The Australia West Papua Association says its condemns the arrest of over 50 KNPB activists leading up to the commemoration of the New York Agreement, signed on the 15th August in 1962.

The agreement helped pave the way to the United Nations Act of Free Choice in 1969, giving Indonesia control of the provinces, which many Papuans say was undemocratic and a betrayal.

The AWPA said the 50 activists were arrested while handing out leaflets informing people of peaceful rallies to be held today to commemorate the event.

Although the activists had been released they were originally taken to the Jayapura Police Station where they were photographed and had their details taken.

A spokesperson for the group, Joe Collins, said he was concerned there would be a repeat of more mass arrests at peaceful rallies which in the recent past have also included shootings of innocent people.

A spokesperson for the KNPB Centre said they would continue to hold a peaceful demonstration today despite the arrests, while the AWPA said it would stand in solidarity with the West Papuan people at an event at the Sydney Town Hall today.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/311025/outrage-over-arrests-of-50-activists-in-west-papua

Indonesia shows off peaceful Papua

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Having been accused of frequent abuses of human rights in Papua, the Indonesian government took a couple of senior Australian officials on a tour of the easternmost region on Thursday to see the peaceful state of the region.

Australia's Attorney General George Brandis and Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson joined Indonesia's Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto and Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan on a trip to observe the construction of the Skouw-Wutung border post on the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) and other developments. The entourage left together from Nusa Dua, Bali, where they participated in a counterterrorism seminar.

Wiranto said he had invited the high-ranking Australian officials to Papua to see conditions in Papua firsthand, to counter what he called misleading information about the region's security situation. "They will personally see the condition of the region and people of Papua. A lot of information from outside does not match reality. They can also see firsthand that Indonesia is serious about paying special attention to Papua," he added.

Indonesia has been accused of neglecting development and security in the resource-rich region, leaving it mired in conflict and human rights abuses.

A separatist group, the Free Papua Movement (OPM), has a degree of popular support and is occasionally involved in armed exchanges with members of the security forces.

Protests demanding freedom for the region have also occurred in other parts of the country. The latest was a demonstration in Yogyakarta by students who staged a rally to show support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's (ULMWP) bid for membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) last month. The police detained seven students and raided the Papuan students' dormitory.

There has also been a number of human rights violations recorded in the region over the decades. Human Rights Watch (HRW) recorded that among the cases is the Biak massacre in 1998 during which civilians were tortured and killed in West Papua.

The Indonesian government has previously said it is examining 22 human rights violations in Papua, of which it hopes to complete three by the end of this year.

Thursday's trip also saw the officials visiting local administration offices and meeting local bureaucrats and community leaders. Brandis said it was the first time he had visited Papua.

"I see pride in the people in their country Indonesia. The government is also focusing on infrastructure development in Papua, especially at the Indonesian-Papua New Guinean border," he said.

While talking to Papuan residents, Wiranto called on the people of Papua and local administrations to create a peaceful situation in the province because no development would ever bear fruit if people lived in conflict.

"President [Joko "Jokowi" Widodo] really wants to build Papua in order for it to catch up with other regions. The President wishes to have heart-to-heart dialogue, listen to complaints and seek solutions, so with these good intentions it is expected that the Papuan people will build peace in Papua. How can we progress if there is no peace and live in constant conflict and disharmony with each other?" said Wiranto, who, as a former military commander, has also been accused of human rights abuses during the conflict leading to the independence of Timor Leste.

Jayapura's Cenderawasih University Students' Executive Body chairman Goni Gobay said development, sought by the Indonesian government in Papua, would not be achieved if it failed to resolve the many cases of human rights violations.

"How can we accept development while there are still wounds that have not healed? Papuans will not open their hearts to development if cases of human rights violations have not been resolved," he said.

Goni agreed that peace was important in building Papua, so the government should also invite the brothers in the forests and strive to build Papua together.

Papuan religious leader Rev. Herman Saud acknowledged that the central government was open to Papua and had carried out many progressive development projects in Papua.

"President Jokowi has paid very close attention to advancing Papua. This is an opportunity that should be taken advantage of by local authorities to carry out large-scale development to boost the prosperity of the people," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/ri-shows-off-peaceful-papua.html

Aust should raise abuse during Papua trip

Australian Associated Press - August 11, 2016

Lauren Farrow – Australia's Attorney-General must raise current and past abuses, including the alleged Biak massacre of 1998, when he travels to Papua with the controversial Indonesian minister Wiranto, Human Rights Watch says.

Wiranto, a former military general accused of human rights abuses in East Timor, will accompany Senator George Brandis to Papua on Thursday where they will meet a number of officials, including the Governor Lukas Enembe and the Chief of Papua Provincial Police.

Andreas Harsono from Human Rights Watch said the visit provides Mr Brandis with a unique opportunity to raise the alleged 1998 massacre of more than 100 people on the Papuan island of Biak.

"I think it is a good thing if the Attorney General is going to go there and ask Wiranto what he is going to do about the ongoing government investigation about Biak massacre plus a trail of other human rights abuses in Papua," Mr Harsono told AAP.

An investigation, which was launched by Wiranto's predecessor Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Pandjaitan into rights abuses in Papua also needs to be a priority.

He also urged him to raise tensions between Papua Governor Enembe and the sultan of Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono over allegations that recent protests by Papuan students in the Javanese city had been repressed.

"(Mr Brandis) should remind them (Ministers Wiranto and Luhut) that it is a democratic country and people have the right to express their opinion."

Wiranto was promoted to Security Minister during a cabinet reshuffle last month in a shock move that prompted outrage, with Amnesty international saying it showed a "contempt" for human rights.

In 2003 the UN sponsored Special Panels for Serious Crimes of the Dili District Court, Timor-Leste indicted Wiranto for crimes against humanity during East Timor's bloody 1999 vote for independence.

Thursday's visit to Papua comes after Mr Brandis and Wiranto were in talks in Bali on Wednesday during counter-terrorism meets.

"This week's engagements have presented yet another opportunity to build on Australia and Indonesia's already close and productive relationship," Mr Brandis said in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Harsono said it will be interesting to see if Australia allows Wiranto to visit them at a later date. Justice Minister Michael Keenan said earlier this month that the makeup of the Indonesian cabinet was a matter for their government.

Source: https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/32299831/aust-should-raise-abuse-during-papua-trip/#page1

Papuan challenges police action in Yogyakarta

Radio New Zealand International - August 10, 2016

A Yogyakarta-based West Papuan student has filed a pretrial motion challenging the Yogyakarta Police's decision to name him a suspect in a alleged assault on state officials.

The 21-year old Obby Kogoya was one of a group of Papuan students arrested by police in the Indonesian city on Friday.

The Jakarta Post reported that the Papuans were staging a peaceful rally in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application for full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group when police tried to disperse them.

The student was named as a suspect for alleged use of violence against state officials. Obby registered the pretrial motion through lawyers with the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Foundation who said from available evidence it appeared that it was the Papuan who was assaulted.

Papuan students in Yogyakarta have recently reported being constantly monitored by security forces since a recent series of rallies in support of the Liberation Movement

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/310598/papuan-challenges-police-action-in-yogyakarta

1965 anti-communist purge

The intellectual genocide of the left post-1965

Detik News - August 12, 2016

Melbourne – Gadjah Mada University (UGM) historian Dr Abdul Wahid has put forward a hypothesis that intellectual genocide occurred in Indonesian tertiary education institutions following the 1965 affair.

This was marked with the dismissal and exclusion of thousands of lecturers and students who were accused of being leftist.

This was raised by Dr Wahid during a public lecture at the University of Melbourne on the evening of Thursday August 11. The event was held in cooperation with the Herb Feith Foundation, the Faculty of Arts Indonesia Initiative and the Indonesia Forum under the theme "Was It an Intellectual Genocide? The Elimination of Leftist Elements in the Indonesian Tertiary Education, 1965-1980".

It is said that one of the sectors that has still not been studied in much detail is campus life and the world of tertiary education. Dr Wahid's studies, which are based on primary sources and interviews, attempts to analyse how the anti-communist campaign launched by Suharto's New Order dictatorship became an intellectual genocide, which changed academic life and the management of universities in Indonesia.

Dr Wahid explained that since the beginning of the Guided Democracy period all elements of the nation were directed to support the revolution being campaigned for by Indonesia's founding president Sukarno. "Universities also had to take part and become tools of the revolution", he explained.

As it developed, Guided Democracy and the ideology of Nasakom (Nationalism, Religion, Communism) was seen as most benefiting the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). And it was during this era that a number of educational institutions affiliated or linked with the PKI were born such as the People's University and the Aliarcham Academy of Social Sciences.

Leftist student and intellectual movements also became prominent such as the PKI affiliated Indonesian Student Movement Centre (CGMI), the Indonesian Association of Youths and Students (IPPI), the Association of Indonesian Academics (HIS) and the Education Employees Trade Union (SPP).

"Nasakom also came onto the campuses and coloured university student affairs through various student organisations that competed with each other", said Dr Wahid.

From 1959 on these leftist elements were very aggressive in influencing campus life, moreover there were even lecturers that were dismissed because they were deemed not to support Nasakom.

On the other hand, the development of tertiary education institutions was quite rapid, growing from eight to 39 state universities by 1963. In addition to this, the number of private universities grew from 112 to 228 by 1965.

"In total there were 355 universities and academies with 278,000 students", explained Dr Wahid, who obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

The other aspect of note was that prior to 1965 there was active cooperation between Indonesian and international tertiary education institutions both in the West as well as the Eastern Bloc. Western countries tended to assist with capacity building while the Eastern Bloc countries helped in the development of infrastructure.

"UGM for example received assistance to develop an atomic laboratory from the Soviet Union", he said.

Following the 1965 affair however, the minister for tertiary education at the time immediately issued Decree Number 1/1965 that closed down 14 tertiary education institutions deemed to be linked to the PKI.

Under the Science and Tertiary Education Ministry Decree that followed, two PKI universities were also closed and the student organisation CGMI was banned.

"Following this a screening process took place in all tertiary education institutions, although the results of this remain confidential to this day. Only a handful of universities have reported the results of this screening", explained the Leiden University masters graduate.

The screening process at tertiary education institutions also involved elements of the military in addition to the screening teams on the campuses themselves.

As a result, at the UGM for example it was recorded that 115 lecturers and staff were removed along with some 3,006 students, who then became political prisoners (tapol).

According to Dr Wahid's data, 25 lecturers and staff along with 227 students were removed from the Padjadjaran University (Unpad) in Bandung, West Java, while 17 lecturers and 63 students were removed from the Bandung Teachers Training Institute (IKIP).

At the University of Diponegoro (Undip) 17 lecturers were removed and at the University of North Sumatra (USU) in Medan five lecturers and 10 students were removed.

Meanwhile at the Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, thirty-nine students were removed and at the Hasanuddin Makassar University in South Sulawesi 95 lecturers and staff were removed.

Dr Wahid's data shows that the Sam Ratulangi Manadi University in Manado, North Sulawesi, removed 24 lecturers and 100 students who were labeled as being leftist meanwhile at the IKIP in Manado 19 students were removed.

Finally, at the Mulawarman University in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, 299 lecturers and staff along with 3,464 students were removed because they were deemed as not having a "clean environment" [a phrase to denote a person as "pure" from any possible communist influence – JB].

"The University of Indonesia [UI] doesn't have any reports on the results of the screening although it is estimated that 1,000 students from GMNI ASU [Ali Surachman Indonesian National Students Movement] were removed," he said. "This screening process, among other things, made lecturers into spies", said Dr Wahid.

The screening process, said Dr Wahid, continued until 1987 and was included in the recruitment of lecturers. "Between 1987 and 1998, the [screening] teams were changed into special investigation teams (litsus)", he explained.

The other impact of the 1965 affair was the seizure of the assets belonging to the PKI and its affiliates from educational institutions. "Although this was not comparable to the importance of the loss of thousands from a generation of cosmopolitan intellectuals in Indonesia", he said.

Included among the victims who were removed was Dr Busono Wiwoho (UGM), Prof. Tjan Tjoe Som (UI), Dr Gunawan Wiradi (IPB, Bogor Institute of Agriculture).

In addition to this, leftist literary books were lost and banned along with the loss of critical theoretical traditions. "A culture of fear and self-censorship emerged within academic circles", explained Dr Wahid.

Based on this explanation, Dr Wahid proposes a hypothesis that what occurred was a form of intellectual genocide that was marked by a clear intent to eliminate a group that became a target based on their ideology. (nwk/nwk)

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was "Genosida Intelektual Kiri Indonesia Pasca 1965".]

Source: http://news.detik.com/australiaplus/3274077/genosida-intelektual-kiri-indonesia-pasca-1965

Sexual & domestic violence

Police urged to continue investigation of alleged rape

Jakarta Post - August 11, 2016

Agnes Anya, Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) has urged the police not to issue investigation termination warrants (SP3) in the alleged sexual assault of an intern by three civil servants and continue the investigation into the case.

Komnas PA's chairman, Aries Merdeka Sirait, said on Wednesday that it was unwise for the police to issue the SP3 merely based on information discrepancies between the victim, suspects and witnesses.

"The police should not only underscore the investigation based on information, but also vital evidence, which includes the victim's underwear and the suspects' [use of] anesthetic," he said.

Aries recommended that the police refer to hospitals with better DNA-testing capacities, not simply rely on the Bhayangkara National Police Hospital and Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.

Komnas PA organized on Wednesday a confidential in-depth interview with the victim and her mother at the commission's office. "My daughter suffered a serious trauma," said the victim's mother.

Komnas PA's psychologist, Imaculata "Ima" Umiyati confirmed the victim's condition. "Whenever it was 12 p.m., which was when the assault occurred on Aug. 3, she acted like she was in shock."

Ima added that the commission would strive to provide the 17-year-old with psychosocial therapy, but it was likely the victim would be traumatized for years to come. "We'll do our best, but from our experience, cases like this always have a permanent imprint on one's mind," she said.

The incident allegedly took place in a vacant room on the sixth floor of the Central Jakarta mayor's office. The victim said that two civil servants – identified only as Y and H – approached her as she was looking at her cell phone and smothered her nose and mouth until she lost consciousness. The victim was then allegedly raped by the third civil servant, identified only as AA.

Earlier police said they would halt the investigation if they did not find strong evidence in the case. In the preliminary investigation, based on the CCTV recordings, police said the man accused of raping the intern, was not in the building at the time of the alleged rape.

The victim's legal representative, Herbert Aritonang, said he would seek more new evidence as he found some problems with the CCTV. "The CCTV on the sixth floor only monitors one elevator, even though there are two elevators there," he said.

Herbert said he would go to the crime scene to seek more information about whether the CCTV was functioning properly or not. "We will work harder to provide more convincing evidence," he said.

Police say they have not decided to stop the investigation into the case. Jakarta Police spokesperson, Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono, said on Wednesday that the police would take some measures as a result of contradictions in statements by witnesses, the alleged perpetrators and the victim.

"The investigators will call on an expert from Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital about the forensic test results," he told to The Jakarta Post. He said the police would also check on the girl's psychological state at the Integrated Service Center for Women and Children.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama said that he noted the police's findings and had confidence in the relevant authorities. "However, regardless of the finding, any civil servants caught committing crimes will definitely be fired," Ahok said.

He further said that he understood the parents' move to report the case to Komnas PA and, hence, would not hinder them from proceeding with it. (sha/adt)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/11/police-urged-continue-investigation-alleged-rape.html

Police behave 'improperly' in rape investigation

Jakarta Post - August 10, 2016

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have made the details of the investigation into the rape allegation from an intern at the Central Jakarta municipality office public. They divulged personal and forensics information to the local media on Tuesday, while casting doubt on the credibility of the victim's story.

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono said they had analyzed three CCTV recordings and found that the man accused of raping M, the intern, was not at the building at the time of the alleged rape.

"From the CCTV recordings, we found A was in a hotel in Tanah Abang. He was with his two colleagues working on a land issue at the hotel," Awi said as quoted by kompas.com.

High school student M, 17, reported that A, assisted by H and Y, raped her on the sixth floor of the building at about 12 p.m. From witness testimony, the police said they found that H was not on duty and at his house, while Y was not on the sixth floor at that time. The police said they questioned 21 colleagues who confirmed the findings.

Awi said the police confronted the victim with H and Y but M did not recognize either of them, she only recognized A. During a forensics examination, he said the police also did not find any "new injuries" that could indicate she had been raped.

Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, a lecturer at Gadjah Mada University's School of Law in Yogyakarta, said the police's move to confront the victim with the accused men was very improper in dealing with sexual violence cases. "They should refer the victim to psychological counseling," she told thejakartapost.com.

She said the police were obliged to find sufficient evidence, but there was the possibility that the police had discovered evidence that did not confirm the victim's account.

Sri, who was a lawyer at the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH APIK), said for young victims, inconsistent reports were possible.

"Perhaps the same event happened with the same person but at a different time, or there was another event the victim associated with the event she reported to the police. For the victim's best interest, especially for young victims, the police should investigate the case with sensitivity and they should not have divulged the process to the public," she said. "Especially if the disclosure created a stigma for the victim," Sri went on to say.

Last week, M's parents reported a man identified as A, a civil servant at the Central Jakarta municipal office to the police. The victim said she was assaulted by three men during a lunch break in an empty room in the municipality building. They made her unconscious and when she woke up, she found herself naked in the room.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/10/police-behave-improperly-in-rape-investigation-divulge-personal-details-to-public.html

Freedom of speech & expression

Kontras calls for new probe into Freddy Budiman's case

Jakarta Post - August 13, 2016

Jakarta – With the public standing behind it in opposition to the possible prosecution of its leader for defamation, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has pushed for a thorough investigation into allegations that law enforcers had been involved in drug smuggling.

Kontras on Friday called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who cited an alleged "illegal drug emergency" as the reason to carry out executions of drug convicts, to create an independent team to dismantle the entire network of the executed drug dealer Freddy Budiman, who reportedly claimed to have been working with high ranking officials in the National Police, the Indonesian Military and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).

Jokowi needed to establish an independent team to ensure officials involved with Freddy in the smuggling of 1.4 million ecstasy pills from China to Indonesia in 2012 would be revealed, said Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar.

"We advise the President to create an independent team that has the authority to do an internal investigation into each relevant institution," Haris said on Friday at Kontras' office in Jakarta.

The urgency to create an independent team arose after Kontras studied the case against Muhamad Muhtar, a person convicted of helping Freddy manage the transportation of a package containing drugs from Tanjung Priok Port to a warehouse in Kamal Raya, Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

On May 15, 2012, the BNN and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise had created a team to conduct a controlled delivery, which is a technique the authorities can use to identify suspects who are trying to smuggle drugs from one country to another.

The team was responsible for identifying the suspected drug carrier who intended to smuggle the contraband from other country, Haris said.

"In the controlled delivery process, [the team] has to make sure who the transporters, receivers, distributors and other parties involved in the transportation of the package are," observer Bambang Widodo Umar said.

However, based on the verdict, Muhtar was caught in the middle of the road from Tanjung Priok Port to a warehouse at Kamal Raya after he exited the Kamal toll road.

Haris said the team had failed to do the controlled delivery operation since it was supposed to wait until Muhtar reached the warehouse so that he would reveal those involved in the whole chain of the drug trafficking process.

Previously, the National Police, the BNN and the TNI had reported Haris for defamation after Haris wrote a Facebook post indirectly accusing members of three institutions of complicity in the drug trade.

However, the National Police announced on Wednesday that it has suspended the investigation into the allegations of Haris' defamation.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian formed a team of 18 members including some well known figures such as Hendardi, the executive director of human rights watchdog Setara Institute, Poengky Indarti, the commissioner of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) and popular communications expert Effendi Ghazali from the University of Indonesia.

The BNN had also created a team to investigate Haris' claims. It had questioned the former warden of the Nusakambangan Island prison, Liberty Sitinjak, who Haris claimed had witnessed the meeting between him and Freddy.

In addition, the TNI has also put together a team to further investigate the possible involvement of TNI members in the drug smuggling, as stated in Haris' claims about Freddy.

"If each team is working independently, there would be a possibility that they could contradict each other in the process of uncovering the truth," Haris said.

Haris added that the evidence from Muhtar's trial was just the beginning and Kontras will start revealing more evidence and facts soon. (win)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/13/kontras-calls-new-probe-freddy-budiman-s-case.html

Netizens see face of communist Aidit, painting removed from Terminal 3

Jakarta Post - August 13, 2016

Jakarta – Following uproar on social media on Friday, a painting entitled #The Indonesia Idea (.ID) by Galam Zulkifli at the new Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has been taken down by operator Angkasa Pura II because of its apparent inclusion of the face of late Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) leader D. N. Aidit.

Before being taken down, the painting was wrapped in white cloth to conceal it. Netizens engaged in fierce debate about whether Aidit's face was among the hundreds of national figures' faces featured in the painting.

AP II corporate secretary and legal head Agus Haryadi responded to the discussion on Friday about 3 p.m., saying that he was not sure it was Aidit, but might rather be Sutan Sjahrir, the first prime minister of Indonesia and the founder of the Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI).

"We have been trying to contact Galam since this morning but he hasn't answered. We want to confirm whether it is indeed Aidit, because it looks like Sutan Sjahrir," Agus said as quoted by kompas.com.

Hours later, AP II decided to take the artwork down. "We have taken it down because it has attracted debate on social media. We're waiting for the curator's explanation about the painting," AP II acting president director Djoko Murjatmodjo told kompas.com.

The painting features hundreds of faces, including those of former presidents Abdurrahman Wahid and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and historical leftist figures such as the PKI's Musso and leftist Tan Malaka.

The painting's brief description says, "As a stage, Indonesia is an enduring offering about the search for truth through debate. Ideas meet to find the formula, not only about the state, but also how to blend diversity from different languages to become one soul: national unity."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/13/netizens-see-face-of-communist-aidit-painting-removed-from-terminal-3.html

Netizens wary of libel suits under draconian ITE Law

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani and Haeril Halim, Jakarta – "If we can't express our opinions in social media, then where? Should we go to the State Palace?" said 23-year-old Retno Wulandari, a newly graduated pharmacist. "We only want to take part in watching the government."

Retno has been actively discussing politics with her friends in social media, usually on Kaskus and Twitter and on messaging services like WhatsApp and Line, but she said she did not feel she had the freedom to talk freely as she was aware that she could easily be charged with defamation, as stipulated in Article 27 of the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.

The article imposes criminal punishment on anyone who purposely distributes or transmits electronic information or documents with defamatory content. Although she never got into trouble because of her activities in social media, the regulation forces her to be careful in giving opinions.

A 22-year-old social media specialist, Tommy Surya Pradana, said the defamation article in the law was ambiguous and could be easily abused by the authorities. "It really depends on how we deliver our words. I have to fully understand what I write before I publish it," he said.

The key issue is that law enforcement institutions often confuse criticism with defamation, the latest case of which saw the National Police, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) reporting a human rights activist for breaching the ITE law after he wrote scathing statements about the institutions on Facebook.

The activist, Haris Azhar, was added to a long list of people accused of defamation for criticizing public officials or complaining about a service from a private company.

Furqan Erwansyah, aka Rudi Lombok, was jailed in 2015 for violating the ITE Law after criticizing a West Nusa Tenggara tourism advertisement that he said was more promoting the head of the tourism body than the province.

Housewife Prita Mulyasari was sued for defamation by the Omni International Hospital in 2009 after she complained about the hospital's services on an online mailing list.

Florence Sihombing, a Gadjah Mada University (UGM) student, was sentenced to two months in jail after venting her anger on Path against the people of Yogyakarta.

Many other people have been charged with this draconian article, but their cases failed to make headlines in the media or to trigger public outrage in social media.

Despite the criticism, the government and the House of Representatives have decided to retain the article in the revision to the ITE Law, which is to be enacted soon. They only agreed to reduce the punishment from a six-year maximum to less than five years in prison to prevent the police from detaining suspected violators.

Critics said reducing the prison sentence was not enough. "Even when they reduce the imprisonment to two years, it still can be a tool for public officials to jail those who criticize them," Supriyadi W. Eddyono from the Institute of Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said.

He claimed that most defamation cases, like the one against Haris, were launched by public officials who could not take criticism.

University of Indonesia (UI) criminal law expert Ganjar Laksamana Bondan argued that the problem with the defamation article in the ITE Law was more about its implementation than its wording. The law enforcers often do not understand the cases they are handling, he said.

"They should be able to distinguish what constitutes defamation or is only criticism. People who file a defamation report against somebody may not understand, but the law enforcers should."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/netizens-wary-libel-suits-under-draconian-ite-law.html

Police, BNN, TNI row back on Haris defamation case

Jakarta Post - August 11, 2016

Margareth S. Aritonang and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – The legal case against outspoken human rights activist Haris Azhar could soon be dropped after the National Police announced on Wednesday it had suspended the probe into the case and set up a team to follow up on claims he made on social media, which it previously condemned as defamatory.

The police force, along with the Indonesian Military and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) – which reported Haris for defamation after he wrote a Facebook post indirectly accusing members of the three institutions of complicity in the drug trade – have decided to launch separate investigations to confirm Haris' allegations.

Quoting drug convict Freddy Budiman before his execution last month, Haris wrote that high-ranking officials within the police force, BNN and TNI had worked with Freddy to smuggle and distribute illegal drugs in the country.

While the investigations are underway, the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) will not process the defamation report against Haris, National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar told a press conference, which was also attended by Haris, on Wednesday.

"We must admit the truth so that it will not be a boomerang to efforts to eradicate narcotics."

At the conference, Boy emphasized the importance of maintaining good relations with civil society organizations in the country, especially with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), of which Haris is a coordinator.

The National Police, TNI and BNN have accused Haris of breaching the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law by circulating defamatory information on the internet.

The move was met with widespread criticism from the public, who have demanded that the police investigate his scathing claims rather than shooting the messenger.

The decision to suspend the legal case against Haris came only days after National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian initiated a joint team of 18 members, comprising police investigators and representatives of the public, to investigate the claims.

External team members include figures that are well known among the country's human rights defenders, such as Hendardi, the executive director of human rights watchdog Setara Institute, and Poengky Indarti, who was the executive director of Imparsial before being elected as commissioner of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) last May.

The list also includes popular political communications expert Effendi Ghazali from the University of Indonesia.

Headed by chief of the National Police's General Supervision Inspectorate (Irwasum) Comr. Gen. Dwi Priyatno, the team is tasked with investigating Haris' claims to identify and punish police officers who are alleged to have been involved in drug trafficking.

Similar investigations are also being carried out by the TNI and BNN. BNN has questioned former warden of the Nusakambangan prison Liberty Sitinjak, who Haris cited as a witness to the meeting between him and Freddy.

House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs and laws, human rights and security will set a date to meet Haris after the recess period to seek more clarification.

"We suggest that all information about the narcotics business be opened to the public and that law enforcement bodies start internal investigations based on Haris' information," commission member Masinton Pasaribu said.

"I really appreciate the kind gestures shown by the National Police, the TNI and BNN by following up on my information," Haris said. "However, I still expect President Jokowi to step in and respond to the matter. Don't keep silent for too long, Pak President."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/11/police-bnn-tni-row-back-haris-defamation-case.html

Kontras leader questions defamation charges against him

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Jakarta – Human rights activist Haris Azhar has questioned the move by the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) to report him on allegations of defamation to the police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim).

Haris finds it strange that while they continue to proceed with the charges, the three state institutions also aim to investigate the validity of a statement from executed drug lord Freddy Budiman in which he claimed that state security officials were complicit in his illegal activities.

"If they want to investigate the validity of the statement, they should ask me to cooperate with them [instead of filing a report with the police]," said the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Monday.

Haris was reported to Bareskrim last week for defamation after he released the statement Freddy gave him in a 2014 meeting on social media. Some police, military and BNN officials have said they are determined to continue the legal process against Haris, although they are also ready to investigate the validity of the statement released by the activist one day before Freddy was executed on July 29.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Monday that the police were still working to determine the validity of Freddy's statement and promised they would be objective in handling the case.

Haris is accused of breaching the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law for allegedly circulating defamatory information on social media.

Boy said earlier that the police filed the report against Haris to serve as a lesson to people on how to properly lodge criticism without defaming others. (wnd/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/kontras-leader-questions-defamation-charges-against-him.html

Indonesian rights activist Haris Azhar cancels Australia trip to fight police

Sydney Morning Herald - August 8, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – One of Indonesia's most prominent human rights activists has cancelled a trip to Australia because he has to fight a criminal defamation suit after he alleged the military and police were involved in a drug smuggling syndicate.

Just hours before the execution of Freddy Budiman last month, Haris Azhar posted allegations on Facebook that the notorious drug baron had told him he had paid millions of dollars in bribes to top-ranking officials to run his ecstasy smuggling racket from behind bars.

The National Narcotics Agency (BNN), military and police filed a criminal defamation suit against Mr Haris last week and he is considering asking for witness protection after receiving anonymous threats.

Mr Haris, the co-ordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), had been invited to Australia by the Perth-based Indonesia Institute next month to deliver public lectures and closed-door briefings on his human rights activities.

However, he cancelled on Sunday night, telling the Indonesia Institute the situation had become too serious for him to travel. "If I go to Australia and the police or BNN summon me, they might think I ran away. I don't want to give that impression," Mr Haris told Fairfax Media.

He said he did not regret going public with the information, despite the repercussions. Mr Haris posted online the contents of a conversation he had with Budiman when he visited him in prison on the penal island of Nusakambangan in 2014.

Budiman told him he didn't mind paying bribes to officials because the profit margin he made importing ecstasy pills from China was so great. He allegedly boasted he had paid a total of 540 billion rupiah ($54 million) to high-ranking officials from the military, BNN and police over the years.

Budiman also alleged a BNN official had asked the prison head of Nusakambangan to remove the surveillance cameras from his cell. Mr Haris told Fairfax Media Budiman did not name names, but did indicate the positions of those involved in the racket.

Budiman and three Nigerians were executed in the early hours of July 29, as part of Indonesia's "war" on the scourge of drugs. Ten others were given an 11th-hour reprieve but their fate remains uncertain, with Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo flagging that executions will still proceed.

National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said it was disappointing that Mr Haris had chosen to post Budiman's claims publicly rather than report them to law enforcement agencies.

"Why couldn't I make it public?" Mr Haris asked. "Is it sinful? Now we see that the state institutions have acted oddly. Instead of following it up, they have reported me for defamation."

BNN spokesman Slamet Pribadi said the National Narcotics Agency had questioned former Nusakambangan head Liberty Sitinjak on Monday about the allegations that he had been pressured to remove the surveillance cameras. He said Mr Haris would be summoned for questioning this week.

In February, then chief security minister Luhut Panjaitan ordered tighter security for drug dealers and terrorists on Nusakambangan – with more officers guarding high-risk prisons – after he led a delegation to the island. A source told Fairfax Media that security X-rays at five of the prisons visited by the delegation were not working.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesian-rights-activist-haris-azhar-cancels-australia-trip-to-fight-police-lawsuit-20160808-gqnor4.html

Internet & social media

Jokowi turns to social media to maintain popularity

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Ina Parlina, Jakarta – A brief video showing a father and his son engaging in an arm-wrestling duel went viral on YouTube a month ago. Such videos featuring the warm relations of a father and son are common.

But this arm-wrestling video was unusual because the main actors were President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his second son Kaesang Pangarep. The video was posted by Kaesang, who like any other person of his young generation is growing up with social media.

The short video attracted about 1.9 million viewers and many comments, if not jokes, like "[...] and tomorrow the President will go to the gym" and "Jokowi is a President, but he still has good ties with his son."

Whether Jokowi is a populist president is up for debate, but there is no doubt the man is the most likeable president on social media with the President and his social-media savvy son becoming a recent internet sensation with their antics on YouTube.

Kaesang and his jokes have several times gained popularity on social media, including when he posted on Instagram a picture of himself lying on the floor near his mother, First Lady Iriana, who is sitting in a chair.

Trying to crack a joke, Kaesang tagged the picture with a comment that he had been about to give Iriana a hug but he was too tired. Kaesang also often plays it cool when it comes to harsh criticisms launched at him on social media.

Early this month, in a move some might see as his effort to keep up with Kaesang's sense of humor, Jokowi posted on Twitter a picture showing him trying to paint what others commonly perceived as art, but failing. The President called it an "abstract" painting.

The attempt, which he made on the sidelines of an opening ceremony of an exhibition of historical paintings kept in several state palaces, attracted various comments on social media, with some applauding Jokowi for having a good sense of humor.

As president, Jokowi has used Twitter for more than a year and now he has about 5.57 million followers on his account @jokowi, while his son has managed to attract 210,000 followers to @kaesangp since joining Twitter in 2010.

In this country, a message delivered in a modest way could attract more people than complicated lines such as in a state address or some speeches during the New Order regime, said social media strategist Shafiq Pontoh.

"And he is a president who uses simple ways to reach the people, the ways ordinary people can relate to, so that his message can be delivered to them," Shafiq added.

A recent study by Burson-Marsteller called Twiplomacy Study 2016 put Jokowi, who received an average of 1,224 retweets for every tweet he posted on his account, in the ninth rank in the category of 50 most influential world leaders. The official @POTUS account topped the list with an average of 12,350 retweets, followed by Pope Francis @Pontifex with 9,905 retweets.

Jokowi was in 11th place with 5 million followers, while US President Barack Obama's Twitter account @BarackObama remains "an uncontested leader of the digital world" with 75 million followers, followed by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 21 million followers.

Yet, Jokowi was not in the list of 50 most connected world leaders, unlike the other leaders that top the two other categories.

The President follows only 59 accounts, mostly Cabinet members and official ministry accounts, but, ironically, none of his family members – not even Kaesang although the latter, as one of Jokowi's followers, has several times mentioned his father.

Having posted 424 messages, Jokowi, however, was not among the 10 most conversational world leaders in the Twiplomacy study. Although Twitter allows citizen to have direct access to their leaders, Jokowi has almost never replied to his followers' posts.

Just on Tuesday, Jokowi invited 13 famous YouTube account holders and bloggers, like Fathia Izzati and Arief Muhammad, to the State Palace.

Jokowi allowed them to record short videos that have him commenting on simple but inspirational issues, like who the President considered his role model. Jokowi told them that, for him, role models could be common people like sellers in the market and fishermen who worked hard. However, the meeting was held behind closed doors and under the traditional media's radar.

About eight months after he took office, Jokowi used his 54th birthday on June 21, 2015, to mark his return to Twitter, which he used as a campaign tool during the 2014 presidential election, under the account @jokowi_do2.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/jokowi-turns-to-social-media-to-maintain-popularity.html

Environment & natural disasters

Australian Greens' support of Indonesian fishermen praised

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Djemi Amnifu, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – Care for West Timor Foundation (YPTB) chairman Ferdi Tanoni expressed his thanks for the Australian Greens' support of the class action lawsuit filed by Indonesian fishermen against PTTEP Australia for an oil leak at its Montara oil rig in the Timor Sea in 2009.

Ferdi said the Australian Green Party's support showed proof that the oil spill in the Timor Sea, caused by a blowout and fire on the Montara wellhead platform on Aug. 21, 2009, had made negative impacts on the social and economic life of local people in East Nusa Tenggara coastal areas.

"I'm optimistic the long struggle of seaweed farmers in the province will get full support from many parties, as that shown by the Australian Greens," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Australian Greens senator Rachel Siewert conveyed her party's full support for the class action lawsuit filed by the East Nusa Tenggara fishermen at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney on Aug. 3 in an email sent to the YPTB on Sunday.

Ferdi said Siewert had visited affected locations in West Timor and spoken with seaweed farmers and fishermen in the area. "Senator Siewert could feel what had been felt by local seaweed farmers and fishermen affected by damage from the Montara oil spill," he added.

Earlier, Ferdi called on a special team, established by the Maritime Affairs and Resources Coordinating Ministry to settle the Montara oil spill case, to immediately freeze PTTEP Australasia's operational permit and confiscate its assets in Indonesia. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/australian-greens-support-of-indonesian-fishermen-praised.html

Illegal Indonesian bird trade threatens survival of endangered species

ABC Radio Australia - August 12, 2016

Tens of thousands of endangered birds are being sold illegally at markets across Indonesia, threatening these species with extinction.

Tens of thousands of endangered birds are being sold illegally at markets across Indonesia, a wildlife trade watchdog warns, flouting laws aimed at protecting these species from extinction.

Wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC recorded nearly 23,000 birds for sale at five markets in three major cities on the main island of Java.

More than two dozen species identified in the survey were fully protected under Indonesian law, meaning all hunting and trafficking of them is prohibited.

These included the critically endangered Black-Winged Myna, native to Java and Bali, and other rare species found nowhere outside Indonesia's vast archipelago.

Bird keeping has long been part of Indonesia's national culture, with research showing over a third of households kept a bird.

There is a particular interest in keeping songbirds – enthusiasts enter their prize birds in song contests, which are popular and widespread in Java and Bali.

A boost in demand for certain types of birds has put excessive pressure on vulnerable species. According to the IUCN 10 birds endemic to Indonesia are already facing immediate threats of extinction.

"If this level of trade continues, in the next few years some species of birds could be wiped out completely from the wild," Serene Chng, the co-author of TRAFFIC's new report into the bird trade, told AFP.

Wildlife activists have urged the government to close several notorious bird markets in Jakarta.

This latest report from TRAFFIC says the widespread trafficking of birds extends far beyond the markets of the Indonesian capital, and has called for law enforcement to shut down the illegal trade for good. (ABC/AFP)

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2016-08-12/illegal-indonesian-bird-trade-threatens-survival-of-endangered-species/1607858

Health & education

Aggressive baby formula advertisements trample restrictions

Jakarta Post - August 10, 2016

Jakarta – When her first child was born at a private hospital in Malang, Nuansa Putri, a 34-year-old civil servant, immediately believed the pediatrician's statement that baby formula would make her son, Dean, grow strong and healthy.

The midwife who took care of Dean told Nuansa that if she did not immediately produce breast milk, her son would go hungry and lose weight.

The midwife offered Nuansa a famous brand of formula, saying it was an imported product with a quality similar to breast milk. The new mother trusted the midwife's words and let her son drink it.

"My son became used to drinking formula from a bottle and didn't want to breast-feed from me anymore," she said, adding that it was a tough situation to endure.

Nuansa is one of many mothers who did not breast-feed exclusively because the government has failed to monitor producers and distributors of infant formula that aggressively market their products to new mothers.

Many such cases have occurred, forcing the government to create a new regulation to address the problem.

In 2014, the Health Ministry issued a ministerial regulation on imposing administrative sanctions for health personnel, healthcare facility operators, as well as producers and distributors of infant formula.

"As stated in the law, administrative sanctions could be given to them," Didik Budiyanto, head of data and information management at the Health Ministry, said on Wednesday.

The ministry could impose administrative sanctions in the form of verbal warnings, written warnings and permit revocation, he said.

Mothers who felt like they had been duped could report incidents using the Halo Kemkes contact numbers listed on the Health Ministry's website or through the Lapor! application, he added.

Despite the fact that the law was imposed in April 2014, there are still reports of mothers who feel they were tricked into purchasing formula for their babies, said Indonesian Breastfeeding Mothers Association (AIMI) coordinator Amanda Tasya.

"Usually mothers report to AIMI, then AIMI will send a letter to the Health Ministry and they will then give a warning to the producers [of infant formula]," she said.

However, she admitted that it was hard to find evidence of violations. Many mothers also did not follow up on their reports.

In October 2014, shortly after the law was enacted, Endah Trisnawati, a 32-year-old banker, was encouraged not to breast-feed her son directly after giving birth at a private hospital in Ciputat, South Tangerang.

The nurse told Endah that if her son waited for breast milk, he would get cold because his body could not yet adjust to room temperature.

"Actually, I know that a baby can stand without drinking breast milk for up to five days, but the nurse said she was afraid that the baby would get cold. So I said yes," Endah told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

The government's lack of monitoring has caused the rampant promotion and advertising of infant formula and milk for growing children, which continue to be a problem in Indonesia where half of the 5 million babies born each year do not fully benefit from breast-feeding, a recent report from UNICEF Indonesia stated.

Despite a high number of women (96 percent) breast-feeding their children at some point, only 42 percent of infants aged under six months are exclusively breast-fed. By the time they reach their second birthday, only 55 percent are still given breast milk.

Desy Saputra, a member of AIMI's communications division, underscored the importance of breast-feeding, saying breast milk was the ideal food for infants and helped to protect against many childhood illnesses. Breast-feeding also helps mothers to bond with their children.

"When a mother breast-feeds, she faces her baby directly so she can talk to the child and they can interact," she said. "Formula is unnecessary if mothers follow the golden standard," said AIMI deputy chairman Nia Umar.

She referred to the golden standard of infant feeding, which describes the steps that a mother can take for her newborn baby.

First, a baby should be given breast milk immediately after birth, by putting the baby on the mother's chest to allow skin-to-skin contact. Second, the mother should exclusively breast-feed the baby for six months if possible. After that, the mother should begin giving the baby solids as a complementary food to the breast milk. Last, breast milk can be given until a baby reaches 2 years old. (win)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/10/aggressive-baby-formula-advertisements-trample-restrictions.html

Education minister to review free school policy

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Jakarta – Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy has said that he will review the free school tuition policy because it is often deemed as a stumbling block to increasing public participation in managing educational institutions.

"Free school doesn't mean hampering public participation," he said after meeting Vice President Jusuf Kalla Monday, as quoted by tempo.co.

He said he would open public participation schools and let the public decide what kind of participation they wanted. He went on to say that he would revive school institutions, such as the school committee, and give opportunities to well-off citizens to participate in managing educational institutions.

Responding to questions about the controversial 2013 curriculum, he said his ministry would continue the implementation in schools. "There is no reason for schools to not implement the curriculum," he said.

Muhadjir sparked public uproar last week after stating that he would implement a full-day school policy nationwide. (evi)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/education-minister-to-review-free-school-policy.html

Toothless drug monitoring agency to get new claws

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – In the wake of a major drug distribution scandal that has left many parents fearful over their young children's immunity, the government is preparing a regulation that will enable the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to sanction violators.

The government is drafting a presidential regulation (Perpres) and a bill on food and drug monitoring that will give the BPOM the power to impose heavy fines on official institutions that breach procedures and standards.

BPOM chair Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, who was recently appointed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, admitted that the agency had failed to prevent the nationwide spread of fake vaccines, with hundreds of babies receiving false immunization over the course of the last 13 years.

"No matter how many resources we deploy to monitor [food and drugs], without a strong deterrent effect, it means nothing," Penny told a press conference on Monday.

Penny noted that the power to impose heavy sanctions, such as heavy fines, would be integral to one of the agency's most urgent tasks: ridding the market of ersatz vaccines.

The fake vaccines sparked national outrage among parents who feared their children had been exposed to the fakes after the National Police uncovered a counterfeit vaccine operation ring.

So far, fake vaccines have been found in seven locations, including Banten, Jakarta and West Java. The BPOM previously reported that it had found five types of counterfeit vaccines, namely Tuberfullin, Pediacel, Tripacel, Harfix and Biosef, all of which were discovered in each of the three provinces.

The scandal was the pinnacle of a series of mishaps that have dogged the nation's health care of late.

Last year, the inadvertent substitution of anesthetic Buvanest Spinal for antihemorrhagic Asam Tranexamat Generik caused the deaths of at least two patients in a hospital.

During its investigation, the BPOM discovered that the producer of the drugs, Kalbe Farma, the largest pharmaceutical firm in the country, was responsible for the accidental swap during production.

However, the agency only ordered the company to recall and temporary stop producing the drugs. Penny said the agency had limited authority to impose sanctions and limited resources, given its lack of a firm legal basis.

She said the BPOM is generally only able to issue administrative sanctions in the form of recommendations. "Our recommendations are supposed to be followed up by local administrations, but only around 14 percent are. As such, it would be better if the body that monitors [food and drugs] were able to issue heavy punishments," she said.

Indonesian Health Consumers Empowerment Foundation (YPKKI) chairman Marius Widjajarta said that the agency in fact already had ample capacity to carry out its tasks. "The regulations on food and drug monitoring are already good, the BPOM only has to enforce them," he told The Jakarta Post.

For instance, he said, the BPOM should punish producers and distributors of drugs that fail to submit their reports on drug distribution and logistics every three months, as required.

"Most of the reports don't have any substantial content, and the BPOM should therefore punish them," Marius said.

Meanwhile, House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing health and manpower said that the BPOM was weak and needed reinforcement. "Why was the BPOM established in the first place simply to be hamstrung?" Irma Suryani Chaniago of the NasDem Party asked the Post.

For instance, Irma said, the BPOM usually only seizes illegal food and drug for a limited period of time. "Usually just three months. The agency is also unable to monitors the sanctions given by the police."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/toothless-drug-monitoring-agency-get-new-claws.html

Gender & sexual orientation

Anti-LGBT propaganda could amplify during regional elections: Activists

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Politicians might employ propaganda maligning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people to gain support from intolerant groups in the upcoming regional election campaigns.

With regional elections scheduled to be held in February next year, mayors and governor candidates may take intolerant positions toward LGBT people in order to gain popularity, Yuli Rustinawati, the chairwoman of LGBT group Arus Pelangi, said on Thursday.

Anti-LGBT sentiment will likely be most prominent in regions that have a poor record acknowledging the rights of minority groups. "This is what we are afraid of. The candidates will use LGBT issues to secure votes in the upcoming election," Yuli said.

Kyle Knight, a Human Rights Watch researcher on LGBT issues, said that in election years politicians aiming to gain popularity often went after LGBT people because they were an easy target. Kyle's statement is supported by a 2015 report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on discrimination and violence against LGBT people.

In Indonesia, where a massive wave of harassment and violence directed against LGBT people appeared after some government officials publicly denigrated the minority earlier this year, feeding hatred against LGBT people in political campaigns is an attractive thing to do, he added.

"It is easy [for candidates] to say, 'oh yes, LGBT people are ruining the country, so come to my side on this issue','" Knight said. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/anti-lgbt-propaganda-could-amplify-during-regional-elections-activists.html

Indonesian Government fuelling hate campaign against LGBT community, human

ABC Radio Australia - August 12, 2016

Samantha Hawley, Indonesia – A peak human rights group has accused the Indonesian Government of fuelling a campaign of hate against the LGBT community. The nation's constitutional court is currently considering banning homosexual sex.

Human Rights Watch said in the first six months of this year, the Government and its ministers had stoked an unprecedented attack against LGBT people.

In one case, the Defence Minister labelled LGBT activism a proxy war on nation that is more dangerous than a nuclear bomb. The Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister called for a ban on LGBT students at university campuses. And one Indonesian mayor said mothers should teach their children how not to be gay.

Transgender people unable to join prayers

Nancy, 69, from eastern Jakarta, who is transitioning from a man to a transgender woman, has suffered from the discrimination in the majority-Muslim nation.

She said the hijab she wears limits her femininity. "Why am I wearing a hijab? Because I wanted totality in my life," she said. "With this hijab, I can no longer act and do as I please. I need to be as feminine as possible."

She cannot pray at a mosque and said she misses Friday prayers the most because they were a chance to pray with others in a group. "Discrimination happens often. That's like everyday I experience that," she said.

Lenny, a transgender woman, works to help the more than 40 per cent of transgender people living in Jakarta who are thought to have HIV.

"If [transgender people] try to make the connection with religious issues then we will never get anywhere," she said. "But remember, none of us wants to be transgender. We want to be normal like others."

Lenny wears a hijab too, but to pray she drives to a mosque far from her home and changes clothes, turning her back into the man she does not want to be so she can pray with the group.

Kyle Knight, the author of Human Rights Watch's latest report, said Indonesian authorities' condemnation of its LGBT citizens was extremely damaging.

The Human Rights Watch report he authored said discrimination had become far worse. "It opened up this cascade and cacophony of anti-LGBT rhetoric at the highest levels of government that is going to take a long time to rebuild the security that LGBT people felt in Indonesia for decades," he said.

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2016-08-12/indonesian-government-fuelling-hate-campaign-against-lgbt-community-human-rights-group-says/1607518

Government unresponsive to calls for LGBT protection, HRW says

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has not responded to an urgent call to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, Kyle Knight, a researcher at rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW), has said.

After a series of anti-LGBT remarks and discriminatory actions from high-ranking officials beginning in mid-January, which were then followed by a rise in harassment and discrimination against the minority group, HRW contacted the government to get an official response on the issue, Knight said.

The group contacted President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara through an open letter and Health Minister Nila Moeloek and Asrorun Niam Sholeh of the National Child Protection Commission through private letters.

"But we haven't heard back from any of them. It's really disappointing. They are the people who should be protecting everyone," Knight told thejakartapost.com on Thursday in Jakarta.

Following a report on government bias against LGBT people in Indonesia, HRW requested a meeting with Nila to discuss the report's findings. HRW was particularly keen to discuss the decision by the Indonesian Psychiatrists Association to label LGBT people as mentally disordered. There has been no response.

Knight asserted that the rights group would continue to advocate for LGBT people while keeping an eye on an ongoing trial at the Constitutional Court that involves a group of academics attempting to criminalize same-sex activities. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/govt-unresponsive-to-calls-for-lgbt-protection-hrw-says.html

Government has encouraged attacks on LGBT people: HRW report

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The government encouraged an unprecedented attack against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in early 2016, violating the minority group's security and rights, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Thursday has said.

The report documented a series of anti-LGBT remarks and discriminatory actions by government officials that began mid-January, which is believed to have allowed intolerant groups to conduct harassment and violence toward LGBT people without any consequences.

"What really disturbing is [the statements] came from politicians, government officials, and public leaders who should not have said these things in public," said HRW researcher Kyle Knight on Thursday in Jakarta.

Through 70 interviews with LGBT minorities and activists in five different locations in the country, Knight found the government's discriminative campaign had badly affected the minority group's daily lives.

In the report, an anonymous 25-year-old gay person in South Sulawesi province said he did not feel safe every time he saw an "end-LGBT" statement on social media.

The situation worsened since President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had mostly remained silent and did not stand up to protect the minority, Knight said, while in-fact, Jokowi and his Cabinet's leadership was much needed to resolve the issue. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/govt-has-encouraged-attacks-on-lgbt-people-hrw-report.html

Interview: Indonesia's LGBT community under threat

Human Rights Watch - August 11, 2016

Indonesia is in the midst of a government-incited meltdown about LGBT rights. In January, the country's high education minister said he wanted to ban LGBT student groups from university campuses. Not long after, the defense minister said the LGBT movement was more dangerous than dropping a nuclear weapon on a capital city. One mayor, speaking to a group of new mothers, told them not to be distracted by innovations like instant noodles because it could turn their kids gay. Other politicians and government officials followed suite, as did the media, and even traditionally-moderate Islamic groups. Amy Braunschweiger talked with Kyle Knight about his new report, 'These Political Games Ruin Our Lives', and what this aggression means for Indonesia's LGBT people.

I thought Indonesia's new president was a reformer? How is this happening?

The president, Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, is reform-minded, at least when it comes to corruption and mass violence.

If he wanted, he could tell his ministers and political allies to stop this tomorrow. But he hasn't. To be fair, Jokowi's then-coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs, stated during the height of the vicious anti-LGBT rhetoric that "LGBT people are Indonesian too." He could and should have stopped there. Instead, he added that he thought homosexuality was a chromosomal disorder, and emphasized that being gay "is not what the person wants." This statement is indicative of deep misunderstanding of LGBT people. President Widodo could have challenged this, and spoken about providing basic security and freedom of expression to LGBT people rather than be silent as his minister tried to medicalize LGBT people.

Keep in mind, Jokowi has remained silent across the board regarding abuses against minorities. Last March, Indonesian security forces and officials participated in the forced evictions religious community and then steered them into detention facilities where government officials threatened them with "religious reeducation," "de-radicalization counselling," and prosecutions for "blasphemy." The most Jokowi could muster publicly was a tweet saying that building a tolerant society was important.

Is discrimination against LGBTs new in Indonesia?

We spoke with activists who opened organizations in the 1980s who had very few problems over the past three decades. There had been sporadic outbursts here, usually from the occasional militant Islamist group harassing or attacking an event. The police would show up and make sure no one was hurt, although they generally didn't investigate further – and in most cases they encouraged the LGBT activists gathered to shut down the event. But the statements by top-level officials opened up a new level of hate against LGBT people. It's now easy for anyone – a moderate Muslim group, a militant group, a politician hoping to be elected – to slur this group and gain popularity.

How did things get so bad so quickly for LGBT people?

It began with an anti-LGBT bylaw in Aceh province on Sumatra Island in late 2015. It snowballed nationally with the afore-mentioned anti-LGBT speeches in 2016. This was driven by government officials, but others joined in the fray.

The media loved it, and it was the hot topic in Indonesia for months. The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission first banned the broadcast of LGBT campaigns. Then it ratcheted up the ban to forbid portraying being LGBT as "normal." Then they ratcheted it up yet again to ban the broadcast of effeminate men.

Typically in Indonesia, it's the right-wing militant Islamists who issue fatwas or edicts against the LGBT population and other minorities. Now, moderate Muslim groups are part of this crush. The Nadhlatul Ulama is the biggest Islamic group in the world, with 80 million members, and a major social service provider to Indonesians. It's funded in part by USAID and the Global Fund, and has received millions of dollars to work with LGBT people on HIV prevention. Historically, they are anti-jihadist and preach tolerance. But in the middle of this meltdown, they threw fuel on the fire by issuing an announcement advocating the criminalization of LGBT people. They also called for the government to put an end to all LGBT activism.

Additionally, the Indonesian Psychiatric Association joined the chorus by proclaiming homosexuality a "mental illness." Then, in early August, some professors petitioned Indonesia's highest court to make gay sex illegal.

How has the international community responded to this?

The country's vice president actually summoned the director of the UN development agency, the UNDP, and said the UN needed to stop funding LGBT-related programs in Indonesia. And the UNDP did just that – they suspended its "Being LGBT in Asia" program, a regional initiative which aims to address and promote LGBT issues through building partnerships between the government and civil society in Indonesia. That move by UNDP made activists with the country's more than 200 LGBT organizations activists feel abandoned. Indonesian activists are fearful, but they haven't cowered in the face of this fresh hatred. International partners shouldn't either.

What does this look like on the ground?

We visited five different provinces across Indonesia and documented how this government-led anti-LGBT campaign has inflicted grievous harm on Indonesia's LGBT community. Activists have closed their offices and destroyed their files for fear of attacks by Indonesian police or militant Islamists. In one instance, attendees at a peaceful LGBT support demonstration in Yogyakarta encountered police who had ostensibly showed up to protect them from a menacing anti-LGBT rally across town. But after less than an hour, the police beat up some protestors – telling them to go away.

In March, more than a month after the meltdown began, I interviewed a 64-year-old transgender woman who had lived in one neighborhood all her life. Her neighbors and family all used her female name after she transitioned in her 20s. They respected her. But in March for the first time in her life, she would walk down the street – the same street she walked down for 64 years – and young kids in their school uniforms would yell "LGBT, LGBT, LGBT!" at her. She said she was both amused and horrified. Amused because the kids had no idea what those letters meant. And horrified, because the young people had absorbed the message of the public hate campaign so quickly. She never felt hated or despised before – this was a very new feeling for her as an Indonesian.

I spoke with university students who had eaten at the same noodle stand for years, but who recently began hearing people saying words like "lesbian" and pointing at them. And they were scared. Not that they thought the people whispering or taunting them would pull out a knife. But they were worried that, if the government really turned against LGBT people, they couldn't rely on classmates, neighbors and even families to defend them. It was a deep sense of isolation and foreboding – that if things took a turn for the worse, there was zero support network backing them up.

Also, starting in 2008, a transgender woman built a boarding school and mosque for other transgender women. It was a beacon of hope, and was celebrated by Muslim clerics in Yogyakarta. The school had good government relationships and a meaningful community relationships. During this crackdown, military, police, and militant Islamisists showed up and shut her down.

How can this be reversed?

First, the government can issue unambiguous statements of support for LGBT-inclusive equal rights. Second, they can reverse the recently passed Child Protection Commission decree, an edict that forbids people to even speak about LGBT issues in formats that might reach children.

There's something else the country can do. Indonesia's government is very decentralized and there are thousands of regional laws, some of which are written in the name of the Islamic Sharia and also anti-LGBT. But Indonesia's home affairs minister has the power to roll back regional bylaws. He earlier said he wanted to roll these discriminatory bylaws back, but Islamists pressured him and he later backtracked, saying he only wanted to roll back laws that were bad for business.

These local laws can be so damaging. If you want a shining example of just how bad it can get, look at the one Indonesian province allowed to implement Islamic Sharia – Aceh. The political climate has deteriorated, corruption has gone up, investment has evaporated, and the human rights situation is a total disaster.

Are anti-LGBT laws bad for business?

Studies by the World Bank and economists at major universities show anti-LGBT laws drag on economic development. Additionally, most Fortune 500 companies have LGBT employees and pro-LGBT policies. If they can't move their employees into Indonesia, they could easily choose to set up shop in another country.

How does Indonesia compare with the rest of the region in its treatment of LGBT people?

They're being left behind. Last year, Thailand was the first Southeast Asian country to pass a non-discrimination law including transgender people. The Philippines includes LGBT people in their national anti-bullying law. The Philippines also issued a detailed and explicit LGBT non-discrimination policy for all mental-health professionals. Great progress for LGBT rights has been seen in Japan, Nepal, and India.

Indonesia should join their ranks, and instead of vilifying LGBT people, protect and support them. The government can best do this by rolling back anti-LGBT decrees and proposed laws, pledging public support for freedom of expression and diversity.

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/11/interview-indonesias-lgbt-community-under-threat

'No room' in Indonesia for gay rights, says president's spokesman

Agence France Presse - August 11, 2016

There is "no room" for the gay community in Indonesia, the president's spokesman has said, as a new report criticised officials for an unprecedented series of LGBT attacks.

"Rights of citizens like going to school and getting an ID card are protected, but there is no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement," presidential spokesman Johan Budi said.

Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens have long been targeted by vigilante Islamist groups.

But the community experienced an "immediate deterioration" in their rights following a sustained assault by ministers, religious hardliners and influential Islamic organisations in the space of two months this year, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday.

The wave of angry rhetoric – including a call to ban them from university campuses – was the first time senior officials had publicly attacked the south-east Asian nation's gay community, the group said. In response, the government said protecting LGBT rights was not a priority.

Some of the most high-profile figures making anti-gay statements during the backlash – which activists believe may have been triggered by media coverage of the US decision to legalise same-sex marriage – were government ministers.

The higher education minister called for a ban on LGBT organisations on university campuses, while the defence minister likened gay rights groups to a "type of modern warfare".

Islamic activists have also filed a judicial review with the constitutional court aimed at making gay sex a crime. The court is currently holding hearings into the case.

In their report, HRW said that "what began as public condemnation quickly grew into calls for criminalisation and 'cures', laying bare the depth and breadth of officials' individual prejudices".

The spike in anti-LGBT vitriol, predominantly during January and February this year, has intensified violence against sexual minorities throughout Indonesia, the report said.

Indonesia's largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama, in February described gay lifestyles as perverted and a desecration of human dignity. In Aceh, the only Indonesian province that applies Islamic law, the local government urged business owners to refuse to hire gay citizens.

In interviews with activist groups, HRW reported gay rights organisations shut their offices and even hid staff as threats mounted against them.

In Yogyakarta an Islamist group forced the closure of a transgender Islamic boarding school, while a peaceful rally in the same Central Javan city in support of Indonesia's LGBT community was shut down.

"The impact of anti-LGBT rhetoric from government officials is enormous for us as individuals. For those of us who have worked so hard and risked so much to come out, it is a major step backward," a lesbian activist in eastern Indonesia told HRW.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/11/no-room-in-indonesia-for-gay-rights-says-president-spokesman

Government officials exacerbate LGBT stigma

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Jakarta – Negative sentiment toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) people has grown, with government officials showing greater tendency to stigmatize the group, according to LGBT activists.

"People often assume that transgender people are sex workers," the chair of LGBT rights organization Arus Pelangi, Yuli Rustinawati, said on Monday, adding that people often discriminated based on trivial indicators such as Facebook profile pictures.

Yuli explained that transgender people usually lived in groups inside rented rooms, and that in two or three cases in Jakarta this year, letters had been sent to the homeowners calling for their eviction.

"The owner of the house couldn't refuse, as if he did, the people threatened to damage the house," she said.

Arus Pelangi recorded 142 cases of violence against LGBT people throughout Indonesia from January to March this year, including assaults, arrests, discrimination and hate speech, often with negative repercussions on the victim's psychological health.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/national-scene-govt-officials-exacerbate-lgbt-stigma.html

Marriage & polygamy

Divorce no simple matter for Banyumas civil servants

Jakarta Post - August 11, 2016

Agus Maryono, Banyumas – For the nation's civil servants, ending a marriage is not simply a private matter – in order to be able to do so, they are required to obtain permission from their superiors.

However, with divorce applications mounting, the administration of Banyumas regency in Central Java has begun to make it easier for civil servants to have their applications approved.

"We have allowed them to file for divorce in court, because we could no longer prevent them from doing so," Banyumas Personnel Agency (BKD Banyumas) head Ahmad Supartono said on Monday.

Over the last five years, 268 civil servants in the regency have applied for divorce permits; requests are only met by the BKD if attempts at reconciliation fail.

According to Government Regulation No. 45/1990, every civil servant requires permission from his or her office to obtain a divorce, or for male civil servants to marry a second or third wife; they may be dismissed if they attempt to do so with first gaining permission.

The regulation was made on the grounds that as government employees, civil servants should uphold high moral standards and act as role models for the community.

Ahmad said civil servants seeking divorce must follow special procedures from the personnel agency. He added that after asking for permission, the civil servant is called for mediation up to three times, and if not successful then he or she must obtain permission from the regent before the divorce suit goes to court.

Furthermore, he said, based on existing data at his office, over the last five years, an average of 50 civil servants have been granted permission to file for divorce annually. In 2011, 74 divorces were granted permission, 34 in 2012, 45 in 2013, 52 in 2014 and 45 in 2015.

"To file for permission for divorce, the concerned civil servant requests a letter from his or her agency head, then submits it to us at the BKD. Later, we speak with those who still want a divorce and submit the file to the regent. In the next process, they will be called three times, and if they still want a divorce, we will continue with the process," said Ahmad.

The process is quite complicated because the government, in this case the Banyumas regency administration, does not want civil servants to divorce, he went on.

"If possible, we don't want divorces. If a divorced husband is a civil servant, a third of his salary should be given to his wife and children until their adulthood, or until his wife and children get married. Female civil servants have no such obligation," Ahmad explained.

In addition, divorce is noted on a civil servant's record, and could impact his or her career. "If for instance a divorce case is due to adultery, it will leave a bad mark on the record," said Ahmad, adding that most civil servants who applied for divorce did so out of a lack of marital harmony.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/11/divorce-no-simple-matter-banyumas-civil-servants.html

Terrorism & religious extremism

Government to keep close eye on overseas funding for domestic organizations

Jakarta Post - August 13, 2016

Ni Komang Erviani, Bali – The government is preparing a legal instrument that will allow closer monitoring of the funding of non-profit organizations after authorities detected that many of them were apparently receiving funds form terrorist-affiliated individuals and groups.

Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) head Muhammad Yusuf said the government had drafted a government regulation on the issue.

"The government regulation draft has been submitted to the Law and Human Rights Ministry," Yusuf said on Thursday, adding that the regulation could be made effective by year-end.

He stressed that tighter monitoring of non-profit organizations was vital, his agency having detected a number of cash transfers from terrorist-related individuals and groups to domestic organizations.

"The non-profit organizations work in various fields such as education, social affairs, religion and others," Yusuf said, drawing speculation that Islamic boarding schools were among the organizations referred to.

The total amount of money transferred from terrorist-affiliated groups to domestic organizations is estimated to reach the billions of rupiah. The funds came from various countries such as Turkey, Australia and others, though Yusuf declined to elaborate further.

Of the domestic organizations that received the terrorist funds, he said, not all executive board members were aware of the situation. "The executive board members didn't understand the profile of their donors. They thought that the organization providing the money was just an ordinary organization," Yusuf said, adding he worried domestic organizations would be misused by foreign groups for evil ends.

"There is no law governing this – it's difficult to know where the money comes from and where it goes," he added.

The new regulation will oblige domestic organizations to take several steps before receiving funding from any source, including obtaining a profile of the donor. "That way they can decide whether it is legal to accept the money. The PPATK, as the regulator, has the authority to audit and look at the source of the money and to whom it will go," Yusuf said.

"We have at least 300,000 non-profit organizations across the archipelago, but no regulation on funding. That's why we're making this bill," he said.

The new monitoring mechanism, he added, is also part of the implementation of the Nusa Dua Statement, an agreement made during the Second Counter-Terrorism Financing Summit in Nusa Dua, which ended on Thursday.

One of the points agreed by all participants from the 26 countries is improvements to the assessment of particular non-profit organizations thought likely to be connected to terrorism.

The participants also agreed to coordinate a joint regional assessment, create coordinated response options including outreach and education and identify, monitor and, where necessary, disrupt higher-risk charities and NPOs that have been compromised by terror groups.

Meanwhile, a terrorism expert from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Rohan Gunaratna, said that finance intelligence was a very powerful tool in the fight against terrorism. "Tracking money is very important to prevent attacks. Money is the life blood of terrorists," Gunaratna said.

He added that terror attacks were commonly funded from overseas. Citing an example, Gunaratna said a terrorist leader had transferred money in 22 payments amounting to Rp 1.8 billion from Turkey to Indonesia. Similarly, at least Rp 70 million was sent from Turkey to fund an attack on Central Jakarta in January this year.

He added that Southeast Asia was facing a very severe threat from terrorism. "It is not only Indonesia – it is also Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It's a regional issue, a regional problem, a regional challenge."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/13/govt-keep-close-eye-overseas-funding-domestic-organizations.html

Komnas HAM calls on police to consider provisionally halting operation Tinombala

Jakarta Globe - August 10, 2016

Jakarta – The national human rights body has called on security forces to consider temporarily halting their prolonged Operation Tinombala against militants of slain terrorism suspect Santoso in Poso, Central Sulawesi, amid efforts to persuade them to surrender.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will dispatch humanitarian workers to Poso to assist security forces with their efforts.

In doing so, volunteers, doctors and nurses from the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (Mer-C) will establish posts in Poso where members of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group are present.

"The plan should ideally be followed by an assurance from the [National Police] that there will be no pressure of any form against the militants. It is better to consider provisionally stopping the operation for the time being," Komnas HAM anti-terrorism operation member, Busyro Muqoddas, said on Tuesday (09/08).

An operation involving around 3,600 police officers and members of the Indonesia Military (TNI) against the group in Poso has been extended twice since it was first instated early this year.

Santoso, the country's formerly most-wanted terrorism fugitive and one his followers, identified as Muchtar, were killed during a shootout with security forces late last month in Poso's hilly jungle areas. Authorities have since urged remaining militants to surrender.

The death of Santoso led two of his followers, identified as Salman, alias Opik, and Jumri, alias Tamar, to surrender themselves to authorities early this month. However, around 16 other members remain at large.

Security forces are now anticipating a possible counterattack by the remaining militants that police have said are believed to be regrouping under a new leader.

"The approach in Poso should gradually be shifted from security to welfare. Thus there will be no more approach that could be against the principles of human rights," Komnas HAM commissioner Hafid Abbas said.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/komnas-ham-calls-police-consider-provisionally-halting-operation-tinombala/

Terror attacks in Indonesia mostly funded from overseas: PPATK

Jakarta Post - August 10, 2016

Ni Komang Erviani, Nusa Dua, Bali – A large portion of the money used by terror groups in Indonesia comes from overseas, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) revealed on Tuesday.

PPATK deputy chairman Agus Santoso said the center had detected a large amount of money sent by entities in several countries abroad, including Australia and Middle Eastern countries, to fund terrorism in Indonesia.

"They transferred the money. They had many ways of sending the funds, for example, through our migrant workers in Malaysia, Singapore and Middle Eastern countries. The money can be directed to Indonesia through various countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and many more," he said.

Agus refused to give more details on the amount of money transferred from abroad to finance terror activities in Indonesia. He said the PPATK's intelligence data could not be made public, as it could be given only to law enforcement bodies such as the National Police's Densus 88 counterterrorism unit to track terrorist activities.

"As a financial intelligence unit, the PPATK will provide information on networks with suspicious transactions. If a law enforcement process stands alone, it won't be successful because terrorists will neither confess to nor open their links. They might claim that they work alone, but, from their transactions, we can give evidence that they are not working alone," Agus said.

He further said the PPATK adhered to international fund transfer instructions in which every single rupiah, or a single dollar's worth of transaction, must be reported to the center. "We also have cross border cash carrying procedures. Those who bring cash money across borders must be asked to reveal the source of their money," he said.

Agus was speaking during the 2nd Counter Terrorism Financing Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali. Delegates from at least 55 countries attended the meeting.

Agus said the PPATK was currently mapping out the sources of finance for terror groups in Indonesia and their membership in any terrorist-related organization.

"From Densus 88, we have a list of names of terrorists and suspected terrorists. From their transactions, we will know with whom they have made financial transactions," he said. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/10/terror-attacks-in-indonesia-mostly-funded-from-overseas-ppatk.html

Freedom of religion & worship

Radical group claims coordination with police, military

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – One day in the 2015 fasting month, the field commander of the Yogyakarta chapter of the Indonesian Islamic Front (FUI), Muhammad Fuad Andreago, led dozens of his men to stage a rally at the Gunung Kidul regent's office, 40 kilometers to the east.

Their mission: Asking her to reject the local Catholics' application for a permit to build a grotto in the northern village of Sengonkerep. Before they marched to Gunung Kidul, they met with leaders of the Yogyakarta office of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and demanded a formal ban of Shia.

An umbrella for a host of notorious Islamic vigilante groups in Yogyakarta, the FUI is highly active and has no fear of prosecution because it coordinates with the police and military, or so it loves to claim.

During the controversy surrounding the screening of Senyap (Silent), a documentary on the 1965 tragedy, the FUI forced the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Yogyakarta and Gadjah Mada University (UGM) to cancel the movie screening on their campuses, although the event was strictly meant for academic purposes.

Fuad has defended his actions, which have been widely condemned as intolerant, on the pretext that FUI needs to help the short-staffed state apparatuses carry out their countless jobs.

Moreover, he knows police and military officers often lack confidence when handling certain cases, apparently for fear of losing their jobs if anything goes wrong. It is at this point, he said, that the authorities need the help of civil organizations like FUI.

"We have become part of the control mechanism," said Fuad, who is running for deputy mayor in next year's regional elections, at the forum's headquarters in Yogyakarta.

Billed as Yogyakarta's most solid Islamic vigilante-style group, FUI targets what its members see as "Christianization", prostitution, LGBT communities, "misguided [Muslim] sects" like the Shia and Ahmadiyah and activities they perceive as "promoting communism". Fuad claims he coordinates with the police and the military for every mission.

Set up out of concern about the uncoordinated Islamic groups in the city, now the FUI oversees 120 paramilitary units, some 80 of which are affiliated with the Islamist United Development Party (PPP).

In addition to the FUI, Yogyakarta hosts numerous other vigilante groups – religious-based or otherwise – that have won notoriety for their intolerant actions: the Islamic Jihad Front (FJI), the Pancasila Youth, the Communication Forum of Indonesian Veterans' Children (the FKPPI, an association of families of military and police veterans), Paksi Katon, Laskar Jogja and the Indonesian Anti-Communist Front (FAKI).

They were accorded an audience with Governor Hamengkubuwono in the wake of last month's incident in which police and violent groups brutally stopped Papuan students from staging a pro-independence street rally.

But in fact the various groups are not as united as they look. They disagree on some issues, resulting in occasional physical conflicts. Now, Fuad said he is planning to barge into several "places of ill repute" defended by groups rival to the FUI.

The various vigilante groups operate on different turfs, often as rivals. True to experts' assertion that they are groomed by political and economic elites to help protect their resources, their members are present in major establishments like hotels, entertainment centers, upscale housing complexes, bus terminals and malls, usually as "security personnel" or parking attendants.

"In the past, establishments used the service of groups affiliated with the PPP and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle [PDI-P]. Now, hotels and apartments prefer using the services of professional security agencies belonging to the police and the military because the [vigilante] groups are prone to conflicts," said Fuad, an ex-chairman of the Ka'bah Youth Movement affiliated to the PPP.

Apart from their religious motives, organizations like the FUI also enjoy the "pie" of the burgeoning tourism industry in Yogyakarta. The FUI uses its cooperative to administer a major tourist bus terminal and parking lots at business districts in the city, such as the iconic Malioboro.

The FUI started its lucrative businesses in 2008 after the then Yogyakarta mayor, Herry Zudianto, initiated empowerment programs for the masses. With it, he allowed civic groups to take part in the management of strategic places in the city.

The mushrooming intolerant groups in the city of "peaceful heart" has been blamed for increasing cases of violence that tarnish its image as a melting pot that attracts people of all backgrounds from across Indonesia.

Yenni Wahid, director of the Jakarta-based rights group Wahid Institute, calls for legal action against people resorting to violence regardless of the ideology they use as a pretext. As the Indonesian Constitution guarantees freedom of association, banning bad organizations as some people are seeking will only make a mockery of democracy.

"Such organizations cannot be banned; they will reappear by other names anyway," she says. "It is their members who trample on the laws that must be prosecuted," said Yenny, who was only recently named co-chair of the US-Indonesia Council on Religion and Pluralism.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/radical-group-claims-coordination-with-police-military.html

Intolerance stains Yogya's melting pot image

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Yogyakarta has been famous as the Javanese cultural capital and a center of excellence. It has been a peaceful melting pot where people from around the world enjoy living thanks to its friendliness and affordable costs, but an increasing number of violent incidents has threatened its status as a "city of tolerance". The Jakarta Post's Bambang Muryanto looks into the complexity of the problem.

When Papua Governor Lukas Enembe visited Yogyakarta recently, he spared time to meet Papuan students recovering from the trauma they suffered after police and violent vigilantes stopped them from staging a peaceful pro-independence rally.

Demianus Dabi, one of the dozens of Papuan students detained in the wake of the incident on July 15, recalled how police arrested him near his dormitory on his way from the market. He was forced to throw away the tubers he had purchased, a staple food in his ancestral land.

"The pain from taking punches has gone, but the pain from seeing how they [police officers] treated my tubers remains," he said fighting back tears. "For us Papuans, tubers symbolize motherly love."

Police resorted to heavy-handed tactics and the presence of groups notorious for their intolerance, such as the Pancasila Youth, the Communication Forum of Indonesian Veterans' Children (FKPPI) and the Jogja Militia, was conspicuous. They hurled racist insults at the Papuans and the police did nothing to stop them.

In an episode reminiscent of a Hollywood cowboy flick, police officers caught a fleeing student, Obby Kogoya, on the road. He was thrown onto the asphalt, punched and kicked. An officer put his boot on Obby's head and would not let him rise, despite his begging for mercy.

On that day, social media was awash with hate memes and text messages under the hashtag of #PapuaNgamuk (Papuans run amok). Police moved in to block the students from taking to the streets and demonstrating their support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, which was seeking full membership in the Melanesia Spearhead Group.

"That was the first time Papuans in Yogyakarta came under extreme repression from the authorities," said Rizky Fatahillah, who is with the local chapter of the pro-bono Legal Aid Institute, which represented the students.

In Yogyakarta, the predominantly Christian Papuans have been stigmatized as heavy drinkers, shoplifters and troublemakers. Recently, the term "separatists" has been added to their ethnic profiling despite the constitutional guarantee of free speech they had planned to exercise.

Unfortunately, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, who is also Yogyakarta's governor, did not exert his power to bring calm to the choppy political waters. Instead, he also labeled the Papuan students "separatists". "If they want to do it [promote separatism], they must leave Yogyakarta," he said.

The incident was only the latest of a large number than have increasingly tainted Yogyakarta's reputation as Indonesia's melting pot, where people from all ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds live in harmony. The second-largest tourist destination after Bali, the city, along with Surakarta, is the center of both syncretic Javanese culture and feudalism.

Hosting such famous learning institutions as Gadjah Mada University and numerous top Islamic and Christian colleges and schools, Yogyakarta is also known as a center of excellence. Alumni leave the city having been "Javanized", or so the common adage goes. Some colleges reserve seats for and offer scholarships to students from the impoverished eastern provinces, especially Papua and East Nusa Tenggara.

But the continual violent and intolerant incidents make its nickname "City of Tolerance" sound cynical and its "miniature of Indonesia" status sound hollow.

Cases of intolerance began to rise in 2010 when conservative natives aggressively demanded that the central government endorse a law on Yogyakarta as a "special region", which was fundamentally anti-democratic. At that time, fanatical advocates were out to intimidate anyone opposing the law, asking them to leave.

Under the law passed in 2012, the royal families – the Kesultanan and Pakualaman – retained their privileges inherited from the colonial era. The provincial top job automatically goes to the sultan and deputy position to a Pakualam. While in other provinces non-private property belongs to the state, in Yogyakarta the land is claimed by the royal families, either as "Sultan ground" or "Pakualaman ground".

In a meeting with entrepreneurs in 2014, Hamengkubuwono X made it clear that there is no such thing as "state land" in Yogyakarta; it is all the palace's property. The families are now reregistering royal property, which often includes longtime residential areas.

The palace's effort to reaffirm rights of land ownership already started numerous conflicts with citizens. A resort developer canceled a project at Watu Kodok Beach after residents violently rejected the palace's claim over the property it meant to lease to the businessman.

A sand quarrying venture, which is partly owned by a royal company, PT Jogja Magasa Mining, in Kulon Progo has also met strong resistance from residents who refused to make way for the project. Within the city, construction of new hotels on property claimed by the palace also sparked disputes with locals.

Ahmad Nashih Lutfi, a lecturer at the National Land College, has recorded 16 major land ownership conflicts involving the royal families since Yogyakarta's special status law took effect in 2012. One of them is the one on the acquisition of land to be developed into an international airport in Kulon Progo. The property is claimed as "Pakualaman ground".

Xenophobia was exacerbated in the wake of the 2013 execution by Army Special Forces (Kopassus) commandos of six East Nusa Tenggara hoodlums detained at Cebongan Prison for drugs and the murder of one of their fellows. At the time, dark-skinned people from eastern provinces were labeled as unwelcomed "thugs".

Yogyakarta hosts many intolerant groups, such as the Indonesia Islamic Front (FUI), the Front Jihad Islam, Laskar Jogja and Paksi Katon. Lately, the Pancasila Youth and the FKPPI have added themselves to the list. Their members appear as "security personnel" or parking attendants at major hotels, entertainment centers and housing complexes.

Ethnic groups from eastern Indonesia, especially East Nusa Tenggara, have eastern Yogyakarta as their turf.

Impunity has also given rise to the proliferation of intolerant groups that gained notoriety for attacking people of other faiths, LGBT people and events they suspect of "promoting communism". They also often unlawfully ban construction of churches.

A 2014 survey by the Wahid Institute – a Jakarta-based rights group – placed Yogyakarta as the second-most intolerant city after Bogor, West Java, with 21 cases of sectarian violence. Police are not doing their job. They give the violent groups a free hand to go as far as suppressing freedom of speech, such as by forcibly dispersing public seminars and the screening of films they assume smack of communism.

Authorities have turned a deaf ear to intellectuals' protests about them not doing enough to stop violence. Frustrated people have added question marks to the "Yogyakarta City of Tolerance" slogan emblazoned on banners at strategic places.

Kelli Swazey from Gadjah Mada University's Center for Religious and Cultural Studies attributes the increasing criminality among local youths to their economic powerlessness in the face of a rising culture of consumerism that grows along with the mushrooming hotels, cafes, shopping malls and apartments.

Feeling alienated, many youths have become frustrated, short-tempered and easily tempted to join misguided religious-based groups, she says.

Arie Sujito, the head of Gadjah Mada's school of social and political sciences, suspects that intolerant groups are in fact partners of local elites who use them as part of their tactics to maintain control of their assets. One obvious indication: The thugs enjoy impunity.

The Indonesian police were internationally commended for bashing sophisticated terror networks, but why in the world do not they get these troublemaking vigilantes?

"Intolerance in Yogyakarta is growing because the political and economic elites have failed to cope with the social impacts of the fast economic development. They patronize intolerant groups to defend their resources," Arie says.

You may wonder why the thugs also target intellectual exercises like public seminars. "Because these critical intellectuals are seen as a threat to the elites' control of economic and political resources," Arie says.

Young activists worried about the worsening intolerance have set up the Solidarity Forum for Peaceful Yogyakarta. They "mourn" the appalling state of intolerance in the city that still proudly promotes itself as "peaceful-hearted".

"Down the beaches and up the mountains, on campuses and in the streets, the peace is hard to find now," says forum activist Ernawati. "This is because the greedy officials and their like-minded cohorts are busy fighting for a share of the 'special region' cake."

Unfortunately, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X – who was awarded as a pluralist leader by the Interfaith Network in 2014 – has yet to take measures to restore Yogyakarta's image as a city of tolerance.

Cases of intolerance in Yogyakarta

2010

When questions were raised about the special legal status enjoyed by Yogyakarta, banners were erected in many parts of the city urging those opposed to the province's unique status to leave the province.

2011

November: Activist and lecturer George Junus Adijondro was driven out of his home by Yogyakartans angry at him over statements they deemed offensive to the Yogyakarta palace.

December: A group of people calling themselves Warga Kawulo Ngayogya Hadiningrat came to the house of former Gadjah Mada University (UGM) rector Ichlasul Amal, asking him to apologize for his criticism of the public movement in support of Yogyakarta's special status.

2012

January: Dozens of people from a number of Islamic mass organizations decried a discussion held by the Institute for Islamic and Social Studies that featured Canadian feminist Irshad Manji. Earlier, a planned discussion at the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS) of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) was canceled due to pressure from a number of organizations.

2013

October: The Indonesian Anti-Communist Front (FAKI) decried a gathering by families of victims of the 1965 tragedy at the Dharma Santi building in Godean, Sleman.

November: A number of Islamic mass organizations threatened to attack the Rausyan Fikr Foundation in Sleman, which they accused of promoting Shia beliefs. Banners condemning Shiites were erected in a number of places across Yogyakarta city.

December: Sleman Regent Sri Purnomo led a campaign against the Shia branch of Islam at the UGM mosque.

2014

February: The Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) demanded that the Yogyakarta city administration not issue a permit for the construction of the Saksi Yehova Church in Baciro, Yogyakarta, on the grounds that it was located near a mosque.

September: Yogyakarta's Islamic People's Forum (FUI) demanded that a discussion on LGBT people at the Sanata Dharma University be canceled.

November: LGBT community members were attacked by a group of unidentified people while holding an event in the Tugu area.

December: A number of Islamic mass organizations expressed their objection to a joint Christmas celebration in Gunungkidul.

2015

July: An unknown group attempted to set fire to the Kristen Indonesia church in Saman, Bantul. Earlier, the FUI and FJI had protested against the church, which they claimed did not have a permit from the local administration.

2016

February: The FJI demanded that the Al Fatah boarding school, specifically allocated for transgender people, be closed.

May: The FKPPI urged the police to halt the screening of Pulau Buru Tanah Air Beta at a number of campuses.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/intolerance-stains-yogya-s-melting-pot-image.html

US-Indonesia council aims to tackle 'intolerant movements'

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The US-Indonesia Council on Religion and Pluralism will tackle intolerant movements within Indonesia, the council's co-chair has said.

Yenny Wahid said it was hoped the council could develop new initiatives to boost relations between the two countries and help create a culture of tolerance. "We will involve members of intolerant groups in all activities initiated by this council," said Yenny in Yogyakarta on Thursday.

The executive director of the Wahid Foundation was speaking during the council's two-day conference, which ended on Thursday. Yenny and Jihad Turk from the US were appointed as co-chairs of the council.

Turk said the US and Indonesia were similar because they both acknowledged pluralism and tolerance. The difference is that in Indonesia, Muslims constitute a majority and Protestant Christians are a minority. By contrast, in the US, Muslims are a minority while Protestant Christians represent a majority, he went on to say.

"We can share our experiences in enhancing pluralism," said Turk, who is also president of the Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School.

He further said the tolerant form of Islam in Indonesia, which was different from the Islam in the Middle East, needed to be known by people across the globe. "The tolerant form of Islam in Indonesia should be adopted as a good model for the rest of the world," said Turk.

Muhamad Ali, a lecturer in religious studies at the University of California Riverside, said Indonesian people ought to know that religion flourished in the US, even though the country has a secular constitution.

There are 7 million Muslims in the US, or around 2 percent of the country's total population. "Islam has grown rapidly in the US," he said. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/us-indonesia-council-aims-to-tackle-intolerant-movements-co-chair.html

Woman at center of riot under stress

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Haeril Halim and Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta/Tanjung Balai – Life has suddenly gone downhill for Meliana, a woman of Chinese descent living in Tanjungbalai, North Sumatra, ever since she complained about the volume of a mosque's adzan (call to prayer) in her neighborhood last week.

Blamed for causing a riot that left dozens of temples ransacked, she is currently being housed at a local police station, and has controversially been reported for blasphemy – not by residents but by the police – because of her complaint, which the police have deemed was the trigger for the riot.

The children of the 41-year-old woman have also been forced to leave town for fear of being attacked by angry neighbors, leaving her husband as her sole support at the Tanjungbalai Police office.

She was reported as being physically fit as of Monday, but it appears that she is suffering severe stress after being evacuated from her home when the furor erupted over a week ago.

It remains unclear how long Meliana will have to stay at the police station and there is a fear that she will be detained after the police collect evidence to name her a blasphemy suspect.

"She looks very depressed, unlike her husband who appears to be bearing up," Tanjungbalai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ayep Wahyu Gunawan told The Jakarta Post, adding that the police had sheltered Meliana and her husband to protect them from being attacked by a mob.

None of Meliana's relatives have had the courage to visit her at the police station. Only the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and Tanjungbalai Mayor M. Syahrial have paid her a visit.

In its move to charge Meliana, the police will summon experts from North Sumatra University to determine whether her complaint constituted an act of blasphemy.

Meliana, who has been living in the port city for eight years, has expressed remorse in the case and apologized to local people for her actions. She hopes that she can return home and live harmoniously with followers of other religions in her neighborhood.

The police's decision to report Meliana for blasphemy has led to concerns that they are trying to placate angry Muslim residents, as those arrested and charged for their roles in the rioting, which saw the burning and looting of several viharas and pagodas, are thought to be mainly Muslims.

Meanwhile, in a surprise move the police released on bail 19 people suspected of looting and torching temples during the riot, after receiving requests from their families, although two suspected provocateurs remain behind bars. Seven of the 19 released are underage.

"The legal process against the bailed suspects is still ongoing," said Ayep, who denied that the release was made after the police came under pressure from local people, local legislators and members of the House of Representatives. "It is justified under the law that a suspect does not have to be locked up during the investigation period," Ayep added.

Local residents reacted angrily against Meliana after she complained about the mosque's loudspeaker volume, allegedly in an inappropriate manner. Angry mobs decided to burn temples after they were prevented by the police from ransacking Meliana's house.

Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma'ruf Amin deplored the fact that local people chose to burn temples to express their anger against Meliana, adding that it was acceptable to lower the volume of loudspeakers if people in the neighborhood were bothered.

"Although [Meliana] expressed her compliant angrily, such an act should not be replied to with anger. Both parties should sit together to discuss her concerns," Ma'ruf said.

Meanwhile, secretary-general of the country's second-largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, Abdul Mu'ti, said that it was important to ensure that mosques kept their loudspeakers at a low volume.

"I agree with the calls made by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is also the chairman of Indonesian Mosque Council, that mosque loudspeakers should be regulated," Mu'ti said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/woman-center-riot-under-stress.html

Blasphemy charge against 'adzan' protestor questioned

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Tanjungbalai Police's move to report a woman for blasphemy after she complained about the volume of loudspeakers at a mosque near her house, which led to the worst racial violence in the country in more than a decade, has called into question law enforcers' impartiality in handling religious conflicts.

North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rina Sari Ginting insisted that the police were right to report Meliana for blasphemy based on statements by witnesses. "It is justified by the law" the officer told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Meliana has not been officially charged with blasphemy as the police are seeking the opinion of a University of North Sumatra linguist to decide if what she is alleged to have said could be considered as "defaming religion". But the police said they were now building a case against her.

Dailami, a staffer at Al Maksum mosque, a key witness in the case, said Meliana had objected to the volume of the mosque's speakers and had asked him to lower it.

The mosque then sent representatives to Meliana's house to ask her if she was really disturbed by the loudspeakers. "Yes, it hurt my ears," Dailami said, quoting Meliana.

The police's decision to report Meliana for blasphemy has sparked suspicions they are trying to appease angry Muslim residents, as those arrested and charged for their roles in the rioting, which saw the burning and looting of viharas and pagodas, are thought to be mainly Muslims.

Rina dismissed the suspicions, saying those involved in the rioting could not be charged with blasphemy even though they had ransacked places of worship. Religious defamation must have the element of verbal abuse, she said.

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Nur Kholis said criminalizing Meliana would not address the conflict in Tanjungbalai.

"The Blasphemy Law does exist, but it is not rigid and doesn't specify to what extent an act can be classified as blasphemous. The implementation of this law is relative, depending on whether one feels another has offended one's religion," he said,

There had to be mutual understanding that although the adzan (the Muslim call to prayer) is a form of freedom of expression and a manifestation of religion, it should also know certain limits, and someone conveying an objection should not be considered as blasphemous, Ghufron Mabruri of Imparsial said.

"We cannot prosecute people who express their discomfort. In the same way we cannot prosecute citizens who object to a wedding ceremony set up on the street." He added that the case should be dropped as Meliana had publicly apologized and her problem had nothing to do with religion.

Yenny Wahid, executive director of the Wahid Institute, slammed the police for building a case against Meliana, saying that the police regarded their duty as more about restoring order, but less about ensuring citizens' constitutional rights.

The Tanjungbalai incident was not the first caused by complaints about the excessive use of loudspeakers by mosques, though it was the first to trigger rioting.

In 2010, a US citizen, Gregory Luke Lloyd, was sentenced to five months in prison for a blasphemous act in Lombok. He had unplugged electricity in a mosque because he was disturbed by the volume of a Quran recitation during Ramadhan.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/08/blasphemy-charge-against-adzan-protestor-questioned.html

Religion & morality

Bandung mayor has 'not given nod' to bus sermons

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Bandung Mayor Ridwan "Emil" Kamil says he has not given the nod to a program for Islamic preachers to board city buses and give sermons.

He said the plan was not a city administration program. "When they announced it, they did not have my permission. We have no such plan, why did they announce it? I am confused myself," Ridwan said on Sunday.

Emil refused to comment on the substance of the program, announced a few days earlier by H. Latief, the head of religious affairs at the city secretariat.

Latief said the sermons by Muslim preachers would be delivered aboard buses, specifically state-owned DAMRI buses. Latief said each bus departure would get one sermon that would touch on the subject of "morals, good deeds, etc."

Latief said the sermons would be a "filler" while the passengers were sitting idly on the bus. He said it would be better than just daydreaming, communicating through cell phones or sleeping.

Emil was in Manila when Latief announced the plan. Latief said the program was a joint project between the Ministry of Religious Affairs' office in Bandung, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) and Bandung Islamic State University. (evi)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/bandung-mayor-has-not-given-nod-to-bus-sermons.html

Islamic preachers proposed for city buses

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Arya Dipa, Bandung – With growing Islamic conservatism in the country, spiritualism has become a popular leisure activity – or at least that's what a local administration has in mind.

A Bandung city administration official recently proposed that state-owned bus operator Damri equip every bus that travels in the city with a cleric who would give sermons on religious topics.

"The cleric will talk about [good deeds], everyday issues. It is better than remaining idle or playing with cell phones [during the journey]," said the head of the Bandung administration's public welfare division's religious subdivision, Latif, in a statement.

He said that the idea would be among the administration's religious programs that have run since April.

Local administrations in the country have become more involved in passing many regulations that adhere to Islamic values and regulate morality, but pay less attention to the interests of the public in general.

During the Islamic fasting month that fell in June, food stall sellers were raided during daytime in several regions in West Java as they were seen as not respecting Muslims who were fasting.

Resident and bus user Lina Nursanty, 35, expressed disapproval of the planned sermons. "We are tired of buskers and now sermons on the bus. The bus is a public facility that should be universally applicable for all its users," said Lina.

She added that if the administration was adamant about turning Bandung into a religious city, she suggested the religious activities on the bus should not just be Islamic sermons, but also lectures by leaders of the all the religions and faiths that exist in Indonesia.

Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil was reluctant to comment about the plan to have religious sermons on the bus. "I cannot comment now and it is not the municipality's program," Ridwan said after attending the 2016 Asian-African Carnival on Jl. Asia Afrika in Bandung on Sunday.

Emil, as Ridwan is better known, had refused to comment about the plan after it was announced over the weekend. Latif issued the announcement of the plan to the public, saying that the sermons would be given by the preachers during the bus' departure.

When asked for the third time on whether the program was a certainty, Emil still declined to comment because he said he really did not know about the activity.

"It was announced without my permission, so it remains uncertain and not official yet, but [it was deliberately] announced. I'm also confused," said Emil.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/islamic-preachers-proposed-city-buses.html

Jakarta told House to be wise about prohibition bill

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration has called on the House of Representatives to ensure that the prohibition bill, which it is deliberating, will not negatively affect tourism in the country if it is approved.

Jakarta Tourism Agency head Catur Iswanto said on Friday that the distribution of alcoholic beverages could be regulated to prevent the negative effects of alcohol. "However, the law should also consider the tourist industry," Catur told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The law should not, for example, prohibit foreign tourists from consuming liquor so that tourism in Jakarta was not affected, he said, adding that the city was currently promoting itself internationally as a tourist destination.

He said as an international destination for business and leisure, night entertainment in Jakarta was an integral part of tourism. "The power of night leisure in Jakarta is so strong. After doing business here, often tourists visit a nightclub," Catur said.

The bill, introduced by the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), both Islamist parties, does not take into account demands made by players in the tourist sector. If passed, the law will impose a full nationwide ban on the production, distribution and consumption of drinks with an alcoholic content of 1 to 55 percent. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/jakarta-told-house-to-be-wise-about-prohibition-bill.html

Alcohol ban jeopardizes industry, tourism

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Dewanti A. Wardhani, Ni Komang Erviani and Panca Nugraha, Jakarta/Bali/Lombok – The deliberations on the alcohol prohibition bill have been causing consternation among tourists, businesspeople and even labor unions, as the question, to beer or not to beer, is expected to have a serious impact.

"A holiday without beer in Bali would be dreadful," said Briton Peter Robertson, who was vacationing in Bali. Without access to beer, which is considered a recreational beverage in countries such as the UK, tourists like Robertson would be discouraged from visiting Indonesia.

French national Pierre David, enjoying his honeymoon in Sekotong, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, said a couple of glasses of beer were essential for any celebration.

As tourists let off steam by drinking with friends and family on vacation, lawmakers at the House of Representatives and the government in Jakarta are working on a bill that will make it difficult to obtain alcohol.

According to the initial draft, sponsored by Islamist-oriented parties the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the production, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages will be completely outlawed.

Exceptions will apply for customary activities, religious rituals, tourists and pharmaceutical products.

The purpose of the bill, as the draft claims, is to "protect citizens from the negative impacts of alcoholic beverages, to raise awareness of the dangers of the beverages, and to ensure order and peace in society, free from disturbances caused by consumers".

The deliberations came after then trade minister Rachmat Gobel issued in 2015 Ministerial Regulation No. 6/2015 on the distribution of alcoholic beverages, prohibiting supermarkets and minimarts from selling drinks containing more than 5 percent alcohol.

Industry representatives say the total prohibition of alcoholic beverages will have a negative impact on business. Hotel and Restaurant Association chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said a total ban on alcoholic beverages would be a threat to the sustainability of hotel operations as it could discourage foreign tourists from coming to Indonesia.

The move appears to contravene the government's recent attempts to boost the number of foreign tourists to 20 million by 2020, almost twice the figure recorded in 2015.

It is aggressively promoting Indonesian destinations to countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China, India, Germany, Dubai and Australia. It has also scrapped visa requirements for an additional 84 countries this year, making a total of 174 free-visa countries.

Indonesian Malt Beverage Industry Group (GIMMI) spokesman Nimpuno "Ipung" Wibowo Sapto Aji said the industry was already strictly controlled with more than 30 regulations from the central government and an additional 150 by local administrations. Further restrictions would cause the industry to wither, he told The Jakarta Post.

According to data from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an estimated 1,800 people with direct connections to the alcohol industry will lose their jobs as a result of the total prohibition of alcoholic beverages. An additional 128,230 people in supporting industries, such as agriculture and restaurants, will face the same fate.

Annual production of the alcoholic beverage industry is valued at around Rp 5.7 trillion (US$434.28 million) and brings in Rp 6 trillion per year in excise tax. Total prohibition would wipe out all these figures.

Publicly listed beer manufacturer PT Delta Djakarta labor union secretary Jodhi Caster said workers had already suffered from last year's Trade Ministry regulation. No layoffs have taken place, but production has been significantly cut.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/alcohol-ban-jeopardizes-industry-tourism.html

Creative product packaging hands woman a legal problem

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Arya Dipa, Bandung – For a young woman to produce rice noodle snacks in packaging that ignites consumers' curiosity is creativity at best. But for the authorities, and some parts of society, it was a violation of moral values.

The fact that the producer of the recently released "Bikini" snacks was a young woman became known following a raid carried out early on Saturday by the Bandung Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

The agency, with the help of the police, launched the raid after the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) complained about the distribution of Bikini, or bihun kekinian (trendy rice noodles), with packaging featuring a drawing of a woman's torso in a bikini, complete with the words "remas aku" (squeeze me).

On Saturday, the agency and police personnel raided a production site in Depok, West Java. They confiscated packages of the snacks that were ready for distribution and several utensils used for production.

It was discovered during the raid that the maker of the snacks was a 19-year-old woman identified as TW. "But we did not detain her because we didn't have the authority to do so," Bandung BPOM head Abdul Rahim said at his office on Saturday. He said his agency would delve deeper into the case before handing it over to the police.

Rahim said the snacks were the result of entrepreneurship training that TW and her school friends attended. After the training, they came up with the idea of producing the Bikini snacks. The packaging may have been created to pique curiosity. Later, only TW continued the business.

Rahim said the producer would be charged with violating the laws on foods and consumer protection after producing food without a distribution license. The law on food carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment and a Rp 4 billion (US$304,000) fine, while the law on consumer protection carries five years' imprisonment and Rp 2 billion in fines.

Regarding the legality of the entity that produced the snacks, Rahim said his agency was still investigating. The packaging stated the producer was Cemilindo, but no address was provided.

The product went viral last week on social media and made headlines in mass media because its packaging was not considered in line with moral rules. Government Regulation No. 69/1999 on food labeling and commerce, however, does not mention anything about pictures considered to have violated morality.

"For us the violation is about the distribution license because it's through the license that we examine the ingredients, production process and production site to protect consumers," Rahim.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/08/creative-product-packaging-hands-woman-a-legal-proble.html

Agriculture & food security

Government to set price floors and ceilings for staple foods

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – The government will set minimum and maximum prices – technically referred to as price floors and ceilings – for staple foods as part of efforts to prevent volatility in the prices of the country's basic commodities.

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said the measure was taken to trim the wide margin between selling prices set by the farmers to distributors and those set by distributors to market vendors.

"The ceiling price will be set within a week," he said in Jakarta on Monday, adding that the benchmark prices would primarily focus on rice, onions, sugar and beef.

The government will also cut the distribution chain of foods by delivering the commodities directly to a central distributor that will distribute them to traditional markets. A pilot project will be applied in Jakarta and is expected to cut four to five links out of the chain.

Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman pointed out that onions were sold to distributors at between Rp 14,000 (US$1.07) to Rp 16,000 per kilogram, but their selling price at markets reached Rp 40,000 per kg.

Likewise, the production cost of rice is only Rp 6,800 per kg, but consumers have to shell out around Rp 11,000 to Rp 12,000 per kg. "The disparity is almost 100 percent. It must be resolved. It won't be easy, will take a lot of hard work," he added. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/govt-to-set-price-floors-and-ceilings-for-staple-foods.html

East Java salt farmers to see 70% drop in production

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya, East Java – Thousands of Indonesian salt farmers, mostly in East Java, will suffer economically as traditional salt production may decline by 70 percent this year. The expected decline in production is a result of weather anomalies caused by La Nina and an influx of imported salt from Australia.

The East Java branch of the Salt Farmers Association's (HMPG) chairman, Mohammad Hasan, said that based on Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) data, it was expected to continue raining during the dry season until the end of September.

"If the forecast is correct, salt farmers in Indonesia will have only two to three months for production, namely September, October and November. It will be quite difficult because this will result in only about 30 percent of total 2015 national salt production," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Hasan further said that if it continued to rain until November, salt farmers would suffer harvest failures because the rainy season was expected to start in December.

In 2015, traditional local salt production was 2.7 million tons, which did not include salt produced by state-owned salt company PT Garam. National salt demand amounted to 3.3 million tons in 2015, which comprised 1.5 million tons of salt for consumption and the remaining 1.8 million tons for industrial purposes.

Despite the production decrease, Hasan said, the price of traditional salt had been on a decline. The influx of imported salt aggravated the situation, he added. Around 270,000 tons of salt from Australia are expected to arrive in Indonesia this month. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/08/e-java-salt-farmers-to-see-70-drop-in-production.html

Land & agrarian conflicts

Police backed Lingga developer: Kontras

Jakarta Post - August 10, 2016

Medan – Police involvement in the relocation of Mount Sinabung evacuees to Lingga village, Karo regency, reportedly led to brawls that claimed one life.

The conclusion was reached in a report issued on Monday by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence's (Kontras) North Sumatra chapter.

Kontras' North Sumatra operational head Amin Multazam said its investigation found evidence indicating that police backed the construction company that built housing for the relocation project in Lingga village.

Amin added that the police's involvement could be seen in the presence of a police post in the relocation area.

Amin questioned the relevance of the police post, which was rejected by residents. Amin said Lingga villagers had protested the presence of the post, and were then provoked by police arrogance. As a result, he added, a clash between residents and police left one person dead and dozens injured.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/10/island-focus-police-backed-lingga-developer-kontras.html

Residents flee as company asks police to make arrests

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Severianus Endi, Pontianak – Initially, it was a land dispute between residents of Olak-olak village in Kubu Raya regency, West Kalimantan, and oil palm plantation company PT Sintang Raya, which holds a concession nearby.

Then, the company accused several residents of stealing oil palm fruit and allegedly paid police to secure the area and make arrests.

The company's harsh measures frightened locals, many of whom took shelter at the local office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). At least 47 residents, including children, have been sleeping at the Komnas HAM office since Thursday night, seeking protection.

The residents first visited the Komnas HAM office on Monday to report their dispute with PT Sintang Raya. They said a number of police personnel had patrolled their village, reportedly forcefully arresting four locals.

The residents reportedly heard that 74 people from the village were on the police's wanted list. As a result of the police's actions, almost 300 residents of the village and several other nearby villages left their homes and took shelter in Pontianak and other places.

"We set up a monitoring team to investigate if there has been a human rights violation by the police," West Kalimantan's Komnas HAM chairman Kasful Anwar said.

He said a team from the commission's national office in Jakarta would arrive within a few days. In the meantime, his office would coordinate with related agencies and the provincial administration to ensure residents had adequate food.

West Kalimantan Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Suhadi SW said the arrests were justified as the police apprehended people who allegedly stole fruit from oil palms belonging to PT Sintang Raya.

"All the suspects have been given summons letters. As they did not show up, forced arrests were made according to procedure," he said. Moreover, he suspected an NGO had provoked the residents to defend their rights through legal procedures.

Previously, the villagers, with the help of an advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against PT Sintang Raya to return plots of land to them. Suhadi said the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the residents, ordering the plantation company to release 5 hectares of land.

"The company was not obliged to release the whole of its concession area of 11 hectares. A non-government organization has campaigned as if the company must release the whole concession to the people," Suhadi said, without naming the organization.

In addition, Olak-olak administration's social affairs section head Sunarno said the villagers were divided into two groups: those against and those for the presence of the company in the region. "Those who are against were afraid because there had been rumors that the police would pick up a number of residents targeted for arrest," Sunarno said.

Separately, Harlen Sitorus of the company's legal division denied accusations that the arrest of some residents was an attempt by PT Sintang Raya to criminalize people. He said the police followed up on the company's report about the theft of oil palm fruit in its concession area on July 9, 10 and 17.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/08/residents-flee-company-asks-police-make-arrests.html

Governance & administration

New ministers, same old goals: VP Kalla

Jakarta Globe - August 10, 2016

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla said newly appointed ministers should do their job according to the policies set by the central government. His comment came after several new ministers appointed during President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's latest cabinet shake-up caused public uproar with controversial ideas for new policies.

"Ministers can take different ways to reach their goals, but the goals should remain the same," Kalla said in Jakarta on Wednesday (10/08).

"The most important thing is they manage to reach what we set out to do. If the new ministers know a shortcut to get there, then, please, by all means pursue it. But make sure you get to the same finishing line," Kalla said.

One of the ministers Kalla referred to was new Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy, whose proposal for a "full day school" has angered many parents.

President Jokowi has also warned his new ministers not to pursue their own personal goals, but follow closely the guidelines established by him and Kalla.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/new-ministers-old-goals-vp-kalla/

Parliament & legislation

Democracy at risk as Jokowi dominates House factions

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Soaring public approval for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo far outstrips that for the House of Representatives, raising concerns over whether the national legislature can credibly serve to oversee the executive.

It is feared that abysmal public trust in the House may discourage lawmakers from serving as a check and balance on the Jokowi administration, the popularity of which has survived two Cabinet reshuffles in as many years and a slowing economy.

A new survey by the Jakarta-based pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia shows growing public approval for Jokowi's leadership, with 68 percent of those polled expressing satisfaction in the government's performance.

The study also found that of state institutions, the President is the most trusted, while the House – alongside political parties – is the least trusted.

The high public approval rate for Jokowi's performance is apparently due to his success in convincing the public of his leadership after consolidating party support by persuading the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) to join the government.

The additional two parties seal Jokowi's domination in the House, where he is now backed by seven of 10 party factions.

The survey also found that 81.5 percent of the total 1,220 respondents interviewed between Aug. 1 and 9 applauded Jokowi for winning over more political parties, confident that greater political support would mean a stronger performance.

On the contrary, only 15.1 percent criticized the support Jokowi has secured from political parties over concerns that political parties, and therefore the House, would be too weak to properly oversee the government.

"The growing support [for Jokowi] has drawn little concern from the public about the government's cartel of political parties. It matters only to academics," said Burhanuddin Muhtadi.

"People on the lower levels of society are concerned only with stability," the executive director of Indikator Politik Indonesia emphasized.

Burhanuddin elaborated that the Indonesian tendency to favor harmony had led to Jokowi embracing more political parties in his government, despite critics' concerns that such political consolidation would serve to allow parties to exploit public resources for their own gain.

Besides the growing support from political parties, the high approval Jokowi has obtained is due to a surge in infrastructure construction, such as roads and public transportation, and wider public access to health services.

However, Jokowi remains perceived as failing to provide employment and reduce poverty.

Meanwhile, there is little confidence in the ability of the House to effectively oversee the government's performance, with 386 of 560 legislative votes now guaranteed for Jokowi's programs.

And the lack of progressive figures such as Jokowi within political parties is expected only to aggravate parties' reluctance to criticize the governments; they are instead likely to unconditionally support the President in a bid to maximize their votes in upcoming regional, legislative and presidential elections.

Golkar lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo concurred. "It is important for Golkar to keep Jokowi's electability up because it will increase the party's electability as well," he said, commenting on the poll.

"The challenge for Golkar, the PDI-P [ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle] and other parties that support the government is how to work together to support the state's policies because if they fail, it will affect our electability," Bambang said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/democracy-risk-jokowi-dominates-house-factions.html

Jakarta & urban life

Ahok a bad example for Indonesia: Ahmad Dhani

Jakarta Globe - August 10, 2016

Jakarta – Ahmad Dhani, controversial popstar turned political aspirant, has again lashed out at Jakarta Govenor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, saying the governor is a "bad example for Indonesia."

Dhani, who made international headlines for dressing in Nazi uniforms while performing and racially-tinged commentary against ethnically Chinese Basuki, made the comments on Tuesday (09/08).

"Personally, I don't want Ahok in Indonesia because Ahok is a bad example for Indonesia," he said, as quoted by news portal Vivanews. "If Ahok wins later, there's no way I'll appreciate it. I will move to Bekasi," he said, referring to the West Java satellite city.

Dhani's own gubernatorial hopes were dashed earlier this year after failing to garner any support among the city's political parties. Basuki, meanwhile, enjoys support from a coalition of major parties and grassroots support group.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ahok-bad-example-indonesia-ahmad-dhani/

Islamic parties pin hopes on Risma to beat Ahok

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Indra Budiari, Jakarta – Islamic parties may field a candidate of their own to challenge incumbent Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in Jakarta's gubernatorial election next year should the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) fail to nominate Surabaya mayor Tri "Risma" Rismaharini.

With various political surveys pointing to Ahok, a Protestant of Chinese descent, as the candidate to beat in 2017, Islamic groups have called on Islamic parties to propose a Muslim candidate to lead the capital, where Muslims account for about 85 percent of the population.

The National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) are in talks on forming an alliance.

The parties together control 29 seats in the City Council, allowing them to nominate a candidate for the race. The Regional Election Law requires that election contenders are backed by a party or coalition of parties controlling at least 22 seats in the council.

"We don't want people to think that Ahok is the only capable individual to run the city," PKB politician Maman Imanulhaq told The Jakarta Post over the weekend. "There are many other qualified people, including from Islamic parties".

As of now, however, the Islamic parties seem to have neither the confidence nor the candidate popular enough to beat Ahok, who tops surveys by significant margins. The latest polling by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) found that 54.5 percent of respondents would vote for the incumbent governor if the election were held today.

The Islamic parties are pinning their hopes on Risma, even though the PDI-P politician has repeatedly said she was not interested in running for Jakarta governor. Risma, who wears a headscarf, is the only candidate seen to have what it takes to beat Ahok. She has a stellar career as a regional leader, is considered as pro-poor, and, more importantly, a devout Muslim.

While a recent survey found that most Jakarta voters do not care about Ahok's race or religion, his political rivals will likely use those aspects in their attacks. Some believe this is why Ahok appointed an influential Muslim figure as his campaign chief, an assertion the former East Belitung regent has denied.

"While communication with Islamic parties is ongoing, PPP is certain that Risma will run for Jakarta governor," PPP politician Arwani Thomafi said.

PAN committee deputy chairman Hanafi Rais shared the same sentiment, saying his party would be glad to support Risma if she decided to join the race. Party leaders were intensively discussing her nomination, he said.

Hanafi dismissed notions that his party supported Risma because of her religion, saying, "religious background should no longer be an important consideration in picking a leader". However, PAN, he said, would maintain good relations with Islamic parties "as an alternative".

The PDI-P has yet to nominate anyone, but rumor has it the party is hovering between Risma and Ahok.

Other than Ahok – who is supported by the Golkar Party, the Hanura Party and the Nasdem Party – businessman Sandiaga Uno is the only candidate to have secured the support of a major political party. Sandiaga was recently nominated by the Gerindra Party, the second largest party in Jakarta after the PDI-P.

Gerindra, too, is waiting for PDI-P's decision on Risma, hoping to pair her with Sandiaga, who may then have to settle for running as deputy governor.

The political map, therefore, will change if the PDI-P decides to back Ahok rather than Risma. Islamic parties will have to choose between forming a coalition with Gerindra or nominating their own candidate.

Still, doubts remain as to whether Islamic parties will ever unite. Political analyst Hamdi Muluk said establishing an alliance would be a challenging task for Islamic parties, as they actually had different ideologies. "Endorsing Risma is the best option for them, but they still need to wait for PDIP's decision on that."

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/08/islamic-parties-pin-hopes-risma-beat-ahok.html

Squatters and their broken dreams in inhospitable Jakarta

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Jakarta – Follow your dreams, people say, which is exactly what many people from outside the capital do by coming to Jakarta in the hope of finding a better life.

For the lucky ones, their dreams do come true, but others struggle so much that they end up living in spaces under the water pipes that stretch along the West Flood Canal in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

To protect himself from the scorching sun and rain, Usup, a 50-year-old scavenger, and nine other people have set up homes in 2 x 2 meter spaces that are only big enough for one person to lie down.

To enter each room, people need to bend over as the spaces are no more than 1.5 meters high. However, like typical homes, some of the rooms are filled with fans, stoves, beds and utensils.

"I want to have a better life but I don't know how [to change my situation]," said Usup, who is originally from Palembang, South Sumatra.

He first came to Jakarta in the 1980s, hoping to find a good job and improve his life. As the capital, where the headquarters of government offices and many private companies are situated, Jakarta has always attracted thousands of newcomers, particularly after the annual Idul Fitri.

Last year the city recorded 70,593 newcomers after the exodus. Meanwhile, in 2014, Jakarta welcomed 68,537 new residents – 25.5 percent more than in 2013 when 51,000 people came to the city. This year, it is estimated that 71,000 newcomers will arrive.

Unfortunately many newcomers are unskilled workers, and many of them end up on the street.

Usup said he had tried to find a job in his hometown but to no avail. At some point the young Usup made the big decision to move to Jakarta in the hopes of later returning home as a successful man. "But I have no skills to offer," he said.

He said he wanted to go home and reunite with his remaining family members but was reluctant to do so as he had nothing to show off.

"It's been five years I haven't seen my mother and siblings," he said. "It has crossed my mind to leave Jakarta and return home, but I am still a nobody," he said, adding that his income was barely enough to support himself.

He revealed that he earned Rp 50,000 (US$3) per day, which was just enough to buy meals. He said he had long dreamed of leaving the place he called home as he realized it was unsafe.

"I am afraid that security officers will suddenly come and evict me. Besides, crooks often come and hide here," he said, adding that he had been questioned in the past by police hunting down suspects.

Another resident of the area, Tina, who works as a laundress, said she had been living there for two years. "I am not able to rent a house, that's why I prefer to stay here," she said, adding that she was divorced.

Earlier this month, the Jakarta administration reportedly raided the so-called "pipe people" and sent them to social institutions for training. (sha)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/08/squatters-and-their-broken-dreams-inhospitable-jakarta.html

Transport & communication

Lion Air dispute shines light on pilot welfare concerns

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Farida Susanty, Jakarta – A recent strike staged by Lion Air pilots has opened the lid on the previously closed box of the woes of local airline pilots.

Twenty-two year old Anggi Tayanza is not a frequent user of Lion Air, but his last two flights with them, both in 2015, were marred by horrendous moments. On one occasion, he had to wait for over five hours for his flight from Jakarta to his hometown of Bengkulu.

Meanwhile, 43-year-old doctor Tri Saputra said on Sunday he frequently used Lion Air because of its low fares compared with other carriers. "I couldn't afford the price of seven tickets [for wife and five children] if it was not with Lion," Tri said, chuckling.

Flight delays have spoiled a number of Tri's flights with the carrier as well. Last year, he was forced to wait for around five hours for a flight from Jakarta to Jambi.

Flight delays, a poor safety record and breaches of aviation standards have landed Lion Air, the country's largest low-cost carrier, in hot water several times. In February last year, hundreds of passengers ran amok at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, frustrated by numerous delays to their flights.

On May 10, the airline also made headlines for passenger mishandling at Soekarno-Hatta and widespread flight delays in several airports caused by a walkout by 300 Lion Air pilots. The latter incident led the Transportation Ministry to ban Lion Air from launching new domestic routes for five months.

On Aug. 3, the airline's management announced that it had laid off 14 pilots considered to be behind the strike, including Eki Andriansjah, the leader of the Lion Air pilot union (SP-APLG). The management has also chosen to sideline the SP-APLG.

It has also reported the pilots to the National Police's Criminal Investigations Unit, accusing them of defamation, which carries a maximum sentence of nine months behind bars according to Article 310 of the Criminal Code.

The pilots' lawyer, Oky Wiratama, said on Sunday that the company's move to dismiss her clients was illegal because of a lack of dismissal letters issued to the laid-off pilots. She said the airline provided no rationale for the move.

Oky, who is a public lawyer with the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), said she was mulling whether to report Lion Air to the police for alleged union busting and for purportedly criminalizing her clients without legal basis.

In a separate statement, Lion Air said the management regretted news that highlighted the alleged disharmonious relations between the management and pilots. It said pilots were bound by a working agreement and that the strike was a violation of that agreement.

In the wake of escalating conflict, the Indonesian Pilot Association (IPI) claims that the problems of pilot rights are widespread and involve more than just one airline.

The IPI estimates that up to 60 percent of the 8,000 currently licensed pilots in Indonesia are working under temporary working contracts, rather than being permanent employees of the airlines.

"There are pilots who have worked for 18 years under just working contracts [not as permanent employees], with enormous penalties [if they resign]," IPI first chairman Captain Rama Valerino Noya told the press on Monday.

It claims such practices contravene the Labor Law. The law stipulates that a working contract can only apply for three years, after which a person should either be promoted as a permanent employee or discharged.

The association also says that many pilots work more hours than stipulated in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations. "We're really asking for the Transportation Ministry to closely monitor airline practice on pilot working hours," IPI founder Captain Rudolf Albert Rooroh said. (mos)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/lion-air-dispute-shines-light-pilot-welfare-concerns.html

Armed forces & defense

Lawmakers push back against bill empowering military

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Jakarta – Most factions at the House of Representatives have rejected the national security bill, which if passed would extend the role of the military, making it as strong as it was during Soeharto's New Order Era.

Having been postponed for years owing to its antireform spirit, the legislation was put back on the table by House Speaker Ade Komarudin of the Golkar Party, which recently joined the government's coalition.

Ade proposed that the House take over the drafting of the bill from the government, arguing that deliberation of the bill would help counter national security threats. The proposal, however, has drawn objections from political party factions.

"We don't see the urgency to deliberate the bill because it may overlap the authorities of the Indonesian Military [TNI] and the National Police," said Hanura Party politician Sarifuddin Sudding, a member of House Commission III overseeing human rights, security and legal affairs.

"Then, if the bill is drafted by the House, it will create conflict of interest. It's better that the government carry out its own in-depth study about the importance of the bill," he added.

Ade came up with the proposal after he had a closed-door meeting with Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu in July. He said the bill was important because the country needed a legal basis to rigidly regulate the distribution of tasks and authorities for every defense and security institution.

The government has tried to pass the bill since 2006, but lawmakers have failed to endorse it on account of protests from civil society organizations over concerns that the bill would encourage misuse of authority by the state.

The latest version of the bill is that of 2012 and contains articles that may threaten civil supremacy and give room to the military to get involved in civilian matters.

Article 14, point 1 of the bill, for example, stipulates that the government has the authority to declare a military emergency when there is civil unrest that harms the country's sovereignty and integrity.

According to the lawmakers, the article may allow the military force to get involved with civilian cases, such as riots, while the military is supposed to only act when there are attacks from outside the country.

Also in the bill, article 22, point 1 stipulates that national security involves active roles of state intelligence. It does not clarify which state intelligence body is permitted to do so.

If the House speaker insists on reviving the bill, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) member Tubagus Hasanuddin has urged that the bill be drafted by the government, because it pertains to coordination among authorities. "The substance is complex, it will be difficult for us to accommodate the interests of related institutions," Tubagus said.

Rights group Imparsial executive director Al-Araf said the bill had no clear reason or purpose and instead created anxiety among civilians over military involvement.

"The TNI already has the authority to get involved in civilian matters under certain conditions, according to the Military Law. So the government doesn't need any more regulations," Al-Araf said, adding that the Defense Ministry has not elaborated on the urgency of the bill.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/lawmakers-push-back-against-bill-empowering-military.html

TNI reveals increased number of personnel involved in drugs

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has revealed hundreds of drug-related cases involving its own personnel in the first half of this year on the back of controversy surrounding the possible involvement of the institution in the illegal business of an executed drug kingpin.

The TNI uncovered 402 drug-related cases involving TNI personnel in the first half of this year following intense judicial operations conducted within the force, spokesman Maj. Gen. Tatang Sulaiman said recently. In 2015, he revealed that 143 cases were uncovered in the second half of 2015. No data exists on drug cases within the TNI for the first half of 2015.

The TNI is carrying out an investigation within its force to unravel any other cases of drug use or the involvement of military personnel in drug trafficking networks. The investigation has come about in response to the testimony of executed drug kingpin Freddy Budiman, Tatang said. Before his death, Freddy claimed that a two-star military General was involved in his operations.

Tatang said the TNI was ready to impose severe punishments on guilty personnel should the allegation, leaked by prominent rights activist Haris Azhar, be proved true.

Freddy's testimony to Haris, the coordinator for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), in 2014 highlighted the alleged involvement of high-ranking officials from the National Police, the TNI and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in his empire.

Freddy claimed he had once driven a car packed with drugs from Medan, North Sumatra, to Jakarta using a car belonging to a two-star TNI General. Freddy claimed he was even accompanied by the General himself during the journey. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/tni-reveals-increased-number-of-personnel-involved-in-drugs.html

Severe punishment for Army personnel involved in drug networks: Mulyono

Jakarta Post - August 11, 2016

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – The Indonesian Army is ready to impose severe punishments on all personnel found guilty of using drugs or being involved in drug trafficking networks, a top ranking official has said.

Army chief of staff Gen. Mulyono said the institution was still waiting for the results of its investigation into the alleged involvement of a two-star military General in executed drug kingpin Freddy Budiman's business empire.

The investigation is being conducted by a team established by and working under the command of Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo.

"Personally, I don't want any of my personnel to be involved in drug networks. If anyone is proven guilty, I will immediately take him into a legal process and dismiss him from the military if necessary," Mulyono said on Wednesday.

Mulyono said that in line with ongoing internal reforms in the military, he had also called on all Army personnel to perform ethically, including by avoiding the use of official Army vehicles and facilities for activities outside of official military tasks.

The investigation will be conducted following the widespread circulation of Freddy's testimony released by rights activist Haris Azhar. In his testimony to the coordinator for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in 2014, Freddy revealed the alleged involvement of high ranking officials from the National Police, the TNI and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in his drug business.

Freddy claimed he had once delivered drugs from Medan, North Sumatra, using a car belonging to a two-star TNI General. The General even accompanied him in the car during the journey, Freddy said. Haris published the drug lord's testimony one day before he was executed on July 29. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/11/severe-punishment-for-army-personnel-involved-in-drug-networks-mulyono.html

Criminal justice & legal system

AG reported to prosecution watchdog over 'unlawful' execution

Jakarta Globe - August 10, 2016

Jakarta – Legal rights activists filed a report against Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo with the state prosecution watchdog on Wednesday (10/08) over the recent execution of one of four death-row inmates, which they claim had been unlawful. The government pressed ahead late last month with the execution of four convicted drug offenders, three of whom had filed clemency appeals. The executions also came amid mounting outrage from the international community.

A series of clemency appeals were submitted to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo by Nigerian Humphrey Ejike, Senegalese Seck Osmane and Indonesian Freddy Budiman ahead of the executions.

Jokowi had repeatedly said he would not exercise this prerogative, amid what he declared as a state of emergency over drug-related crimes in Indonesia.

However, the 2002 Law on Clemency stipulates that "execution of the death penalty cannot proceed before a convict receives a presidential decree rejecting his or her clemency appeal."

The government's response to the clemency appeals remains unclear, but activists have recently learned that a letter Ejike received to notify him that his appeal for clemency had been rejected did not come from the president.

This prompted the activists to report Prasetyo to the Commission for Public Prosecutions (Komjak) over Ejike's case, which they say could be an "entry point" to thoroughly examine the execution of the other convicts, as well as plans for more executions in the future.

"There has been no clear explanation from the Attorney General's Office," said Afif Abdul Qoyim of the Jakarta-based Legal Aid Institute (LBH), and a member Ejike's legal team.

"He has received no presidential letter on his clemency appeal until the day of his execution." However, Prasetyo earlier said all the convicts' legal rights had been fulfilled.

Wednesday's report against Prasetyo was also made over the timing of Ejike's execution. Activists cited the 1964 Law on Procedures for Capital Punishment, which stipulates that "72 hours before the imposition of the death penalty, prosecutors must notify the convict about the imminent execution."

The authorities notified Ejike about the time of his execution at around 3 p.m. on July 26, less than 72 hours before he faced the firing squad on Nusakambangan Island in Cilacap, Central Java.

"The provision is not negotiable whatsoever," said Erasmus Napitupulu of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR).

Responding to Wednesday's report, Commission for Public Prosecutions chairman Sumarno said: "We will examine this. Laws are indeed like that. There are always pros and cons."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ag-reported-prosecution-watchdog-unlawful-execution/

Police & law enforcement

Jokowi calls for investigation into dead drug lord's bribery allegations

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Ayomi Amindoni, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has urged the National Police to investigate the testimony made by the now executed drug lord Freddy Budiman about bribes he allegedly gave to law enforcers.

The President instructed National Police chief Tito Karnavian to establish a team to investigate the testimony Freddy gave to the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) before his execution.

"It's been established in the National Police [...] Trace, expose and process if the fact is in line with what he has conveyed," Jokowi said in an official statement on Thursday in Jakarta, adding that he invited anyone who was capable of uncovering such cases to join the team.

In his testimony to Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar, Freddy claimed that officials from the National Police, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) were involved in his international drug network.

He claimed that he operated his drug network with the support of top officials of the three institutions and he paid large sums of money to them. He did not reveal any names, however.

Haris, who is now facing legal action because of it, released the testimony through social media one day before the drug lord was executed on the Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, on July 29. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/jokowi-calls-for-investigation-into-dead-drug-lords-bribery-allegations.html

Police brutality rampant on Jakarta streets

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Indra Budiari, Jakarta – Andro Supriyanto, 21, a street performer, recalled the night he spent with his friend in the custody of the Jakarta Police. He was beaten, kicked, stripped naked and subjected to electric shocks as the police's interrogators forced him to confess to a murder he did not commit.

A damaged left shoulder and protruding breastbones serve as a reminder of the night he will never forget.

"Our eyes were covered with duct tape so we could barely tell what was in store for us," Andro said as he jumped out of a Metro Mini with a guitar in his left hand and a handful of coins in his right, in Cipulir, South Jakarta. "We were beaten like animals by a lot of cops."

Andro's story began on June 30, 2013 when he and five street-performer friends, one adult and four children, were sitting under a bridge in Cipulir and spotted a man lying on the ground waving his hand at them, signaling for help.

The man, despite being in critical condition with several stab wounds on his neck and head, refused help from the street performers, who offered to carry him to the nearest police station or hospital. They gave him water and sensed that he did not have much time left.

Shortly after, like flies swarming around rotten food, a crowd of police officers arrived at the scene and asked if someone could go to police station to testify. The street performers raised their hands, saying they were ready to be witnesses.

It was the worst decision they ever made as the police soon afterward declared them suspects in the case. An officer at the Jakarta Police then hit Andro on the head and told him to confess to the murder. "Of course we denied the accusation, but it only made the cops angrier and continue to beat and kick us," he said.

Under duress, the street performers confessed to the murder. Andro said the officers looked satisfied with their confession, which is an important piece of evidence in the nation's judicial system.

On Oct. 1, 2013, the South Jakarta District Court declared the teenagers – identified only as FP, BF, F and APS – guilty in the murder, and handed down three-to-four-year prison sentences, while Andro and another adult defendant, Nurdin Priyanto, got seven years' imprisonment in a separate trial.

In an unexpected turn of events, a former legal aid lawyer that led Andro's defense team, Johannes Gea, presented a man who confessed to the police that he and two others killed the victim to steal his motorcycle. But the police refused to follow up on the confession, saying that the case was closed and asked the man to go home.

The street performers appealed their conviction and were exonerated by the Jakarta High Court and Supreme Court.

They later sued the police at the South Jakarta District Court, which ruled in their favor on Tuesday and ordered the police and the Finance Ministry to pay Andro and Nurdin Rp 36 million (US$2,756) in compensation each for their wrongful arrests.

Wrongful arrest is pervasive in Jakarta, Arif Maulana from The Jakarta Legal Aid (LBH Jakarta) said. "With the police and prosecutors still lacking professionalism, there are many other cases like Andro and Dedi out there," Arif said.

Torture has long been a "habit" among police officers, who do not seem to recognize suspects' right to a lawyer, he said, adding that wrongful arrest cases continued to land on LBH Jakarta's desk.

Arif said Andro and Nurdin's successful claim for material compensation was a landmark court decision, as similar attempts in the past had been rejected by the courts.

The police said they would conduct an evaluation to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) rejects responsibility for what happened to the street performers, as they relied on the police's investigation.

Andro and Nurdin said the Rp 36 million would not make up for the torture, nightmares and 11 months they spent behind bars. They said they would continue performing on the streets, from one Metro Mini to another, but vowed to never return to the scene where they found the dying man.

"I don't want to find a random corpse and get arrested again, street performers like us are easy targets for cops, after all," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/police-brutality-rampant-jakarta-streets.html

Cop arrested for allegedly brandishing gun

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police on Monday arrested a policeman for allegedly brandished a gun inside a shop in East Jakarta. It turned out later that the officer, who was reportedly drunk at the time of the incident, is the deputy chief of Kemayoran Police in Central Jakarta.

According to a police report received by The Jakarta Post, a civilian called the internal affairs division at the East Jakarta Police at around 11:30 a.m., informing them about a drunk man claiming to be a policeman in civilian attire and brandishing a gun in the shop.

The police then sent some officers to the location. "It is true that the [policeman] is Jamal Alkatiri, deputy chief of Kemayoran Police," the report said. "His gun has been seized for further investigation."

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono confirmed the report, saying the officer had been under the influence of alcohol.

"[He was just] drunk," Awi said when asked about a motive for the incident. "He is under investigation by Central Jakarta Police," Awi added.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/greater-jakarta-cop-arrested-allegedly-brandishing-gun.html

Police force investigates itself over alleged complicity in drug trade

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Suherdjoko, Semarang, Central Java – National Police chief Tito Karnavian has formed a team to investigate information conveyed by Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Haris Azhar on the alleged involvement of police officials the network of executed drug lord Freddy Budiman.

"I do not want to comment on [Haris Azhar]. The most important thing is that we are going to investigate the information. The police's Internal Affairs Division [Propam] and General Supervision Inspectorate [Irwasum] will conduct the investigation [...]," Tito said on the sidelines of a charity event in a fishing village in Tambaklorok, Semarang, Central Java, on Friday.

In his testimony to Haris in 2014, Freddy claimed that officials from the National Police, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) were involved in his international drug network.

Haris release the testimony via social media one day before the drug lord was executed on the Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, on July 29. Freddy claimed in his testimony that he had managed to operate his drug network thanks to support from top officials of the three institutions. He did not reveal any names, however.

Tito said the police would examine the information. "This information cannot be used as evidence. Besides, it does not provide names. According to Article 184 of the Criminal Code, evidence comprises transactions, information from witnesses and letters containing information from defendants," said the police chief.

"The testimony also cannot be categorized as guidance, because guidance must have conformity between one piece of evidence and another. So what we've seen now is just information, and information can be used only as a source for an investigation," he added.

Tito said he expected the Indonesian public to understand that information could be either true or false. Therefore, he said, the police would carry out internal supervision and investigation measures in response to information from the Kontras leader.

"The Irwasum will involve external figures, so the investigation will be credible. This is because the National Police's commitment not to tolerate drug perpetrators is firm and clear," said Tito, adding that throughout 2016, more than 300 police personnel had been legally processed for being involved in drug crime. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/07/police-force-investigates-itself-over-alleged-complicity-in-drug-trade.html

Foreign affairs & trade

Research finds many Australians negative and ill-informed about Indonesia

Sydney Morning Herald - August 15, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – Indonesians think highly of Australia – but it would seem the feeling isn't mutual.

Almost half of more than 2000 Australians surveyed view Indonesia unfavourably, according to a new report that reveals significant challenges need to be overcome to build a closer relationship between the two countries.

Despite politicians constantly claiming a close friendship, research commissioned by The Australia-Indonesia Centre, based at Monash University, found there were clear differences in the way Indonesians and Australians feel about each other.

Indonesians were overwhelmingly positive, despite some negative perceptions of Aussie tourists in Bali, with 87 per cent of 2103 Indonesians interviewed saying they had a very or somewhat favourable view of Australia.

More than 80 per cent said it was prosperous, progressive, beautiful, highly educated and clean, with a strong economy.

They pointed to Australia's education system – many Indonesians study at Australian universities – and high-quality produce such as beef, milk and wheat.

However 47 per cent of Australians had somewhat or very unfavourable views of Indonesia, and more than half considered it unsafe and unclean.

The research revealed significant misconceptions – such as a lack of understanding about the nature of Islam in Indonesia – and a "stark lack of basic knowledge about the country".

The main associations with Indonesia tended to revolve around issues covered by the media over the past decade such as boat people, terrorism, executions and the live cattle trade.

"The weight of this negative media coverage (without a counterpoint) means that Indonesia can be seen in Australia as having a hard edge," says the report, compiled by market-research group EY Sweeney.

"At the extreme end of the spectrum we did encounter some intense vitriol towards Indonesia. The research has shown that the distance to be traversed in building a closer relationship between the two countries is significant – particularly from the Australian side."

However the Australia-Indonesia Centre's director, Paul Ramadge, said this was tempered by an appetite on the part of Australians to learn more about Indonesia: "The desire to engage and to get the governments to do more to strengthen the relationship are some of the things that came through in this survey, which are big positives."

More than half the Australians surveyed agreed that the two governments should try to actively strengthen ties, 39 per cent said they would like to learn more about Indonesia, and 43 per cent said basic education about Indonesia should be improved in Australian schools.

Melbourne University professor Tim Lindsey recently lamented that there were now fewer Australians studying Indonesian in year 12 than 40 years ago.

"A significant number of universities have now dropped the teaching of Indonesian language, and we are reaching a point where Germany may have more universities teaching Indonesian than Australia," he told the ABC in May.

There was good news in the report for the free trade agreement, which the two countries have committed to finalising over the next 18 months.

The majority of respondents agreed the two countries were important trading partners and Australians identified growing trade as the most effective way of improving the relationship. The Indonesians saw travel and tourism as the most important factor.

Although one million Australians already visit Bali every year, the Indonesian government is keen to promote other attractions, such as the 9th-century Buddhist temple at Borobudur in Central Java and Lake Toba in North Sumatra, a volcanic lake which the government wants to turn into "the Monaco of Asia".

Mr Ramadge said the intention of the research – one of the biggest projects of its kind – was to start a discussion about how to improve the relationship.

"The findings suggest it is time for Australians to re-examine Indonesia and to think about the opportunities for shared cultural awareness, education programs and student exchanges like the New Colombo Plan, business partnerships and two-way travel that goes beyond Bali and traditional Australian destinations," he and principal researcher Marc L'Huillier wrote.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the report was confirmation that Australians and Indonesians understand the growing importance of the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship.

"As Foreign Minister, I will continue to place a high priority on our relationship with Indonesia," she said.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/research-finds-many-australians-negative-and-illinformed-about-indonesia-20160814-gqs6z3.html

Alleged Timor war crimes forgotten as ministers fly in for Bali terror summit

Sydney Morning Herald - August 9, 2016

Jewel Topsfield, Jakarta – The Australian Government has closed the book on war crimes in East Timor allegedly committed by Indonesia's new chief security minister, stressing it needs to pursue what is in Australia's national interest in 2016.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan and Attorney General George Brandis will this week meet Wiranto, Indonesia's newly appointed Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, at a counter terrorism summit in Bali.

Mr Wiranto, a former general who was Indonesia's armed forces commander during the referendum of East Timor, was indicted for crimes against humanity by the UN-sponsored East Timor Serious Crimes Unit in 2003.

Human rights organisations both within and outside of Indonesia have criticised his surprise appointment in a cabinet reshuffle last month, arguing it called into question President Joko Widodo's commitment to pursuing accountability for past human rights violations.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan told Fairfax Media he was not going to run commentary on his ministerial colleagues in other countries. "I don't think that's particularly helpful," Mr Keenan said.

"Minister Wiranto is the new co-ordinating minister for security so Australia will seek to have a close and cooperative relationship with him. Our national interest is in having the closest possible co-operation with Indonesian security agencies. We are keen to do that because more Australians have been killed in (terrorist) attacks in Indonesia than the whole rest of the world combined."

An estimated 1000 to 2000 East Timorese people were killed in the months before and days after the referendum and about 500,000 were forced to flee from their homes.

The former Howard government supported self-determination for East Timor and Australia led the UN-backed International Force for East Timor to end the violence in the wake of the 1999 vote for independence. "Australia should be very proud of what we achieved in East Timor," Mr Keenan said.

"It's a remarkable example of using our influence in the region to help in what was a very difficult situation, but we in government need to pursue what is in Australia's national interest in 2016," he said.

"It's vitally important we continue to focus on that and it is in our interest that we continue to co-operate in national security matters with Indonesia."

Nicholas Koumjian, the chief prosecutor for the Serious Crimes Unit in East Timor from 2003-2005, said future international cooperation with Indonesia had been jeopardised.

"Efforts to combat terrorism, narcotics and human trafficking require sharing intelligence and co-ordinating enforcement efforts across borders," he wrote in the Jakarta Post.

"A successful strategy requires that these battles are fought under the rule of law, respecting individual freedoms and holding police and military forces accountable for any abuse of their positions. Wiranto's selection sends the message that military forces are above the law and will not be held to account for past or future crimes."

Mr Wiranto has denied accusations of his involvement in past human rights abuses. "I want [people] to clearly point out when and where exactly my involvement was. Only then will I explain, one by one," he told journalists after he was inaugurated.

The US State Department said the composition of Indonesia's cabinet was a matter for the president but it was aware of allegations of human rights violations against Mr Wiranto.

"We continue to discuss the importance of accountability for past abuses and addressing impunity within the security forces," it said in a statement.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/alleged-timor-war-crimes-forgotten-as-ministers-fly-in-for-bali-terror-summit-20160809-gqokk8.html

Mining & energy

Budget cuts jeopardize Indonesia's renewable energy plans

Jakarta Post - August 8, 2016

Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – The government has decided to put the brakes on efforts to push the use of renewable energy in electricity procurement as it plans hefty cuts to state spending in the energy sector.

Last week, newly appointed Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said the government was preparing a series of budget cuts across various ministries and government institutions in an effort to salvage an expected tax shortfall this year that could reach Rp 219 trillion (US$16.7 billion) amid global economic weakness.

In response to the call, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry announced on Friday that it would slash Rp 900 billion from its budget this year, with the biggest share, accounting for around a third of the proposed figure, to be taken from its new and renewable energy (EBTKE) directorate general.

EBTKE director general Rida Mulyana said his department would be left with Rp 1.7 trillion from the Rp 2.1 trillion originally stipulated in the 2016 revised state budget.

However, Rida assured that priority programs, such as the project to procure electricity for 12,659 villages in the country's remote regions, would continue to progress.

"We will return Rp 382 billion to the state's coffers because we need to postpone a number of projects so that other strategic projects, such as the Indonesia Terang [Bright Indonesia] project to procure electricity for remote areas, can continue," he said at a press briefing.

The ministry's projects to be postponed include the construction of a micro-hydro power plant in Papua, a waste-to-energy plant on the resort island of Bali and the installation of rooftop solar panels at airports in Bali as well as in Medan, North Sumatra, and Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The ministry, Rida added, would also slash the number of work trips by its civil servants to trim budget spending.

The budget cut comes at a time when things have been looking up for new and renewable energy development in the country, which has been lagging despite vast natural potential.

Investment in new and renewable energy amounted to $870 million in the first half of this year, 63.5 percent of the total target of $1.37 billion. The biggest chunk of that investment at $560 million went into geothermal energy.

By the end of the first semester, the total national electricity capacity from geothermal energy reached 1,493 megawatt (MW) due to the installment of four new power plants in North Sumatra, Lampung and West Java.

The government aims for the country to eventually generate 7,156 MW of electricity from geothermal energy, which would make it the biggest geothermal energy producer in the world.

Various projects for solar power plants producing 15.3 MW of electricity and micro-hydro power plants capable of generating 6.2 MW are also under construction or being auctioned

Non-tax revenue from new and renewable energy resources reached Rp 283.25 billion during the first six months of the year, less than half of the full-year target of Rp 630 billion. The revenues collected so far have been solely from geothermal energy projects.

Although it is environmentally friendly, electricity produced from renewable energy sources is usually sold at a higher price compared to that produced by non-renewable energy to cover the hefty amount of investment.

The new and renewable energy directorate general has recently received approval from the Finance Ministry to get a Rp 1.2 trillion subsidy next year to plug any gaps between the price of electricity from renewable sources and conventional sources that state-owned electricity company PLN cannot cover from its own funds.

However, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) executive director Fabby Tumiwa remains unimpressed. The major budget cut at the new and renewable energy directorate general, he said, suggested that the sector was still under-utilized in comparison with more traditional energy sources.

"The budget cut in new and renewable energy development and conservation shows that Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arcandra Tahar does not stand up for and remains neglectful of the sector," he said in a press release.

Fabby explained that the budget cut may still hamper priority projects like Indonesia Terang and goes against the government's ambitious plan to reach a national electrification ratio of 97.35 percent by 2019.

"This budget cut may give a negative signal to business players, investors and development partners about the government's commitment to develop and conserve new and renewable energy," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/08/budget-cuts-jeopardize-indonesia-s-renewable-energy-plans.html

Infrastructure & development

Infrastructure spending remains sluggish amid budget cuts

Jakarta Post - August 13, 2016

Farida Susanty, Jakarta – In an effort to boost infrastructure development, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in January instructed the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry to speed up its budget disbursement, which in previous years has been expedited during the final quarter.

However, the President, who took office in October 2014, has had to swallow a bitter pill as the ministry only spent 38.3 percent as of Aug. 12, far below the targeted 48 percent, of its Rp 97.8 trillion (US$7.4 billion) allocated in the revised 2016 state budget.

Infrastructure development is expected to help spur the country's economic growth, which picked up at 5.18 percent in the second quarter this year after a slowdown last year.

The ministry's secretary-general, Taufik Widjoyono, stated that the slow budget disbursement was mainly caused by minimal construction progress in June, following uncertainties regarding a number of projects after the government proposed budget cuts in response to shrinking state revenue.

"We were hesitant. But now we are catching up, the figure will be up again," he said on Friday, expressing optimism about reaching the disbursement target of up to 95 percent by year-end. Last year, the ministry recorded 94.5 percent spending of its Rp 118.5 trillion in the 2015 state budget.

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, meanwhile, attributed the slowdown to the recent revision of the state budget.

Government spending for ministries and institutions was cut by Rp 16.3 trillion in the revised 2016 state budget earlier this year, when tax collection had only reached a third of the full-year target despite being halfway through the year.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati also announced earlier this week that the government would slash another 65 trillion from the state budget.

Basuki's ministry had a total of Rp 8.4 trillion in the first round of budget cuts, which affected some of its multiyear projects, including the Kerto dam in Aceh.

The ministry also maintained that the low budget disbursement did not translate to overall infrastructure development, with the physical realization of the budget hitting 44 percent as of Friday.

Infrastructure remains one of the main focuses of Jokowi's administration, after he cut fuel subsidies to allocate more to productive spending such as infrastructure.

The Transportation Ministry also recorded spending of just 28 percent of its Rp 42.9 trillion budget by late July this year, lower than the 31.24 percent target.

The slow disbursement in infrastructure also featured in Bank Indonesia's (BI) survey on construction business activity, where the net weighted balance (SBT), an indicator used to reflect business sentiment and direction, plunged to 0.2 percent in the second quarter from 0.37 percent in the same period last year and 0.59 percent in the first quarter this year.

The ministry has also tried to speed up spending this year, with early bidding for 5,344 projects worth Rp 42.74 trillion by the end of last year, of a total 10,752 packages.

The ministry signed contracts for 644 packages worth Rp 8.8 trillion in January this year, which is expected to jack up the disbursement to 6 percent from almost zero spending in January 2014. The disbursement is expected to be spread more evenly this year.

Commenting on the situation, infrastructure observer Wicaksono Adi said that the low disbursement would inevitably affect the country's economy in the near future.

"But there should be an improvement, as the ministry will conduct an evaluation in response to the situation. They have time to catch up with the target," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/13/infrastructure-spending-remains-sluggish-amid-budget-cuts.html

Economy & investment

Better exports, inflows prop up balance of payments

Jakarta Post - August 15, 2016

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Indonesia's balance of payments (BoP) ended in positive territory in the second quarter, thanks to improving exports and hefty foreign funds inflows.

The BoP ended with a surplus of US$2.16 billion as of June, reversing a deficit of $287 million in the first quarter, according to data published by Bank Indonesia (BI) on Friday.

"We're now in the right direction," Mandiri Sekuritas chief economist Leo Putra Rinaldy said over the weekend, commenting on the results, especially of the current-account deficit.

The BoP consists of three key components: current accounts, capital accounts and financial accounts. The surplus eventually helped narrow the current-account deficit (CAD) to 2 percent in the second quarter from 2.2 percent in the first quarter.

The CAD itself measures the shortfall between earnings from overseas and payments to foreigners. The narrower the CAD is, the more stable an economy is.

Data show that exports of goods rose to $36.24 billion in the April to June period from $33.1 billion in the first three months of the year. Textiles, vehicles, auto parts and machinery were among the sectors that posted higher exports. The higher figure then improved the overall goods trade balance.

Meanwhile, the financial account reported a significant increase of more than 1.5 times from the first quarter to the second, thanks to hefty capital inflows in the financial market. According to the data, portfolio investments surged by almost double on a quarterly basis to $8.38 billion.

The issuance of the government's foreign-denominated debt papers and BI's own certificate (SBI) had attracted the funds, while at the same time foreign investors opted to invest in the domestic stock market.

Leo said he expected the current-account deficit to slightly widen in the second half as economic activities picked up, which will trigger higher imports of raw materials and capital goods.

He sets his full-year CAD estimate at 2.4 percent, above the 2015 level of 2 percent. "The most important thing is that it is manageable and we can actually finance the widening deficit. The financial account will still see a surplus in the second half," he said.

BI predicted that the deficit will widen to between 2.2 percent and 2.5 percent this year, below the record high of 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2013.

Leo said Indonesia was still an attractive investment destination as it offered relatively higher yields than other countries, low fiscal risks and a stable political situation.

Kenta Institute economists Eric Sugandi said the government's deregulation measures – taken through the issuance of 12 economic policy packages since last September – were already supporting investment growth, although the process would take some more time.

The government's countercyclical attempts, such as pushing spending to give some boost to the sluggish economy, also worked in the second quarter, he added.

The economy expanded by 5.18 percent in the second quarter versus 4.91 percent in the first quarter, supported by higher government spending and strong private consumption. "Now, the government should lower its fiscal risks even more and keep the inflation rate, especially on volatile food prices, in check to maintain the positive trend," Eric said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/15/better-exports-inflows-prop-balance-payments.html

Consumer goods will remain RI's economic mainstay

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Stefani Ribka – The consumer goods sector will remain the jewel of the Indonesian economy's crown, thanks to the country's large population and rising disposable income.

On the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), the consumer goods sector has fared better than other sectors. Its index has risen the highest at 2,418.11 of all indices and has been moving upward since 2008, data from the IDX show.

Firms that operate in the sector – many of them food producers – have also enjoyed the fastest recovery after the economy began to slow last year, with rising sales and profits.

The positive performance was acknowledged by New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) head of global capital markets Garvis Toler during his visit to the IDX on Thursday. "I think we're seeing consumers having more disposable income, so I think that bodes well for consumer sectors," he said.

Publicly listed giant food producer Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur (ICBP), for instance, posted a 12.6 percent increase year-on-year (yoy) in its sales to Rp 8.9 trillion (US$676.4 million) in the first quarter. The growth rate was higher than the 8.2 percent that it booked in the first quarter of 2015.

Unilever Indonesia (UNVR), the local arm of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever, managed to boost sales 10 percent on an annual basis to Rp 20.7 trillion in the January-to-June period. The achievement was better than the sales growth of 7.4 percent in the same period last year.

Economist Hendri Saparini, founder of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE), shared the same view as Toler regarding the robust growth of the consumer goods industry. She said that consumer goods played a key role in overall household spending, which is the largest component of the country's GDP.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), household spending surged 5 percent yoy in the second quarter from 4.9 percent yoy in the previous quarter. The growth then drove the economy higher to end at 5.2 percent in the second quarter.

However, Hendri said that much still needed to be done to develop the consumer goods sector, citing the country's shallow financial market. Bank loans are still the most common financing source in Indonesia, whereas financing options vary greatly in other countries as companies also rely on the stock market.

As most Indonesian banks obtain their funds from short-term sources such as three-month time deposits, financing of the real sector – with longer time periods – has been limited.

Compared to other Asian countries, market capitalization in Indonesia is relatively low, accounting for 48 percent of GDP. The index of capital market utility only reached 11 percent in 2013, as opposed to banking at 57.3 percent.

"We need to have firm, focused and comprehensive policies for the real sectors, which ones to prioritize and the kind of support needed to boost them," Hendri said, adding that the support should also include other instruments that companies could rely on.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/consumer-goods-will-remain-ri-s-economic-mainstay.html

Banking & taxation

Government warned over aggressive tax rate cut proposal

Jakarta Post - August 13, 2016

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Indonesia will need to offer more than tax incentives in order to propel competitiveness with its peers in ASEAN, especially if it wants to compete with renowned business and financial hub Singapore, experts and industry players suggest.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo recently said that it would be possible for the government to bring down corporate income taxes from the current 25 percent to 20 percent, before finally reaching a 17 percent rate.

The neighboring Singapore, which is widely known as being one of the safe haven countries for wealthy Indonesians, applies a 17 percent corporate income tax rate.

Indonesia's tax cut, however, is not likely to have a significant effect on investment, said Ernst & Young Solutions international tax services partner Chester Wee.

"Singapore continues to be a choice location for multinationals for high value-added activities such as headquarters activities, research and development, centralized logistics management and procurement activities and high-tech manufacturing," he said as quoted by The Straits Times.

OCBC Bank's head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling expressed a similar view, saying the two countries' manufacturing profiles and competitive edges were very different.

Overall, she added, the attractiveness of a location for foreign direct investment had to be holistic and tax was just one of the factors for consideration.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Rosan P. Roeslani admitted that Singapore would remain attractive given the fact that it topped the World Bank's Doing Business report, unlike Indonesia.

Indonesia ranked 109th in 2016 and 120th in 2015 among the 189 economies surveyed in the report. "That's why Pak Jokowi pays attention to [Indonesia's] ease of doing business rank," he said Friday.

The government has scrapped more than 3,000 regional government regulations (Perda) to make it easier for businesses to set up and operate so that the country can rank 40th in the 2017 report.

In the current competitive era, a country will be left behind by investors if it refuses to compete, said Bank Central Asia (BCA) economist David Sumual. The corporate income tax rate cut should be followed by improvements in the business climate as well as in taxation law enforcement and tax reform.

"The business climate must be improved because we can lose in the tariff battle," he said.

The government plans to revise laws concerning general taxation, income tax and value-added tax to support the implementation of the newly passed Tax Amnesty Law. It has proposed to the House of Representatives a revised draft of the General Taxation Law only.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government would carry out further assessment on the proposed tax rate cut.

Separately, businesspeople warmly welcomed the plan. Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi B. Sukamdani stated that the lower corporate income taxes would help ease companies' cost burdens amid the economic situation, which remained unfavorable for businesses.

Indonesia's economy grew by 4.8 percent last year, the slowest in six years. It expanded by 5.04 percent in this year's first six months, although the government full year target was 5.2 percent.

Lower corporate income taxes would add value to the country in addition to its large market and natural resources, said Indonesian Food and Beverages Association (Gapmmi) chairman Adhi S. Lukman.

Despite its positive effect to boost the country's competitiveness, the government should be cautious over the proposed policy's downside risks.

Samuel Assets Management economist Lana Soelistianingsih calculated that the cut would cost the government about Rp 80 trillion in potential losses to its tax revenues. "Now the question is, can this loss be restituted in the following years?" she asked.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/13/govt-warned-over-aggressive-tax-rate-cut-proposal.html

Indonesia eyes lowering corporate income tax to 10%

Jakarta Post - August 12, 2016

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Finance Ministry's taxation director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi expresses hope that corporate income tax can reach as low as 10 percent, from the current 25 percent, in the anticipated revision of the Income Tax Law.

The government, he said, would bring the proposal to the House of Representatives should the latter give the nod for the revision of the law.

"We also look at the country's tax base. If it's already high, it [the corporate income tax rate] can be lowered to up to 10 percent like value-added tax rate, let alone 17 percent," Ken said on the sidelines of a tax amnesty dissemination event in South Jakarta.

To support the implementation of the newly passed Tax Amnesty Law, the government plans to revise laws concerning general taxation, income tax and value-added tax. The government has proposed to the House the revised draft of the General Taxation Law.

Previously, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told crowds at a dissemination event in Semarang, Central Java, on Tuesday that it would be possible for the country's corporate income tax to initially go from 25 percent to 20 percent, before finally reaching the 17 percent rate.

Singapore, which is widely known as among wealthy Indonesians' safe haven countries, applies a 17 percent corporate income tax rate.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told journalists on Wednesday that the government would carry out further assessment on the proposed tax rate cut. "The spirit [of the policy] is to make Indonesia a competitive country," she said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/indonesia-eyes-lowering-corporate-income-tax-to-10.html

Bad loans, weak demand stunt banking growth

Jakarta Post - August 10, 2016

Grace D. Amianti, Jakarta – Despite strenuous efforts in the first half of the year, major banks have yet to recover from ongoing slow growth amid falling profits and rising bad loans.

Latest performance results paint a gloomy picture in the domestic banking industry, following heavy challenges last year, when the country's economy grew by only 4.79 percent, the slowest growth in six years.

Several major lenders, including state-owned Bank Mandiri and private lender PermataBank, suffered significantly from declining profits and heavy losses caused by non-performing loans (NPLs) that rose after their clients were hit by the economic downturn.

Global slumps in commodity and oil prices, coupled with weak consumer demand, have affected banks' corporate clients' balance sheets and their ability to settle their debts, in turn affecting the quality of nationwide bank loans.

Seeing its NPL ratio surge by 59 percent in the first half, Mandiri, the country's biggest bank by assets, was forced to double its loan-loss provision to Rp 9.9 trillion (US$753.83 million) in the second quarter from the same period last year. Higher provisions then squeezed Mandiri's net profits as the bottom line fell by 28.7 percent year-on-year (yoy).

Private lender PermataBank – owned equally by diversified conglomerate Astra International and UK-based lender Standard Chartered Bank – booked a loss of Rp 836 billion in the first half, compared with Rp 837.3 billion in net profits in the same period last year.

The loss was mainly triggered by a 248 percent rise in its provision expense after its gross NPL ratio rose to 4.6 percent from 2.15 percent in the first half last year.

However, being battered heavily does not mean defeat for PermataBank, which is striving to adapt to the changing environment.

"Despite 2016 remaining a challenging period for the banking industry, we are seeing signs that the plan we have put in motion will enable us to get through this period well," president director Roy A. Arfandy said in a statement recently.

Meanwhile, other major banks, such as Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), CIMB Niaga, Danamon and Maybank Indonesia, have started to show improvements in their balance sheets as they carry out several strategies, whether through big cuts in expenses, debt restructuring programs or simply focusing on loan growth in certain segments.

Maybank saw its net profits surge by 121.2 percent thanks to better management in several areas after posting hefty losses several years back when commodity prices slumped. The lender, part of Malaysian lender Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank), has also seen improvement in its corporate banking segment, but is remaining cautious.

"Loan demand from the corporate segment or institutions tends to be higher in the third and fourth quarters," president director Taswin Zakaria said.

In a recently published report, Moody's Investors Service stated that the outlook for the Indonesian banking system was stable for the next 12 to 18 months.

Moody's attributes the outlook to the banks' strong buffers and slower pace of deterioration in asset quality, despite the pace of deterioration being generally higher than the average pace of the last five years.

Srikanth Vadlamani, Moody's vice president and senior credit officer, said domestic rated banks' strong buffers were shown in their high level of pre-provision income, loan loss coverage and capital, all of which will help counter worsening asset quality.

However, loan growth is still predicted to hover in the low double-digits given the existing risks in global markets.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/10/bad-loans-weak-demand-stunt-banking-growth.html

Small taxpayers targeted

Jakarta Post - August 9, 2016

Arya Dipa and Prima Wirayani, Bandung/Jakarta – As prospects dim over the repatriation goal of the tax amnesty, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo appears to be turning up the heat on the middle class to offset the slow progress.

Mira Lestari, not her real name, is jittery. The 40-year-old is unsure of what to do after hearing news of the government's call to participate and declare wealth under the tax amnesty.

"I don't have a lot of assets, but I do have a few things that I didn't include in my previous SPT [tax return]," she said on Monday, adding that she was worried that the lack of information on those additional assets would take a toll on her finances.

Lucky, 37, a marketing officer at a printing company in Bandung, expressed a similar view, saying he needed further explanations regarding his taxation liabilities.

Their concern is shared by other middle-class people, who are increasingly feeling targeted by the program. Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) executive director Yustinus Prastowo said many such people had confided in him.

"I call this middle-class anxiety. They feel targeted because they are part of the taxpayer target that the government wants to reach. Unfortunately, the government is not trying to reach out to them as it tries to reach out to tycoons."

In an attempt to promote the tax amnesty, the government has held events in three cities: Surabaya in East Java, Medan in North Sumatra and Bandung in West Java. The last event occurred on Monday and two more – in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, and Makassar, South Sulawesi – are to follow suit.

At each event that was attended by thousands small taxpayers, Jokowi has tried to convince attendees to apply for the tax pardon, declare their wealth and even bring their assets that are kept overseas back to Indonesia, an action referred to as repatriation.

"This is a one-time chance. Those who want to use it, go ahead. Those who don't, be careful," Jokowi stated during the program's launch last month.

The government is hoping to see Rp 1 quadrillion (US$76.08 billion) in repatriated assets. However, as of Monday, repatriated assets stood at Rp 669 billion or just 0.07 percent of the target.

Offshore declarations stood at Rp 1.43 trillion, while domestic declarations amounted to Rp 8.81 trillion. The combined figure was only Rp 10.24 trillion, equal to 0.25 percent of the declaration target of Rp 4 quadrillion.

Tax revenue collection from penalties also remains well below target, standing at Rp 231 billion, while the target has been set at Rp 165 trillion.

Yustinus said the government should offer incentives to the middle class, instead of brandishing possible punishments to coerce them into participating.

Meanwhile, Jahja B. Soenarjo, the deputy chairman of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), acknowledged that his colleagues wished to join the amnesty program, but were hesitant over several matters.

"They need investment certainty in Indonesia not only for this year, but also in the future," Jahja said on the sidelines of the tax amnesty event in Bandung.

He expressed hope that the government would not simply save seminars, but also work with private banks to actively approach businesspeople and persuade them to repatriate their funds.

As of Monday, the West Java tax office recorded Rp 458.61 billion in repatriated assets from the total declaration worth Rp 1.41 trillion. Penalty payments, meanwhile, stood at Rp 29 billion.

Concerns over data and information confidentiality remain, although the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the National Police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) have signed an agreement that they will not use tax amnesty data or information in any investigation.

The law is also in legal limbo as several groups have filed judicial review petitions with the Constitutional Court to challenge it.

The government has announced 19 banks, 18 investment management companies and 18 securities firms as gateways for fund repatriation. The gateways are financial companies that will serve as the pools and managers of repatriated assets.

"Please go ahead with the repatriation," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said in Bandung.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/small-taxpayers-targeted.html

Analysis & opinion

Indonesia president Jokowi's moment to defy impunity

Human Rights Watch Dispatches - August 15, 2016

Independence day speeches need clear signal on human rights

Phelim Kine – Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has an opportunity this week to outline clear, unequivocal policies in support of human rights in his highly anticipated Independence Day speeches.

Jokowi will address the national parliament on Tuesday and follow up with an address at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, August 17, Indonesia's Independence Day. The speeches come at a time when an unambiguous signal from the government in support of universal human rights and freedoms is sorely needed.

Jokowi should use the speeches to express his support for the rights of Indonesia's increasingly beleaguered lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, which has come under unprecedented attack in recent months from a government-led campaign. Jokowi has maintained silence amid a torrent of abuse that has included hateful rhetoric, discriminatory edicts, and the police use of unnecessary force against peaceful protesters. Last week, presidential spokesman Johan Budi responded to a Human Rights Watch report on these abuses by stating that there was "no room" for LGBT rights activism in Indonesia. Jokowi's speeches should reject this discriminatory rhetoric and make clear that he will defend the rights of all Indonesians, including LGBT people.

Jokowi also needs to reaffirm that an official accountability process for past gross human rights abuses remains an important government priority. Those abuses included the government-orchestrated massacres of 1965-66 that resulted in up to one million deaths, and violations by government security forces in the restive provinces of Papua and West Papua. Jokowi had assigned his security minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, to oversee that process. But Jokowi's move last month to replace Pandjaitan with former general Wiranto, who was indicted for crimes against humanity by a United Nations-sponsored tribunal, has fueled doubts about his government's commitment to the accountability process.

Jokowi should demonstrate that despite Wiranto's appointment – a slap in the face to Indonesians seeking accountability for past atrocities in Indonesia – his government remains committed to policies that support rather than undermine the rights of the Indonesian people.

[Phelim Kine is the Human Rights Watch Deputy Director, Asia Division.]

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/15/indonesia-president-jokowis-moment-defy-impunity

Human rights must be to the fore in pursuing Indonesia ties

Melbourne Age Editorial - August 15, 2016

Attorney-General George Brandis went to the Indonesian province of Papua last week, boasting his trip was a first by an Australian minister. He may have intended to signal Australia's willingness to help tackle what he called "social and economic challenges" in the troubled province, but any symbolism intended was regrettably hijacked by his choice of travel companion.

Senator Brandis was accompanied by Wiranto, the former Indonesian general indicted for alleged crimes against humanity committed during East Timor's bloody 1999 vote for independence. The former general was recently appointed chief security minister by Joko Widodo, in the latest in a series of disappointing decisions by the Indonesian President. Mr Wiranto was commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces at a time the United Nations estimated a military-sponsored rampage cost the lives of 1400 East Timorese, yet has never faced the charges.

It may be a pragmatic need that guides Australia to engage with Mr Wiranto, given his new position. Australia and Indonesia must co-operate against common threats of Islamist extremism and broader regional problems. But it sends a callous message to allow a man such as Mr Wiranto to play tour guide in what has long been seen as Indonesia's restive frontier.

The provinces once known as West Papua have campaigned and fought for independence since a flawed UN process in the 1960s saw the territory incorporated into Indonesia. There have been military crackdowns and human rights abuses, and while some claims are difficult to verify, there is ample reason for concern.

Australia has always insisted Indonesia has sovereignty over the territory, and Senator Brandis was at pains to emphasise this "longstanding and bipartisan policy" during his trip. Despite such assurances, an almost paranoid suspicion has persisted among some circles in Jakarta's elite, perversely blaming Australia for East Timor's independence and believing Canberra wishes to see Papua go the same way.

The government should not feel obliged to assuage Indonesia's unwarranted fears by sweeping aside human rights concerns in Papua. If Senator Brandis felt it was appropriate to see conditions in the province firsthand, so be it. But inadvertently or not, by choosing to accompany Mr Wiranto on the trip, he also signalled Australia was willing to forget past sins – and that was the wrong message.

It was during the Howard years that Australia granted refugee status to 42 Papuans who fled the province. Unfortunately, Australia has since hopelessly compromised its moral standing on human rights questions with the wrong-headed insistence on offshore processing and the practice of turning back asylum seeker boats.

Australia finds itself regularly at odds with Indonesia in large part due to proximity, shown by controversy over espionage, cruelty in the live cattle trade, and recent executions. It became a regular cocktail party joke during the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to observe that unlike ties with Australia, Indonesia and Iceland had a perfect relationship because the two countries are so far apart they have nothing in common and nothing to argue about.

The difficulty between Indonesia and Australia was underlined this week in the results of an opinion poll by the Australia-Indonesia Centre, based at Monash University. It found almost half of Australians held an unfavourable view of Indonesia, compared with overwhelmingly positive views of Australia by Indonesians. Perhaps more than anything, such results reflect mutual ignorance. Leaders can talk about closeness, but true warmth will only be felt when neighbours speak frankly.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/human-rights-must-be-to-the-fore-in-pursuing-indonesia-ties-20160815-gqstbt.html

Killing the messenger

Jakarta Post Editorial - August 9, 2016

One of the reasons corruption is difficult to uproot in the country, despite the hard work of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), is the risk of prosecution that is intended to kill the messenger, as in the case of human rights activist Haris Azhar.

Haris, chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), has been accused of defamation for posting on his Facebook account a statement from executed drug kingpin Freddy Budiman, who claimed to have received assistance from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and customs and excise officials, as well as paying bribes to National Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) officials to keep his illicit business running unhindered.

The BNN, TNI and National Police have filed a defamation report against Haris with the National Police's detective body, accusing him of violating the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, which will soon be amended. The existing law says defamation is punishable with a maximum prison sentence of six years, enabling the police to detain suspects.

The police have yet to name Haris a suspect, but there have been plenty of examples of the vulnerability of messengers and whistle-blowers to backlash in the form of defamation charges. A housewife was detained for months pending a trial for defaming an international hospital in Tangerang, Banten, via email a few years ago, prompting then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene.

In such asymmetric affairs, thankfully the public has acted in favor of the weak, the messengers. In the Tangerang case the public initiated a fundraising movement to help the defendant pay her fine. Now pressure is building for the BNN, police and TNI to verify Freddy's allegations, rather than shifting the burden of proof to Haris.

The chorus of public criticism and the social movement against attempts to charge Haris for sharing Freddy's accounts are developments that we should celebrate, as they characterize a living democracy. Public participation is not only reflected in high voter turnout in elections, but also in controversies involving state institutions.

Whatever the reasons, the defamation report against Haris constitutes criminalization that will serve to divert public attention from the core issue of rotten apples that spoil the barrel in our fight against drugs, and therefore cannot be justified. Nor can attempts to comb through Haris' past mistakes just to dent his credibility if the defamation report is found to be groundless.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has made it clear that Freddy's testimony that Haris shared with the public should be examined. It would be very easy in fact to crosscheck the shocking revelations given the institutions' networks and data, and as Haris named a number of other people who also heard Freddy's account.

To avoid any conflicts of interest and possible misuses of power, the investigation into the alleged role of certain officials in the country's drug mafia should be mandated to an independent team. Now that Freddy has been executed, silencing Haris will only spark suspicion that moves are underway to cover up taints in the war on drugs.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/09/killing-messenger.html

Cashing in

New Mandala - August 8, 2016

Jokowi's second reshuffle is a win for the president's loyalists and financiers.

Tom Power – Political campaign financing in contemporary Indonesia is neither transparent nor accountable. State subsidisation of political parties is negligible, and candidates must typically accrue large private funds in order to remain competitive in increasingly slick and expensive electoral contests. The imperatives of campaign fundraising even apply to a popular incumbent president like Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

The past week has seen plenty of commentary on Jokowi's second cabinet reshuffle, much of it focused on the appointment of the controversial retired general Wiranto as Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, and widespread changes to the government's economic team.

However, an important element that has been overlooked relates to the consolidation of the president's personal financial and political position in preparation for his re-election bid in 2019.

A small group of key donors, allies and fundraisers who sponsored Jokowi's campaign in 2014 – notably Rini Soemarno, Luhut Panjaitan and Amran Sulaiman – remain entrenched in government, despite vociferous opposition from within the principal government party, indications of shady financial dealings, or the public airing of intra-cabinet grievances in the manner that saw fellow ministers Ignasius Jonan, Rizal Ramli and Sudirman Said sacked.

When he won Indonesia's 2014 presidential election, Jokowi was widely perceived as a clean, moderate reformer. He came to power promising to implement an ambitious program of governmental and bureaucratic reorganisation, infrastructure development, economic growth, and improvement of the murky judicial system. He also vowed to avoid the transactional political practices often seen in Indonesia, which see the spoils of office distributed among the supporters and sponsors of a successful candidate.

These commitments seemed all the more plausible when compared to the demagogic populism of his rival, Prabowo Subianto. Upon taking office, the widespread concern among observers was that Jokowi could prove a weak president, whose intentions were laudable, but who would struggle to deal with entrenched oligarchic interests and the pressure of political parties.

Developments over the past year have forced a significant reassessment. Jokowi looks an increasingly empowered president. Far from being a puppet of parties, he has been willing to interfere in their internal democratic processes in order to bring them to heel. While his governing coalition now comprises an overwhelming majority in parliament – reminiscent of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's 'rainbow' cabinets – it is hard to read this as the resurrection of an all-powerful party cartel.

If we accept that Jokowi has embraced the politics of horse-trading, he certainly scored a bargain in winning the full backing of parties like Golkar, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP) by giving them just once ministry apiece – and not central ministries at that.

Indeed, the most secure and influential members of cabinet are those who owe their positions to the president's patronage, rather than the support of party bosses. This is especially true of those individuals capable of providing the president with his own network of political and financial support.

Despite securing the support of seven out of 10 parliamentary parties, Jokowi remains a president without a party of his own. While nominally a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), his relationship with its chairperson, Megawati Sukarnoputri, has been strained.

In particular, Megawati has taken umbrage at Jokowi's refusal to sack Rini, and his reluctance to promote Megawati's former aide, the police general Budi Gunawan, to a position of greater strategic influence.

Moreover, for much of the 2014 campaign PDIP failed to provide Jokowi with effective material support. Indeed, funds were apparently withheld by Megawati's daughter and Jokowi's official campaign manager, Puan Maharani.

Rather than tying his fortunes to political parties in which he has justifiably little faith, Jokowi has sought to consolidate his position with the support of individuals like Rini, Luhut, and Amran.

During the 2014 campaign, Rini collected millions of dollars in donations through her political and corporate networks, and was able to cover the vast cost of paying presidential election monitors at more than 540,000 polling stations across the country. A one-time Megawati confidant, Rini fell out with the PDIP chairperson when, as head of Jokowi's 'Transition Team', she openly opposed Megawati's efforts to dictate cabinet appointments in his new government.

As Minister for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Rini has distributed directorships to a number of the president's influential supporters, while offering negligible representation to PDIP cadres. Although Rini has faced immense pressure from PDIP, not to mention vocal criticism from numerous party politicians and fellow ministers, Jokowi clearly considers her a valuable ally and has risked further deterioration in the relationship with his primary party to retain her in cabinet.

Amran Sulaiman – the wealthiest cabinet minister – was a key financier of the pro-Jokowi 'volunteer' movement in 2014, particularly on his home island of Sulawesi. A well-connected stakeholder in the agribusiness sector, Amran is rumoured to have previously bought substantial concessions from the Agriculture Ministry he now oversees.

Despite little obvious achievement in his portfolio, Amran's loyalty to the president and his ability to mobilise cash and support have ensured his place in government remains secure. Amran's case can be contrasted with that of sacked Education Minister Anies Baswedan. Anies, a highly-regarded, non-partisan educator who was a prominent member of Jokowi's campaign team in 2014, lacks the wealth or political influence to offer significant material support and has been unceremoniously dumped.

Luhut, Jokowi's business partner of more than a decade, also spent heavily during the presidential campaign, and has been Jokowi's most trusted firefighter over the last two years. After his appointment to a coordinating ministry was blocked by PDIP in 2014, Luhut was tasked with heading up a revamped Presidential Staff – a position which gave him significant policy influence in the early months of the Jokowi presidency.

When he was appointed Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs in August 2015, Luhut coerced the pro-opposition leadership of Golkar into supporting the government, and then ensured one of Indonesia's most notoriously crooked politicians, Setya Novanto, was elected Golkar chairman in May 2016.

Luhut was apparently surprised by his reassignment to the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, and Jokowi's lack of consultation with Luhut ahead of the reshuffle may be seen as a warning shot to the outspoken and ambitious ex-general.

However, Luhut is now overseeing energy and resources, sectors in which his company PT Toba Sejahtra has significant holdings, and which remain particularly ripe for rent-seeking. It seems unlikely that Luhut will encounter much resistance in this regard from his subordinate ministers, particularly with the removal of Sudirman Said, the former Energy and Resources Minister and ally of Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Sudirman's replacement, Archandra Tahar, is a little-known private consultant brought into the president's orbit by Darmawan Prasodjo; Darmawan has himself been a close associate of Luhut's since his appointment to the Presidential Staff in 2014.

While Luhut's appointment seems to indicate Jokowi's desire to make substantial progress on his program of infrastructure development – of which maritime transport and port construction is a core component – it also reinforces the view that he is a president who favours efficiency and expediency over clean government.

While much attention has focused on the promotion of an indicted human rights abuser to administer security and legal affairs – an appointment which will further Jokowi's standing among conservative military elites – it is equally important to recognise that an alleged resource rent-seeker is now overseeing energy and resource policy. Assigning this role to Luhut, rather than a party representative, signals that Jokowi wants personal loyalists in charge of key portfolios that could play a role in the preparation – and financing – of his 2019 re-election campaign.

The notion that Jokowi is a truly reform-minded president, who is working to change the political 'rules of the game', is therefore no longer sustainable. Though his appointments may not reflect party loyalties, they are every bit as particularistic and politicised as those made by his predecessors in Indonesia's highest office.

The most recent cabinet reshuffle demonstrates not only Jokowi's increased confidence and political control, but also indicates a subtle calculation of how best to resource and manage a re-election bid that limits his indebtedness to parties. For the next three years, we can expect the president's personal partisans to be kept close.

[Tom Power is a PhD candidate researching Indonesian political parties at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University.]

Source: http://www.newmandala.org/cashing-in/