseminated through social media. A photo of firebrand Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir with his followers, mainly from the Aceh military camp, with an IS flag in the background, was also widely circulated on social media.

In the same way, he said, netizens should spread ideas to counter radicalism on social media, challenging the radical doctrines. "It's time for the government to move forward with a new approach that goes beyond religion," Dadi said. "Deradicalization narratives should be spread openly."

Liberal Islamic Network (JIL) founder Ulil Abshar Abdalla suggested that the government provide such a web-based report center that would allow the public to log complaints or reports on the potential of radicalism in their surroundings.

Institute for Policy and Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) director Sidney Jones agreed that such recommendations would be useful to neutralize radicalism, especially for Indonesians studying or living abroad.

"That's one of the challenges for the Indonesian government to realize its counterterrorism agenda. The point is that the government has to adopt a more effective policy and immediately implement it," Sidney said.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian acknowledged that the government had poor coordination with other relevant parties.

"In fact, all we need is a good coordination among all parties, including the government, scholars, NGOs and the public, but that seems difficult to achieve. We can see that even coordination among ministries is still poor," Tito said.

He went on to say that law enforcers in Indonesia also needed to coordinate with law enforcers from other countries, especially those located in terrorism-prone regions.

Thorsten Gerald Schneiders, a German political and Islamic scientist who is also an editor at German public broadcasting radio station Deutschlandfunk, said that Indonesia played a pivotal role in the international agenda of countering radicalism, considering its status as home to the world's largest Muslim population.

"Indonesia already has a lot of good laws. They just need to be enforced well," Schneiders said. He added that Germany also faced the same threat; extremism that could potentially lead to violence and terrorism. (foy)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/27/govt-should-involve-community-combating-radicalism.html

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Sundanese groups report FPI's Rizieq Shihab to police

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2015

Jakarta – Two NGOs representing Sundanese people, the Sundanese People's Alliance and the West Java Siliwangi Youth Wing, have filed a complaint with the West Java Police against the leader of the radical group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) Rizieq Shihab for allegedly insulting Sundanese culture over a traditional greeting.

The complaint was initiated by the West Java Siliwangi Youth Wing, whose chairman Noeriy Ispandji Firman said on Tuesday that they made the report on Monday against Rizieq after he allegedly altered the traditional Sundanese greeting "sampurasun" (loosely translated as "please pardon me") into "campur racun" (mixed poison).

He said that Rizieq made the remarks during a sermon in Purwakarta some time ago. "We condemn the leader of the FPI, we do not want Rizieq to enter West Java and demand he publicly apologize," Noeriy said as reported by Antara news agency.

He said Sundanese people would take action if the West Java Police did not deal firmly with the report.

The NGOs showed a 40-second video recording of Rizieq's alleged remarks and reported Rizieq under the Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law as the video was uploaded on video-sharing website YouTube.

Noeriy said the Sundanese people basically disliked disputes but would defend themselves if angered. Specifically, he said, the "sampurasun" greeting contained respect and prayers and was part of Indonesia's cultural identity.

"It is not proper for a senior figure to make fun of 'sampurasun' which is an honorary greeting, especially it was done in Sundanese land in Purwakarta," he said.

Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil separately said that no one should make fun of a national culture. "If Rizieq was joking then it was not funny," he said, urging Rizieq to apologize, as quoted by news portal kompas.com on Wednesday.

Ridwan denied that "sampurasun" overruled the Islamic greeting of "Assalamualaikum' (peace be with you) as it had a similar positive meaning and did not stray from religion. "Usually ignorance results in contempt," he said. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/sundanese-groups-report-fpis-rizieq-shihab-police.html

Criminal justice & prison system

Only first-time drug users get rehab: Luhut

Jakarta Post - November 25, 2015

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The government has repeated its commitment to send people arrested for using drugs to rehabilitation centers, but that the policy only applies for first-time drug users.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Tuesday that the policy was in accordance with the 35/2005 Law on narcotics.

He made the statement after a closed-door meeting involving several government institutions including the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the National Police and the Health Ministry.

"We held this meeting to empower the BNN because the drug problem [in this country] has become extremely serious. It is an extraordinary crime so we talked about how to organize and handle drug abusers and traffickers between different ministries," Luhut told reporters on Tuesday.

Although Luhut said that relevant institutions had agreed to immediately rehabilitate those who were caught using drugs for the first time, he acknowledged that more talks were needed to discuss what efforts the government should take against repeat offenders and how they would be treated.

"We are leaning more toward rehabilitation for those who have only been caught once as there are those who don't understand the consequences. For example, there are some who take ecstasy so they have more time to study instead of sleeping," Luhut said.

Earlier this year, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo declared that the nation had a "drug emergency" and called for the death penalty for drug dealers as well as rejecting the clemency pleas for convicted traffickers.

However, despite the harsh penalties imposed on drug dealers, drug abuse reportedly continues to be rampant in the country.

The BNN estimated that between 3.8 million to 4.2 million people aged between 10 and 59 had used or were actively using drugs in 2014.

The Narcotics Law stipulates that drug users must be sent to rehabilitation centers, but police officers rarely choose the option of sending drug users to rehab and reportedly often use the threat of arrest to extort money from them.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said last week, through an internal telegram, that drug users would be immediately sent to rehabilitation centers after being assessed by a team of doctors and legal experts, instead of locking them up in detention facilities.

However, BNN chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso has maintained his firm stance that drug users, whether casual users or addicts, must be subject to a legal process to have a deterrent effect on potential drug users.

"We're talking about drug users and prosecuting them could have a deterrent effect so that they won't make the mistake again. Either way you look at it, drug users make a conscious decision to use drugs and are not forced into taking them. If the users don't report themselves then it means that they took the drugs on purpose and must be held legally responsible for that," he said.

Budi also dismissed the police chief's instructions, which were signed by his predecessor and current detective division chief Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar, and explained that rehabilitation was an option that investigators could consider but was not compulsory.

"The law is clearly more important that the internal telegram. I still believe that investigators should take a look at the law," he said.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek declined to disclose any details of her ministry's role in the issue. However, she noted that getting to the root of the drug problem was necessary.

"What do these people use drugs for? The root of the problem is [the lack of] protection. Parents are extremely important and should communicate with their children often [to avoid drug use]," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/only-first-time-drug-users-get-rehab-luhut.html

Mining & energy

Government to put more oil, gas blocks up for bidding next year

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2015

Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – The government will put more oil and gas blocks up for bidding next year despite little interest from business players in previous offerings amid low prices for the commodity worldwide.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's director for upstream oil and gas, Djoko Siswanto, said at least 10 conventional and unconventional blocks would be on offer next year.

"Our target is to offer 10 blocks. At least eight of them are conventional and the remaining two are unconventional blocks," Djoko said. Nonconventional blocks include coal bed methane and shale gas.

The bidding next year will be part of government's measures to increase oil and gas production. This year, as many as 11 new oil and gas blocks have been offered. However, Djoko admitted that only four investors had submitted proposals for the tenders on offer.

The bearish outlook on the oil price had badly affected investors' plans to make investments in oil and gas blocks in Indonesia, he added.

"Currently, we are competing with other countries that are offering the same opportunities but with more attractive features, in fiscal terms and in split of production for example," Djoko said.

The world oil price has dropped around 40 percent this year. The benchmark Brent crude price was at around US$46 per barrel on the London-based ICE, according to figures from Bloomberg on Wednesday. On the same day another benchmark, the West Texas Intermediate, was traded at around $42 per barrel.

The new rounds of open bidding are expected to attract investment in Indonesia, which has been deteriorating investment in the oil and gas sector in recent years.

In 2012, 25 new oil and gas contracts were signed. The number dropped to only 14 contracts in 2013 and further plunged to only seven in 2014.

This year, 11 new oil and gas contracts were signed, raising hopes of further investment coming in. However, complicated bureaucracy has reportedly continued to contribute to low enthusiasm in the sector.

"Bureaucracy streamlining has yet to bear fruits. What is happening now is only a transfer of the permit process responsibility, while the high number of licenses that must be obtained is still the same," said Kardaya Warnika, the head of the House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy.

He was referring to the government's recent establishment of an integrated business licensing service at the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) office. A number of business permits related to oil and gas mining activities are now processed at BKPM instead of being shared between different ministries.

The legal certainty of oil and gas contracts in the country is also an issue that must be settled, according to the deputy chief of the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKKMigas) Zikrullah.

"We still need to improve teamwork among institutions. Major companies are considering investment here. However, if the situation doesn't improve, they will only wait and see," Zikrullah said.

Djoko said that the oil and gas office was working to make the business more attractive, partly by issuing a new regulation on non-conventional oil and gas blocks.

Under the regulation, investors can choose one of three contract options: a production sharing contract (PSC), which is widely implemented now, a net PSC sliding scale and gross split sliding scale scheme. The differences of the three schemes lie in production share and the cost recovery amounts.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/26/govt-put-more-oil-gas-blocks-bidding-next-year.html

Economy & investment

Ministry expects 90% budget disbursement

Jakarta Post - November 27, 2015

Jakarta – The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry expects its early bidding policy will expedite budget disbursement to at least 90 percent by the end of next year.

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the ministry would see budget disbursement start as early as January, compared to last year when budget spending really only kicked off in June.

"We estimate the budget disbursement would hit around 6 percent to 10 percent [as of January]," Basuki said on Thursday. He hoped that by the end of 2016, only 10 percent of the budget would remain unspent.

The ministry was earmarked Rp 104 trillion (US$7.5 billion) in the 2016 state budget, the highest of all ministries so far, albeit lower than its budget allocation of Rp 118.5 trillion this year. Out of its total budget, Rp 101.6 trillion was reserved for capital expenditure.

Basuki said that the money spent in January would be on ongoing projects signed this year, as well as on the down payment for contracts that came out of the early bidding.

The ministry has so far conducted early bidding for 1,975 project packages worth Rp 17.92 trillion, out of a total of 6,317 packages. The early bidding has been going on since September, with most packages having originated from the ministry's directorate general of water resources and Bina Marga.

Basuki said that the policy would also be in stark contrast to this year's spending, which was practically nonexistent in January, as the ministry was still dealing with the new administration's nomenclature changes. "In effect, budget spending should also be more evenly spread over every month," he said.

Basuki also said that the ministry would aim for more than 90 percent of the budget to be spent by the end of next year, even though they had not specified the figure yet. The ministry has set a target of 93 percent of the budget to be spent this year.

According to ministry data, 63.13 percent of the total 2015 budget has been spent to date and 71.78 percent of the contracted construction work has been completed. "We need to fix this in 2016," he said.

This year, the House of Representatives only approved the revised 2015 state budget in April, which resulted in the low level of spending.

The spending, in accordance to the observed trend in the past few years in many ministries, then moved slowly and would have to rely on heightened spending in November and December to reach the target. For next year, the ministry has prioritized several projects on its list, including the development of eight new dams, 769 kilometers of new roads and 29 kilometers of toll roads.

The new barrages would include the Ciawi dam and Sukamahi dam in West Java, the Ladongi dam in North Sulawesi and the Rukoh dam in Aceh. The total worth of the eight dams is estimated to be Rp 8.4 trillion. The ministry will also build 11,642 housing units next year, as part of its "1 million homes" program.

So far, the ministry has built about 498,000 residences as of October, Basuki said, maintaining his optimism over building 600,000 housing units for low-income people this year. (fsu)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/27/ministry-expects-90-budget-disbursement.html

Next stimulus needs to boost consumption

Jakarta Post - November 26, 2015

Grace D. Amianti, Jakarta – The government needs to evaluate the outcome of a series of economic stimulus packages it has implemented since September before coming out with new policies, according to economists.

They added that the government needed to also boost the demand side if it were to issue another package.

Paramadina University rector Firmanzah said the six economic stimulus packages issued by the government had helped improve the psychological well-being of business owners and market players amid the weak economy.

"The economic policy packages serve as the government's signal that it stands together with the market to improve the economy, with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry [Kadin] and the Indonesian Employers Association [Apindo] also being involved in the stimulus arrangements," Firmanzah said on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Firmanzah, who is also a professor of economics in the University of Indonesia, said the government should evaluate the previous packages to determine which ones were successful and to repair any failures.

He said an assessment of the outcome of those policy packages would ensure an upcoming policy would be of better quality. The government, he added, needs to repair the bureaucratic problems at or between ministries that have hampered implementation of those incentives.

Once the evaluation is finished, Firmanzah said the government should start to prepare a stimulus that will boost people's purchasing power and consumption, considering that previous packages focused on the supply or production side.

A boost on the demand side would be essential to help the government reach its economic growth target of 5.3 percent next year as consumption contributed more than 50 percent to the country's total gross domestic product (GDP), he said.

"I think a raise of non-taxable income [PTKP] and a longer delay on electricity fee hikes for household are necessary, because consumption is our engine of growth and we should avoid making policies that negatively affect purchasing power," he said.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has decided to delay an electricity fee increase that was planned for January next year, with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said saying that the price hike would not be applied at least until June next year as a pre-review was needed.

Rangga Cipta, an economist at Samuel Sekuritas, expressed the similar view that a delay on raising electricity rates would be essential in helping to maintain people's purchasing power, while he also suggested that the next policy package should start focusing on the demand side.

"Most of the packages issued previously were more focused on improving the supply side, which was good, but that might only take effect in the long term," Rangga said.

According to Rangga, the effort to improve the supply side is more like "cleaning a gutter full of trash, while there is no significant flow of water," as investment and exports grew sluggish amid weak consumption.

"The government should give a push from the demand side, such as by providing subsidies or a cut of income tax, if it wants to avoid rising unemployment," he said.

Year-on-year (yoy) GDP growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy stood at 4.73 percent in the July to September period, a slight increase from the 4.67 percent yoy growth posted in the previous quarter. It is, however, still lower than the 4.92 percent yoy growth booked in the same period of 2014.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/26/next-stimulus-needs-boost-consumption.html

Liquor ban weakens 7-eleven sales

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

PT Modern Internasional Tbk has reported decreased profits in some of its 7-Eleven outlets across Jakarta, after the alcohol ban regulation was implemented, forcing them to find a new way to cover the losses.

Modern Internasional's Finance Director Chandra Wijaya said that alcohol sales used to represent 8 to 10 percent of the retailer's total sales.

"Based on our evaluation, there are 20 to 30 stores that underperformed after the alcohol ban. Those stores experienced a drop in their sales after the policy was implemented," said Chandra during a press conference as quoted by Kontan.co.id in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The alcohol ban has had a multiplier effect on snacks sales, he added, as customers often bought alcohol and snacks together.

Responding to this drop in profits, the company decided to increase its promotion of instant foods. Through its subsidiary, PT Fresh Food Indonesia, the company has signed a joint-partnership with Japan-based Warabeya Nichiyo to provide 'grab and go' foods. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/liquor-ban-weakens-7-eleven-sales.html

Analysis & opinion

The week in review: Freeportgate showdown

Jakarta Post - November 29, 2015

Political tension over the 2021 Freeport Indonesia contract extension brokerage scandal involving House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto continues to build up with rival political parties readying for a showdown this week.

Key political parties, Setya's Golkar Party and the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have consolidated, replacing their representatives on the House's ethics council with tougher negotiators for the upcoming sessions that will decide on Setya's fate.

The ethics council's initial sessions have been marred by disagreement on technical trivialities. Council members from the Red-and-White Coalition of opposition parties backing Setya have been trying to foil hearings, questioning whether Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said had the legal standing to file the report on the scandal in the first place.

They questioned the veracity and legality of the transcript of the recording of the conversation involving Setya, Freeport president director Maroef Sjamsoedin and oil tycoon Muhammad Reza Chalid that Sudirman submitted as evidence with the backing of Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"Freeportgate" exploded after Sudirman filed his report with the ethics council, alleging that Setya had asked Freeport for a 20 percent shareholding on behalf of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Kalla as a condition for a contract extension in 2021. Setya also offered support to Freeport to finance the Rp 56 billion (US$4 million) hydropower project in Urumuka, Papua, and in return he sought a 49 percent shareholding, the transcript allegedly shows.

Setya has denied the substance of the recording, which has been made public by the media. His arguments, which have been built on technicalities such as "incomplete recording", the identity of the person who recorded the conversation and Sudirman's legal standing, have only added fuel to the fire.

Anticorruption activists have launched at least three online petitions and collected 120,000 signatures to add pressure on the council to sanction Setya. There has been a mounting call for his dismissal and criminal prosecution for his claim to be acting on behalf of Jokowi and Kalla.

Public resentment with Setya and the House is rising now because only last month, the ethics council issued a mere verbal warning for Setya who claimed to have represented the people of Indonesia when attending Donald Trump's presidential campaign as a gesture of support. Setya, a former Golkar treasurer who has been implicated in several cases of corruption, has secured strong support from the Red and White Coalition, which has vowed to do everything to keep him at the helm. In the other corner, spearheaded by the PDI-P, the Great Indonesia Coalition has promised to seek sanctions of "moderate severity", which translates as Setya's dismissal from the House.

Caving in to strong public pressure, the council will conduct Freeportgate hearings in public, but only on condition that the interviewees have no objection to it. The ethics council will have to prove its credibility.

KPK leadership selection

The House is taking the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) hostage – again. It is ignoring the people's wish to immediately select five of the 10 names the President submitted in September as the new KPK leaders. Our lawmakers keep dragging their feet for no apparent reason when they should have raced against time as the incumbent KPK leaders' terms will expire on Dec. 16 – just a little over two weeks from now.

Lawmakers in charge of conducting the selection procedure for the candidates have four times summoned the nine all-women KPK leadership selection team for hearings but they are yet to decide if or when they will interview the candidates. Instead, the legislators keep finding faults with the President's commissioned team.

In short, they have questioned the 10 candidates' competence and integrity and considered rejecting the nominees. They have hindered the process by questioning the technicalities that the team had carried out in selecting the candidates, demanding that the team submit the personal records of each of the nominees and questioning why no representatives from the Attorney General Office qualified.

The lawmakers' are overly demanding. The laws prescribe that the House members' job in this regard is simply selecting five of the 10 candidates that the President has submitted while the recruitment technicalities are the team's domain.

The impasse has raised fears that the KPK leaders' selection will miss the Dec. 16 deadline. If that happens, the antigraft body will be practically crippled, leaving the 195 cases it is currently handling in limbo. That's why many have called on President Jokowi to draft a regulation in lieu of law for a worst- case scenario just to keep the KPK functional until the definitive leaders are in place.

The lawmakers' reluctance has only aggravated public distrust in the legislative body's political commitment to corruption eradication efforts, let alone the fact that scores of lawmakers have been convicted of graft.

The lawmakers have been trying hard to steal every chance to alter the 2002 Corruption Law with the aim of weakening and eventually destroying it. The current deadlock could be part of the House's effort to force the amendments, which have met with strong public resistance. If they get their way, the legislators will select the leaders only after the law is revised. – JP/Pandaya

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/29/the-week-review-freeportgate-showdown.html

Indonesia without HMI?

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 25, 2015

To imagine Indonesia without the Association of Islamic Students (HMI) is next to impossible, given the numerous national figures the country's largest student group has helped groom, many of them still holding strategic public posts.

The series of reprehensible incidents that have occurred in the course of the ongoing HMI congress in Pekanbaru is therefore difficult to understand, let alone believe. For the HMI, one of the nation's best-organized groups, holding a national congress that gathers together hundreds, indeed thousands, of participants should have been a routine job.

Several HMI members committed acts of vandalism and blocked a road in protest at what they regarded as poor treatment by the host on Saturday night; they became embroiled in a fight with supporters of a local soccer club early on Monday and then left Rp 14 million (US$1,000) in unpaid restaurant bills later on Monday.

Worse, the police arrested eight HMI members for possession of offensive weapons including homemade firearms during a search conducted following the brawl, which left two people injured.

The congress itself has sparked a controversy as its organizing committee received Rp 3 billion in financial assistance from the Riau regional budget, higher than the amount spent on fighting the forest fires that plagued the province recently.

Such shameful incidents make a mockery of Vice President Jusuf Kalla's praise for HMI, which he described when opening the congress as "a future asset of the nation". In the eyes of Kalla, a former member, the group has brought forth people who have left a mark on national politics.

Kalla is the second HMI alumnus to have risen to the office of vice president after Hamzah Haz. Other prominent HMI figures include former House of Representatives speaker Akbar Tandjung and former People's Consultative Assembly leader Amien Rais.

Many may follow Kalla's lead by leaping to the defense of the HMI. For them the bad news about HMI members is only good news for the media and does not represent the entire organization.

While it is nonsense to predict the demise of the HMI simply because of these sporadic incidents, it is equally dangerous for the HMI to turn a deaf ear to criticism. Its reputation as a training ground for future national leaders has met real challenges from other Islamic and secular student organizations since the fall of the New Order.

One of several reasons why post-reform students have opted for alternative groups to develop their organizational skills is perhaps the lack of militancy that once enlivened the HMI's chosen struggles. This is natural because there are so many "big brothers" or successful alumni ready to lend a hand to HMI activists.

It is not difficult for the HMI to stay relevant today, however. Outstanding former HMI members like the late Nurcholish Madjid and other progressive thinkers have left a precious legacy of preserving democracy in Indonesia. Amid the rise of political Islam, a pluralist Indonesia without the HMI is beyond imagination.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/25/editorial-indonesia-without-hmi.html

Defending rallies, even in clogged traffic

Jakarta Post - November 24, 2015

John Mohammad, Jakarta – The 1999 law on freedom of opinion must be revised. The new Jakarta governor's regulation based on this law still limits the noise level and locations of protests, and still involves the army.

As an impact, we may never see again the Kamisan, the silent peaceful protest held every Thursday in front of the Presidential Palace, which demands the resolution of human rights abuses.

Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's regulation restricts demonstration locations to among others, the southern grounds of the National Monument (Monas) square, the compound of the legislature and the Senayan east parking lot.

Protest demonstrations are a political practice founded on the freedom of movement, thought, speech, religion, assembly and association as enshrined in the 1945 Constitution. These civil liberties are also included in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia recognizes.

Rallies, assemblies, sit-ins, picket lines, strikes and boycotts are all derivatives of demonstrations. When facilitated, petitions are usually regulated as the practice is considered more valid and accountable. Petitions are also used to gather more support for the demands of a demonstration.

In Indonesia, protests have been recognized since the sultanate period. In Java, we had the tapa pepe tradition, in which subjects gathered and sat under the sun for a specific period of time in front of the palace or the city square (alun-alun).

The Bugis people of South Sulawesi also have the amaradekangeng, a code of civil rights. These principles include the right to submit a petition (mannganroriade'), the right to deliver an objection (mapputane'), the right to occupy and strike (mallimpo-ade), the right to fight (mabbarata) and the right to political asylum (mallekke' dapureng).

One of our founding fathers, Mohammad Hatta, writing in Daulat Rakjat newspaper in 1931, summarized such customs as a recognition of the people's right to express dissent publicly.

Along with the other founding fathers, he enshrined this right in the original Constitution, which includes the right to hold demonstrations, strikes and submit petitions.

Unfortunately, the 1998 law on freedom of opinion in public did not recognize picketing and sit-ins. It was passed shortly before the massive demonstrations and sit-ins following growing demand that the November 1998 special session of the People's Consultative Assembly remove then president Soeharto.

The shooting of students known as the Semanggi Tragedy of Nov. 11-13, 1998, might not have happened if Law No. 9/1998 recognized picketing and sit-ins. In a democratic scenario, the special session would have been postponed to allow dialogue between the political elite and the students.

Such a scenario happened when students protested the ceremony installing the Cabinet in February 1966, which resulted in negotiations with then president Sukarno.

This tragedy should be a lesson that demonstrations must be facilitated as a vehicle of public aspirations. That demonstrations are needed to build a participatory democracy that empowers citizens. We need to multiply, not limit, the channels through which people's aspirations can reach those in power.

Demonstrations are the requirements for preserving "the physical and emotional experience of the mass collectively", to cite the historian Eric Hobsbawm.

When we are stuck in traffic because of demonstrations, we are forced to be aware of others who are yet to enjoy justice.

Such collective experience helps nurture the culture of queuing in line without separators, brushing each other's shoulders in a crowd without fear of being stabbed and keeping order in the streets even without traffic police.

And this experience will never be replaced by social media. Protests through social media will not be able to bring the heat, streams of sweat, sore legs and the sadness, happiness or anger felt in street rallies.

Thus, demonstrations are not disturbances, as described by Sherry Arnstein. Demonstrations are a test of our togetherness, the guidelines for us to share spaces and evidence of participation based on citizen power.

[The writer was a student activist in 1998 who works at the ICT Laboratory for Social Change (iLab.)]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/defending-rallies-even-clogged-traffic.html

Step down, Mr. Speaker

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 24, 2015

In desperate moments we discover our true friends in those who stand up for us, and House Speaker Setya Novanto may feel assured he does have a few of them around. The trouble is that fellow lawmakers at the House of Representatives continue to hem and haw to the disgust and ridicule of many, thus risking any remaining shreds of their own credibility.

Setya of the Golkar Party is in dangerous water, suspected of being one of the voices in a taped conversation involving PT Freeport Indonesia, a local unit of US-based Freeport McMoran, the transcript of which has been circulated far and wide following a report of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said to the House ethics council.

Setya is suspected to have joined with oil and fuel businessman M. Reza Chalid in a meeting with Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsoeddin at a Jakarta hotel.

Oh, he was only joking, says one lawmaker, about the conversation in which President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is said to most likely agree on a deal for the construction of a smelter by Freeport; and in which he encourages a share allocation for Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan.

Oh, Setya has only been leading for a year, give him time, says another House member. The problem is that honorable House members cannot afford to joke around while treading on highly risky ground. Freeport is still trying to get its contract extended to exploit one of the world's largest gold deposits located in Papua.

People laughed out loud when the President seized the opportunity to jest about the meme "papa minta saham" (Daddy asks for shares) in light of the emerging parodies of the taped conversation.

But the jokes about Setya insult the entire electorate, 14.75 percent of which voted for his Golkar party, which came second in last year's legislative elections with nearly 18.5 million votes.

The speaker must step down as the ethics council probes his case. Setya was already reprimanded regarding his jaunt earlier this year to the US, where he accompanied Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump at a press conference with other Indonesian lawmakers. A warning from the ethics council has seemed to have had no effect on the speaker of our representative body.

We uphold the principle of the presumption of innocence, but would not be surprised if Setya claims to follow in the footsteps of his forebears – that he is not seeking personal enrichment from any deal, but is upholding the needs of his political party, though he claims that the "welfare of Papua's people" is one of his priorities.

In Indonesia's political cobweb the Freeport episode is providing another complex picture of political and business interests left and right. We are yet to see who else will be dragged down as a result of the high level lobbying ahead of the decision to extend, or not extend, the mining company's contract. But as the face of our representatives, Mr. Setya, it's time for you to step down.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/24/editorial-step-down-mr-speaker.html


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