Lazuardhi Utama, Bobby Andalan (Bali) – A group of people calling themselves the "Californians Against Reclamation in Benoa Bay-Bali" held a demonstration in San Francisco to welcome the arrival of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

They were protesting against a 700 hectare reclamation project at Benoa Bay in Bali by the company PT Tirta Wahana Bali International (TWBI). The protesters were Indonesian nationals residing in California as well as US citizens.

According to one of the protesters, Gde Putra, the action is part of international solidarity with the problems that are taking place in Bali. "This planned megaproject isn't just creating unrest among people in Bali but also Indonesian people in the United States", said Gde in a written statement received by Viva News on February 17.

Gde said that the project will obviously damage the environment and alter the ecosystem in the vicinity of the bay. The reclamation will result in abrasion and tidal flooding in coastal areas of South Bali. "Harming Bali means injuring the international community. Because Bali is an island loved by the international community", he added.

The protest action was held as President Widodo was attending a meeting with an Indonesian Diaspora group at the Palace of Fine Art Theater in San Francisco on Tuesday February 16. Widodo's is visiting the US to take part in the US-ASEAN Ministerial Level Conference in Palm Springs, California. (mus)

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Datang ke San Fransisco, Jokowi Disambut Unjuk Rasa".]

Source: http://m.news.viva.co.id/news/read/737103-datang-ke-san-fransisco–jokowi-disambut-unjuk-rasa

West Papua

President Joko Widodo refused to meet Sogavare

Solomon Star - February 22, 2016

Lesley Sanga – Indonesia president Joko Widodo has turned down Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's request for a meeting to discuss the West Papua issue.

Sogavare revealed this in Noumea, New Caledonia, Friday, during a meeting with officials of the Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialist (FLNKS). The prime minister is on a 13-day tour of Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) capitals as chair of MSG. FLNKS is a member of MSG.

"My current trip to MSG capitals should have concluded in Jakarta," Sogavare told his FLNKS counterparts.

This was to discuss the possibility of arranging a meeting between Indonesia and members of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP), who want independence for West Papua.

But Sogavare said: "The Indonesian president has indicated he was not interested in discussing the issue of West Papua.

"The decision by the Indonesian president raises a lot of questions as to why it ever wanted to be an associated member of the MSG when he does not want to cooperate in addressing issues of concern to the MSG.

"Nevertheless, the Solomon Islands government under my leadership and the MSG under my chairmanship will continue pursuing the issue of West Papua." During the Noumea meet, FLNKS spokesman Victor Tutugoro told Sogavare the issue of West Papua is an agenda that must be pursued with vigor by the MSG.

"We are seeking your government to host a dialogue for the Indonesian Government and ULMWP so they can sit face-to-face and discuss the issue of West Papua," Tutugoro told Sogavare. "It is important that the ULMWP is provided with a platform to raise its issues directly to the Indonesian government," he added.

Sogavare thanked Tutugoro for raising the issue with him, assuring him that it was his intention to bring Indonesia and ULMWP for dialogue. "The issue of West Papua is dear to the heart of the Solomon Islands government and people," Sogavare said.

He thanked FLNKS for their support for the admission of the ULMWP into the MSG on Observer status at the MSG Leaders' Summit in Honiara last year.

Sogavare said the significance of this issue to the Solomon Islands government is manifested in its appointment of a special envoy on West Papua last year.

However, he said the special envoy has crossed the floor to join the Independent Group in Parliament and the government is now in the process of appointing a replacement to advance the issue of West Papua and its pursuit for self-determination.

Source: http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/9640-president-joko-widodo-refused-to-meet-sogavare

Indonesia not willing to discuss Papua with MSG leader

Radio New Zealand International - February 21, 2016

In the wake of more intransigence from Indonesia, the Melanesian Spearhead Group has called for Jakarta to hold talks with the United Liberation Movement of West Papua.

At a meeting in New Caledonia the FLNKS spokesman, Victor Tutugoro, said the issue of West Papua must be pursued with vigour by the MSG.

The chair of the MSG, Solomons' prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, said the issue of West Papua is dear to the hearts of Solomon Islanders. He says the significance of this is manifested in the Solomons' appointment of a special envoy on West Papua last year.

Mr Sogavare, who is currently visiting all the MSG member nations, says the trip was to have concluded in Jakarta, but he says the Indonesian President has indicated he is not interested in discussing West Papua.

He says this raises questions as to why Indonesia sought associate member of the MSG when he does not want to cooperate in addressing the issues in front of that body.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/297079/indonesia-not-willing-to-discuss-papua-with-msg-leader

NZ film hopes to start West Papua conversation

Radio New Zealand International - February 20, 2016

A New Zealand journalist and film producer hopes her new short film about the plight of West Papuans will serve as the impetus for discussion about the situation in Indonesia's Papua region.

'Run it Straight' depicts the decision by a rugby league club in Wellington to demonstrate their members' support for West Papuans, who they consider fellow Pacific Islanders.

The film was written and directed by Tere Harrison who felt uneasy about staying silent on what is happening to West Papuans under Indonesian rule.

"'Run it Straight', the aim is to start the conversation, particularly in Maori communities, about West Papua, because I've seen that our people aren't so prevalent in the conversation. And there's a reason for that of course. The Indonesian government's power of silence over these issues throughout the world, let alone through Maori, is enormous."

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/297016/nz-film-hopes-to-start-west-papua-conversation

Luhut tells ULMWP to leave the country

Jakarta Post - February 20, 2016

Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has told the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), which campaigns for Papuan independence, to leave the country, as it could pose a threat to the country's territorial integrity.

"They'd be better to join the MSG. Don't stay in Indonesia anymore," Luhut said, referring to the Melanesian Spearhead Group, a sub-regional grouping in the Pacific, comprising Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.

The ULMWP was formed last year when Vanuatu hosted a unification summit for West Papuan representative groups. Representing the various Papuan resistance groups, the ULMWP officially applied for full membership of the MSG in February 2015.

Many have speculated that the Indonesian government is trying to undermine the influence of the MSG on the Papua issue by applying to become the group's newest member.

Foreign Ministry officials have made a round of diplomatic trips in the region in recent months as MSG member governments have struggled to balance their growing ties with Jakarta while providing support to regional grassroots movements dedicated to securing rights for the indigenous people of West Papua, where a separatist conflict has been simmering for decades.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/20/national-scene-luhut-tells-ulmwp-leave-country.html

Government urged to send teachers to Wamena, not build Brimob headquarters

Tabloid JUBI - February 19, 2016

Jayapura, Jubi – Activists and students from Jayawijaya urged the local government to pay attention to people's need for health and education by bringing in teachers and doctors, instead of building police headquarters for the Mobile Brigade unit.

"The construction of Mobile Brigade (Mako Brimob) headquarters in Wamena is not an urgent need for the people," said Julian Mawel, Community Development Coordinator for Jayawijaya Care Forum told Jubi in Abepura, Jayapura, Papua, on Thursday (18/2/2016).

He dismissed a statement by the Jayawijaya regent on Monday (15/02/2016) that the building had been agreed by all levels of society in Jayawijaya. "Like or not, we must place members of Brimob here by May in order to ensure public safety," said Wetipo to the media in Wamena.

Male added, the urgent need in Jayawijaya is not about security but about the improvement of health service, education and economic adequate as well as road infrastructure.

"It is better to send teachers and doctors to Wamena than members of security forces since will provide enormous benefits, "he said. "Doctors can guarantee public health but Brimob makes people afraid. Community still remembers physical violence and shooting from a previous apparatus," he said.

Separately, Soleman Itlay, a student from Jayawijaya said regent's policy is very one-sided and insistent as all districts have refused it in demonstration some time ago.

"It is strange when he (Wempi Wetipo) said public agreed members of Brimob are placed here. How did he know? This is very one-sided decision for reasons of violence due to alcohol and which can be handled without adding troops," he said in Abepura, Jayapura on Monday afternoon (15/2/2016).

If the reason criminals, Itlay said, the government must take concrete measures in order to reduce crime rates, circulation of alcohol and unemployment. "Adding Brimob does not solve the problem but only adding the problem on the existing problems," he said. (Mawel Benny/Tina)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/government-urged-to-send-teachers-to-wamena-not-build-brimob-headquarters/

Papuan protesters want local control of Freeport mine

UCA News - February 19, 2016

Benny Mawel, Jayapura, Indonesia – Protesting tribal youths in Papua urged the Indonesian government to seize operations of the U.S.-based PT Freeport McMoRan copper mining company and install a Papuan as the company's head.

"Other people from Indonesia and the U.S. gain benefits, but the Papuan people only receive the leftovers," Decky Ofide of the National Papuan Youths, who organized the Feb. 18 protest, said in a speech outside the governor's office in Jayapura, the provincial capital.

About 300 people participated in the protest. He said the central government should take concrete steps to give more opportunities to local people in managing the company, which has operated in the province since 1967.

Freeport's former president Maroef Syamsuddin resigned last month following an extortionscandal involving House Speaker Setya Novanto, who allegedly asked for shares in the company, an action leading to a probe by the parliament's ethical commission.

"The vacant post of president director must be given to a Papuan. The Papuan people must manage the company," Ofide said.

Father John Djonga, a human rights activist in the region, noted that the Papuan people have seen little benefit from the billions of dollars reaped from the mine.

"If the company says that the Papuan people aren't capable of managing the company, so what has the company been doing for more than 50 years? Well, we can say that the company steals from the Papuan people," he told ucanews.com.

"Papuans would not stage protests if the company benefitted them... so now the company must respond to the Papuan people's aspirations," he said.

Freeport-McMoRan obtained its first contract to operate in the region in April 1967, two years before Papua was annexed by Indonesia following a controversial 1969 referendum. The second contract was given in December 1991. In 2014, the company obtained its third contract, which will expire in 2021.

Freeport-McMoRan's mining operations have drawn frequent criticism for various environmental, human rights and workplace safety abuses. Benefits the company promised to local indigenous communities have never fully materialized, leading to frequent protests and clashes between local residents and security forces.

Source: http://www.ucanews.com/news/papuan-protesters-want-local-control-of-freeport-mine/75262

Tolikara defendants get two months in jail

Jakarta Post - February 19, 2016

Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court sentenced on Thursday Jundi Wanimbo and Ariyanto Kogoya each to two months and 26 days in jail for inciting a riot that led to damage being caused to dozens of kiosks around a mosque.

"Hopefully the defendants will accept the verdict and return to Karubaga, Tolikara, and resume working," presiding judge Adrianus Infaindan said.

The verdict means the defendants are now free as they have been detained for the period of their sentence already. The verdict was lighter than the sentence demanded by prosecutors who demanded four months in jail. The defendants' lawyer Gustave Kawer said his clients were still considering whether to appeal the verdict or not.

Jundi, a civil servant at Tolikara regency office, and Ariyanto, an employee at Bank Papua in Karubaga, were charged after the riot on July 17, 2015. The riot occurred after a group of people protested Muslims performing Idul Fitri prayers using a loud speaker.

Seventy kiosks were damaged and burned down and the fire spread to a musholla (small mosque). One of the protesters was shot dead by security officers.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/19/island-focus-tolikara-defendants-get-two-months-jail.html

Signs of strong support for liberation movement in Papua

Radio New Zealand International - February 19, 2016

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua says the opening of its new office in Wamena reflects its strong support among the indigenous people of Indonesia's Papua region.

The Movement, which was last year granted observer status at the Melanesian Spearhead Group, this week opened an office in the Highlands of Papua province, a building shaped as a circular traditional Melanesian house.

Thousands of Papuans attended the opening which, according to Markus Haluk, a ULMWP official in Papua, serves as an answer to the Indonesian claim that the Movement is only made up of Papuans living outside the region. The Movement's secretary general Octo Mote said the ULMWP is everywhere in Papua, in all seven of the Papuan customary regions.

Under the Movement, all the major pro-independence Papuan political groups have united to advance their cause and campaign against alleged human rights abuses in their homeland by Indonesian state and security forces.

Following the opening, Mr Mote condemned the move by local Indonesian authorities to subsequently demand the removal of the ULMWP plate in front of the building.

The authorities summoned the Movement's local organisers, concerned about the display of symbols or slogans that could be not in accordance with the principles of the unitary state of Indonesia. Mr Haluk said they removed the sign but that the Movement's functions will carry on regardless.

Meanwhile, the MSG chairman and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has welcomed the opening of the office, saying the "ULMWP's presence in West Papua is strategically important."

Another office of the Movement had been the target of Indonesian harassment in July last year, when three ULMWP local representatives for the West Papuan region of Fakfak faced charges regarding their local secretariat.

Indonesian authorities at the time said the ULMWP was considered an illegal organisation due to activities considered rebellion under Indonesian law. The three Movement executives were charged with causing public unrest.

Octo Mote said that it was disappointing that the Indonesian system was still using laws directly inherited from the Dutch colonial era, to enable police and government officials to disrupt ceremonies and meetings, and violate the West Papuans' right to freedom of expression and their right to gather peacefully.

Secretary General Mote said he expected that other ULMWP offices would be opened in other towns of West Papua.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/296922/signs-of-strong-support-for-liberation-movement-in-papua

Papua police detain 2 people for setting up OPM office in Wamena

Jakarta Globe - February 18, 2016

Robert Isidorus & Alin Almanar, Jayapura/Jakarta – Police in Papua have detained two people deemed "mainly responsible" for allegedly establishing an office for the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) in Wamena, a police official said.

The Free Papua Organization (OPM) announced the "secret" establishment on Monday of the office, which it said was "aimed at seeking international support for Papuan independence," and "initiated by the Melanesian community."

Police have since taken down the signage on the Wamena office and arrested two people identified only as M.H. and E.W., Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said late on Wednesday (17/02).

"They are the brains behind this," the police chief said. It is alleged that the initials M.H. refer to Markus Haluk, leader of the ULMWP. "They are being questioned to establish who installed the signage outside the offices. If they are proved to have established an organization that tends to run contrary to the state's vision, they will be prosecuted," Paulus said.

He added that Monday's event was actually an official announcement of the establishment of the Papua Customary Council (DAP). "It was just an installation of signage [outside the office] by those who wanted to take advantage of the moment. They used the event for propaganda purposes," he said. "Thus there was no ULMWP office."

In his response to the police's action to remove the signage, Markus Haluk, once a chairman of the Central Highlands Papuan Student Association, said: "The name sign may be brought down, but ULMWP will never stop."

The Jakarta Globe has tried to contact Markus by phone but he was not immediately available for comment on Thursday. "I'm a bit busy, please contact me later," Markus said.

The Indonesian government earlier denied the OPM's claims of the opening an office in Wamena, saying there was "no such 'supported' establishment."

The OPM has mounted a low-level insurgency for decades in the far-eastern province of Papua, claiming that the central government has given the resource-rich region an unfairly low share of the state's wealth after becoming part of Indonesia in 1969. Ever since, the OPM has pleaded for international support from the Melanesian community in the South Pacific.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/papua-police-detain-2-people-setting-opm-office-wamena/

West Papuan Liberation movement opens office in Wamena

Radio New Zealand International - February 16, 2016

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua has opened an office in the town of Wamena in the Highlands of Indonesia's Papua province.

The Movement comprises leading West Papuan political organisations, representing the indigenous people of Indonesia's Papua region at the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

A spokesman for the OPM National Liberation Army for West Papua, Sebby Sambom, said the Wamena office was opened with the support of the current MSG chairman, Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare.

After being granted observer status at the MSG last year, the Movement continues to build its international network lobbying for Papuan self-determination. It also has offices in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

Mr Sambom said he hoped the presence of a ULMWP office in Wamena would strengthen international support for Papuan independence.

Meanwhile, Kompas reports the Regional Military Commander, Major General Hinsa Siburian, as saying he has not received a report about the inauguration of the ULMWP office, but that the unitary republic of Indonesia remains firm.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/296673/west-papuan-liberation-movement-opens-office-in-wamena

UNHCR notes PNG progress on West Papuan refugees

Radio New Zealand International - February 15, 2016

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says good progress is being made by Papua New Guinea on registering all West Papuan refugees in the country.

With UNHCR assistance, PNG's government last year embarked on a project to locate all of the West Papuans, as well as regularise the legal status of them. It was estimated there are around ten thousand West Papuans in PNG seeking refuge, many of whom had been in the country since a mass exodus from Indonesia in 1984.

Around 2000 of the Papuans residing in Western Province were granted permissive residency some time ago. The remaining 7000 – 8000 in other parts of the country have long lived in a kind of limbo as stateless people.

UNHCR associate legal officer Mike Clayton said previous attempts to register the West Papuan population were not comprehensive but that the current process offered a resolution.

"And that will give us a much better idea of exactly who is there, how long they've been there and hopefully provide a pathway for some of the people who have been refugees for decades to finally obtain proper, lasting legal status, the protections, the rights and obligations that go along with citizenship of a host country and finally cease to be refugees."

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/296593/unhcr-notes-png-progress-on-west-papuan-refugees

Aceh

Lawmakers reject amnesty plan for ex-GAM rebel

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2016

Jakarta – Members of the House of Representatives have criticized the government's plan to grant amnesty to former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) member Nurdin bin Ismail, popularly known as Din Minimi.

Many of the House lawmakers said that Din was ineligible for amnesty due to his role in a separatist movement.

"He should be categorized as a criminal as per the 2005 Presidential Regulation on amnesty," deputy chairman of the House's Commission I overseeing security and foreign affairs, TB Hasanuddin, said in a hearing between lawmakers and the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Panjaitan, National Police chief Badrodin Haiti, Attorney General M. Prasetyo, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso and the Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly.

Tubagus said as quoted by Antara that according to the regulation, as a former member of GAM, Din should in fact be charged with treason and illegal possession of fire arms.

Fellow lawmaker Nasir Djamil of Commission III overseeing legal affairs said that Din should be prosecuted for his crime.

He said that in March 2015, during a meeting between House Commissions I and III, the Commander of the Iskandar Muda Military Command Maj. Gen. Agus Kriswanto and Aceh Police chief Insp. Gen. Husein Hamidi, both sides had concluded that Din Minimi was a member of a criminal gang.

"At the time, we asked the police and the military to join hands in crushing the movement," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/17/national-scene-lawmakers-reject-amnesty-plan-ex-gam-rebel.html

Human rights & justice

Omah Munir's human rights module for schools

Jakarta Post - February 21, 2016

Nedi Putra AW, Batu, East Java – Munir Said Thalib's struggle to uncover rights violation cases, from the murder of labor activist Marsinah in 1994 to the disappearance of 24 students in Jakarta in the early reform period, is perpetuated at the Omah Munir museum in Batu, his hometown.

The museum, established on Dec. 8, 2013, aims to provide audiovisual information about the late Munir, a distinguished rights activist, and his battle to uphold human rights in Indonesia.

Omah Munir recently developed a new learning module to educate the younger generation on rights. Bearing a picture of Munir on the cover, the module has been designed to further enrich the subject of Pancasila State Ideology and Civics Education (PPKn) for junior high school students.

This module went through a trial in August 2015 at four schools: East Java's State Junior High School (SMPN) 1 in Batu, Madrasah Tsanawiyah (Islamic junior high school) Surya Buana in Malang as well as SMPN 2 and 3 in Bogor, West Java.

"It's both absorbing and interesting," said Kautsar L. Ramadan, 13, a student at Surya Buana, at the end of January. His schoolmate Yusuf Alimada, 14, said that had began to better understand human rights. "I was once a bullying victim and a harasser myself," he admitted.

Azfar Arfakh, who also discovered the module through Surya Buana, described the module learning method, combining each subject with an art, such as drama, as both fun and suitable. This format made it easier for Azfar to have discussions with his peers and teachers. "I became aware of human rights as related to the status of citizens," he said.

Miftakus Saadah, Surya Buana's civics teacher, regards the module as beneficial due to its active and creative content. "After the trial, some adjustment should be made with regard to time allocation and substance improvement," said Miftakus.

Although the module deals with relevant agencies and human rights in general, students have become more critical in nature and many questioned why Munir and other activists had been killed and also why corruption had remained widespread in the country.

Among the sensitive issues discussed by students is the topic of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBT). "This issue is a hot topic of debate among teenage students," noted Mitfakus, adding that they asked about LGBT rights.

Such matters are not contained in the module. "As our school is Islamic based, we provide our students with an understanding of the issue from a religious perspective," said Miftakus.

Fifin Endriana, Surya Buana's vice principal for curricular affairs, referred to LGBT's unclear links with the definition of human rights. "This makes some students confused about how and where LGBT circles are able to exercise their rights," she revealed.

Yet Fifin considered the module's discussion sessions to have been an appropriate medium for teachers to convey the substance under review because of the many critical questions that would normally be difficult to answer in the normal process of study.

The critical attitude of SMP students elicited a comment from Salma "Fifi" Safitri, a volunteer at Omah Munir. "The LGBT issue isn't just a matter of sexuality. In the concept of human rights, it's more about whether they should be mistreated while no crime or harm is done," she said.

Fifi continued that LGBT people should not be isolated, discriminated against and subjected to violence. "They reserve the rights to education and health like other citizens," said the former executive director of Omah Munir.

But Fifi acknowledged this issue as input for Omah Munir, a suggestion to arrange a workshop to enhance the module's substance. The law graduate of Malang's Brawijaya University said the module had been created due to the assumption that human rights tended to be concerned with the murder or disappearance of activists.

Fifi emphasized that human rights had a broader sense as rights abuses can occur in various aspects of human life and from an early age. For example, the large number of children deprived of schooling and the many extramarital pregnancies among youth are rights violations.

"The human rights concept isn't a dogma to be learned by heart because basically it nurtures mutual appreciation," said Fifi. The module was jointly compiled by several PPKn teachers, rights activists and children's book writers.

"Among the rights infringements students should be aware of are bullying within and outside of school and cribbing during examinations, which is seen as the seed of corruption," she added, stressing the important role of the module to prevent students from becoming human rights victims or abusers.

Originally printed in 200 volumes, the module was launched after having progressed through a curriculum analysis, workshop and piloting at the four aforementioned SMPs. Rather than referencing legal provisions on human rights violations, the module concentrates on the fundamentals of human rights and contains a series of games.

"There are four fundamentals: introduction to human rights; human rights, Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution; human rights in Indonesia; and human rights around us," explained Fifi.

By the end of 2015, 1,000 volumes had been printed and distributed to schools in nearly all regions across Indonesia. It applies a fun learning method, which is in line with the 2013 curriculum and is equipped with learning aids concerning human rights implementation in the world and tables of the kinds of human rights recognized by Indonesia.

The learning aids include the facial masks of Indonesian human rights activists such as, of course, Munir, Udin who was a Bernas daily journalist killed due to his reporting work and Marsinah, a worker murdered as a result of her fight for labor rights. Fiti hopes this module may soon be integrated into school lessons, adding that students would subsequently understand human rights earlier.

Today, the civil and political freedom of citizens is protected by law. "The problem is that law enforcement is yet to be properly carried out and thus rights violations keep occurring," she emphasized.

Suciwati, Munir's widow, said that she would strive for the continued use of the module, after improving its content. "There will certainly be further enhancement because many areas of human rights are yet to be understood by youth," the chairwoman of Omah Munir's executive board said.

Besides receiving a positive response from those teachers who trialled the module in schools last year, according to Suciwati, during visits to Omah Munir, many teachers from outside of Java have shown an interest.

"Therefore, Omah Munir will strive to keep popularizing this module in the hope that, with speedy improvement, it can be promptly applied to the curriculum at various schools," she said. The museum has also planned to coordinate with both Madrasah, Christian and Catholic schools for this purpose.

"At least their teachers can explain the link between the religious context of rights and rights as an inter-human concern," added Suciwati, envisaging the module's further development for use by all students from primary school to senior high school levels.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/21/omah-munir-s-human-rights-module-schools.html

Sexual & domestic violence

Tradition blamed for high rate of domestic violence in TTU

Jakarta Post - February 19, 2016

Djemi Amnifu, Kupang – Tradition has been blamed for the increase in the number of domestic violence cases against women and children in North Central Timor (TTU) regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), over the last two years.

Anton Efi, director of the Amnaut Bife "Kuan" Foundation (Yabiku), which has been struggling for women's rights since 1999, said that in 2014 the regency saw 58 reported cases of domestic violence. The figure increased to 79 last year. "As of February this year there are already 15 cases," Anton told reporters in the TTU capital Kefamenanu earlier this week.

He said in NTT, and especially in TTU, girls had always been considered weak and put second in family life, adding that they faced discriminated on many fronts, including access to education.

This, he said, continued when they left home to start their own families. Their husbands felt free to do whatever they wanted to them, including acting violently, especially when the marriage involved a large dowry.

According to Anton, the supervision program conducted by Yabiku in TTU had started to raise awareness in the community regarding violent customs, religious practices and community figures. Women were becoming aware of their rights and ability to report violent treatment to law enforcement agencies in the region.

Anton said that in providing supervision, Yabiku did not only offer legal aid to victims of violence but also provided counseling help them psychologically recover.

Although its presence was initially met with resistance from locals, Yabiku and its partner organization, Oxfam, was eventually accepted in the region as evidenced by funding from the subdistrict for offering the paralegal support to the victims of violence.

Susana Naisoko, chairperson of paralegal group Alfa said that patriarchal customs in TTU set men in a higher position than women. "It's considered taboo for a man in TTU to do domestic work, much less take care of children, accounting for why almost all domestic work is done by women," said Susana, adding that violence against women was often considered normal in the region.

Head of Kuanak village, Central Bikomi district, Andreas Elu, expressed appreciation for the work of Yabiku and Oxfam in helping the government fight against violence against women and children. Considering their importance, he said, his administration had allocated Rp 3 million this year for Yabiku programs in four hamlets in Kuanak.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/19/tradition-blamed-high-rate-domestic-violence-ttu.html

Labour & migrant workers

Batam workers oppose government restriction of rallies

Jakarta Post - February 20, 2016

Fadli, Batam – Batam workers' associations rejected on Friday the government's plan to limit workers' demonstrations, saying that it would violate freedom of expression laws.

"We reject it. How can we be listened to if the places [where demonstrations are allowed] are limited to three locations," Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers' Union Batam chapter chairman Suprapto said.

Suprapto said workers would ignore the planned Riau Islands gubernatorial regulation and continue acting in accordance with current laws. "Public actions will still be held at company sites if the situation calls for it," he added.

Batam has been frequently jolted by massive demonstrations. The latest in January this year was conducted by hundreds of workers of PT Amtek Engineering, an Apple mobile phone contractor, who were demanding that a plan to change the company's name be dropped.

The strike, which paralyzed the company, was halted after an eight-hour mediation session between company executives and workers' representatives.

During a visit to Batam in June, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to investigate alleged foreign involvement in labor rallies that had reportedly caused investors to leave the Batam Industrial Zone.

Allegations of foreign support for workers were also made by the government following a massive and chaotic rally in 2011 involving at least 10,000 workers on the island. At least six people were injured, including one person who was shot.

In response to investors' complaints and to help maintain the investment climate in Batam, the government plans to restrict workers' strikes inside the island's free-trade zone. The police similarly will also increase their efforts to prevent workers from holding demonstrations that disturb production activity in factories. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the government would regulate how workers could hold rallies.

The regulation, he said, would only allow rallies from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with locations limited to three venues, namely the governor's office, the Batam city legislative council building and the office of the Batam mayor.

"Demonstrations can no longer be held at factories. The country must be orderly," Luhut said during a visit to Batam on Thursday, during which he was accompanied by National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti and Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri.

Badroidin said the police had six levels of public demonstration response. At the highest level, he said, the police were justified in using guns to deal with rallies considered dangerous. Level one only required a police presence.

"Forcing fellow workers to join rallies is not allowed. Rallies also cannot be conducted in front of a factory entrance as that can disturb traffic. We will act if that happens," Badrodin said in his presentation about the National Police's commitment to dealing with workers' rallies.

Meanwhile, Hanif said that dialogue between employers and workers had to be maintained for the sake of good communication. That way, undesirable activities could be handled, he added. "There must always be room for dialogue," Hanif said.

Separately, Kepri Governor Muhammad Sani said the regulation on workers' rallies would make investors feel safe about their investments in the province. "The regulation will be issued soon," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/20/batam-workers-oppose-government-restriction-rallies.html

Prosecution of Legal Aid Institute lawyers continues

Jakarta Post - February 18, 2016

Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police are determined to pursue their case against two Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) lawyers who were arrested when providing legal assistance to labor organizations during a mass rally in October last year.

The dossiers of the two persons, as well as 24 others, were completed on Wednesday and were immediately handed over to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Mohammad Iqbal.

"The case is going on. We are handing over the suspects and the evidence to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office today," he told the reporters at the Jakarta Police headquarters.

The two lawyers were arrested and named suspects along with 23 labor union members and one student activist during the rally, which was held to demand a change in the minimum wage formula.

Iqbal said the 26 people were charged for the misdemeanor of disobeying officers, which can result in a maximum penalty of eight months behind bars. "The 26 people resisted the police's order for the rally to disperse after the allowed time for a rally at 6 p.m.," he said. "The police warned them three times but they ignored the warnings."

Some LBH lawyers and hundreds of labor activists conducted a rally inside the police headquarters on Wednesday, demanding the police cease the prosecution of the 26 people.

LBH Jakarta director Alghiffari Aqsa said the 26 had begun to voluntarily disperse when the police came to beat and arrest them. "The participants in the rally were trying to disperse themselves when police officers came and beat some of them and damaged their property [cars and sound systems]," he said.

He added that even if participants had remained at the rally location after 6 p.m., the police should not have violently dispersed them because the rally was peaceful. He pointed out that conducting a rally after 6 p.m. only violated a recent Jakarta city regulation, but not the 1998 law on freedom of speech.

LBH Jakarta, along with other organizations, previously reported the Jakarta Police to the ombudsman for maladministration, saying that the police had not followed proper procedures when arresting the 26 people and, later, when naming them suspects. One such procedure the police allegedly ignored was that police officers who arrested the rally participants did not wear uniforms.

Asked whether LBH Jakarta will file a pretrial motion, Alghiffari said his organization had not thought of making such a move because the offenses charged were misdemeanors, which the police should not have made a fuss about.

Alghiffari called the arrest of the 26 people a "criminalization" of activists who demanded civil rights in public. Meanwhile, Iqbal said the prosecution of the 26 people could not be ceased because the dossiers were complete.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/18/prosecution-legal-aid-institute-lawyers-continues.html

Freedom of speech & expression

ICW activists strike back against slander probe

Jakarta Post - February 18, 2016

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – Two antigraft activist from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) have defied a police summons as part of a defamation probe into them.

Senior legal expert from Bandung's Padjajaran University, Romli Atmasasmita filed a report against ICW activists Emerson Yuntho and Adnan Topan Husodo in May last year, accusing them of making defamatory media statements. Romli also filed a similar report against former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) advisor Said Zainal Abidin.

Legal counsel for the two activists, Legal Aid Institute (LBH) for the Press lawyer Asep Komarudin, said that his clients could not be questioned until police investigators had a written statement from Romli approving the continuation of the investigation, as stipulated in a 2012 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the National Police and Press Council.

"There's this recommendation issued by the Press Council that the police need to fulfill. [My clients] are willing to face questioning as long as point 5 of the MoU between the Press Council and the police force is fulfilled," Asep said.

Emerson and Adnan were present at the National Police headquarters on Wednesday but they declined to be questioned by investigators.

"They will be ready to be questioned once [Romli] has sent the written statement," he said, adding that the Press Council had issued their preliminary findings last year and determined that the allegedly incriminating remarks Emerson and Adnan made should be subject to the Press Law.

Last year, media outlets ran numerous stores speculating that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo would nominate Romli and two legal analysts, Margarito Kamis and Chairul Huda, as possible candidates for a team tasked with screening a new batch of KPK commissioners.

Although the President eventually established an all-female team, Romli went on to accuse Emerson, Adnan and Said of making derogatory remarks when asked to comment on possible candidates. He submitted stories published by Kompas, Tempo and The Jakarta Post as evidence to back up his claims.

The National Police have questioned journalists from the three media outlets to seek clarification on whether Emerson, Adnan and Said explicitly mentioned Romli's name in their remarks.

In the stories published in the three aforementioned publications Adnan, Emerson and Said never explicitly mentioned Romli, Margarito or Chairul's names.

Police handling Emerson's and Adnan's case blasted the suspects' intransigence. Head of subdirectorate III at the police's detective division, Sr. Comr. Umar S. Fana said that the MoU did not apply to Emerson and Adnan, as neither of them worked in the media.

"I have already read [the MoU] and its function is to protect those who work in the media, publishers of the news and reporters and it does not include its sources," he said, adding that investigators had yet to name suspects in the case.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/18/icw-activists-strike-back-against-slander-probe.html

Activists call for clear terms of defamation

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – As the House of Representatives begins deliberating on revisions to the electronic information law, activists have alerted the public to problematic articles that may violate freedom of speech.

The Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law is a controversial regulation that has led to the arrest of people for expressing themselves on social media.

Supriyadi W. Eddyono of the Institute of Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said on Saturday that Article 27 Point 3 of the law was the most prone to misuse, based on a study the group had conducted into 20 related criminal cases from 2009 to 2015.

"Point 3 of Article 3 of the ITE Law is the biggest threat to our right to free speech. From the 20 cases that have used [this article], we found only eight cases were examined in a proper legal frame," he said.

The article stipulates that those found guilty of distributing defamation or slander electronically can face a maximum prison sentence of six years or a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$74,211).

Supriyadi explained that the problem with this article stemmed from the law enforcement process, which was prone to abuses of power.

Although an alleged crime could only be investigated after a police report had been filed, Supriyadi said that the police had mistreated several cases by accepting reports against alleged perpetrators from people who were not themselves defamed or damaged by the comments that had become the subjects in the cases.

Furthermore, Supriyadi said investigators and prosecutors often only used printed screenshots of the electronic comments to prove the charges against the defendant, which could easily be edited and manipulated with several kinds of design software.

Supriyadi said that investigators should have forensic proof that the comments had come from the defendant's online account or electronic device. "What's worse is that when someone is charged with this article, they will end up in prison 70 percent of the time," he said.

Last Wednesday, House Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affairs and information held a meeting with several civil society groups to discuss what articles in the ITE Law should be revised. Legislators from Commission I cited Article 27 Point 3 as the clause they would pay close attention to.

Meanwhile, Rivai Kusumanegara, head of the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi), said that the article should be revised to include a distinction between criticism and defamation.

"Not all comments can be categorized as a crime. However, most prison terms have been passed down without looking at the context. There have been several cases where someone was merely disseminating information but it was perceived as an insult," he said. Rivai explained that the article was often used against people who criticized state policies.

"In my opinion, the article should be revised to refer to Article 311 [of the Criminal Code]. So, the ITE Law will only charge those who slander, which is when someone distributes misleading information on purpose," he said, adding that the law could also be revised so that electronic defamation and slander cases could be settled by a civil lawsuit.

Article 311 of the Criminal Code stipulates that anyone found guilty of slander can face a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/activists-call-clear-terms-defamation.html

Political parties & elections

Golkar hit by money politics allegation

Jakarta Post - February 20, 2016

Tama Salim, Jakarta – As reports of vote-buying and money politics tied to the Golkar Party begin to make the rounds ahead of the party's upcoming congress to elect a new chairman, party leaders have pledged to lay out tough ground rules to keep the contest clean and free from corruption.

Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie said on Friday that candidates would be disqualified if there was enough evidence to prove their complicity in dirty tricks.

"I want this congress to be clean. But honestly, sometimes it is hard to prove such allegations," Aburizal said during a meeting with the party's many organizations in Jakarta on Friday.

To curb any form of vote-buying, Aburizal said that the congress steering committee would devise a mechanism to better screen candidates. One such measure includes eliminating the requirement for candidates to submit letters of endorsement from the party's regional branches.

During the 2014 Bali National Congress, candidates running for Golkar's top post needed to get 30 percent of 529 votes from regional branch leaders nationwide in order to join the race. The only way a candidate could apply for the leadership contest was by collecting endorsement letters from provincial and regency branch leaders.

Aburizal won the vote by a landslide, leading his rivals to claim that the vote had been rigged. Shortly thereafter, current deputy chairman Agung Laksono held another congress that ended up choosing him as the party leader, a development that set into motion a year-long leadership dispute that is expected to be resolved in the upcoming congress.

Agung, who was also present in Friday's meeting, said he was surprised by reports of vote-buying. Agung claimed to have received reports about such practices from regional branch executives set to participate in the congress. "That's why I asked for the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] to monitor the congress from the very beginning," he said.

The KPK previously warned of possible vote-buying in the lead-up to the upcoming congress, though the anti-graft organization has no plan to monitor the Golkar congress, which is expected to take place in April. "No such talks have taken place because this is the realm of politics," KPK spokesperson Yuyuk Andriati told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Earlier this month, senior Golkar politician Nurdin Halid said that there was at least one candidate running for the party chairmanship who was involved in money politics.

Nurdin claimed that an unnamed party branch leader from North Sulawesi had claimed to have been approached by a candidate who promised the regional party executive S$10,000 (US$7,107) in exchange for an endorsement in the leadership race.

Nurdin said he was unable to name either party involved, but claimed that he had obtained a recording of the confession, a letter of endorsement and a chronology of the incident.

Meanwhile, Golkar deputy treasurer Bambang Soesatyo, who backed the candidacy of current House of Representatives Speaker Ade Komaruddin, claimed to have also heard rumors of vote-buying ahead of the congress, but maintained that Ade was not involved in the dirty tactics.

Meanwhile, Golkar politician Indra Bambang Utoyo blamed the ongoing conflict within the party on the practice of money politics. "Golkar has become really pragmatic. Everything is becoming transactional. There is no idealism anymore. Selecting gubernatorial candidates, regents and lawmakers, all involves [transactional politics]," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/20/golkar-hit-money-politics-allegation.html

Djan's PPP camp plans to sue government

Jakarta Post - February 19, 2016

Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP) is caught in a new tangle after the government handed party leadership to a former chairman convicted in a graft case to end leadership dualism.

The Law and Human Rights Ministry has issued a decree to recognize the party management established during a congress in Bandung in 2011 that saw Suryadharma Ali elected as chairman. The former religious affairs minister, however, is currently behind bars after being convicted of haj funds embezzlement.

The party's camp led by Djan Faridz said on Thursday it planned to sue the government over the decree, adding that the decision had worsened the PPP's crisis.

"Whenever there's an abuse of power, it should be highlighted with a lawsuit. We warned the government about this, so we will again take this case to court," said Djan's supporter Dimyati Natakusumah, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Directly appointed by Suryadharma as his successor, Djan earlier challenged a ministerial decree that appointed rival camp leader Muhammad Romahurmuziy as the legitimate chairman.

Romahurmuziy earned the government's support after pledging to support President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Djan later won the case at the Supreme Court, which revoked the ministerial decree.

The camp is dissatisfied with the new decree because in the absence of Suryadharma, Romahurmuziy, the party's Bandung committee secretary-general, may take control of the party.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/19/national-scene-djan-s-ppp-camp-plans-sue-government.html

Government gives nod to initial PPP leadership

Jakarta Post - February 19, 2016

Erika Anindita, Jakarta – The Law and Human Rights Ministry has reactivated a decree that recognized the United Development Party's (PPP) leadership as that decided at a national congress (muktamar) in Bandung, West Java, in 2011.

Under the decree, the PPP central executive board, the term of office of which should have expired in 2015, will be given the authority to form a committee to hold a reconciliation congress, marking the beginning of the end of the party's civil war.

"We hereby decide to reactivate the 2012 Law and Human Rights Minister Decree that legalized the PPP central executive board for the period of 2011-2015," Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H.Laoly said at the ministry on Wednesday.

The ministry's decision resolves a leadership battle that has split the party into two factions, namely the Djan Faridz-led PPP leadership resulting from the Jakarta muktamar in November 2014 and the splinter faction led by Muhammad Romahurmuziy from the Surabaya muktamar in October 2014.

At the 2011 Bandung muktamar, then religious affairs minister Suryadharma Ali was appointed as the party chairman and Romahurmuziy as its general secretary.

The Law and Human Rights Ministry said the PPP central executive board from the Bandung muktamar would be reactivated for the next six months. The decision was taken in response to a Supreme Court ruling revoking the ministry's decree that had legalized the PPP leadership elected at the Surabaya muktamar.

"The Bandung muktamar leadership is allowed to form a committee for the organizing of an extraordinary muktamar," Yasonna said. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/19/govt-gives-nod-initial-ppp-leadership.html

Jokowi approval rating soars

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2016

Jakarta – A public opinion survey conducted by the Kompas daily research department found that the job approval rating of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was at an all time high.

The survey found that 84.4 percent of the respondents thought that Jokowi had done a good job. Most of the respondents said they were impressed by Jokowi's personal communication style.

The respondents also said that Jokowi had delivered the goods in politics and social welfare. "This is more than a 10-point increase if compared to the last survey in October 2015," a Kompas representative said in a statement. In recent months, other polls have also indicated that Jokowi's approval rating had steadily improved.

In January the results of a poll conducted by Jakarta-based Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) showed that 63 percent of 1,220 respondents, selected across the country's 34 provinces, were sure that Jokowi would be more firm in his decision-making this year and would lead the country better.

The survey, conducted from Dec. 10 to 21, also showed that 72 percent of respondents consider Jokowi to have been on the right track in his efforts to move the country forward.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/17/national-scene-jokowi-approval-rating-soars.html

Environment & natural disasters

Plastic bag reduction policy begins slowly as cities unprepared

Jakarta Post - February 20, 2016

Ni Komang Erviani, Andi Hajramurni and Arya Dipa, Denpasar/Makassar/Bandung – The government's new policy requiring modern retailers to charge customers for plastic bags will begin slowly as local administrations in Denpasar and Makassar revealed on Friday that they were unable to implement the program on schedule due to paperwork issues.

Under the policy, scheduled to be implemented in nine major cities starting Sunday, to coincide with National Waste Awareness Day, customers must pay for plastic bags when they shop at malls, department stores, supermarkets and other modern retail outlets.

The program, expected to eventually be implemented in a total of 23 major cities, is aimed at reducing plastic waste in Indonesia, a country that consumes up to 9.8 billion plastic bags every year.

Among the first cities set to implement the policy are Jakarta, Bandung, Bogor, Banda Aceh, Surabaya, Tangerang and Balikpapan. Makassar and Denpasar were to be among the first but confirmed on Friday that they would postpone.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post, Denpasar Environment Agency head AA Bagus Sudharsana said that the municipal administration was not ready to implement the policy as it needed more time to discuss it with local retailers.

Sudharsana said the agency had set up a meeting with five retail companies next week and was expecting to wrap up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the new policy by Friday.

"Thus, we will be able to introduce the program after the MoU's signing" he said, adding that his agency had also notified the Environment and Forestry Ministry's Bali office about the postponement.

Meanwhile in Makassar, municipal administration secretary Ibrahim Saleh said that the South Sulawesi provincial capital had postponed the implementation of the policy until March 5, during which time leaders of the province's 23 regions would gather with the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) to sign an MoU regarding the program. "We will implement the policy after the signing," he said.

Data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry shows that people consume up to 9.8 billion plastic bags every year in Indonesia, with 95 percent of the bags made with plastics that take a considerable length of time to break down naturally.

The ministry's decision to issue a circular stating that retailers should start charging for plastic bags was inspired by petitions both online and offline, which attracted 70,000 signatures.

In Bandung, retailers have expressed their support for the implementation of the policy in the West Java provincial capital.

Solo Grand Mall public-relations officer Ni Wayan Ratrina, for example, claimed that the mall management had informed its tenants about the program and would soon share it with visitors.

Not everyone, however, is aware of the plan to introduce new fees on plastic bags. Lita Angeline of Medan, North Sumatra, who works as a cashier in an Alfarmart minimarket on Jl. Jamin Ginting, said she had never heard of the program. "The company has yet to inform us about it," she said.

[Apriadi Gunawan in Medan and Ganug Nugroho Adi in Surakarta contributed to the article.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/20/plastic-bag-reduction-policy-begins-slowly-cities-unprepared.html

Health & education

TPP reduces patent flexibility for generic drugs: AIDS Coalition

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – Before joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Indonesia might have to assess clauses in the pact that affect the government's capacity to provide affordable vital medicines to the public.

Indonesian AIDS Coalition spokesman Aditya Wardhana said that countries such as India applied beneficial aspects the World Trade Organization (WTO) administered Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which allows exceptions for some essential drugs.

"Under the TRIPS-Flexibility clause, India has canceled the patents of expensive essential medicines for cancer, AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome] and hepatitis. India is now the biggest producer of generic medicines in the world," he said on Monday in Jakarta.

The optimism for affordable medicine for the public was sparked when President Joko Widodo announced collaboration with India in developing the Indonesian pharmaceutical industry, allowing the country to learn how to maximize TRIPS flexibility to provide cheap generic medicines for the public.

However, Aditya said that optimism might fade if Indonesia joins the US-led free trade agreement as it had a TRIPS-plus ratification that led to an increase in patent periods and the scope of the powers of patent holders.

"If Indonesia joins the TPP, patent holders will use TRIPS-plus and sue the government for producing generic medicines as a violation of their patent rights," he warned. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/tpp-reduces-patent-flexibility-generic-drugs-aids-coalition.html

Gender & sexual orientation

Human rights activists warn against statements condemning LGBT people

Jakarta Post - February 22, 2016

Liza Yosephine, Jakarta – Human rights activists have warned that recent statements made by public officials and religious leaders who want to limit the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are ill-informed and may trigger discrimination.

Human rights advocacy group Setara Institute said the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)'s statement calling for legal measures against LGBT community-related activities was an act of discrimination that threatened civil liberties.

"Setara urges the government not to comply with MUI's request, as it could potentially create discriminatory policies," the group's deputy chairman, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, told thejakartapost.com on Friday. He said the government must stand above all society groups and treat every citizen equally.

The MUI has long been criticized as representing only strict conservatives with narrow theology.

Bonar went on to say that LGBT activities did not, as some have suggested, constitute "promotion", or encouraging others to change sexuality, but merely strove to express their identity, with the aim of gaining wider acceptance and understanding from society.

Bonar said the existence of LGBT was a part of many long-standing Indonesian cultures, such as those of the Javanese and Bugis, with LGBT people playing a unique function, especially in rituals and the arts.

The activist also cautioned against the statements recently made by Indonesian public officials, who claimed such sexual orientations were not in accordance with national values and morals.

Bonar stressed that the concept of the Indonesian identity was dynamic, not static, in nature; thus, it would continue to develop and adapt with the changing of times.

He said the rising global awareness of LGBT showed respect for the pursuit of equality and fairness, as well as empathy for a group of people who in the past had been subject to frequent persecution.

Meanwhile Hartoyo, the director of Suara Kita, an NGO focusing on the promotion and protection of LGBT rights, said government officials should be more careful of the comments they made, and refrain from speaking on issues on which they knew little.

Hartoyo said conservative organizations such as the MUI tended to stir up controversy, and were therefore a problem for the whole nation. "They create a bad image for Indonesia. However, we can't eliminate them since they are also part of our society. This is the responsibility of President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's administration," Hartoyo said.

As reported earlier, discrimination against LGBT people in Indonesia has been growing stronger recently, with government officials and religious leaders publicly stating their stance against sexual orientations they regard as deviating from Indonesia's moral values and religious norms.

The MUI and several other Muslim organizations recently declared that LGBT activities were haram and urged the government to take tougher measures against the community. MUI's chief of religious tolerance, Yusnar Yusuf, said that the council wanted the government to ban activities promoting the LGBT community and viewed the sexual tendency as an illness that could be healed. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/22/human-rights-activists-warn-against-statements-condemning-lgbt-people.html

Komnas HAM, lawmakers call on govt to protect LGBT rights

Jakarta Post - February 22, 2016

Tama Salim, Jakarta – Stepping in to address the wave of negative comment sweeping the country, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has urged the government to make good on its recent statement supporting the protection of the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The human rights commission believes that the onus is on the government to strengthen existing regulations to guarantee equal access to education and work opportunities for LGBT people and protect them from discrimination and violence.

"We have to build an inclusive nation that respects the plurality of its citizens, including minority groups," Komnas HAM commissioner Natalius Pigai said during a discussion in Jakarta, on Saturday.

Earlier in the week, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan asserted that the state must guarantee the rights of the LGBT community just as it would those of any Indonesian citizen. Luhut said that LGBT people deserved to receive equal treatment before the law, as well as equal employment opportunities.

Natalius said the government needed to show its commitment to the group by introducing regulations that offered protection from intimidation and bullying. He cited a recent study by rights group Arus Pelangi that concluded 89.3 percent of LGBT people in Indonesia had been subjected to violence. "The state cannot avoid the responsibility to protect the LGBT community because they are vulnerable to persecution," the human rights commissioner said.

Support also came from a group of lawmakers calling themselves the Pancasila Caucus. Promoted by Rahayu Saraswati of the Gerindra Party, Maman Imanulhaq of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Eva Kusuma Sundari of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). the group called on the government to protect LGBT people against all forms of discrimination and violence.

"Regardless of the religious and medical debates, it is a fact that [LGBT people] are citizens that have the right to feel safe and protected," Rahayu said in a statement. They also condemned a recent attack on Al Fatah, a trans-woman boarding school in Yogyakarta, by a radical group.

LGBT rights activists concurred with the call for non-discriminatory policies, urging the public to gain a better understanding of the LGBT community's place in society.

Rio Damar, the founder of the LGBT support website melela.org, said that relevant policies should never be formulated based solely on the perceived anxiety, fear or stigma that is prevalent in the public's conscience.

Devising regulations to address the issue requires the government to promote dialogue with the relevant parties, especially when trying to regulate something as fleeting as sexual orientation, the Chevening scholar said.

"[The LGBT community] is not a group that is completely devoid of faults, just like heterosexuals. But no one should ever be judged as wrong for being homosexual," Rio told The Jakarta Post.

Homosexuality is not illegal under Indonesian law, but the LGBT community continues to face marginalization in a Muslim-majority nation of 250 million people.

The recent strong reaction to the discovery of an LGBT study group at a university campus prompted various public officials and religious leaders to make hostile statements about the LGBT community and its goals. "How are we supposed to fight for same-sex marriage privileges when we can't even live in peace?" said Hartoyo, a gay rights activist speaking on behalf of the minority group during Saturday's discussion.

Hartoyo also dispelled a common misconception that the LGBT "condition" was a mental health problem, a belief that many government officials still promoted as a result of conflicting laws and provisions.

He cited the WHO's 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses, a move that was reflected in Indonesia in 1993 when the Health Ministry concluded that tolerance of sexuality would be part of the country's pluralist agenda.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/22/komnas-ham-lawmakers-call-govt-protect-lgbt-rights.html

Govt's stance painful for young LGBTs

Jakarta Post - February 20, 2016

Fedina S. Sundaryani and Tama Salim, Jakarta – Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are anxious about the government and the general public's recent harsh attacks on their sexual orientation.

Openly gay Dimas Merdeka, 25, said that although he never expected much from the government, the ongoing discrimination from officials had left him feeling hurt. Dimas said the government and the state were obliged by the Constitution to protect all Indonesians.

"Well, I'm a gay man and I feel like I've been discriminated against in my own house. We don't expect anything from the government, so they should just leave us alone. [...] We as Indonesian citizens need to be protected and accepted as long as we don't overrule or threaten other people's lives," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Dimas, who came out to his mother when he was 17, said he was realistic and did not expect gay marriage to be legalized in the next few years. However, he was worried that the current anti-LGBT atmosphere would prove harmful for young teenagers still discovering their sexual identity.

"I think it may be harmful for teenagers because they are physically and mentally fragile. Not every teen and kid has a very proud and accepting mum with a religious upbringing. How would you feel if you were growing up and you thought that in the future you could not go to school or get a job?" he said.

Similar concern for LGBT teenagers was expressed by 24-year-old Rocky Intan. "Personally, it's hurtful but it's something I've dealt with. I've heard people say [discriminatory things] a lot of times before but I think I've developed a thicker skin. I'm disappointed but what do you expect? This is a Muslim-majority country, but I'm worried for young teenage LGBTs," he said.

Rocky, who works as a researcher, explained that LGBT youth had a hard enough time dealing with the fact that family members might not accept them if they came out publicly.

"It would be significantly harder knowing that society is against you through legislation, among other things, when in fact I believe that coming out publicly is very important for us," he said.

The regularity of derogatory comments against LGBT people has sharply increased in the past month. Recently, Health Ministry officials became the latest party to make such comments by saying that LGBT people were prone to psychiatric problems such as depression due to certain problems in their families or environments.

Health Ministry secretary-general Untung Suseno Sutarjo emphasized that identifying as LGBT was not a mental disorder. He said he was just afraid that it could be dangerous if people talked about the issue too much because people in remote areas, children and teenagers and those currently unaware of LGBT issues would become familiar with the topic.

Furthermore, he added that being transgender could be considered a biological disorder such as a genetic irregularity found on a person's chromosome.

Meanwhile, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid made clear his opposition to the LGBT community, likening the group's struggles to legitimize themselves to a band of pickpockets attempting to win legal recognition for their activities.

While the senior Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician acknowledged that the LGBT community was a reality of life in Indonesia, he categorized them as thieves and corruptors. "Problematic realities must be corrected, or in their case, cured," he said.

[Nurul Fitri Ramadhani also contributed to the story.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/20/govt-s-stance-painful-young-lgbts.html

Hard-liners visit Yogyakarta transgender Islamic school

Jakarta Post - February 20, 2016

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – Dozens of Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) members visited on Friday the Al Fatah Islamic boarding school for transgender students in Sayangan hamlet, Kotagede district, Yogyakarta, with the school pledging not to bow to acts of intimidation.

"We just wanted to check whether they were conducting deviant acts. We wanted to straighten it out," FJI commander Abu Hamdan told journalists upon finding the school empty after the students were evacuated by police for security reasons.

Hamdan and his fellow group members left the compound, which was guarded by scores of police officers, after handing over a letter to the hamlet chief Gatot Indriyanto, calling on the transgender students to return to "the right way".

At the same time, school chairperson Shinta Ratri reported the group to the police for intimidation. "We have also secured protection from the police," she added. Ratri said she and other transgender people would not abandon the school, saying it was her home.

Banguntapan Police chief Comr. Suharno said the police would provide protection "It's my area; I will give a security guarantee," Suharno said.

The school is based in a traditional Javanese style joglo house, which was built in the 1800s and belonged to Ratri's grandmother before being passed down to her mother. The school, which was founded by the late Maryani in 2008, was previously located in Notoyudan.

Maryani previously made headlines for her failed attempt to reach Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in 2012 because of documentation problems. However, Maryani's dream of pilgrimage to the holy land eventually came true in 2013. She flew to Mecca on April 26 and returned on May 5 after performing all the pillars of umrah (minor haj).

The school, which is supported by Nahdlatul Ulama University in Jepara, Central Java, offers various subjects, such as transgenderism and Islam, Koran reading and shalat (prayer) lessons. The school moved to Ratri's house after Maryani passed away in March 2014.

The school's supervisory board member Abdul Muhaimin deplored the FJI's actions, calling on the group to respect the religious rights of transgender people. "I'm very angry at the FJI. They don't care about transgender people; they even destroy them," said Muhaimin, who is also the leader of Nurul Umahat Pesantren in Kotagede.

He said the country's only Islamic boarding school for transgender students was well supported by Nahdlatul Ulama University and had been visited by many domestic and overseas researchers.

Budi Wahyuni of the National Commission on Violence Against Women called on the government to protect transgender people, saying they had equal rights as citizens and should not be subjected to violence from other parties. "I hope police protect the school and do not ask the transgender students to leave the area," Budi said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/20/hard-liners-visit-yogyakarta-transgender-islamic-school.html

A moral hazard: Indonesia at flashpoint over gay rights

Sydney Morning Herald - February 19, 2016

Jewel Topsfield and Karuni Rompies, Jakarta – Dorce Gamalama is known as the "Indonesian Oprah". The 52-year-old singer, actress and comedian is a household name – so much so that last December she was among a posse of comedians invited to feast with President Joko Widodo at his palace. The president called her Mbak (Javanese for sister) and told Dorce his wife wanted to meet her.

But now it seems Dorce, who was born a man, is a moral hazard. Last week the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission banned radio and television stations from airing any program that portrayed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender behaviour as normal.

The ban reportedly followed a meeting with the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, which was concerned about the increasing number of television programs starring members of the LGBT community, such as Dorce, who had a sex change operation decades ago.

Indonesian Child Protection Commission spokeswoman Erlinda told the Jakarta Post many young boys were starting to cross dress or adopt feminine characteristics because they had been "brainwashed" by these television programs.

It's difficult to pick the most bizarre anti-gay statement coming out of the moral panic now engulfing Indonesia. Was it the Communications and Information Ministry asking messaging apps to censor same-sex emojis – colourful icons featuring rainbow flags and men skipping in fields of flowers – because they could lead to public unrest?

Or parliamentarian Effendi Simbolon opposing a plan to waive tourist visa fees for 76 countries, in part, because it could facilitate the spread of LGBT culture in Indonesia. "Including LGBT, all that is considered a threat is no longer outside the fence but already inside our house. Why wasn't this considered when waiving free visas?" Effendi lamented in Parliament.

This outburst followed days of inflammatory anti-gay statements from public officials, triggered by outrage over a brochure on counselling distributed by a gay support group at the University of Indonesia.

First Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir said publicly affectionate gay students should be banned from university campuses. Then Vice-President Jusuf Kalla asked the United Nations Development Program not to finance LGBT programs in Indonesia.

And then on Wednesday, the country's top body of Islamic scholars, the Indonesian Ulema Council, called for "LGBT activity and other forms of sexual deviance" to be considered a crime.

The hashtag #DaruratLGBT (LGBT emergency) began circulating on Twitter. "you must realize that you were born because normal relationship (between man and woman), not with the same gender #DaruratLGBT" – Sicco Satria Negara (@siccosatria) February 12, 2016

For the first time ever, national debate around LGBT rights has reached a flashpoint in Indonesia. The wave of homophobia has caught many off guard. Homosexuality has never been outlawed here, other than in the northern province of Aceh, which implements Islamic law. The Bugis, an ethnic group in South Sulawesi, recognise five genders and transvestites, known as waria, have been a feature of public life in Indonesia for hundreds of years.

"In 1997 there was a crackdown on transvestites in Yogyakarta by Kaba Youth Movement but only for a few days," says gay activist Dede Oetomo. "This time it's a bit strange because it is entering the fourth week with more and more people talking about it. Maybe it's to shift public attention away from God only knows what. LGBT is an easy target."

Wider prejudice

The queer community is not the only minority group facing persecution in Indonesia. Last month an angry mob besieged a remote Gafatar farming community in West Kalimantan. More than 1000 former members of Gafatar, also known as the Fajar Nusantara Movement, were evacuated after their settlement was torched.

Gafatar follow the teachings of a variety of scriptures, including but not limited to those of Islam. Within weeks the Indonesian Ulema Council had issued a ruling declaring them a deviant sect. Police are investigating whether the leaders committed blasphemy and religious defamation.

Meanwhile the Ahmadiyah, who are considered heretical by mainstream Muslims because they do not believe Muhammad was the final prophet, have faced expulsion from an island off Sumatra and harassment in Subang in West Java.

Jokowi, as he is popularly known, included human rights in his 2014 presidential election campaign. But he has not delivered on his promise to protect religious freedom, according to the Setara Institute.

The human rights advocacy group recorded 236 instances of violence against religious minorities in 2015, the first year of the Jokowi administration. This was a significant increase on the previous year. Most alarmingly, the institute says, government bodies (including police and local authorities) were the most responsible for perpetuating religious intolerance.

Researcher Halili Hasan pointed to 15 restrictive policies in 2015, including a ban on Shiite Muslims celebrating their religious feast day, Ashura, in Bogor in West Java. "One of the weak points in religious freedom protections is the state apparatus itself, especially at the local levels," Halili says. "This has to be taken seriously by the Jokowi administration."

Last Wednesday – a week after Indonesian authorities asked Facebook to remove its gay friendly emojis on messaging app Whatsapp – Jokowi played gravity-free ping pong in virtual reality with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The irony of the timing of Jokowi's visit to Silicon Valley was not lost on a small group of protesters in the United States. Zuckerberg is a known ally of the LGBT community – Facebook's rainbow filter was credited by gay groups as spreading a message of inclusivity across the world.

"It's unbelievable... it's very hard to explain to our friends in the US," Peter Phwan, from Indonesian-American group ICANet, says of the recent LGBT crackdown in Indonesia.

Phwan was one of a small number of demonstrators who called on the president to defend human rights outside a theatre in San Francisco where Jokowi addressed the Indonesian diaspora. "Jokowi is considered as a positive change, but we need to be critical," Phwan says.

The demonstrators called on Jokowi's government to end the persecution of religious minorities and gay people, stop human rights violations in Papua and provide justice for the victims of the 1965 anti-communist massacres. "We really hope to tell the world: 'Jokowi please pay attention to this'," Phwan says.

Cases of persecution of so-called deviant sects and minority groups in Indonesia have increased markedly following the fall of the authoritarian president Suharto in 1998. "An ironic paradox of democracy is it opens up greater freedom of expression," says Melissa Crouch from the University of New South Wales.

This means that radical groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), infamous for committing violence in the name of Islam, also have greater sway over society. "Unfortunately the national government has struggled with how to respond to these groups, especially those that conduct campaigns of intimidation against religious minorities," Crouch says.

Jakarta Post columnist Ary Hermawan says Indonesia has never had a liberal politician fighting for a liberal agenda. "Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo was backed by the liberals in the 2014 election, but the president is far from being a liberal," he writes.

"In the first few months of his presidency he executed a number of drug convicts to keep his popularity intact. We should not be surprised that his ministers are more conservative than he is and that all these anti-gay policies are being made under his watch."

However some recent signs have been promising. Chief security minister Luhut Panjaitan, one of Jokowi's most trusted and senior ministers, caused a sensation on social media when he mounted a spirited defence of both gay people and the Ahmadiyah.

"Whatever it is, whatever they are doing, they are Indonesian citizens so they are entitled to be protected," Mr Panjaitan told reporters. "I disagree with killing or expelling people whenever there are differences in opinions. I want to respect our dignity as a nation."

Eleventh-hour reprieve

Meanwhile, the Ahmadis, who were facing expulsion from Bangka Island, off the coast of Sumatra, won an eleventh-hour reprieve. "Alhamdulillah [praise be to God], it did not happen. We are still here," says Ibnu Farid, one of 22 Ahmadis living in the village of Srimenanti.

The seven Ahmadi families were due to be evicted on February 5, after hundreds of villagers demanded they leave because they deviated from Islamic teachings.

"When our mosque was closed down in 2010 I didn't care," says Ibnu, who sells gas canisters "and other stuff" to make a living. "What matters to me is that they wanted to expel us from our own house. That is something I cannot accept."

But cooler heads prevailed. On February 3, Bangka police handed out pamphlets warning that anyone who carried out "anarchic action" against the Ahmadis faced up to six years' jail and a fine of one billion Rupiah ($103,000). "I think people got scared by it," Ibnu says. "We were very happy indeed and we helped distribute the pamphlets."

The same day a mediation team met with the Ahmadiyah. It was eventually agreed they would stay in Srimenanti, on the condition they not promote their faith, in line with a 2008 government decree.

Some of the Ahmadis were temporarily moved to a safe house in Pangkalpinang until tensions calmed. "My children returned home just today," Ibnu says. "I think [the future] looks relatively good."

Besides being an entertainer and releasing a string of successful records, Dorce Gamalama established an Islamic orphanage. She asked the teachers there to explain to the 300 children that she was transgender.

"And thank God, the children never complain about me," she says. "They know I am a woman and I do a decent job. "So they respect me. I think it is better for people to stop thinking about gays, lesbians, transvestites, bisexuals and start helping people. If you want to help someone, you would not ask 'What is your sexual orientation', would you?"

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/a-moral-hazard-indonesia-at-flashpoint-over-gay-rights-20160219-gmy007.html

Government demands UNDP remove funding for LGBT programs

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Haeril Halim, Hans Nicholas Jong and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – As the latest conservative stride in the wake of the LGBT paranoia gripping the nation, the government has demanded a UN body end an awareness program to empower the minority group.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Monday that the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) had summoned the UN Development Program Indonesia to seek clarification about US$8 million in funding allocated for LGBT programs in several countries in Asia, including Indonesia, and demanded termination of any LGBT programs in the country.

"[UNDP Indonesia] knows nothing about the matter. It said that UNDP Thailand had these programs first, we asked them not to replicate such projects [in Indonesia]," Kalla told reporters at his office on Monday.

Kalla reiterated that the government respected citizens' rights to diverse sexual expression, but said that exercising such a right should not include campaigns to encourage other people to join the LGBT cause, which Kalla said contradicted long-standing religious and cultural norms in the country.

Kalla said that the government had also asked UNDP Indonesia to tell its partner office in Thailand to stop the latter's LGBT programs because they were not in accordance with values in ASEAN countries.

"There is nothing wrong with [LGBT] if it is something related to the exercise of individual rights. It only goes in the wrong direction if it becomes a movement to encourage people to become a part of it. For example, by campaigning to legalize same-sex marriage in Indonesia," Kalla added.

Kalla also discouraged LGBT people from publishing information on the internet that promoted the LGBT movement. "When it comes to privacy, it is not a problem, but if it deals with disseminating information [about LGBT campaigns] then we disagree."

Hostility toward an LGBT group at a university campus recently triggered larger condemnation of the minority group in the country.

The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) said it had discouraged broadcasters, television and radio stations from running programs promoting the activities of the LGBT community.

UNDP Indonesia spokesperson Tomi Soetjipto told the Jakarta Post that the institution was still negotiating the ban of the program. "We are aware of the situation. We are now in discussions with the government of Indonesia and also with the UNDP regional center [Asia Pacific] in Bangkok," he said.

Yuyun Wahyuningrum, senior advisor on ASEAN and human rights at the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), lamented the backlash against the UNDP program, saying that it was horribly misguided.

"[LGBT people] are like second class citizens. The [UNDP] aims to show that there are citizens whose rights should be protected but only because they're different, their rights are denied," she said. "I don't see any reason why the government should reject a program like this seeing how it's for the sake of the country," she said.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said that all LGBT people possessed basic rights as citizens, which were protected under the law. "We also have to protect them," Luhut said.

He went on to say people could not condemn LGBT people using religious reasons because homosexuality was genetic, arguing that studies had found that such a condition was found on a person's chromosome. He said that it was difficult for people to avoid such a genetic predisposition.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/govt-demands-undp-remove-funding-lgbt-programs.html

Luhut agrees LGBTs need rights protected but says they are diseased

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Jakarta – The debate over lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBTs) has continued, with Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan throwing in his two cents' worth.

Luhut on Monday called for the protection of the LGBT community's rights. "Yes, I agree that religion forbids it, but to me is a right," Luhut said during a meeting between the government and House of Representatives commissions I and III as quoted by kompas.com.

Still, Luhut said, the condition was an illness involving a chromosome and LGBT people needed curing. He previously expressed regret that members of the LGBT community had been victims of abuse and urged the public to refrain from showing prejudice toward them.

Meanwhile, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Aboe Bakar Alhabsy said the LGBT community posed problems within society. He urged the government to take a firm stance on the issue. "What is Indonesia's stance on this [issue]? It would be a disgrace to ignore it," he said.

A neurosurgeon from private Mayapada Hospital, Roslan Yusni Hasan, said lesbianism, homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality were not diseases and therefore there was nothing to cure in LGBT people.

"We used to see it as an abnormality, but now it is just a variation of life. In biology, there is no such thing as an abnormality, everything is a variation," he told kompas.com last week.

The tendency to be LGBT starts in the womb, he said. Sex, gender and sexual orientation had different establishment processes, he said. Thus, there were men who were not masculine but it did not mean they were not attracted to the opposite sex.

Moreover, those with the XX chromosome are not necessarily female while those with the XY chromosome were not necessarily male. Based on biological facts, there are many genetic variations, such as missing or extra chromosomes, Roslan said. (liz/rin)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/luhut-agrees-lgbts-need-rights-protected-says-they-are-diseased.html

Lawmaker criticizes UNDP for LGBT funding

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Jakarta – An Indonesian legislator criticized on Saturday the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for assistance it has rendered to the LGBT community in the country, calling it an intervention in the country's value system.

"The issue of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] is still very controversial. Public resistance is still very high because it is considered against religious, traditional and cultural norms," said the head of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII overseeing religious and social affairs, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He claimed that the financial assistance to the LGBT movement in the country is triggering a new debate. "It is seen as promoting the LGBT. The UNDP assistance will also be viewed as interference in the country's standards when it comes to values, morality, culture and local wisdom in Indonesia," he said.

Saleh claimed that no religions or cultures in Indonesia accepted LGBT people and so, he said, sociologically they still have no place in Indonesia, even though they are accepted in other parts of the world.

Saleh urged the government to monitor the UNDP assistance and said that according to juridical norms it must not be allowed. Moreover, he said it had the potential for creating social unrest.

Hostile remarks from state officials have raised intolerance of LGBT groups in the country. The police stopped an LGBT-related event in Surabaya, East Java, while the government forced LINE, a Japanese-Korean messaging app, to remove same-sex and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender themed stickers from its Indonesian-language store.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/national-scene-lawmaker-criticizes-undp-lgbt-funding.html

Kalla requests UNDP to not fund LGBT groups

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla asked the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Monday to not to finance lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community programs in the country.

Kalla said the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) recently verified a report that the UN body had prepared funds worth US$8 million to support LGBT campaigns in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.

Kalla said the UNDP had confirmed to Bappenas that the funds were allocated for a program in Thailand and not Indonesia. "Therefore, we have asked them [UNDP Indonesia] to not carry out the program here," Kalla said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

The Vice President said there were no UNDP funds specifically for the LGBT community in Indonesia and that any monetary support channeled to them would most likely come from other non-governmental organizations.

Kalla has previously stated his opposition to LGBT campaigns in Indonesia, which he says are not in accordance with the current social values of the nation.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Panjaitan said that the LGBT community had a right to protection as they were also citizens, and expressed regret that they had been the victims of abuse. Luhut urged the public to restrain themselves and not be prejudiced toward the LGBT community. (liz/dan)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/kalla-requests-undp-not-fund-lgbt-groups.html

Population & migration

ID cards for children not a priority

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Nani Afrida, Jakarta – The government's plan to issue ID cards for children has met with criticism from activists who call for better public service with regard to birth certificate issuance and child protection.

"Before issuing child ID, how about accomplishing the law's mandate on providing birth certificate to all Indonesian children first?" Seto Mulyadi, a children's rights activist, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The Home Ministry announced last week that it would issue Kartu Identitas Anak (KIA), or child ID cards, beginning next month. The KIA will be the official form of identification for unmarried Indonesians below the age of 18.

Seto said that many parents still meet with difficulties when trying to obtain birth certificates for their children. They have to deal with a long bureaucratic process, which lower-income people often find difficult to access. "Make the process [to issue a birth certificate] fast and free, this is more important than providing KIA for children," he said.

Seto said many children, especially street children, had no birth certificates. As a consequence, they could not access their right to education, health and or even a place in a cemetery. "We also believe that the KIA will create discrimination and as a result the gap between the rich and poor will get even bigger," Seto added.

The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) share similar thoughts, saying that there were many other problems related to children that should be prioritized. "The birth certificate is one of issues, the others are child protection as well as family strengthening and self defense programs for children, for them to say 'no' to people who will exploit them," said Erlinda, a spokesperson for KPAI.

In the past four years KPAI received more than 16,000 reports of violence against children across the country's 34 provinces and 179 cities. "Child ID might be important, but it is not a priority," she added.

Erlinda said KIA will help children who get into trouble due to laws or regulation. Based on the government's plan, there will be two categories of KIA, one for children under 5 years of age and one for those between 5 and 17. For newborns, the civil registration agency will issue a KIA along with their birth certificate.

However, it is not clear whether the two identification cards will have to be renewed after a period of time. The government also plans to finance the program using the state budget.

Home Ministry spokesperson Dodi Riyadmadji told the Post that 50 cities throughout Indonesia had initiated the program a year ago. "We expect that all cities will follow the program gradually," Dodi said.

He said that the 50 cities that had already started to implement KIA included Malang in East Java, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Bantul regency in Yogyakarta, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Depok in West Java.

Previously the minister of home affairs Tjahjo Kumolo said that KIA would be very important for the children as, for instance, the children can open bank accounts or get an Indonesia health card and an Indonesian smart card using their own names.

"If they go abroad, they don't need to have a passport attached to their parent," Tjahjo said. He also said the ministry would form a special team in each village or sub-village to input child data.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/id-cards-children-not-a-priority.html

Graft & corruption

KPK urges Jokowi to throw out law revision

Jakarta Post - February 22, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioners met President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Monday to try to persuade him to reject a revision of the KPK Law, on the back of fears that the revision will cripple the KPK's power in the fight against corruption.

KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo and commissioners Basaria Panjaitan and Laode Muhammad met with Jokowi on Monday morning at the State Palace before the President's meeting with House speakers and the legislative council in the afternoon.

The commissioners met with the President to discuss the revision of the 2002 Law on the KPK included in the House National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) and discussed at the legislative council earlier this month.

KPK commissioners strongly oppose the plan to revise the Law, which is widely expected to weaken the antigraft commission.

Agus said over the weekend that he would resign his position if the government and the House proceeded with the amendment to the law. "We will convince the President to delay and reject the revision," Agus told kompas.com last week.

Jokowi will meet with House speakers and legislative council members at the State Palace at 1:30 p.m. on Monday. The House will hold a plenary meeting on Tuesday to decide whether to proceed with the revision discussion.

Jokowi agreed to delay the revision in October last year; however, in a subsequent working meeting with the legislative council, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly approved the inclusion of the revision in the list of priority laws.

Separately, a forum of professors from various universities in Indonesia issued a joint statement opposing the revision of the KPK Law. The professors said that the revision was a wrong and unwise step, and contravened the much-needed anticorruption spirit.

"Mr. President, we believe that the KPK is still needed by this country to clean up corruption and help President Joko Widodo to realize good governance and clean government," the forum said in a statement.

The forum consists of prominent figures such as Sulistyowati Irianto and Hamdi Muluk, Rhenald Kasali from the University of Indonesia, Hariadi Kartodihardjo and Didik Suharjito from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Maria SW Sumardjono from Gadjah Mada University, Saldi Isra from Andalas University, Firmanzah from Paramadina University, Todung Mulya Lubis from the University of Melbourne in Australia and Ahmad Syafii Maarif from Yogyakarta State University.

"To save corruption eradication in Indonesia, we ask the President to reject the revision of the the KPK Law being discussed at the House," the statement said, adding that the rejection could be in the form of not issuing a Presidential Decree or not sending a government representative to the discussion at the House.

The forum also urged Jokowi to remind all political parties in the government coalition to oppose the planned revision. With Jokowi's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as the main driver, seven out of 10 factions at the House currently back the revision. (rin)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/22/KPK-urges-jokowi-throw-out-law-revision.html

PDI-P trying to push Jokowi into supporting KPK revision

Jakarta Post - February 19, 2016

Tama Salim, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which nominated President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for the 2014 presidential election, is blasting his administration for being indecisive over the planned amendments of the 2002 Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle lawmaker Hendrawan Supratikno has questioned President Jokowi's political commitment to revising the KPK Law, which had been agreed to last year by the government and the House.

"Although the President should carefully consider the draft bill, his prudence has also led us to think about his indecisiveness, like he was dancing the poco-poco," Hendrawan said, referring to a folk dance involving constant back-and-forth swaying.

The term poco-poco was earlier used by PDI-P matron Megawati Soekarnoputri during a recent national meeting of the party when she was referring to some of the moves made by President Jokowi.

When faced with the option of siding with members of his Cabinet who have thus far endorsed the proposed amendments, or support public opinion, which overwhelmingly rejects the plan, Jokowi appeared to have taken the second option.

One of the most senior ministers in his Cabinet, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, for instance, has made public statements supporting the amendment of the KPK Law, claiming that it would strengthen the antigraft body.

Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Johan Budi, who previously served as a KPK commissioner, gave the impression that Jokowi would back public opinion against amending the law.

On Wednesday, Johan said that he was "only conveying the President's message" and not that of the government in rejecting the amendment plan, a statement that indicated that the government was split on the issue.

Jokowi's stance has further incensed politicians at the House because the government had initially struck a deal with legislators to have the House prepare the antigraft bill while the government dealt with the tax amnesty bill. That was to have enabled both pieces of legislation to be passed at the same time.

"The [endorsement of the] KPK bill is a result of discussions between the House and the government. If they decide to backtrack [on the revision], we'd rather have turned our focus and energy to other matters sooner," Hendrawan of the PDI-P said Thursday.

The PDI-P lawmaker, who is also a member of the House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg), indicated that the government relied on House lawmakers to pass the tax amnesty bill, which the government needed to have passed into law before deliberating the revised 2016 state budget (APBN-P). In exchange, the House would be allowed to draft the revisions of the KPK law, albeit within the restricted scope that was previously agreed upon.

Meanwhile, Golkar Party lawmaker Mukhamad Misbakhun revealed that the tax amnesty bill was ready for House deliberation, saying he was optimistic that the bill would be endorsed before lawmakers went into recess.

Misbakhun also said that the House had essentially finished discussing the KPK bill and it would only take a plenary session to officially endorse the revisions so that the President could issue a directive to kick off the deliberation phase.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/19/pdi-p-trying-push-jokowi-supporting-KPK-revision.html

Novel remains a free man as AGO lets his case expire

Jakarta Post - February 18, 2016

Haeril Halim, Jakarta – The controversial assault case involving Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan is set to end today should there be no further legal intervention from law enforcement bodies.

Novel's lawyer Dadang Tri Sasongko said on Thursday the 12-year-old case will automatically be closed if the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which earlier withdrew the case from the Bengkulu District Court, decided not to do anything with the case.

The Criminal Code (KUHP) regulates that law enforcement institutions have a maximum of 12 years to investigate and prosecute a criminal case.

After receiving instruction from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to settle all controversial cases involving former KPK commissioners Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto as well as Novel, Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo instructed the Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office to withdraw Novel's dossiers to prevent the case going to trial.

Instead of opting to drop Novel's case through a deponering, a legal mechanism covered by the KUHP that allows the Attorney to drop cases if it is in the public interest, the attorney general bought time to keep Novel's dossiers away from the court until the case reached its expiration date on Feb. 18. Prasetyo is preparing to use a deponering to drop Abraham and Bambang's cases.

Dadang criticized the AGO's move to let the case expire, arguing that a trial mechanism will be a better way to prove Novel's innocence.

"It will be more dignified should the case be solved through deponering or by issuing a cessation order, called a SKPP, since through either of the two means members of the public could receive juridical and sociological reasoning behind the cessation of the case," Dadang told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"Case expiration fails to provide resolution to the criminalization process," Dadang added. He further said that merely letting the case expire would place a psychological and social burden on Novel as such a scheme did not clear the assault accusations made by the National Police.

"It also gives no legal certainty about his suspect status in the case. From another perspective, it also confirms the incompetency of our criminal justice system [to identify which criminal cases are real and which are fabricated]," Dadang added.

Contacted separately, Prasetyo said the AGO had made a decision on Novel's case and had instructed the Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office to comply with the order.

However, he refused to explain the decision, saying that the AGO's decision, whatever it was, would be made to comply with Jokowi's order. "[I'll] let the prosecutor's office explain it as we cannot disclose anything about it now," Prasetyo said.

The cessation of the Novel's case has met resistance from the Bengkulu court, saying Novel's case should go on to be tried because the expiration date was no longer applicable to his case as the AGO had completed the dossiers and sent it to the court on Jan. 19.

Court spokesman Immanuel said that the AGO's decision to withdraw Novel's dossiers on Feb. 2 did not reactivate the expiration date, adding that he expected the prosecutor's office to send back Novel's case to the court in the near future.

"As of today, we have still not heard back from the prosecutor's office. For the court, Feb. 18 is the case's expiration date. The court will probably send a letter to the prosecutor's office to seek explanation [about the delay to send back the dossiers to the court]," Immanuel told the Post.

"When [prosecutors] withdrew the dossiers, they said in a letter that they wanted to complete the dossiers, not to drop the case," the spokesman said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/18/novel-remains-a-free-man-ago-lets-his-case-expire.html

After bribery case, KY pushes for reform, transparency in MA

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2016

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The recent arrest of a Supreme Court (MA) official for allegedly accepting bribes has not only exposed possible rampant corruption within the country's highest judicial institution, but has sparked questions on its ongoing bureaucratic reform.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) apprehended court official Andri Tristianto Sutrisna on Saturday accepting Rp 400 million to delay the sentence of a graft convict.

The case came more than a decade after the Supreme Court started judicial reform in the early 2000s, which involved civil society groups and aimed to improve the integrity and professionalism of the country's judicial system.

Critics said the country's highest court's resistance to external oversight, formally conducted by the Judicial Commission (KY), partly caused the failure.

KY deputy head Farid Wadji said his office would keep watch on the Supreme Court while involving wider public participation, including universities and civil society.

"People must know [the importance of their participation in monitoring courts] and must [actively] partake in efforts from the beginning to the end [of trials]," Farid said.

In an apparent effort to weaken KY authorities, a number of Supreme Court justices and one clerk won in October a judicial review petition to scrap the commission's role to select judges for district courts, religious courts and state administrative courts.

The ruling allowed the Supreme Court to select judges without being accountable to other state bodies and left the KY with only the authority to monitor judges and help maintain their credibility.

Farid said the court's resistance to external monitoring by his office was either due to the culture of the organization or personal backgrounds.

Muhammad Isnur, legal activist and lawyer at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), said the KY's efforts would likely be useless without strong commitment from the court itself.

"I can still see reluctance to external oversight," Isnur said on Tuesday. "For example, we once demanded an open trial for a judicial review case. But [the court] rejected it."

Choky Ramadhan from the University of Indonesia's Judicial Watch Society (MAPPI), whose institution has been involved in the reform, said poor implementation had caused a number of internal regulations aimed at improving transparency, such as those on public information and one-day publishing of rulings, to become merely paper tigers.

"They must set clear guidelines and better indicators for the punishments and rewards for each reform measure," Choky said.

Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi, however, stopped short of commenting on the implementation rates of the ongoing judicial reforms, but said the Supreme Court had indeed conducted a number of efforts.

"We have made reform in the judiciary, such as in terms of human resources capacity and the one-day publishing mechanism," he said.

Salary levels are among the elements many believe have triggered corrupt practices in the judicial system. In recent years, many people, including Supreme Court chief justice Hatta Ali and former KY commissioners, have called for increases in justices' salaries to around Rp 200 million per month to avoid the temptation of bribery.

Suhadi denied the KY's allegations, saying his office "always welcomed external monitoring measures by the Judicial Commission in terms of judges' code of ethics".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/17/after-bribery-case-ky-pushes-reform-transparency-ma.html

Jokowi urged to throw support behind KPK amid revision of law

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – As lawmakers at the House of Representatives pursue a controversial plan to revise anticorruption legislation, experts have called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to make good on his promise to defend the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The President, so far, has only tweeted that he supported the amendment of Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK as long as it strengthened, rather than weakened, the law enforcement institution. The proposed revision has run up against strong opposition from the public, which sees it as clearly curtailing the KPK's power.

The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has been leading the initiative for the amendment by proposing the draft revision that contains articles limiting the antigraft body's authority.

Among the controversial new articles to be included in the amendment are the formation of a KPK supervisory body, restrictions on wiretapping by KPK investigators and allowing the KPK to stop investigations if it does not have adequate evidence.

University of Indonesia (UI) criminologist and former police officer Bambang Widodo Umar said Jokowi's stance on the revision was inconsistent, as the PDI-P politician wanted to show that he embraced all sides – the public and lawmakers, including his party colleagues. "If he disagrees with the revision, [he should] just say so and stop the amendment. He should be firm," Bambang said at a discussion.

Political observer J. Kristiadi from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) also opined that Jokowi displayed a very soft stance, but added that he believed the President was sincere in promising not to let the amendment pass if it weakens the KPK. "He has a responsibility to keep the public's trust, because his only friends are the people. Many legislators or senior officials seem to be against him," Kristiadi said.

He added that the amendment was clearly an attempt to kill the KPK, because many politicians and senior public officials were threatened by its existence. The KPK has uncovered many graft cases involving high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats, including ministers.

"I am not saying that all lawmakers are corrupt, but the House needs to do some self-reflection. They [lawmakers] have very strong power, giving them access to play the regulations for their own interests," Kristiadi said.

The PDI-P initiative was backed by five House factions – the NasDem Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the Hanura Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Golkar Party. However, several political parties have launched a move to block the amendment.

The House's plenary session was supposed to amend the law last week, but postponed it after the Democratic Party decided to oppose the amendment, following in the footsteps of the Gerindra Party. A day later, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) became the third party to reject the amendment.

Antigraft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator for public campaigns Tama S. Langkun called on Jokowi to immediately drop the amendment, because it did not have any support from the public.

"If [the lawmakers] really want to focus on eradicating corruption and strengthening law enforcement, it's better to revise the corruption law," Tama said, referring to another piece of anticorruption legislation, Law No. 20/2001 on Corruption.

The Corruption Law, he added, should tighten regulations on the punishment of corruption defendants, which currently seem very low, and include stipulations about corruption in the private sector as well as restrictions on cash transactions. "That is because nowadays, graft schemes involve private parties and the transactions are done in cash," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/jokowi-urged-throw-support-behind-KPK-amid-revision-law.html

Terrorism & religious extremism

Science students vulnerable to radicalization

Jakarta Post - February 19, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Radical Islamic ideology has spread freely on secular university campuses across Indonesia, with students from science and engineering majors more susceptible to infiltration, researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) have warned.

LIPI senior researcher Anas Saidi said that while students who studied social and political sciences, humanities and philosophy were more resistant to radical beliefs, those who studied hard sciences were at greater risk of indoctrination.

"They are more easily infiltrated as they don't think religious understanding should be discussed. It's something to do with their scientific background that affects how their minds work," Anas told thejakartapost.com on Thursday.

According to Anas, many university students have been influenced by closed-minded Islamic teachings that were based only on one root of interpretation, resulting in monolithic thinking that created intolerance as they could not accept diverse interpretation of Islamic values.

A lack of monitoring on the activities of Muslim student organizations may have resulted in the systematic dissemination of fundamentalist movements brought by hard-line Islamic communities such as Ikhwanul Muslimin (IM) and other transnational Islamic Wahabi groups, Anas said.

Without a strong response from the government or moderate Islamic groups, Anas added, the phenomenon would likely trigger a clash of ideologies. "Schools and universities should make regulations that prohibit public spaces being used to disseminate monolithic religious teachings," Anas added.

Meanwhile, another LIPI senior researcher, Endang Turmudi, said counter-radicalization on university campuses should start with citizens, who must change their mindsets and take a strong stance against terrorism and radicalism.

Family members and friends could help to tackle radicalization by implementing soft techniques such as promoting tolerance and a non-discriminatory stance toward other religions, Endang said.

While terrorism was a significant threat for Indonesia, Endang said, radicalism hidden within society was actually a greater problem for the nation in the long run, as its development was unseen and unpredictable. (dan)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/19/science-students-vulnerable-radicalization.html

Experts warn of risks of using anti-IS groups to fight IS

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie – The government and security apparatus, particularly the police, could use groups opposed to the Islamic State (IS) movement to counter IS in Indonesia, but doing so would be risky, terrorist experts say.

Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) director Sidney Jones said certain Indonesian extremist groups, such as Jamaah Ansharusy Syariah (JAS) and the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI), opposed IS.

Jones added that senior leaders of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) who support Al-Qaeda and the Al-Nusra Front – enemies of IS – could be very useful for the police to counter the group's supporters on Indonesian soil. However, the security apparatus was loath to encourage supporters of Al-Qaeda, and this created a dilemma, Jones said.

"So the question for the police is can you use the [anti-IS] groups tactically as a tool against IS without encouraging their growth and creating problems for Indonesia in the future," Jones told thejakartapost.com recently.

The main priorities for the police were to stop IS from recruiting, to uncover its network and to understand its dynamics, he added, noting, however, that these were only short-term priorities.

No one knew at what point JI and other anti-IS extremist groups would decide to return to violence, he went on. If they decided that the political situation was in their favor, then their calculations might change, Jones added.

"I think that in the long-term, JI [and other anti-IS extremist groups] is the real problem for Indonesia that the police should keep their eyes on," he said.

Separately, House of Representative member Rakyan Adibrata said the government could indeed use anti-IS extremist groups' power to create effective counter-narratives to IS propaganda in Indonesia, but the stakes were too high.

The government should not attempt to apply a divide and conquer strategy by using the anti-IS extremist groups to fight against pro-IS groups as it could spill over, potentially leading to greater conflict, like the bloody clash between IS and the Al-Nusra Front in Syria, Rakyan said.

"The consequences that the government will face are not only in terms of religious debate, but a potential turf war," he warned. Recently in Syria, he said, one Al-Nusra Front leader was captured and beheaded by a young member of IS, showing that the use of humiliation had reached a critical stage in the conflict.

If such conflict were to spread to Indonesia, Rakyan said, the government could lose control of the clash as in fact, anti-IS groups had more capability in terms of war tactics and weaponry than IS supporters in Indonesia, or, in other words, were stronger, Rakyan said.

"In terms of counter-narrative, the government should involve all anti-IS groups, but it should ensure there is no spill-over. We don't want what's happening in Syria to happen in Indonesia," Rakyan asserted. (dan)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/experts-warn-risks-using-anti-is-groups-fight-is.html

Government details planned Terrorism Law revision

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The government has proposed that a mooted revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law contain a new category for terrorism offences.

A new category would fill the gaps in current legislation, Attorney General M Prasetyo said on Monday, and would cover the sale of chemical, biological, radiological, micro-organism, nuclear and radioactive weapons for acts of terrorism.

In the revision of the law, the government also proposes a prohibition on forming relations with terrorist groups abroad, as there is currently no law that can be used to charge Indonesians who go overseas to join such groups. The government also plans to prohibit Indonesians from undergoing military training in other countries or communicating directly or indirectly with terrorist groups abroad.

The proposed revision also included a ban on adopting radical Islamic values, recruiting people for terrorism purposes, sending people to carry out terrorist attacks, funding terrorist movements, giving assistance to terrorist groups and committing violence in the name of terrorism, Prasetyo said.

"If we continue to use the old means, it will be hard for us to address terrorism in the future," he said during a joint meeting to discuss the bill with House of Representatives Commission I overseeing military and foreign affairs and Commission III overseeing legal affairs.

The government is also set to begin to increase cross-border supervision in relation to a 2014 UN Security Council Resolution on measures to counter foreign terrorist fighters.

Efforts to prevent the flow of foreign fighters include investigations into documents to detect suspicious travel, cooperation with other countries on deradicalization, investigating banking information and creating an early warning system for travel agents and airlines services to detect suspicious travel.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the revision bill would focus on preemptive action, with law enforcement officers enabled to arrest alleged terrorists planning to carry out attacks. "The police will coordinate with the National Intelligence Agency [BIN] to detect suspected or alleged terrorists," Luhut said.

The draft of the revision also orders tighter cooperation among stakeholders such as the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the Attorney General's Office and the Supreme Court. The government would also involve Islamic organizations such as Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to help deradicalization programs, Luhut added. (rin)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/govt-details-planned-terrorism-law-revision.html

Indonesians could be detained for six months under new preventative terror laws

Sydney Morning Herald - February 15, 2016

Jewel Topsfield and Karuni Rompies, Jakarta – Indonesians suspected of plotting to carry out an act of terrorism could be detained for up to six months under proposed new laws in response to the Jakarta terror attacks.

The tough measure could prove contentious in Indonesia, which until 1998 was a military dictatorship under which thousands of people were detained without trial.

After the January 14 bomb and gun attacks, which killed eight people in central Jakarta, police called for laws to be tightened. "We can detect a terrorist network but we can't act before they have committed a crime," said national police chief Badrodin Haiti. "That is the weakness of our laws."

The draft legislation, seen by Fairfax Media, says an individual could be detained for up to six months if it was suspected they would carry out terrorism. It would also become an offence to join a terrorist group such as Islamic State, or recruit others, with a maximum punishment of seven years' jail.

Indonesian authorities currently can't press charges against those who declare their support for IS or who have joined terrorist groups overseas.

Under the proposed changes, Indonesians who participated in military training or a war overseas, with the intent to commit or plan an act of terrorism, could be stripped of citizenship. The draft legislation, which amends the anti-terror bill passed after the 2002 Bali bombings, will soon be debated by parliament.

Indonesian Chief Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan said the revisions needed to be explained to the public, who may be concerned about human rights violations. "If you want to bring harmony, security and safety to your lives, you also have to give some of your freedom," he told Channel NewsAsia last month.

Last year Malaysia's government passed a highly controversial law that allowed terror suspects to be held for two years, renewable for an unlimited period.

Mr Panjaitan said Indonesia's response was more moderate than similar legislation in Singapore and Malaysia: "However we want to move fast, what we call preventive action." He said on Friday that he hoped the new laws would be finalised within two months.

However Human Rights Watch has urged the parliament to reject amendments that were "unnecessarily broad and vague and would unjustifiably restrict freedom of expression".

HRW's deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said the government had not provided any details on the judicial process for stripping a person of their citizenship. "The government response to the January 14 attacks in Jakarta should not include overboard laws that will unjustifiably restrict the rights and freedoms that Indonesians have fought so hard to achieve," he said.

Deakin University terrorism expert Professor Greg Barton believes passing laws that would make joining IS a crime would be reasonably straightforward. "There is a strong backlash against IS because of a sense of it being against the Republic of Indonesia – people who support it are seen as being somehow traitors," said Professor Barton.

However the prosecution of thought crimes during the Suharto era and the harsh Malaysian laws were likely to be raised when debating the six months' preventative detention measure.

"Long detention without charges being laid will be a real challenge for them [to pass], as it should be," Professor Barton said. "The Jokowi government would need to be able to speak to the safeguards they have got in place."

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesians-could-be-detained-for-six-months-under-new-preventative-terror-laws-20160215-gmumot.html

Hard-line & vigilante groups

Banning violent groups in Indonesia could lead to backlash: Murdoch University's Ian

Jakarta Globe - February 16, 2016

Jakarta – Disbanding civil groups with long-time notorieties for violent acts in a country where they have been deeply rooted in the political economy would only lead to a backlash, a leading observer warns.

Indonesia has in recent years seen a growing number of violent clashes between local communities and such groups, with the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a rent-a-mob with religious pretensions, being the most notorious.

The group has frequently committed violence in its acts across the Muslim-majority country, ranging from conducting vigilante raids on entertainment joints to disrupting events by religious minorities.

Calls have since mounted for authorities to ban the FPI, which has then received repeated warnings from the government. But the group, which has seven million members – small compared to the 40-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's biggest Islamic group, has been able to operate unfettered regardless.

Banning such groups, however, is not "the best answer" as this could "worsen the situation" instead, said Ian Wilson, a researcher with Murdoch University.

"When you ban a group, people involved in the group will not disappear," Wilson, who has been tracking the FPI for years, told the Jakarta Globe recently. "They will still be around unless they are fundamentally changed. They can still do the same things, but maybe in ways that are less transparent. And this has been one of the arguments for keeping the FPI on the spotlight."

There could be threats of radicalism "in ways that may not happen otherwise" if such hard-line groups are dissolved, Wilson added. "I think that could be a quite big backlash."

'No political support'

Authorities' failure to prevent January's deadly clash between two youth groups in Medan, North Sumatra, has highlighted that Indonesia's formal politics is still "very much interlinked" with street politics, Wilson said.

The rampage that killed two people occurred between members of the Working Youth Alliance (IPK) and the Pancasila Youth (PP), which has been linked to countless cases of violence across the country for decades.

Renewed calls for the Indonesian government to disband such groups have since emerged, but Ian said authorities are "highly unlikely" to go as far as dissolving them. "What is complex about the situation is that they are not just local thugs," he said. "They are deeply embedded in the political economy of Medan."

The makeup of parliament in the North Sumatran capital has for decades been dominated by people who have come through the "extremely powerful" Pancasila Youth. "Street politics has changed into formal political power," Wilson said.

Under such condition, he added, there would probably be "no political support in place" to be able to ban the PP and other similar groups. "For now, that is the political reality."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/banning-violent-groups-indonesia-lead-backlash-murdoch-universitys-ian-wilson/

Freedom of religion & worship

Ahmadi still seeking government support after ten years in NTB shelter

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – Over 110 followers of the Ahmadiyah Muslim minority group who have been living at the Wisma Transito shelter in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), for a decade are still demanding the government take responsibility for their future.

Feb. 4 marked 10 years since the Ahmadiyah followers were accommodated at Wisma Transito after being driven out of Ketapang hamlet in Lingsar district, West Lombok, by a group of intolerant residents.

"We wish to return to Ketapang and live freely like other citizens. But no one wants to listen. The government probably regards us as nonexistent. Now, we have resigned ourselves to our fate and to life at the shelter. We are grateful our children can be strong and patient here," community coordinator Syahidin told The Jakarta Post in Mataram on Friday.

The government initially provided the 29 displaced families with basic necessities but stopped in 2008 due to limited funds.

Since then, the displaced people, who were previously farmers and farmhands, have been forced to take on any work to survive. Men have become ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, construction workers and itinerant barbers, while the women sell various wares from baskets.

Syahidin said the families desperately wanted to return to their village and lead normal lives, including cultivating their farmland and raising their children with adequate health care and education.

In the past 10 years, little has changed at the shelter, apart from the number of residents. Syahidin has recorded the birth of at least 24 babies at the facility, a dozen of whom now attend elementary school. Meanwhile, nine elderly people have died in the last 10 years.

He said that since 2014, refugees who reached adulthood had been provided with identity cards as Mataram residents. However, despite being underprivileged, they had yet to receive access to government assistance programs for health care and education, such as the Indonesia Health Card and Indonesia Smart Card.

Munikah, 40, acknowledged that surviving at the shelter was arduous, adding she had never received aid despite holding evacuee status. "We have the same hope of returning home. In our own home village, we could be free to rebuild our economy and raise our children. However, we must continue to be patient," said Munikah.

To meet her family's needs, Munikah set up a small kiosk in the Wisma Transito compound selling snacks and foodstuffs to other evacuees. Her husband, Sahdan, 45, works as a barber, with irregular income.

Sahdan and Munikah are the parents of Transita Sinta Nuriyah Safitri, 7, named after the wife of former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid. "When Transita was born, Ibu Sinta Nuriyah was by chance visiting Wisma Transito at the end of 2007. We yearn for leaders like that, who are sensitive to our situation," said Munikah.

Ahmadiyah followers in Indonesia frequently face the threat of violence from intolerant residents. Last week, several women and children from an Ahmadiyah community in Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung province, were removed due to the risk of harm from other residents.

In February 2011, three Ahmadiyah followers were killed in Cikeusik, Banten, after hundreds of angry residents surrounded and attacked them.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/ahmadi-still-seeking-govt-support-after-ten-years-ntb-shelter.html

Police pursue possible blasphemy charges against Gafatar leaders

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Jakarta – Investigators of the general crimes directorate at the National Police Criminal Investigation Corps (Bareskrim) are looking to establish legal grounds on which to ascertain whether leaders of the Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) committed blasphemy and religious defamation.

The police's general crimes director, Brig. Gen. Agus Andrianto, said police investigators had last week questioned two witnesses, comprising an expert from the Religious Affairs Ministry and another from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

"From the results of our further investigation into the two witnesses, hopefully it's getting clearer to our investigators whether blasphemy and religious defamation occurred in the Gafatar case," said Agus as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.

Despite the information obtained from the expert witnesses, Agus said, the police had yet to name any suspect in the case. Naming suspects in cases of blasphemy and religious defamation was different to other cases, he noted, and required a specific strategy.

While questioning expert witnesses, Agus said, the investigators were also continuing to seek evidence in Central Java, East Java and West Kalimantan. "The investigation process at Bareskrim and in various areas is ongoing, simultaneously and in synergy," he said.

The police began to look into possible blasphemy and religious defamation committed by Gafatar leaders earlier this month. Their investigation into the case was based on a report submitted by a person initialed MH on Jan. 4. The Gafatar leaders are also accused of plotting to usurp the government, police investigators having found documents detailing the movement's eventual government structure, including ministers and president.

"We've found evidence that suggests designs on government," Bareskrim chief Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar said as quoted by kompas.com on Feb. 4. Apart from documents on Gafatar's Cabinet structure, several notes containing the core teachings of the movement were also found in the police raid.

However, Anang, said the investigators still needed to examine further, including questioning expert witnesses, and this might take time. "We are still constructing the case. We will see later on whether or not the aspects of blasphemy and religious defamation hold water." (ebf)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/police-pursue-possible-blasphemy-charges-against-gafatar-leaders.html

Jakarta & urban life

Police flex muscles in Kalijodo

Jakarta Post - February 21, 2016

Corry Elyda, Jakarta – The city administration and the Jakarta Police are apparently taking it in turns to throw their weight around over red-light district Kalijodo, which stretches between the West Flood Canal and the Krendang River in North and West Jakarta.

While the administration is plotting to evict the district's residents, the Jakarta Police deployed 6,000 joint personnel on Saturday morning to raid cafes and brothels in the 1.6-hectare area.

Police personnel decked out in their iconic "Turn Back Crime" t-shirts combed the cafes one by one, while officers equipped with antiriot devices guarded the area, including Jl. Tubagus Angke, which was closed off for the operation.

A police officer mounted on a pick-up truck claimed via megaphone that the officers were not there to evict residents or tear down buildings. "This is not an eviction. We wish simply to search for alcohol, drugs and weapons, to make this area safe and peaceful," announced the officer.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian led in person a raid on Kafe Intan, a cafe owned by Abdul Azis, who is said to be a local crime lord. The place, however, was deserted. "Many cafe owners and gang members had left the area," Tito said as quoted by kompas.com.

With previous efforts to clear Kalijodo having failed, the city administration revived the eviction scheme following a crash that killed four people on Feb. 8. The driver was reportedly drunk, having consumed copious quantities of alcohol in Kalijodo beforehand.

Since the plan to clear the area was revived, many residents, including sex workers, have left the area, while others in possession of Jakarta IDs have registered for low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa).

Tito said that after the raids the police would deploy personnel to guard the area. "We will install security posts [in front of Kafe Intan]," he said. The police have also installed CCTC in four spots in the area in order to identify people coming and going from the neighborhood.

In raids on 66 cafes, the police confiscated enough contraband to fill four trucks. According to police data, the contraband comprised 9,900 bottles of alcohol, 166 packs of condoms and 33 types of weapon, including arrows, catapults, air rifles, hammers and crowbars.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Muhammad Iqbal said the police had also detained 17 people – nine cafe owners, three drug users, two weapon owners and three sex workers. "We have detained them for further questioning," he said.

According to Emergency Law no 12/1951, the owners of sharp weapons will be sanctioned with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The city administration, for its part, has determined Feb. 29 as the day to evict the denizens of Kalijodo and tear down its buildings. The area will be converted into a park in accordance with its zoning as open green space.

Razman Arif Nasution, a lawyer representing Kalijodo residents, criticized the "hasty" policy of the city administration, noting that the whole process from informing the residents and issuing eviction notices to execution had been crammed into less than a month, and that the administration had eschewed all dialogue with local residents.

Separately, Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said the administration had taken into account the consequences of eviction on residents, and would provide better housing at rusunawa and skill training for the residents and sex workers, allowing them to adopt new professions.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/21/police-flex-muscles-kalijodo.html

Jakarta denies conflict of interest in reclamation bylaw

Jakarta Post - February 18, 2016

Dewanti A. Wardhani and Corry Elyda, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration has insisted that there was no conflict of interest in the drafting of a land reclamation bylaw despite claims that two people involved in the deliberations were known to be affiliated with one of the developers of man-made islets off the city's north coast.

The draft bylaw on the Jakarta north coast strategic area specifically regulates spatial planning for the planned 17 man-made islets.

Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Tuty Kusumawati said that, in drafting the bylaw, the city administration had cooperated with a number of experts, both academics and professionals.

Among the experts were Sawarendro, a civil engineer at Dutch engineering firm Witteveen+Bos, which is also a consultant for Islet C and D developer PT Kapuk Naga Indah (KNI), the subsidiary of developer giant Agung Sedayu. During a recent meeting, the city council's legislation board also invited KNI president director Nono Sampono to discuss the draft bylaw as an expert on land reclamation.

"[Sawarendro] has been very professional and has not once mentioned his position [at Witteveen+Bos and KNI]. He has sufficient knowledge of hydrology and that is what we need. There is no conflict of interest," Tuty told The Jakarta Post recently.

She explained that Sawarendro's contributions to the draft bylaw include advice regarding water resource infrastructure and facilities system. "There are not many people who are experienced in land reclamation, therefore [Sawarendro] has greatly contributed to the drafting of the bylaw," Tuty said.

Separately, city council legislation board member Bestari Barus of the NasDem Party claimed that councillors were critical of all experts and had many questions that were still unanswered. He guaranteed that, by balancing the city administration knowledge, the city council was doing its job in drafting the bylaw. "We still have many questions [...] The bylaw will not be issued before our questions are answered," Bestari said.

Despite the fact that the bylaw has not yet been approved, two firms have started construction, namely KNI and Agung Podomoro Land subsidiary PT Muara Wisesa Samudera. KNI is in charge of developing islets A through E while Muara is developing islet G. Both developers have even started marketing properties at Golf City on islet D and Pluit City on islet G.

The North Jakarta National Land Agency (BPN) had revealed that developers were obliged to obtain a right-to-build certificate (HGB) from the Jakarta administration, as the sole holder of a right-to-manage certificate (HPL), before commencing construction. However, the North Jakarta BPN has yet to issue an HPL to the city administration, meaning that construction has, thus far, been carried out without an HGB.

Furthermore, City Council Deputy Speaker M. Taufik of the Gerindra Party claimed that he was unaware that Nono Sampono was the president director of KNI. Nono was recently invited to a meeting to discuss the draft bylaw as an expert. "He [Nono] was invited because of his dissertation on reclamation. Therefore, he is an expert," said Taufik, who is also head of the council's legislation board.

When asked whether Nono was also invited in his capacity as the president director of KNI, Taufik said he was not aware that Nono was a president director. "In fact, I learned of this from you [reporters]," he said.

Speaking to the Post over the phone, Sawarendro said that, in cooperating with the Jakarta administration, he was invited as an experienced practitioner, having been involved in reclamation programs for some 20 years. Sawarendro, who is also chairman of the Indonesia Land Reclamation and Water Management Institute, also denied of any conflict of interest.

"I am cooperating with the Jakarta administration as an experienced practitioner. I've worked on land reclamation projects in the Netherlands as well as in several Southeast Asian countries," he said. Sawarendro said that with sufficient experience in land reclamation, he cooperated with the city administration to make sure that no mistakes or negative impacts occur.

Separately, Nono said that he came in the capacity of an ordinary citizen who had studied land reclamation. "I offer my academic research and my insight on reclamation. I hope it can complement their knowledge. I saw that their understanding is getting better," he said.

Nono said he began his research on Jakarta Bay in 2009 and completed it in 2013, for his doctorate degree. "I consider reclamation to be unavoidable. If there is an impact, from the project, we just need to find the solution," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/18/jakarta-denies-conflict-interest-reclamation-bylaw.html

Jakarta red-light district residents to resist eviction

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – A clash between security forces and Kalijododo residents seems unavoidable as the latter has vowed to fight the Jakarta administration's plan to shut down the red-light-district, saying that many buildings, especially mosques and churches in the area, were built with official land certificates.

"If, according to the city's urban planning documents, this area was allocated for open green space, the National Land Agency [BPN] shouldn't have issued land certificates for the buildings. Certificates for these buildings were issued by the BPN, an official government agency," Kalijodo residents' lawyer Razman Arif Nasution told journalists on Tuesday.

Razman further said the government had misused its authority regarding the issuance of the land certificates. The lawyer said that he and Kalijodo residents were collecting data on which buildings in the area had official land certificates. Most houses in Kalijodo have only a Letter C certificate, which is issued by a neighborhood unit head and used as the basis for the city administration to determine land taxes that residents must pay.

Razman deplored the attitude the Jakarta administration had shown with its recently announced plan to transform the Kalijodo area into a green open space, saying that for many years it had not expressed any objection to residents living in the area. That was why, he said, many Kalijodo residents had been living and making their livelihoods in the area for generations.

The lawyer further said Kalijodo residents also resented the method Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama had used to announce his plan to shut down the area.

Razman said Jakarta administration officers, backed up by police personnel, had announced the Kalijodo removal by simply putting up notices of the plan on the walls of buildings in the area. He said the move had shocked residents.

"We don't want to hear anyone claiming that Ahok will complete the eviction in one month. They [Kalijodo residents] are not animals. Just come here and discuss the plan with us," he said.

The Jakarta administration's plan to remove the Kalijodo area has been widely perceived as discriminatory, as the administration has never taken action against the owners of Season City and Taman Anggrek Mall, which were both built on land allocated for open green spaces.

Razman further said that many prostitution hotspots could be found in Mangga Dua and Pesing, but the Jakarta administration had never take any action against them because they were upmarket areas, not like Kalijodo, which was home to low-class prostitution. "All Indonesian people are equal before the law. So we hope that the Jakarta administration officers do not act with impropriety here," Razman said.

Daeng Azis, a Kalijodo figure, said all Kalijodo residents would not hesitate to fight the eviction plan. "We don't want our rights to be disregarded, even for a moment. We can also file a lawsuit against the administration as we now have a legal team to represent us. Don't force us to fight this eviction," Daeng said.

On Monday, Kalijodo residents officially submitted a letter to the Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD), asking for protection. Previously, they have also asked for protection from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

The Kalijodo residents have called on into question the Jakarta administration's plan to turn Kalijodo into an open green space.

One of the representatives of Kalijodo, Leonard Eko, questioned the administration's reluctance to hand over to them a copy of the city's open green spaces map. "When was Kalijodo mapped out as a green open space? The City Spatial Planning Agency has never told us about the open green spaces map," he said.

Leonard further said that if the administration wanted to return Kalijodo to its original function, it had to be able to prove to residents that the area was initially allocated as an open green space. He said Kalijodo residents had fought for land certificates for a long time but the BPN had always complicated the process of securing legal status for their land.

Leonard said he had been living in Kalijodo since 2000 and had also been hampered by these complicated procedures. He said that all Kalijodo residents would refuse low-cost apartments offered by the Jakarta administration and would continue to fight for their right to live in Kalijodo. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/kalijodo-residents-resist-eviction.html

Police want brakes put on car ownership

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police has suggested that measures be taken to control the increase in private vehicles in a bid to tackle road congestion in Jakarta, which has the world's worst traffic according to a recent study.

Sr. Comr. Budiyanto, head of law enforcement of the Jakarta Police's traffic division, said the increase in the number of private vehicles in the capital and other big cities of Indonesia had been uncontrollable so far and was not on par with the increase in roads, making traffic congestion inevitable. "Motor vehicles have overloaded the roads," Budiyanto told the The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

According to police data, the number of private vehicles in Jakarta grows by around 7 to 9 percent a year, while the total length of roads increases by just 0.01 percent. The police counted 18,668,056 vehicles in greater Jakarta in 2015, up 7 percent from the previous year.

Traffic congestion has become a big issue in the city of 10 million people and 3 million commuters. Traffic in the capital is so bad that it doesn't only occur on specific roads but almost all roads.

In an index of the world's worst traffic released last year by British lubricant company Castrol, Jakarta became the king of traffic as it topped the index. The index used data shared anonymously by millions of TomTom navigation device users around the globe to measure the average stops and starts made per kilometer within each city.

According to the survey, which examined traffic conditions in 78 cities and regions around the globe, the Indonesian capital ranked as the city with the highest number of stops and starts, with an average of 33,240 per driver per year. Jakarta was followed by Istanbul in Turkey with 32,520 stops and starts per year, while Mexico City came third with 30,840.

Institute for Transportation Studies (Instran) director Darmaningtyas said there was no way to tackle the capital's long-standing traffic issue except for regulations that make people think twice before purchasing a vehicle. The regulations, he said, should include raising vehicle and fuel prices as well as increasing tax rates and parking fees.

"The government should increase these components all at the same time," he said, adding that fuel prices and parking fees in Indonesia were among the lowest in Asia. "Car loans in this country are also among the cheapest and easiest in Asia," he said.

Darmaningtyas added that the government should make credit arrangement for a vehicle a bit more complicated and expensive, and it should put aside the idea of losing profit on the selling of vehicles.

"In fact, our automotive industry developed only in this decade. In the past, the industry was not growing like it is today, but our economy was still good and improving," he explained.

"Besides, it seems the automotive industry benefits us in the sense that it employs many workers, but in fact we also spend much in fuel, because of the traffic congestion it causes. We will even suffer more losses if we allow traffic congestion to remain in this city."

The city administration had so far not been serious in controlling private vehicle ownership, as evidenced by lenient enforcement of a 2014 city regulation on transportation, he said.

Article 140 of the regulation stipulates that any individual or entity owning a vehicle is required to have a garage.

"The regulation requires everyone to prove that he or she has a garage when purchasing a vehicle. But the administration never communicates the regulation, let alone enforce it," explained Darmaningtyas. "Now you can see that many people own a car but do not have a garage. As a result, they park their car on the side of the road, causing even more congestion."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/police-want-brakes-put-car-ownership.html

Criminal justice & prison system

Komnas HAM decries chemical castration

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Nani Afrida, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has taken a firm stance in formally opposing the government's plan to punish sex offenders using chemical castration.

The commission argued that the penalty was not only against human rights, but would not be effective in reducing sex crimes, especially against children.

"Castration as a punishment using any means undermines man's dignity. This is against human rights principles and it is not in line with Indonesia's spirit of upholding human rights," Komnas HAM member Siti Noor Laila said on Monday.

"We believe the problems of sexual abuse and crimes are not medical so do not need castration as a solution. Such crimes are related to psychological and social issues," said commissioner Roichatul Aswidah.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has agreed to issue a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to create a legal basis for the punishment.

Currently the Perppu is pending approval from the Law and Human Rights Ministry. The government also needs approval from the House of Representatives to implement the policy.

Komnas HAM said it had held meetings and discussions with medical experts, psychologists and criminologists before announcing its stance to the public. Aswidah said in dealing with rapists and child predators, the government should take a comprehensive approach, adding that chemical castration was not the answer.

Komnas HAM was also pessimistic about implementation, saying the government should consider factors such as monitoring, budget and carrying out the procedure. Among the potential issues is who would monitor the perpetrators, as they should receive chemical injections every three months.

Previously, Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yambise said chemical castration would act as a deterrent to child sex offenders.

Based on the latest data from the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), 3,726 sexual crimes were perpetrated against children in 2015, up by 12 percent from 3,326 cases recorded in 2014.

Unlike surgical castration, chemical castration involves the administration of anti-androgenic drugs to reduce sexual urges, compulsive sexual fantasies and the capacity for sexual arousal.

The drugs are given in the form of an injection every three months and the castration is reversible when treatment is discontinued. There are, however, lasting side effects.

Chemical castration laws are in force in a number of US states and other countries including South Korea, Moldova, Russia and Estonia. The treatment is used differently in each country. Some enforce it as part of sentencing, while others use it as a way for perpetrators to reduce their prison terms.

Criminologist Iqrak Sulhin told The Jakarta Post that castration was related to reproductive organs and had no relation to why someone committed sexual crimes.

"I think the punishment is only to calm the public. However, this effort will not address the root of the problem, or why the amount of sex crimes is high," Iqrak said. He suggested the government address fundamental problems in society such as gender inequality to reduce such crimes.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/komnas-ham-decries-chemical-castration.html

Chemical castration not far off: Minister

Jakarta Post - February 16, 2016

Jakarta – Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise has said her ministry has finalized the composing of a draft bill on chemical castration as a punishment for sex offenders.

"I have handed over the chemical castration draft bill to the coordinating human development and culture minister [Puan Maharani]," she said as quoted by tempo.co on Sunday.

Yohana further said the composing of the draft bill, recently handed over for an examination process at the coordinating ministry, was based on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's request as part of the government's efforts to push down the number of sexual violence cases in Indonesia.

The minister did not give further details on whether the draft bill would be used as a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) or included in the Criminal Code (KUHP) revision bill. Puan, she said, was currently examining the draft bill before Jokowi studied it. After that, the draft bill would be handed over to the House of Representatives to be deliberated.

Yohana indicated that the chemical castration draft bill would be deliberated at the House this year. "In principle, we have agreed on the concept of chemical castration as a punishment for perpetrators of sexual violence," she said.

Yohana did not give details on the categories of sexual violence cases in which the perpetrators would be punished with chemical castration, or on the health treatment the government would give those subjected to the procedure.

Separately, National Commission on Child Protection chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait urged the government to immediately enact its plan to issue a Perppu on chemical castration punishment for sex offenders. "The President has agreed to chemical castration for child predators," he said as quoted by tempo.co on Sunday.

Arist, who said he had attended a discussion on the issuance of a Perppu on chemical castration in a limited Cabinet meeting on Jan.20, said President Jokowi had asked Puan to enact the plan at the beginning of February.

Chemical castration, Arist said, would act as a deterrent against those tempted to rape and murder children. "Indonesia is an emergency state of sexual violence [against children], so this regulation is desperately needed," said Arist.

Child-sex offenders tended now to receive only light sanctions, he said. "What have been committed by the child predators are not ordinary crimes. These are extraordinary crimes," said Arist.

He said chemical castration had been practiced in several countries, such as Poland, Romania, South Korea and the UK, on predators who had taken children's lives after inflicting sexual violence on them. "It's not imposed on ordinary sex attackers," said Arist.

National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) chairwoman Azriana said the idea of imposing chemical castration on sex predators through a Perppu should be re-examined, noting that the commission had at least eight reasons to consider the policy inappropriate.

Chemical castration, Azriana said, removed a person's sexual and reproductive rights, basic human rights. "Forced sterilization is categorized as a crime against humanity," said Azriana. (liz/ebf)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/16/chemical-castration-not-far-minister.html

Foreign affairs & trade

TPP 'yarn-forward' may be hurdle for Indonesian textiles

Jakarta Post - February 22, 2016

Khoirul Amin, Jakarta – "If there's one thing that we need to watch out when we join the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP], that's the yarn-forward clause," said Benny Soetrisno.

Speaking in a recent press conference, the Indonesian Textile Association's (API) advisory board chairman said that while the US-led TPP would likely bring more benefits than harm to the local textile industry, the country had to boost the industry's readiness at all stages of the manufacturing process.

"There's a provision in the TPP that will cut tariffs only for garment products made using materials sourced from the member countries," he said.

The US-led economic partnership, once implemented, is set to apply a "yarn-forward" rule of origin that requires textile and apparel products made using TPP members' yarns and fabrics to qualify for zero-tariff in trades among the member countries. The clause will also certainly apply to Indonesia if it eventually joins the so-called 21st century economic partnership.

The TPP currently has 12 signatory countries, namely Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US. All the 12 signatories are now in the process of ratifying the TPP in their respective countries, expected to take about two years.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said last October during his state visit to the US that Indonesia intended to join the TPP and in his recent visit to the US-ASEAN Summit, he said that Indonesia was now calculating both the benefits and drawbacks of the partnership.

Indonesia's textile industry is considered to be the sector that will gain most should the country join the TPP in the coming years. The Industry Ministry's director for textiles, leather, footwear and various industries, Muhdori, said that the textile industry was ready for the partnership as it was already structured from its upstream to downstream.

Meanwhile, the Industry Ministry's data show that in 2014, Indonesia still imported a total of US$8.6 billion textiles in the form of fiber, yarn, fabric, garments, tapestry and other textile products, with a big chunk estimated to come from China, which is not a TPP member.

Vietnam, which is one of the TPP signatories, has previously raised concerns about the yarn-forward rule of origin as it still imports some types of fabric from China.

API chairman Ade Sudrajat argued that he was still upbeat that joining the TPP would benefit the country's textile industry, but support from the government to develop the whole process of garment manufacturing was needed.

In terms of workers, Ade said the government could, for example, help textile companies build workers' dormitories next to production plants. "We want the government to subsidize housing for workers at garment factories so that we can recruit workers from other districts outside where the production plants are based," he said.

While a number of business sectors have been reportedly making lay-offs to improve business efficiency, many garment manufacturers have experienced workforce shortages to support expansion. Garment manufacturers in Surakarta, Boyolali and Wonogiri, are now still looking for more workers although they have already recruited around 1,000 new workers.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Franky Sibarani said previously that his office would request companies to report any layoff plans so that it could channel affected workers to other business sectors that needed more workers. The API has estimated that textile exports will surge significantly, particularly if the country joins the TPP.

Indonesia's textile exports increased from $8.6 billion in 2005 to $12.7 billion in 2014, well behind the performance of Vietnam, which booked $26.2 billion from textile exports in 2014 from only $5.3 billion in 2011. Ade said that his association estimated that the TPP could more than double Indonesia's textile exports in a decade as the US is one of its major markets.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/22/tpp-yarn-forward-may-be-hurdle-indonesian-textiles.html

House 'must monitor TPP'

Jakarta Post - February 17, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni – The House of Representatives has been urged to openly supervise the government's assessment of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) to avoid misinformation on the cost and benefit of joining the pact and to assure the decision does not harm the national interest.

"The House's supervision of the government allows the negotiation process to be open to the public, so that we know what's on the table," Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) spokeswoman Hertanti Rachmi told thejakartapost.com on Tuesday.

IGJ has teamed up with the Indonesian Peasant Alliance and the ASEAN Solidarity Economic Community (ASEC) Indonesia to monitor and supervise the government's plan to join the US-led trade pact.

According to Hertanti, there are three potential consequence of the TPP that should be carefully monitored by the public.

First is the possible threat to Indonesia's sovereignty and democracy; second, the risk of violating Jokowi's nine priority programs of development (Nawa Cita); and third, the exposure to vital sectors affecting people's lives. "We urge the House to also express opposition to the TPP," Hertanti said.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo assured US journalists that his ongoing official visit had nothing to do with the TPP, and that nothing to do with the agreement would be included in the ASEAN-US Summit agenda.

"Everything is still in the process of calculation. We have nothing to do with the TPP here, it's all about the ASEAN-US Summit," the President said in a press statement on Tuesday.

Indonesia, he continued, was prioritizing a free-trade agreement with the EU, namely the EU-Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The trade pact with European countries could take up to three years of preparation, he noted. "It takes time. Not just a month or two, but could be up to two or three years. It's a long process," Jokowi added.

Trade Minister Thomas Lembong added that Indonesia still had to go through a long process before formally joining the TPP, including technical and political processes. "Even TPP members have yet to ratify the agreement. They have only sealed the deal, ratification still has to go through their respective legislatures," he said. (ags)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/17/house-must-monitor-tpp.html

TPP may bankrupt Indonesia, activists say

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Anton Hermansyah, Business – Indonesia could fall into bankruptcy if the biggest market in Southeast Asia join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would allow investors to sue the government in international arbitration courts through investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS), an activist has warned.

Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) spokeswoman Rachmi Hertanti said ISDS favored investors' interests over the national interest. Submitting to the TPP regulations on ISDS would open the country to being sued by foreign investors claiming their investment had been disadvantaged.

"According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], American and Canadian investors most frequently used ISDS to resolve disputes between 2013 and 2015, with the dispute cases worth US$8 million to $2.5 billion," Rachmi said on Monday in Jakarta.

She pointed to a dispute in March 2015 brought by Churchill Mining Plc claiming $2 billion in compensation. "That's more than a year's worth of food subsidies Indonesia. If Indonesia lost, the effect on the state budget would be unimaginable," she argued.

Indonesia's investment laws currently require consent from disputing parties before a matter is taken to international arbitration. The government must first revoke the measure to comply with the TPP before it can join the trade pact of 12 Pacific Rim countries.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Labor Struggle Confederation spokesman Wibowo said the TPP ran contrary to labor justice, as it created flexibility for investors to cut employees willy-nilly.

"The right of labor to be represented at annual meetings to decide the minimum wage will be abolished. With the TPP, foreign investors could force the government to change regulations on workers," he said. (ags)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/tpp-may-bankrupt-indonesia-activists-say.html

Indonesia upholds surplus amid trade fall: BPS

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni, Business – Indonesia recorded a surplus of US$50.6 million in the January trade balance, a 92 percent drop from the trade surplus in January 2015, which stood at $632 million. Both imports and exports of fossil fuels fell around 40 percent year-on-year (yoy).

"Despite the limited figure, it is a good start for our trade balance to record a surplus in January," said Central Statistics Agency (BPS) chief Suryamin in a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

In January, imports stood at $10.45 billion, a fall of 17.15 percent yoy and 13.5 percent month-on-month (mom). Oil and gas imports were down 42.3 percent yoy and 32.1 percent mom, while non-oil and gas imports were down 12.1 percent yoy and 10.2 percent mom.

"It's down to the persistently low oil prices, while at the same times commodities prices also decreased from January last year," Suryamin explained.

Meanwhile, exports slid 20.7 percent from $12.6 billion to $10.5 billion yoy, driven by oil and gas exports, which registered a 43.5 percent decline to $1.1 billion. Likewise, non-oil and gas exports dropped 16.8 percent to $9.4 billion.

On a monthly basis, exports retreated 11.9 percent with oil and gas exports and non-oil and gas exports shrinking 14.8 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively. "The decline was caused by the sluggish commodities prices," Suryamin said. (ags)(+)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/indonesia-upholds-surplus-amid-trade-fall-bps.html

Tourism & hospitality

Lawmakers object to free-visa policy expansion

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The government's introduction of free visas for the citizens of 169 countries has been criticized by lawmakers.

House of Representative member Wihadi Wiyanto said on Monday that instead of adding to the number of nationalities eligible for free visas, the government should cancel the free-visa policy altogether because it offered more disadvantages than advantages for the country.

"We lose revenue and economic benefits. We have to face the fact that the free-visa policy should not be expanded but revoked," Gerindra Party lawmaker Wihadi said during a House hearing. There had been an influx foreigners, such Chinese, whom he said claimed to be foreign workers but were involved in crimes or did business illegally here.

For example, Wihadi said, the police often arrested foreigners for fraud, trafficking and prostitution. He also claimed that foreigners had set up unlicensed travel bureaus in Bali, traded illegally at local markets and had formed a syndicate to offer fake immigration stamps for visa extensions.

NasDem lawmaker Supriyadin said the government should leave the number of eligible nationalities at 90 and evaluate the benefits after two or more years before adding the remaining 79 other countries to the list.

"We have to evaluate whether an increase in the total number of foreign arrivals is indeed because of the free-visa policy and not just because of the holiday season," Supriyadin said.

If the findings are significant, Supriyadin said, the concern then moved to security aspects, including the risk of foreign agents entering Indonesia and the making of counterfeit passports and ID cards.

"Besides, Indonesia and other cooperating countries should have mutual respect and benefits. We shouldn't just apply this because of the reciprocal principle," Supriyadin said.

Previously, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Panjaitan said the government would add up to 169 nationalities to the list of beneficiaries of free visas as stipulated in a presidential regulation.

Even though the number would increase, the government could strengthen security first and not include nationalities that had the potential to traffic drugs and disseminate radical beliefs, Luhut added. (dan)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/lawmakers-object-free-visa-policy-expansion.html

Mining & energy

Slow progress in smelters puts planned export ban into question

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Raras Cahyafitri, Jakarta – The government may yet again shelve its plan to impose a complete ban on raw material exports after acknowledging slow progress in the nation's smelter development.

A delay in the 2017 deadline would constitute a three-year delay if the government follows up on its decision to allow mining firms more time to build smelters, either individually or in cooperation with other parties. Only six new smelters were kickstarted last year, and these smelters were all small in size.

According to data from the mineral and coal office, three nickel smelters, one bauxite smelter and three lead-zinc smelters are scheduled to start operations this year. No significant progress has been reported in the much awaited Freeport Indonesia copper smelter.

Another delay would undermine the consistency of the Indonesian government's policy to inhibit raw material exports in order to add more value to the country's mineral processing industries.

"We are now waiting for the planned amendment to the mining law," said Ahmad Redi, an expert on laws related to resources from Tarumanegara University. Redi doubted the government would penalize firms for failing to hold up their agreement to build smelters.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing energy are both working on a new law to replace the 2009 Mining Law, which is thought to need adjustment as a number of articles are now considered obsolete and can no longer be implemented.

Commission VII deputy head Fadel Muhammad said that the new law would be completed by the middle of the year. "We are accelerating the process to make the new law. There are several things we need to fix, such as why the contribution from the sector so very low," Fadel said.

The 2009 Mining Law mandates that the government implement value-added policies in the mining sector to help the country climb to a higher position in the production chain. Under the law, mining firms are required to process and refine minerals into end products before being allowed to sell them overseas. A five-year period ending in 2014 was given to the companies to prepare the facilities to process minerals domestically.

As a consequence of the regulation, the government should have theoretically banned the export of raw minerals starting in early 2014. However, many companies were reluctant to comply with the law, arguing that smelter development was not economically feasible. In response, many mining companies asked for a delay in the regulation. The government bowed down to the request and allowed firms to continue exporting semi-finished products.

However, they limited this arrangement until 2017, and demanded that mining firms continue to build smelters. Under the current regulation, mining firms working on smelter projects have to deposit 5 percent of their total investment in local banks as collateral to ensure that they will continue the development. The surety bonds are a prerequisite for the firms to obtain permits to export semi-finished mineral products.

On the backdrop of a prolonged slump in global commodity prices, mining firms around the world have struggled to maintain profits. Last week, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said it was revising the regulation on smelter development and its connection with export permits as part of the government's efforts to support mining firms mired in financial woes.

Marwan Batubara of the Indonesian Resources Studies (IRESS) said the government should be consistent in implementing the prevailing law. "The 2009 Law is still applicable. The law must be enforced," Marwan said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/slow-progress-smelters-puts-planned-export-ban-question.html

Economy & investment

Local players need to improve in face of tighter competition

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Khoirul Amin, Jakarta – A number of local business players are anticipating tighter competition following the government's recent decision to completely open up business sectors like restaurants, cafes and sports centers for foreign investment.

Helga Angelina, the owner of organic eatery Burgreens, said she was worried that the move would make local players less competitive as foreign investors usually had more capital. "I think they [foreign investors] are capital-ready and they can raise business standards that locals find difficult to compete with," she said.

While full foreign ownership was only allowed for restaurants with initial capital of more than Rp 10 billion (US$739,576), smaller restaurants would likely still be affected, she argued.

Established in late 2013 with initial capital of Rp 200 million, Burgreens currently has two outlets in the Greater Jakarta area and it faces growing competition in the restaurant business.

Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) executive director Cyprianus Aoer argued that the government should make sure that its policies did not harm local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Separately, Wuryanti Sukamdani, who runs the hotel chain Sahid, has said foreign investment in a number of tourist businesses was the inevitable result of the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). "I remain optimistic that our human resources in local hotels and restaurants can compete," she said.

Wuryanti, who is also a member of PHRI, said that while the presence of foreign-owned restaurants and cafes would definitely make competition tougher, local players could capitalize on their uniqueness and creative innovations to keep up their competitive edge. "What they [foreigners] excel at is standardization and packaging and we have to watch out," she said.

Both Helga and Cyprianus agreed that the government should provide incentives for local players facing stiffer competition. Helga said that microloans and mentorship programs in finance were needed for most local restaurant owners to help them run their businesses efficiently.

"Even in some developed nations like Australia and New Zealand, their local coffee shops outperform global ones as their governments provide incentives," she said. For one-star and two-star hotels in particular, the government could, for example, provide subsidies for businesses that have just begun to grow, Cyprianus said.

In the tenth economic stimulus package announced on Thursday, the government revised the country's negative investment list (DNI), covering sectors in which restrictions on foreign investment apply. Under the revision, restaurants, cafes, bars and sports centers are among 35 business sectors opened up completely for foreign investors.

In the previous DNI regulation, foreign ownership of bars and cafes was limited to allowed 49 percent or 51 percent under an SMEs partnership. Foreign ownership of restaurants was restricted to 51 percent. Foreign ownership of non-star, one-star and two-star hotels, meanwhile, continue to be capped at 51 percent.

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said that while the government had opened up various business sectors for foreign investors, any businesses worth less than Rp 10 billion remained reserved for local SMEs.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/local-players-need-improve-face-tighter-competition.html

Analysis & opinion

Stop provoking stigma

Jakarta Post Editorial - February 18, 2016

As a nation based on Pancasila including faith in one God, there is no place for sinful sexual deviants. This is the message we have been hearing since a gay counseling service at the University of Indonesia was banned last month.

Panic is spreading about a "movement" that seeks to convert heterosexual youth among those with apparently little exposure to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Such anxiety has always been endorsed by religious figures. But we are now most alarmed by the stigma of LGBT citizens that has been endorsed by ministers and even the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI). After meeting with the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), the KPI said it had banned "promotion" of "LGBT lifestyle" and activities from television programs. However, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has asserted that LGBT people are citizens with equal rights.

Although President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo campaigned on ensuring "the state's presence", the state is increasingly provoking stigma and discrimination against minorities. In January authorities swiftly facilitated the eviction of members of Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar), alleged to be a deviant faith group. Then the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa proclaiming them as heretic; another edict on LGBT people is also expected.

Official rejection and formal restriction of LGBT activities is a dangerous signal of even wider state embrace of moral and religious-related demands. Hundreds of bylaws regulate behavior and morality, as well as restrict minorities. Church and state is a lethal mix. At this rate we'll soon be back to burning witches; three Ahmadiyah minority members were killed in Banten in February 2011.

Jokowi's silence about such divisive issues is increasingly endangering minorities, who are being kicked out of their homes here and there. Such events occurred during the 10 years under then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but Jokowi was entrusted to make a difference.

Proponents of curbing LGBT activities or people insist they are all for protecting citizens' rights and advocate efforts to "guide" LGBT people away from "deviance" – despite grossly lacking evidence about "cured" sexual orientation. Haedar Nashir, leader of Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah, has warned that no one should subject LGBT people to violence.

Yet those who bully for whatever reason continue to find further justification to intimidate any "deviant" minority. Without strong state defense of minorities, many would nod to the other part of Haedar's statement – that "human rights are not universal", but depend on the context of a nation, despite the Constitution's incorporation of UN human rights conventions.

President Jokowi must remind the nation that Pancasila means equal treatment of minorities and restoring the rights of the hundreds displaced for having different beliefs. It means ensuring global, non-derogable rights including that of minorities to live in peace. Indonesia's foundation cannot be sacrificed by "contextualizing" human rights.

And if "belief in one God" means kicking out sexual minorities, Indonesia will be on par with Hitler's Nazi regime, which crushed perceived moral decadence and "impurity".

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/18/editorial-stop-provoking-stigma.html

Academic freedom post-Soeharto: Not much better

Jakarta Post - February 15, 2016

Herlambang P. Wiratraman, Surabaya – There have been several threats to academic freedom in the last five years. The grounds of a university campus are no longer considered as a place of academic freedom and are often accused of involvement in human rights violations.

The latest incident was the banning of a discussion on Feb. 1 on the 1965 International People's Tribunal (IPT) at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), apparently in response to threats from hardline groups who object to the advocacy of justice for victims of the 1960s political upheaval.

Many other universities in Indonesia have also banned controversial academic meetings or discussions. Based on my research, there are three major factors behind the recent assault on academic freedoms. First, the New Order's authoritarian legacy of the communism stigma, perceived as an ideological conflict.

Screenings of The Look of Silence (Senyap), a film by Joshua Oppenheimer, were canceled, disrupted or banned at several universities in Yogyakarta, Malang and Surabaya among others. The former ban on John Roosa's book Pretext for Mass Murder also reflected a similar kind of suppression attempt against the opportunity to discuss the chapters of history.

Second, the academic world here has been controlled by corporation and capital owners. This can be seen in the dissolving and banning of documentary screenings, such as the ban against screening Samin vs Semen, a film about a local rejection of the cement industry, by Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, and Prahara Tanah Bongkoran, a film looking into a land dispute, at Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Banyuwangi, East Java. Discussions of the Semarang administrative court ruling on a lawsuit related to Rembang residents and PT Semen Indonesia, planned for July 2015, was also banned by UGM.

Third, the use of the penal code, a colonial legacy, to silence criticism. This is most often used against human rights movements or in the face of anti-corruption criticism. Reports of defamation were filed in February last year by the South Jakarta District Court judge, Sarpin Rizaldi, against academics of Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, and also a professor of the Padjadjaran University, Bandung, due to their criticism of the judge's ruling.

In Banda Aceh early last year, the lecturer Rosnida Sari was suspended by the Ar-Raniry State Islamic University following reports of her method of teaching tolerance by bringing students to a church, where a pastor explained to them gender relations in Christianity.

Unfortunately, the increasing threats have not significantly galvanized efforts to protect academic freedom – including among university management. Instead they stand by or impose bans and cancelations. Such threats are inseparable from the political economic context of post authoritarian periods.

As described by Human Rights Watch back in 1998, academic freedom in Indonesia was suppressed, along with freedom of expression and political activity, as a result of universities' ideological ties to anti-communism and indoctrination involving loyalty to the regime – leading to book bans, repression, criminalization and dismissal of students, university management and lecturers perceived to have leftist political leanings.

In addition, military intervention on campus included repressive measures against campus organizations. Disciplining the student movement through NKK (normalization of campus life) in the late 1970s became effective to weaken political mobilization on campus.

After the fall of Soeharto's New Order regime, the campus atmosphere did not change dramatically into a more open and democratic space. Indoctrination still readily occurs and ranges from personal pressure to institutionalized efforts to discourage critical thinking. Indeed, the military no longer intervenes directly with campus life.

However, the attacks of paramilitary groups or thugs on academic fora have driven universities into the prohibition and banning of academic functions. Several cases have shown campuses try to establish "stability" so as to prevent provocation of such groups. As a result, campuses are no longer bastions of freedom, but have become stooges of thuggish repression.

In November a discussion on the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender community (LGBT) was banned at the Faculty of Law, University of Diponegoro in Semarang, and at the Brawijaya University in Malang. Meanwhile, the International Youth Forum 2015 titled "The rights of minorities in a globalized world" was also banned. In December, the rector of the University of Lampung in Bandar Lampung, Hasriadi Mat Akin said staff and students involved in LGBT activities would be dismissed. All this reflects the weak connection of the academic sphere to social problems.

Following reports of a support center for LGBT at the University of Indonesia last month, even the Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir stated that members of the LGBT community should be barred from campus. He said, as guardians of morality, universities should uphold the "noble values" of Indonesia. Such a statement is not only a violation of rights, but worse, it provokes ammunition against academic freedom.

The academic world is steadily distancing itself from its fundamental role in defending virtues and the pursuit of truth, not to mention its role as an agent of social change.

Further, scholars like C. Suwanwela note how liberal economies require the privatization of education as well as the commercialization of campuses in the name of autonomy, leading to a new model of pressure on academic freedom.

This was evident in the above examples involving corporate interest, including the cancelation of the aforementioned film screening and discussions on campuses in Malang and Surabaya of Samin vs Semen and Alkinemokiye about Freeport mining workers, both produced by the documentary production center Watchdoc.

As Michel Foucault famously wrote, the academia reproduces power through its creation of the "regime of the truth".Deficit of academic freedom has not only shown campus insensitivity over issues of human rights; academic institutions are now involved in human rights violations.

[The writer is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, the Airlangga University in Surabaya, and Chairperson of Indonesian Lecturers' Association for Human Rights (SEPAHAM).]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/02/15/academic-freedom-post-soeharto-not-much-better.html