Actions, demos, protests...

Protesters oppose G20 meeting, say US is 'angel of death'

Detik.com - November 14-17, 2008

Jakarta – Around 100 people held a protest action in front of the United States Embassy in Central Jakarta on November 15 demanding that a G20 ministerial level meeting in Washington be dissolved. The protesters, who came from the People's Struggle Front (FPR), said that the meeting would not solve the problems facing ordinary people.

During the protest, which was joined by workers, farmers and students, protesters held a theatrical action depicting the countries that are consistently subservient towards the US government. Played by seven youths, five were wrapped in white cloth with their hands chained while two others played the role the "angel of death" wearing black robes and white painted faces. The angels of death were depicting the US that consistently dictates to other countries.

The protesters also gave speeches and shouted "Dissolve the G20" and "President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla are US lackeys". "We believe that the G20 meeting is a waste of time and will be unable to solve the people's problems. There is not one agenda item that will discuss these problems that bring suffering to workers and farmers. It is workers and farmers that will feel the flow on effect", said action coordinator Rudi HB Daman.

Women activists demand reinstatement of worker sacked for wearing veil

Bekasi – Around 5,000 women activists demonstrated at the West Bekasi Mitra Keluarga public hospital on November 14 in protest over the dismissal of an employ for wearing a jilbab (veil).

During the action, the protesters called on the hospital to reinstate Wine, a physiotherapy nurse, who was dismissed for wearing a jilbab while working. They also urged the hospital to revise its regulations on official uniforms.

"The dismissal was a violation of human rights. We are calling for Wine to be reinstated", said Women's Social Concern (MPP) chairperson Sri Widianti.

Student protesters demand return of state funds

Makassar – The arrival of Bima Regent Ferry Zulkarnain in the South Sulawesi regional capital of Makassar to take part in the Nusantara Royal Festival (FKN) on November 15 was greed by a protest by around 20 students.

The students were demanding that Zulkarnain return Rp1.6 billion in funds used for the royal festival and a development project in Belo sub-district that they say will cause environmental damage.

According to action coordinator Nurdin, Zulkarnain has been incompetent in holding office and his administration is ridden with corruption, collusion and nepotism. "Ferry goes fishing more often that taking care of Bima residents' interests", said Nurdin.

Village officials besiege parliament, demand funding increase

Jakarta – More then 3,000 village officials from the Archipelago Village People's Union (Parade Nusantara) held a protest action in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Central Jakarta on November 17 demanding that 10 percent of the state budget be allocated for village development programs. The demonstrators threatened that if their demands are not met they would boycott the 2009 general elections.

"Certainly there are funds from departments that are concerned with village development such as the Agricultural Department and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Affairs. But this is not enough, we are asking for 10 percent. If not, we will boycott the elections", action coordinator Slamet Rahardjo told journalists during a break in the action.

As a result of the demonstration, which was watched over by around 60 police offices, traffic became congested from the Semanggi overpass to the DPR building. Despite this, the action proceeded in an orderly fashion and protesters demanded to meet with DPR members to discuss their concerns.

[Abridged translation by James Balowski from articles posted on the Detik.com website between November 14 and 17.]

Aceh

Court rejects case on Koran test

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2008

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The Banda Aceh State Administrative Court (PTUN) on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed against the Aceh elections commission by eight legislative candidates who failed the Koran test required as part of their nomination.

The court's sole judge, Indra Kesuma Nusantara, said the decision was in line with Article 2 (G) of Law No. 5/1986 and Law No. 9/2004 stipulating the PTUN had no right to try cases related to the results and preparations of elections.

"Based on the laws, we turned down the lawsuit," Indra said. He added that in accordance with prevailing regulations, the court would allow the plaintiffs 14 days in which to consider its ruling.

Plaintiffs' lawyer Afridal Darmi said he would discuss the ruling with his clients. "But we will for sure appeal to a higher court," he told The Jakarta Post.

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit after arguing that the Koran recitation test, as stipulated in provincial Bylaw No. 3/2008 on Aceh political parties, was mandatory only for legislative candidates from local political parties.

They insisted the requirements for candidates representing national parties be regulated through the national elections bylaw, thus exempting them from the Koran test. But in practice, they claimed, the elections commission in Aceh subjected them to the provincial bylaw.

"This is in line with the special status of Aceh, which has its own government as stipulated in Law No 11/2006 on Aceh Government," Ilham Sahputra, vice chairman of the Aceh independent elections commission, said Saturday.

He added the commission had expected such lawsuits, especially because of the initial vociferous criticism of the Koran reciting skill required for Acehnese legislative candidates.

"We have prepared ourselves for possible lawsuits emerging from the implementation of the bylaw," Ilham said.

Of the 1,368 legislative candidates nominated for the Aceh provincial legislative council for the 2009 general election, 81 failed the Koran test. All these candidates had been nominated by national parties.

In regency legislative councils, hundreds of nominees, again mostly from national parties, failed the test. However, only eight filed lawsuits against the elections commission.

Of the eight, three were nominated by the Patriotic Party, three by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the rest by the Democratic Party.

Dubbed "the Veranda of Mecca" for its stringent Islamic outlook, Aceh has implemented Islamic sharia law since 2004. Hundreds of regional bylaws have since been passed in support of this.

Among the bylaws include one calling for flogging for those committing "sex crimes", gambling or drinking alcohol, and another requiring legislative candidates be well-versed in reading the Koran.

West Papua

Papuans with HIV/AIDS to get microchips

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Angel Flassy, Papua – Amid protests from Papuans and NGOs, the Papua provincial legislative council is set to pass a bylaw on HIV/AIDS that includes a controversial article requiring certain people living with the disease to be implanted with a microchip.

"If the draft bylaw is passed, it will violate the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS because they will be implanted with microchips," said Constan Karma, executive director of the Papua AIDS Commission (KPAD).

Councilor John Manangsang said the microchips would only be implanted in people living with HIV/AIDS who were deemed to be "aggressive". "Aggressive means actively seeking sexual intercourse. This is one way to protect healthy people," he said.

"Do not misunderstand human rights; if we respect the rights of the people living with HIV/AIDS, then we must also respect the rights of healthy people."

He said the public should judge the bylaw draft as a whole rather than by is constituent articles. "The draft, for example, requires everyone to take HIV/AIDS tests so that preventative measures can be taken early on," he said.

"I am a doctor, saving lives is my profession. If we want to save the only limited number of Papuans, we have to take real action because 47 percent of (the country's) HIV/AIDS (cases) are in Papua."

The 40-article-long bylaw also stipulates that the KPAD executive director should be a physician who understands epidemiology, the roles of religious institutions and audit the accreditation of NGOs working in the field of HIV/AIDS.

A liaison officer of the West Papua chapter of Save Papua, Gunawan, said he disagreed with the bylaw.

"People with HIV/AIDS do not always have sex, especially those with AIDS. They can no longer perform sexual intercourse," he said, perhaps referring to the moral obligation of people living with HIV/AIDS to not risk spreading the disease. "And how do you measure aggressiveness?" he added.

Indonesia would be the worst human rights violator if people living with HIV/AIDS in the country were implanted with microchips, Gunawan said. "Let's see how the Papuans respond to the bylaw. It will suffer the same fate as the pornography law," he said.

Enita T. Rouw, coordinator of the Papua branch of the Indonesian Network of People Infected with HIV, said incidences of discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS had declined.

"However, the stigmatization is still there," she said. "So please don't use microchips. We're humans, not animals." The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Papua is increasing, with 319 new cases reported so far this year as of October, taking the total to 4,114 reported cases, Constan said earlier this month.

Papuans left Australia to 'avoid crime charge'

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2008

Angela Flassy, Jayapura – The return home from Australia of two Papuan asylum seekers was due to legal problems arising from the couples ongoing incidence of domestic violence – and nothing else, Alfons Adadikam, chairman of the Melbourne based Victoria West Papua Association (VIWPA) said. He criticized the Indonesian government for using the repatriation for political gain and said the repatriation was for no other reason.

Hana Gobay and Yubel Kareni were had repeated domestic violence problems. The last reported case was in July, when Yubel hit Hana over the head with a bottle, Adadikam said.

"Yubel was then detained. They were ordered to live separately and keep a minimum distance of 200 meters. Due to pressure from the Papuan community, Yubel was released on bail," he said.

Adadikam disclosed that the couple often quarreled with each other, including one incident last year when Hana stabbed Yubel in his stomach.

"Yubel should have been taken the police office at that time, but I asked the police to release him, as he need to go to the hospital. They kept the court imposed distance, but after living separately for few months, they began living together again," he said.

The association helped the couple, along with other 41 asylum seekers, since they came to Melbourne last year, he added.

He said the asylum seekers received social support beginning two weeks after their arrival. This included a biweekly allowance of A$450 each, concessions for tram tickets, medication and accommodation.

Adadikam said he resented the couple's negative comments about the Papuan community in Australia, given after they returned home.

"If they want to return home, it's no problem. But at least they could say farewell and admit that it was their decision to leave. We regret the manipulation of the news, its against the facts," Adadikam, who still holds Indonesia citizenships, said.

He criticized the Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne, who, instead of helping Hana and Yubel with their problem, used it for political gain.

Wiwiek Setyawati Firman, Human Rights and Humanity Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, denied Adadikam's claims. "They came home by their own will, that's what I know. Australia has its laws, we have ours. If they were involved in a crime, I think they should be punished. Many Australians have been punished here in Indonesia," Setyawati said Wednesday.

Bloodshed in West Papua

New Matilda - November 19, 2008

Setyo Budi – West Papuan man Opinus Tabuni was shot and killed by the Indonesian military during a celebration of the UN World Indigenous People Day in the highland city of Wamena in August. The murder aimed to strengthen the presence of the Indonesian security apparatus in the province, according to a recent finding of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission.

"Tabuni did not participate in the demonstration, and the bullet found in the left side of his heart is of a type usually used by Indonesian military officers. We don't know the motive yet; but we are afraid that it was engineered to create a horizontal conflict, so they have a legitimacy to be in West Papua." said Commissioner of the Indonesian National Commission of Human Rights Yosep Adi Prasetyo when I spoke to him in Melbourne in October.

The UN World Indigenous Day was marked by a peaceful demonstration that was attended by over 10,000 West Papuans who travelled to Wamena from the Baliem Valley and neighboring highland areas. The West Papuan nationalist Morning Star flag was unfurled, along with the Indonesian flag, a white SOS flag to call for help for West Papua and the United Nations flag.

The Indonesian Government has placed an outright ban on the use of the Morning Star flag, as it symbolises West Papuan self- determination. The regulations state: "The design of a local symbol and flag must not have main similarities to the design, logo and flag of any illegal organisation or separatist organisation/group/institution/movement in the Unitary Republic of Indonesia".

According to Prasetyo: "There is strict enforcement of the government regulation; anyone wearing the Morning Star t-shirt or even a woman who knits the Morning Star sign is accused of rebelling against the state, although they are just showing their pride in the symbol."

The flag-raising ceremony turned to chaos when security guards fired shots into the air to intimidate demonstrators. Tabuni was caught in the crossfire and the fatal bullet was found to be one typically used by the Indonesian military rather than local police.

The finding of the Indonesian National Commission of Human Rights indicates that a taskforce was deployed from Jakarta to Wamena, West Papua to monitor the demonstration. "Two police officers and a few local military officers were the eyewitnesses to the incident as they guarded the area. We don't know, however, where the taskforce officers originated, either from the military or from the intelligence agency, as they never reported to the local authority" Prasetyo said.

Indonesian intelligence, military and police officers have long been implicated in human rights violations in West Papua. Atrocities such as the death of Tabuni led 43 West Papuans to risk their lives and seek political asylum in Australia in 2006. The group say they fled West Papua to avoid prosecution by the Indonesian Government for their independence activism, an allegation later denied by Indonesia.

They left Merauke on 13 January 2006, travelling by sea in a rudimentary seven-metre long canoe. Their arduous journey, expected to take only one day, lasted nearly five days. Aboard the canoe was Julius Kogoya (not his real name) a 23-year-old political activist. Among those accompanying him were seven women and seven children under 15.

Kogoya was politically active when he was a student at Cendrawasih University in Jayapura, West Papua. He was afraid of being prosecuted and traumatised after the murder of 10 relatives in 2001. "My relatives were killed in Bogolakme, an area between Wamena and the peak of Mt Jayawijaya. They were shot when they were sleeping by Indonesian soldiers, because they were suspected as members of Free Papua Organisation (OPM)" said Kogoya when I spoke with him recently.

After experiencing harsh conditions for days, the asylum seekers landed in Cape York. They were flown to Christmas Island and detained until the Australian government recognised their status as asylum seekers and granted them Temporary Protection Visas.

Gaining a permanent residency in Australia and witnessing West Papuan independence are Kogoya's future hopes. Now living in a public housing estate in Melbourne, he is studying journalism and aims to expose any future human rights violations in his homeland.

The acceptance of the West Papuan asylum seekers by the Australian government essentially recognised that human rights violations were committed by the Indonesian authority in the territory, giving weight to West Papuans' quest for independence. The decision generated much debate within Australia and caused a rift between the Indonesian and Australian governments.

What the discussions turned on was whether Australian foreign policy should focus on human rights issues or on the maintenance of a good bilateral relationship with Indonesia.

Dr Rodd McGibbon, a Visiting Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University was one of those who was against the decision to grant asylum to the group, and does not believe it is a good idea to support West Papuan self determination.

"Instead of creating solution for the conflict, support for the West Papuan independence struggle creates more problems" he claims in his paper, Pitfalls of Papua, Understanding the conflict and its place in Australia – Indonesia relations, published by the Lowy Institute in 2006.

He argues that "Australia needs to directly confront perception in Indonesia that it is supporting Papuan separatism". This perception, he said, is "widespread" and "has been reinforced by the separation of East Timor."

Dr Clinton Fernandes, who is a senior lecturer in politics at ADFA, disagrees. "West Papuan independence will not hurt, harm or help Australia as an independent West Papua will not be antagonistic against Australia," he said. He believes that what hurts Australia most is the failure to dispense justice to Indonesian military officers who committed crimes in East Timor and who are now in West Papua.

Since the reformasi movement started in 1997 there has been some reform of the Indonesian army, including that which eventually led to the downfall of Suharto. Although the progress of the reformasi movement is slower than expected, it does activate people to monitor the Government's conduct. But while reforms are taking place in the army, the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency remains untouched.

"The military is now being careful, because of the accusations of human rights violations in the past. Its business involvement is also being eliminated. The intelligence agency has not been reformed; its officers often create conflicts and then become peace makers" said Prasetyo.

To stop further human rights violations in West Papua and to prevent further escalation of the conflict, the Indonesian Government needs to commit to further reform within its institutions and be genuine in recognising the needs of West Papuans.

And on the Australian side, orienting foreign policy towards the protection of human rights will prompt further reform in Indonesia; it will also promote solutions to the conflict in West Papua.

The bloodshed in Timor and the slowness of the international community – including successive Australian governments – to act in the past should be a reminder to those who put bilateral relations before human rights in foreign policy.

Human rights/law

Laws against torture needed

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Ricky Gunawan, Jakarta – On Jan. 22, 2007, Hartoyo was at home with his partner, Bobby (not his real name), when two men forcibly entered his house and proceeded to vandalize his property before assaulting the two men.

Hartoyo and Bobby were then dragged outside to a place where a crowd of around 15 people had gathered. They were subjected to beatings and verbal abuse. Hartoyo was ordered by the attackers to immediately vacate the boarding house. The attackers then informed the local police authorities.

The two victims were taken by four police officers to the Banda Raya Police Station where they were made to strip down to their underwear and were viciously beaten and verbally abused by the officers. The police officers later sexually abused Hartoyo and then forced his partner to perform oral sex on him. The two were then dragged to the police station courtyard where officers sprayed them with ice-cold water.

The police also forced Bobby to urinate on Hartoyo's head. Hartoyo and his partner were then taken to a police lockup, where they were held until morning.

This ruthless, inhuman and barbaric torture has been a cavernous trauma for Hartoyo. Furthermore, this abysmal event scars Indonesia's face of humanity.

More than a year later, in October 2008, the case was finally tried by the Banda Aceh District Court. However, as the court regarded the torture merely as a minor offense, there was only one judge hearing the case.

During the trial, the judge did not examine the acts of torture but rather focused on Hartoyo's sexual orientation. The judge advised him to turn away from sin, giving the impression that it was permissible for the perpetrators to beat and assault the victims because of their different sexual orientation.

In about 30 minutes, the judge had made his decision: The four perpetrators were sentenced to three months' imprisonment with six months of probation and a fine of Rp 1,000.

Given that the case was tried as a minor offense, the verdict was final and binding – leaving no hope for the victim to appeal.

Hartoyo's case is only one example of how the Indonesian legal apparatus treats this kind of torture. The court obviously treats the "common enemies of all mankind and all nations" nicely and inadequately by ruling they only committed a minor offense.

From this case, we can also draw the conclusion that torture creates double standards within the state institutions, especially the police and judiciary. How is it possible that such severe violence took place in this very modern day and the perpetrators received a very light punishment?

This case demonstrates how the absence of laws on torture resulted in no justice for the victims of torture. The absence of laws on torture denies victims and their families any avenue for justice and redress. The right to redress and compensation for grievances wreaked by the State is a fundamental principle of the Convention against Torture, to which Indonesia is a party. Indonesia, which does not provide a legal remedy for such unspeakable acts, is also violating its international obligation imposed under the Convention.

Reports from many national and international human rights groups show there have never been investigations into cases of torture and other ill-treatment, and where victims have been reluctant to submit a complaint to the relevant authorities. Even if the perpetrators were convicted, they were not convicted under the laws on torture. Definitely, there is a problem in dealing with torture in Indonesia.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has recommended that for a country such as Indonesia, there is a crucial need for an independent national authority, such as a national commission or ombudsman with investigatory and/or prosecutorial powers, which should be immediately established to receive and to investigate complaints on torture cases.

Complaints about torture should be dealt with without further delay and should also be investigated by an independent authority with no connection to that which is investigating or prosecuting the case against the alleged victim. Wherever a person has a plausible complaint of having been tortured by the police or military officers, it too entails the notion of an effective remedy.

Without establishing a proper, impartial and effective accountability mechanism to investigate torture cases as well as enacting domestic laws on torture, there will be more cases like Hartoyo's in the near future. Indonesia's tortured commitment, apparently, is dragging the country into a tortured nation.

[The writer is the Program Director of the Community Legal Aid Institute. He can be reached at rgunawan@lbhmasyarakat.org.]

Transgender group calls for justice

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2008

Yogyakarta – Dozens of transgender people in Yogyakarta on Wednesday commemorated Transgender Day of Remembrance, which falls every Nov. 20, by distributing stickers and flowers to people passing by the Yogyakarta post office on Jl. Malioboro. Coordinator of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual (LGBT) group, Shinta Ratri, said the group's aim was to reduce the negative public perception of the LGBT community.

"We call on all institutions and people to stop discrimination against LBGTs," Shinta said. During the commemorations, members of the group also presented roadside art performances.

Shinta said members of the group were protected under the human rights law, which states that all people are regarded as individuals and protected by the state.

Ironically, the group claims, the government has yet to take real action to protect the LGBT community.

Court rejects document that links Muchdi to abductions

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008

Dian Kuswandini, Jakarta – A court has rejected a prosecution request to present as evidence a document they claim links former spy Muchdi Purwopranjono to a military operation that led to his dismissal from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and a vendetta against activist Munir Said Thalib.

Presiding judge Suharto ruled in favor of Muchdi and his lawyers, who objected to the prosecutors' request to tender the document as it had not been included in the case file.

The prosecutors said the document would support their indictment of former State Intelligent Agency (BIN) deputy head Muchdi, whom they accused of killing human rights activist Munir in 2004 out of revenge.

Munir led an investigation into the abduction of 13 anti- government activists in 1997-1998. According to the prosecutors, Muchdi was dismissed from his position after a military court had found 11 Kopassus soldiers in the Rose Team guilty of the abductions.

"This document affirms the defendant was discharged from his post following the operation," prosecutor Cirus Sinaga told the South Jakarta District Court, referring to an official statement from the Defense Ministry which holds that Muchdi was among those responsible for the abduction.

The document, available on the ministry's official website, reads: "Based on the recommendation from the Officer's Disciplinary Council, the TNI chief had disciplined former Kopassus chief Let. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto with a decision to retire him, as well as Kopassus officer Maj. Gen. Muchdi PR and Group Four chief Col. Inf. Chairawan with a decision to discharge them from their posts due to their failure to control their subordinates' activities."

In a heated court session, Muchdi denied his involvement in the operation. "I had nothing to do with the Rose Team! I was removed from my position merely because of the succession of national leadership from (former president) Soeharto to Habibie!" Muchdi shouted.

Suharto, in an attempt to calm the two parties, said, "I allow prosecutors to put questions to the defendant, no more than that."

The court then continued to hear Muchdi's testimony. Muchdi told the court he had never heard of Munir before the murder. He also denied Munir was the target of a BIN operation.

"I only heard his name after his death. Note that he became famous only after he died," Muchdi said. "BIN never discussed Munir or his activities. He wasn't significant for BIN. We were concerned about bigger things like terrorism and separatism."

Muchdi also denied he had contacted former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto on Sept. 7, 2004, the day Munir was found dead from arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda flight. Pollycarpus is currently serving a 20-year jail term for his role in the murder.

According to the police dossier, 41 telephone conversations took place between Pollycarpus' and Muchdi's mobile phone numbers, including that on Sept. 7, 2004.

"That's not true. I was in Malaysia from Sept. 6 to Sept. 12, and I didn't bring the cell phone," said Muchdi, presenting his passport as proof. "I didn't know Pollycarpus in the first place. I heard about Munir's death only from the media when I was in Malaysia."

West Papua, Bali unite against porn bill

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2008

Andra Wisnu, Denpasar – The head of the West Papua Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) repeated the province's intention to secede from Indonesia if the anti-pornography bill passed into law, during a rally in front of the Bali governor office in Denpasar, on Saturday.

Jimmy Demianus Ijie told Balinese protesters that West Papua would galvanize international support for secession if the government enforces the anti-pornography bill in West Papua.

"We are serious, we will secede if the porn bill becomes law," he told the rally. "So have no fear Bali, West Papua has made the (secession) pledge. Continue the fight to revoke the bill."

Jimmy, who is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), came to Bali specifically to give his speech against the anti-pornography bill at the rally.

West Papua threatened to secede from Indonesia during the deliberation of the bill in October.

Jimmy said the West Papuans could not accept the bill because it "smelled of Sharia law" and it had no respect for the constitution, which, he said, embraces Indonesia's five major religions and its hundreds of cultures.

"I have been an art delegate in many countries where I wore my traditional clothes and did my traditional dances," he said. "You can see my buttocks and I was swaying my hips and being all sexy. Are they going to arrest me for that, too?"

He said the bill was an insult to church congregations in West Papua, who had expressed their stand against the bill.

"The church played a major part in assisting the government in returning West Papua to Indonesia, and because the church is West Papua's representative, this is a stab in the back, too," he said.

On Oct. 30, the House of Representatives passed the bill with overwhelming support from 10 out of the 12 factions in the House. The remaining two, the PDI-P and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), walked out during the vote to show their resistance.

He further supported the Bali People's Component's (KRB) attempt to file a judicial review at the Constitutional Court. "If the judicial review fails, we will secede," he said.

KRB coordinator Ngurah Harta said the judicial review would be filed next week, pledging to hold a civil disobedience campaign if the review fails.

The planned judicial review is not the only legal means standing between the anti-pornography bill and its enforcement in Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono still needs to sign the bill and issue a governmental guideline to regulate the enforcement of the bill.

But according to Indonesian law, House passed bills automatically becomes law if the president does not sign it within 30 days, using the bill's original wording.

More than 400 people attended Saturday's rally. Art performances with women wearing transparent traditional clothes and tube tops entertained the cheering masses, who were cynically woo-ing and hoo-ing the women.

The men began joining the women, swaying their hips along as Balinese percussion music played in the background. A couple of women in tight shirts and long pants joined the performers in the middle and danced to dangdut.

"We'll keep on fighting," one of the dangdut dancers yelled as she thrusted her pelvis.

5,000 child sex victims: Activists

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2008

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – According to estimates, around 5,000 children, most of them girls, in Jakarta are being sexually exploited today, rights activists said over the weekend.

Even worse, the activists added, some girls had been forced to perform sexual acts by their parents of close friends.

"Some of the children who are now under our assistance are between the ages of 14 and 17. They said they were forced to become sex workers after they left school due to financial problems," Anna Sulika of Bandung Wangi Foundation, which assists more than 200 underage sex workers in East and North Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

She said most of the underage sex workers who sought protection worked as waitresses at night clubs or cafes. After working hours they prostitute themselves. "We found this in many places, particularly in North Jakarta," she added.

Established in 1999, Bandung Wangi Foundation was aimed at giving both additional life skills and legal assistance to underage sex workers or child victims of sexual abuse.

The foundation has built its shelters on the outskirts of Jakarta, such as in Pisangan, East Jakarta, and Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta, where they conduct additional life skill courses for underage sex workers.

Ahmad Sofian, national coordinator for the movement against the sexual exploitation of children, said many of these underage sex workers come from regions like Jakarta, Indramayu in West Java and several other regions along the north coast of Java.

"Most of them were coming with motivations to help alleviate their parents from financial problems. Some of them admit that they were being set up by close friends or ex-boyfriends to become prostitutes," he said recently.

He said besides those who decided to quit school and start working as underage prostitutes, there were still many youngsters who stayed in school, while operating as sex workers. "These schoolgirls usually work for pimps who take orders through cellular phones," he said.

In most schoolgirl cases, financial hardship was not the main motive for the girls.

"When we interviewed these underage sex workers, we found financial hardship was not the sole motivation. In fact, it turns out that more teenagers become underage sex workers because they are attracted to consumerism," Ahmad added.

"It is their desire to own popular cellular phones, or maybe laptops and apparel that draws them into this kind of world."

Ahmad said his organization estimated 150,000 children were being exploited around the country today. "Different types of exploitation applies here. In cities like Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya, we find that most of them are working as prostitutes, while in Bali, we find victims of pedophilia," he said.

He said that up to this date there was no legal protection potent enough to reduce the number of cases. He said he doubted the newly passed anti-pornography law would protect these children from sexual exploitation and abuse.

Labour issues

Workers rally against mayor on minimum wage

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Cimahi – Thousands of laborers from various factories in Cimahi, West Java, staged a rally protesting Cimahi Mayor Itoc Tochija's decision to set the city's minimum wage lower than their expectations.

Itoc set the minimum wage at Rp 1,019,000 (US$82.17), some Rp 80,000 lower than workers demand of Rp 1,101,700.

The workers based their demand on the fair living needs (KHL) amount, as determined by the local Wages Board, a consortium of workers, employers and local administration representatives.

The workers also accused Itoc of deception and violating the Manpower Law, as he approved the minimum wage without workers' consent or knowledge.

Staging their rally in front of Cimahi municipal office on Jl. Cihanjuang, the workers made speeches before some 900 police officers deployed from not only Cimahi's Police force but the West Java Provincial Police and neighboring Bandung and Sumedang Police forces.

Police officers barricaded the entrance gate, which had been damaged by workers at another rally on Thursday. Security was tight, with a water cannon and two police dogs were on standby.

Robin Sihombing, chairman of Cimahi's branch of the All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI), who coordinated Friday's rally, said more than five labor unions had expressed their dissatisfaction with the mayor's move. They had announced that the minimum wage had been agreed on by workers' representatives during a meeting Thursday evening.

The city administration announced that the Wages Board had recommended the 2009 minimum wage be set at Rp 1,019,000. "The city administration is trying to divide the labor force to enforce its proposed minimum wage," he said.

Workers demanded that the wage equal the KHL's Rp 1,101,700. "What is the use of conducting the KHL survey or establishing the Wages Board if it is only a formality?" Robin said to the workers.

Meanwhile, head of Cimahi Manpower, Population and Registrar Agency, Bambang Adi Nugroho, said that the amount was fair, as it is an 11.8 percent increase on this years minimum wage of Rp 934,250.

"The recommendation will be submitted to the governor to be authorized as soon as it has been approved by workers representatives at the Wages Board," he said. "We have ruled out employers' wish of raising the minimum wage to only Rp 964,005."

Bambang said the decision also disregarded a joint ministerial decree capping minimum wage increases.

Sabilah Rosyad of the Indonesian Metal Workers' Union said the minimum wage was only 95 percent of the KHL level, down from the current level of 97.5. "So this is a backward step for workers. Do not look at it for its amount but from the real living needs that workers have," he said.

Several labor unions in Cimahi have agreed to send a rejection letter to West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan on Cimahi's recommended minimum wage.

Riaupulp lays off 2,000 workers

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (Riaupulp) will dismiss up to 2,000 workers, or around half of its total workforce, to help stop the company from sinking amid a prolonged raw material crisis.

Riaupulp director Rudi Fajar said the raw material shortage had been plaguing the giant pulp and paper mill for the past two years.

"Timber supplies are inadequate to meet production needs and this has now been worsened by the global financial crash. Besides low demand from overseas buyers, the sale price has also dropped significantly," Rudi told a press conference Pekanbaru Thursday.

Before the layoff decision, he added, the company had carried out a number of efficiency measures to offset a drop in production and rising production costs, such as saving on fuel, electricity, water and working trips.

Those steps failed to yield results and left the company with no choice but to resort to dismissals, some permanent and some temporary.

"Tomorrow (Friday) we will officially dismiss 1,000 workers and temporarily lay off another 1,000. We have earlier discontinued contracts with our suppliers. We are aware of the impacts these decision will have, but these steps have to be taken to maintain operations," said Rudi.

Rudi added Riaupulp had also severed the working contracts of 25 of the 54 expatriates working for the company. The company currently operates with around 4,000 workers.

According to Rudi, the raw material shortage is attributed to difference of interpretation between government agencies on forestry regulations and bureaucratic red-tape on licensing procedures.

"The raw material crisis has had a direct impact on production. Riaupulp could yield between 6,000 and 7,000 tons of pulp daily during normal condition, compared to only up to 3,000 tons now."

Rudi expressed hope the government would help resolve the crisis by straightening the miscommunication between the agencies, especially on the definition of illegal logging.

"We hope the government addresses the problem hampering timber supplies. Currently around 1 million cubic meters of our timber is surrounded by a police line without a clear legal status. Such a volume is enough for two months production. "We urge the government to uphold legal certainty as it would support the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia."

Workers protest joint wage decree

Antara - November 20, 2008

Jakarta – Hundreds of workers staged a rally outside of the Presidential Office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday to protest a joint ministerial decree (SKB) that would take power to set provincial minimum wages (UMPs) out of the hands of employees.

The protesters – residents of Jakarta and outlying towns, including Bekasi and Tangerang – carried banners criticizing the decree and calling on the government to take labor issues more seriously.

The SKB stipulates that UMPs are determined through negotiations in bipartite forums involving government representatives and employers.

Previously, Indonesian National Workers Struggle Front leader Dominggus Oktavianus said the issuance of the decree would in effect shift companies' financial burdens onto workers.

The demonstrators also urged the government to sack company executives whose poor management skills had caused their firms to suffer financial losses that further lead to the implementation of policies that disadvantaged workers.

The workers also demanded that employers not cut skimp on employee benefits.

More protests against joint regulation on Wednesday

Tempo Interactive - November 19, 2008

Mabsuti Ibnu Marhas, Jakarta – Around one thousand workers in Banten province resonated protests against new regulation on workers pay on Wednesday by protesting at Banten Governor office.

Protester met by the Head of Regional Office of Labor Ministry Eutik Suharta, to discuss the matter as the governor according to regional officials is on a trip to Malaysia.

Workers had been protesting on the regulation as four ministries introduced a joint regulation which allows regions to raise workers pay below the country's economic growth rate, to address the slowing economy after the global financial crisis hit Indonesia. The regulation was issued in October by the Labor and Transmigration Ministry, Industry Ministry, Trade Ministry, and Home Affairs Ministry.

Workers demanded better pay as inflation rate hit 11.7 percent, way over the 6.1 percent GDP grotwh reported by the statistic agency on monday (17/11). Regions however have set higher wage levels during the annual period to determine wage at the end of the year starting on October. The new levels are to be imposed for one year term before the next regular adjustment in 2009.

Banten set the minimum pay for workers in the province at Rp 917.500 (US$75,98) per month, hiked from the previous Rp 837.000 (US$69,29) per month. The average minimum pay for Jakarta workers in 2008 was approximately at Rp 960.000 (US$79,48) per month.

Laborers rally to demand minimum wage

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008

Jakarta – Demanding an end to the minimum-wage talks deadlock between employers and workers, thousands of workers have rallied at the East Java governor's office in Surabaya on Wednesday.

"At the moment workers from cities in the province are heading to Surabaya to pressure the governor to step in and immediately set the minimum wage for eight cities and regencies," coordinator of the Alliance of Laborers against East Java Province, Jamaluddin, told tempointeraktif.com.

The rallying union members – congregating in the provincial capital from Gresik, Malang, Mojokerto, Pasaruan and Sidoarjo – are asking the Remuneration Body to immediate resolve the ongoing minimum wage discussions between employers and workers which are at a standstill, Jamaluddin said. The eight regencies and cities whose minimum wage has yet to be set are Gresik, Kota, Malang, Mojokerto, Nganjuk, Pasaruan, Sidoarjo and Surabaya.

The Remuneration Body has already decided the minimum wage for 30 other East Java cities and regencies. "We will pressure the governor to step in and set the minimum wage to be at least in accordance with decent living standards," Jamaluddin said.

Workers against minister's minimum wage joint decree

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2008

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Workers and activists in East Java have joined forces with other provinces in opposition to the joint ministerial decree on minimum wages, which they say violates the 2003 Labor Law.

Unionists from numerous trade unions and activists from NGOs providing legal assistance for workers were preparing for massive labor rallies and demonstrations to press the provincial government to reject the joint decree, which, they said, if passed would bring suffering to workers and their families.

"Next (this) week, more than 10,000 workers, unionists and activists from industrial zones in Surabaya, Gresik, Pasuruan and Sidoarjo will take to the streets and stage demonstrations at public offices to warn the government and employers of the joint decree's negative impacts on workers and to demand they ignore the decree, which sets minimum wages in the province and regencies," chairman of the provincial chapter of the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union Suprart told The Jakarta Post in Surabaya over the weekend.

All preparations and financing have been completed and the labor rallies are scheduled to start on Nov. 19, he added.

Massive labor rallies and demonstrations protesting the law have been staged in Jakarta, and provincial capitals Bandung, Medan and Semarang.

The joint ministerial decree, which was issued by the minister of manpower and transmigration, the home minister, the trade minister and the industry minister on Oct. 22, 2008, stipulates that monthly minimum wages are set by companies through a bipartite of employers and workers, and fixed based on economic growth in the respective regions.

The decree has also sparked strong opposition from the Malang regency administration, which has said it would file a lawsuit against the four ministers with the State Administrative Court if the provincial government enacts the decree.

The governor was scheduled this week to issue a decree hiking the minimum wage in the province that would take effect on Jan. 1, 2009.

Suprart said that it was in line with the labor law that minimum wages be debated and determined by the provincial wage council as part of a tripartite dialog and that it was the government's responsibility to protect workers' interests and that any adjustment to minimum wages be based on consumer prices and national economic growth.

He also said the workers were suspicious of the government's move to fight for employers' economic interests in line with the global financial crisis, which it said recently would not greatly effect Indonesia's economy.

The workers in Surabaya have proposed an 11 percent hike in the monthly minimum wage to Rp 905,000 from the current Rp 805,000.

Chairman of the regency branch of the Indonesian Workers Union (SPI) in Pasuruan Sukiyat said the joint ministerial decree was not in line with the labor law and that minimum wages should be based on costs of basic human needs and the inflation rate.

He said the government and employers were using the decree to take advantage of workers' ignorance and that many employers had taken advantage of the work force surplus by lowering wages.

The provincial legislative council called on provincial, regency and municipal governments to set their monthly minimum wages in accordance with basic human needs and the inflation rate.

Chairman of Commission E on labor and social affairs at the provincial legislature Rofi'I Munawar said the governor had been recommended in a series of meetings not to lower the minimum wage below what a person needed to cover their basic needs.

He said the council would summon the governor if he did not act on the recommendation. He said the massive rallies and demonstrations would affect workers but to a greater extent employers and could jeopardize the political stability in the province.

Environment/natural disasters

Thousands displaced in Indonesia as quake toll hits six

Agence France Presse - November 18, 2008

Buol, Indonesia – Six people were killed and some 10,000 displaced by the powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake which struck Indonesia's Sulawesi island this week, officials said Tuesday.

Two more bodies were pulled from the rubble Tuesday, adding to the four already reported dead in Monday's quake which triggered tsunami warnings and sent thousands of people fleeing to higher ground, they said.

"We've recorded six people killed in the quake and some 158 people injured," Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya said. "Those who lost their homes have to live in tents but most people in the affected areas feel calmer now."

The district chief in the worst-hit area of Buol, Central Sulawesi, told AFP that about 1,120 houses had been flattened.

The shallow quake struck in the middle of the night off the coastal town of Gorontalo. Authorities immediately warned it was strong enough to cause a tsunami but no wave materialised.

Indonesia was the country worst hit by the earthquake-triggered tsunami in December 2004 that killed more than 200,000 people in 11 nations across Asia, including over 168,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone.

The Indonesian archipelago straddles several continental plates in an area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, where seismic and volcanic activity is recorded on an almost daily basis.

Lapindo mudflow sweeps villages

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008

At least four villages in Glaharum and West Siring subdistricts in Porong district were inundated when the giant mudflow pond overflew due to heavy rains in Sidoarjo regency on Tuesday.

In addition, demands that Lapindo Brantas Inc. pay compensation to the residents according to the presidential instruction are increasing.

Residents of 15 neighborhoods in the subdistricts staged a protest against Lapindo and government-backed Sidoarjo Mud Mitigation Agency (BPLS) handling the mudflow, demanding they take emergency action to avoid any human casualties in the coming days.

They have insisted on staying at the affected villages since Lapindo has yet to pay the remaining 80 percent in compensation as was required by Presidential Instruction No. 14, 2007. The government has so far turned a blind eye to the suspended payment.

The flood which submerged the villages was triggered by nonstop rainstorms in the regency since dawn, causing the giant pond to overflow.

Spokesman for the BPLS agency Ahmad Khusairi said the flood would not have affected the residents if Lapindo had paid the compensation in time and the pond would not have overflowed if the pond and the dike had been enlarged.

"Of the two subdistricts' 12,000 victims, only 900 have received a 20 percent compensation and have moved to safer areas in the nearby villages," he said, adding that the flooding was exacerbated by poor drainage and irrigation systems in the villages.

Ahmad also said that the section of the dike near the subdistricts was quite prone to collapsing if the rain continued for the next few days.

He said BPLS could not speed up construction on enlarging the dike because Lapindo had reduced the supply of materials, and both workers and heavy equipment such as excavators and dump trucks could not work at their optimum.

"The projects need at least 200 trucks of sand and stone everyday while Lapindo has reduced the supply of materials to only 100 trucks of sand and stone daily due to the financial crisis." – JP/Ridwan Max Sijabat

Indonesia to plant 100 million trees this year

Reuters - November 19, 2008

Jakarta – Indonesia, which has been losing forests at a rapid pace in recent years, plans to plant 100 million trees across the country this year in an effort to limit deforestation, a forestry official said on Wednesday.

Indonesia has lost an estimated 70 percent of its original frontier forest, but it still has a total forest area of more than 225 million acres (91 million hectares), with a host of exotic plants and animals waiting to be discovered.

The richest forests are found in Borneo – the world's third- largest island shared among Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei – which is home to about 2,000 types of trees, more than 350 species of birds and 210 mammal species.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said in a report that Indonesia was suffering the fastest forest loss in the world at almost 1.9 million hectares per year.

In 2007, Indonesia succeeded in planting more than 100 million trees, surpassing its planting target of 79 million, said forestry ministry spokesman Masyhud.

"The realisation of planting in 2007 shows that the public is enthusiastic... we hope it can become the culture of the community," Masyhud said.

Indonesia plans to start planting on Nov 28 and continue through December to coincide with the rainy season or planting season, Masyhud said.

Southeast Asia's biggest economy is also among the world's top three greenhouse gas emitters because of deforestation, peatland degradation, forest fires, according to a report sponsored by the World Bank and Britain's development arm. (Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Sugita Katyal and Sanjeev Miglani)

Minister defends expansion of oil palm plantations

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008

Hyginus Hardoyo, Denpasar – Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono on Tuesday defended Indonesia's drive to expand oil palm plantations, despite a demand by environmentalists for a moratorium on deforestation.

Speaking in his keynote address at the opening of the sixth annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, Apriyantono said any moratorium, including that recently called for by Greenpeace, was beyond the control of the Indonesian government.

The four-day meeting will discuss issues such as the certification program for members, palm oil small-scale growers, the RSPO and the government, and market standards for biofuel.

The RSPO was established by NGOs and business operators involved in the production, processing and sale of palm oil, in response to criticisms that oil palm plantations were causing rapid deforestation.

"The government has its own program of preserving our forests; we aim to keep 60 percent of our forests in addition to allocated protected forests," the minister said.

He said Indonesia still had 23 million hectares of protected forest. "Out of 133 million hectares of land, only 6.3 million hectares, or about 5 percent, have been planted with oil palms – arguably a very small area compared to what other countries have done with their natural forests," Apriyantono said.

But data from independent monitor Sawit Watch shows that in addition to the land already planted, another 18 million hectares have been cleared for plantation expansions.

Sawit Watch deputy director Abetnego Tarigan said development programs by regional administrations were targeting oil palm plantation expansions – especially in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua – of up to 20 million hectares.

"Another new plan still under negotiation deals with the development of the world's largest oil palm plantation, covering 1.8 million hectares in the heart of Kalimantan," he said. Tarigan suggested that instead of expanding plantations, it was time to intensify existing estates and improve current yields of only 10 to 15 tons of palm oil per hectare per year – far less than the 25 tons per hectare per year recorded in Malaysia.

In 2006, Indonesia became the world's largest producer of palm oil. Last year, total production reached 16.9 million tons and is projected to reach almost 18 million tons this year, or 26.2 percent of the world's vegetable oil production.

Of the 2006 figure, 5 million tons was sold domestically, with 11.8 million tons exported, Apriyantono said.

"In term of palm oil exports, Indonesia managed to substantially raise foreign exchange earnings from only US$745 million in 1998 to $7.9 billion in 2007," he said.

He added some 5 million smallholders were employed in the industry. "I challenge everyone – NGOs and stakeholders – to come up with positive news of benefits as well as successful and positive multi-stakeholder collaborative projects," the minister said.

Indonesia setback on climate change

Financial Times - November 19, 2008

John Aglionby, Bali – Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer and emitter of greenhouse gases through deforestation, yesterday dealt a blow to hopes it would step up efforts to combat climate change.

Anton Apriyantono, the agriculture minister, told the annual conference of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil that sustainability criteria should not be made a priority, particularly for smallholders, "when economic needs are not being met" in the global financial crisis.

The announcement contradicts the views of many of the RSPO's 261 members who believe that, to remain relevant, the movement has to update its principles in the face of emissions caused by clearance of tropical forests for oil palm plantations.

Environmental groups, surprised by the frankness of the Jakarta government's admission, said it reinforced Indonesia's reputation for being committed to conservation only when there was a revenue stream to be developed.

Jakarta acknowledged its position as the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases only after it learnt it could make billions of dollars a year through carbon credits by not cutting down trees.

Indonesia's current deforestation rate is equivalent to clearing the area of several football pitches a minute. It is unclear how much of this cleared land is being converted to oil palm plantations because the industry is not closely regulated and there is much illegal felling.

The industry is suffering from a massive collapse in prices, with benchmark futures yesterday on the Malaysian stock exchange down 68 per cent from last March's record high.

Indonesia now has 6.7 million hectares under oil palm, generating 18 million tonnes of oil. It wants to increase this to 8.1 million hectares and 23.2 million tonnes by 2010.

The RSPO is a voluntary organisation comprising producers, buyers, traders, banks, smallholders and non-governmental organisations. Its members account for half of the world's 41 million tonnes of annual production and the first-ever shipment of sustainable palm oil reached Europe last week. The amount of sustainable oil that will be produced in 2009 is estimated at 1.5 million tonnes.

The organisation's eight principles were proposed in 2005 when less attention was paid to climate change. They include a commitment to environmental responsibility and conservation. Many members want a commitment to mitigating climate change stated openly.

Jan Kees Vis, the RSPO president and director of sustainable agriculture at Unilever, the convenience goods company, said: "We should boost our credibility by making the emphasis on [mitigating] climate change more explicit."

But Mr Anton said: "Not all problems can be solved at once and we should avoid making new requirements before the previous ones have been met." Derom Bangun, an RSPO vice-president and chairman of the Indonesian palm oil producers' association, said: "We think it's good enough to stick to what we have and apply it with continuous reinforcement."

Brihannala Morgan, of the Rainforest Action Network, said the government had shown "environmental conservation, climate conservation, is taking a back seat to economic development. And right now, economic development looks like oil palm expansion."

West Java land degradation leads to new flash floods

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2008

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Syofiardi Bachyul, Bandung, Padang – Research by the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) in Bandung disclosed that during the past 10 years environmental degradation had changed the pattern of many landslides into flash floods, which potentially would then hit wider areas, an official said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the search for victims of the landslide in Cianjur that buried 15 people on Thursday evening was temporarily stopped on Sunday due to heavy rain in the area, which might cause another landslide.

The landslide also damaged at least 77 houses in Girimukti village, prompting residents to seek refugee in temporary shelters.

The head of the disaster potential evaluation division of the agency, Gatot Sudrajat said that before 1998, landslides mostly occurred in limited or specific areas. Gatot said the pattern has changed in the past 10 years due to environmental degradation: a landslide in one area now affected other areas lower down.

"The disaster was categorized as a flash flood because the stream of water and materials damaged wider areas," Gatot said, adding that during the past 10 years there had been 75 flash floods, with 40 percent out of them in West Java.

He said the environmental damage was caused by the conversion of conservation areas into residential areas on sloping land at an angle of 12 to 45 degrees.

He said many residents living in critical areas had planted seasonal crops, like cassava, corn and bananas, which had weak roots leaving soil structures that could not absorb water easily.

"Many residents want to have the plantation near to their homes. That's why they have planted corps on slope areas and then live in lowers areas. They do not only harvest fruits, they also harvest disaster," said Gatot.

To avoid further disasters, Gatot suggested the government as well as the people should recover critical lands by planting hard trees. He also called the government to activate early warning systems and to alert residents, who lived near the areas prone to disasters, so they would be more cautious about the possibility of sudden environmental disasters.

Gatot said, based on research by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences that the speed of landslides in Indonesia reached about 50 kilometers per hour.

Flash floods also happened in Cikalongwetan, Bandung regency in 2003, killing nine residents; in Cililin, Bandung regency in 2004, killing 15 residents; in Jember, East Java in 2006, killing more than 30 residents.

PVMBG recorded that during January-November this year, there were 64 landslides that changed into flashfloods (mud floods) across Indonesia, with at least 80 fatalities. Meanwhile, during the past five years there were 147 similar disasters, claiming 390 lives.

It was reported that the local authority had stopped searching for Nadirsyam, 55, a flashflood victim in East Malalak, Agam regency, Sunday, after a-week-long evacuation.

Local official, Ade Edward, said that the evacuation team had to end the search for the victim's body as heavy rains had been unceasing and mud had spread widely.

He said that the Friday mud flood had claimed six lives and caused damage of more than Rp 17 billion (US$1.4 million), including three broken bridges, which would have to be repaired by local government and 100 hectares of damaged agriculture land covered by mud.

War on corruption

Health sector plagued by graft

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The health sector is "highly vulnerable" to fraudulent practices, with state losses from the 49 cases currently under investigation totaling Rp 128 billion (US$10.24 million), the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says.

A researcher at the ICW's public services monitoring division, Ratna Kusumaningsih, told press in Jakarta on Friday that officials in local health agencies and in state hospitals were the most likely to engage in corrupt activities.

She said 18 cases, costing nearly Rp 100 billion in total, were linked to corrupt actions allegedly committed by officials at regency, municipal and provincial health agencies while 16 cases totalling Rp 17.6 billion were allegedly linked to state-owned hospital officials.

Other cases involved officials at state enterprises, community health centers, regional administrations and project managers.

"From our investigations, 54 corruption cases in the health sector are currently being examined by either the provincial attorney's offices, the Corruption Eradication Commission or the police," Ratna said.

She said the majority of fraud cases occurred during the procurement of health equipment, the purchasing of medicines and the construction of hospital and community health centers.

Other cases involved misappropriation of the Askeskin (health insurance for the underprivileged, now called Jamkesmas) funds, and misuse of hospital employees' salaries.

"The most frequent method of fraud is via mark ups (of spending), which caused losses of just over Rp 100.0 billion," Ratna said.

Another ICW researcher, Febri Hendri, said law enforcers had so far only dealt with these corruption cases at the "middle-lower" level.

The "middle-upper" cases – including those allegedly involving senior officials at the Health Ministry, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, as well as lawmakers – remain untouchable.

"Corruption at this level could have devastating impacts on the quality of health services and the community's access to these services," he said.

He urged law enforcers to immediately start investigating these high-profile allegations of fraud and corruption.

The ICW said the health sector was highly vulnerable to corruption as it managed a huge amount of funds, while lacking transparency and accountability.

According to the watchdog, the government distributed Rp 16 trillion of funds to the health sector alone in 2007, while the pharmaceutical industry's turnover reached Rp 29 trillion in that same year.

Febri said the impact of corruption in the health sector could trigger rising medical costs for patients, decrease access to health services for the poor and deteriorate the overall health status for communities affected.

ICW wise to absence of Aburizal-SBY link

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2008

There is no record chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie ever contributed to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla's 2004 campaign fund, said Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) corruption and politics coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo in Jakarta on Thursday.

However, he said the ICW had uncovered a number of irregularities in the fund – which propelled the pair to President and Vice President in the country's first general election – including donors with no addresses, fictitious company names and benefactors who were known not to have been able to have afforded their listed donations.

He said such practices violated Presidential Legislative Law No. 23/2003 Article 45 (1). The General Elections Commission (KPU) has not commented on the finding.

Adnan, accompanied by ICW researcher Abdullah Dahlan, said forcing political parties to publish the names of their benefactors in public financial reports would not guarantee fool-proof transparency.

"The audit by public accountants is not a cleaning process for the parties' campaign funds. They can't easily claim that they are clean," he said.

He called on the KPU to anticipate repeated incidences by preparing stringent guidelines for auditing campaign funds.

Critics have said the KPU is ill-equipped to audit the estimated 20,000 party campaign funds – as demanded by the 2008 Elections Law – as the body only employs 800 registered public accountants.

The 38 political parties are required to submit one financial report for each of their regency, municipal, provincial and central offices. – JP/Ricky Yudhistira

ICW unveils trillions in unrecorded taxes from fuel sales

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2008

Alfian, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) on Thursday unveiled findings of alleged state losses of Rp 21.32 trillion (US$1.7 billion) from unrecorded tax revenue from sales of subsidized fuels by state oil and gas company Pertamina.

Firdaus Ilyas, coordinator of the ICW's data and analysis center, said the recorded tax revenue from sales of subsidized fuels between 2006 and 2007 was far lower than it should have been.

Firdaus said audits from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) for the 2006-2007 fiscal year found total tax revenue from subsidized fuel sales in that period was only Rp 107.25 billion, while, according to the ICW, total revenue should have been Rp 21.43 trillion.

"We have lost Rp 21.32 trillion in state revenue during that period," Firdaus told a press conference.

The government subsidizes four types of fuel: Premium gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and three-kilogram-canister LPG. The ICW said retail prices of the fuels included a 10 percent value-added tax, and for Premium gasoline and diesel, a 5 percent vehicle fuels tax, which the government should have included in tax revenue.

Firdaus added the alleged state loss of Rp 21.32 trillion came from these taxes not being calculated in the revenue.

"There are two possibilities here: First, PT Pertamina did not pay the taxes. Or second, the tax offices allocated the revenues to another post  which is also wrong due to our state accounting system," he said.

Pertamina, the sole distributor of the subsidized fuels, rebuffed the ICW's claims and said it had paid all the relevant taxes.

"I don't know about the ICW's findings, but our finance department always pays the taxes on the 15th of each month," said Perta-mina spokesperson Anang Rizkani Noor.

Firdaus urged the BPK to re-audit the state revenue from subsidized fuels, warning more state losses could occur if left unchecked.

"Potential state losses from the subsidized fuel tax this year could reach Rp 24.32 trillion," he said.

An earlier BPK audit found several irregularities in subsidized fuel management. On July 28, the agency sent a letter to the National Police requesting that they conduct further investigations into alleged wrongdoings surrounding the missing revenue from 4.59 million liters of fuel in excess of the subsidized fuel quota in 2007.

House renovation project 'untimely'

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' plan to spend Rp 33.4 billion (US$2.83 million) renovating the offices of its legislators has been criticized for lacking transparency.

Critics have said the project's lack of transparency invites public suspicions that the House secretary-general, the contractors and involved legislators may be involved in bribery or a mark-up scam.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction secretary Ganjar Pranowo said while it was important for legislators to have offices, the House needed to be transparent in how it used the money.

"We need clarification on why building partitions in 546 rooms should cost taxpayers such a huge amount of money. Failing to give a public explanation will only raise suspicions of graft," he said.

Legislator Harry Azhar Azis of the Golkar Party questioned the timing of the project, saying the global financial crisis could start affecting low-income families early next year.

"We had better postpone it until after the elections – after we have the newly elected lawmakers. Doing it now means the issue can be politicized as factions will try to use the issue to campaign against corruption and lacking transparency," he said.

The plan has also been rejected by the United Development Party (PPP), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Star Reform Party (PBR).

House secretary-general Nining Indra Saleh said earlier that some Rp 26.6 billion would be spent to build partitions to separate the offices of legislators and those of their secretaries and expert staff. He said Rp 6.9 billion would be spend on procuring new furniture, while the remainder of the fund would be spent on building 10 rooms for legislators and 11 rooms for faction heads.

"We have conducted open tenders for the renovation and the purchase of the furniture. We picked (the contractors) that offered the lowest bid," she said.

Anti-corruption activists have called for a break down of how the money will be spend, citing that the project should not cost so much.

"What we need is a detailed calculation of the prices. In the past we have seen very low-quality furniture bought, for instance, suggesting it was bought for a very low price," Emerson Junto of the Indonesia Corruption Watch said.

House Speaker Agung Laksono defended the project, saying all representatives of all factions in the House's Household Affairs Committee (BURT) had approved the plan during discussions.

"Please, don't politicize the project. We have done it according to the procedure. If the BURT has agreed with the plan and the lawmakers oppose it, there's a communication problem between committee members and their colleagues in the factions," he said.

Ganjar, however, argued that although the BURT had approved the project, the factions could reject it if the public reacted negatively. "For instance, we canceled the previous plan to buy laptops for legislators after the public deemed it a waste of money," he said.

Elections/political parties

Prabowo, Wiranto hint at coalition

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In a move that could end years of bitter rivalry, prominent military figures Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto have hinted at the possibility of joining forces in the next presidential election.

In separate statements both Prabowo, chief patron of the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) and Wiranto, chairman of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), admitted competing against either President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or former president Megawati Soekarnoputri would be difficult in the absence of a coalition.

Pressure has been mounting for parties to merge since a recent law stated that only a party, or coalition of parties, could contest the presidential elections if it secured at least 20 percent of House of Representatives seats or 25 percent of popular votes in the legislative elections.

"There is no other way. We have to form a coalition with a party, and I think Hanura is one of the options. Pak Wiranto and myself are (loyal to) red and white," Prabowo said Friday, referring to the two parties' nationalist platform.

Prabowo was speaking after a "nostalgic meeting" with Timor Leste armed forces chief of staff Col. Lere Anan Timur. Both were adversaries when Timor Leste was part of Indonesia.

Wiranto has also acknowledged that Hanura should team up with other parties, including Gerindra, to qualify for the presidential election.

Wiranto said whoever secured the highest vote in terms of popularity and electability in the national polls deserved the chance to run for presidency, whether it was himself, Prabowo or anybody else in the coalition.

A recent survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) found Wiranto and Prabowo were neck to neck in the polls and were the third and fourth most popular presidential candidates respectively behind Yudhoyono and Megawati. A different survey by the National Leadership Centee (NLC) ranked Prabowo third, ahead of Wiranto.

More recent surveys however have consistently put Gerindra above Hanura, attributing the result to aggressive TV ads. Prabowo said Gerindra would not depend solely on TV ads but would run an intensive campaign at a grassroots level.

Speculation has been rife for the last few weeks that the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) would support a coalition between Prabowo and Wiranto, forming a third axis to compete with Yudhoyono and Megawati.

Although not ruling out a possibility of supporting such a coalition, PKS faction chairman at the House of Representatives Mahfudz Siddiq said any formal coalition involving PKS nominating a presidential candidate would be decided after the legislative election in April 2009.

"Right now, we are open to communication with any parties or figures," Mahfudz said.

In a bid to lure more voters, PKS has run television campaigns featuring prominent figures identifiable with Wiranto and Probowo, including former president Soeharto, to boost their image as national heroes.

For Jusuf Kalla it's a case of whoever wins he loses

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Victory or defeat for the Golkar Party in next year's legislative elections could spell certain doom for Vice President and party chairman Jusuf Kalla, analysts say.

Golkar's failure to repeat its victory in the 2004 elections could fuel discontent and spark rebellion within the party, which could result in Kalla being labeled a failed chairman, they said Thursday.

With recent surveys showing Golkar trailing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, Kalla's chances of retaining the nation's second-highest post are weakening, as the Democratic Party could seek a partnership with a stronger party.

"If Golkar fails to win and the Democratic Party beats the party, then Kalla's alliance with Yudhoyono could crumble as the President would simply look for another running mate, one who wouldn't have the potential to dictate him," Indo Barometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said.

In a surprise finding, the latest survey released by the Indonesian Survey Institute shows the Democratic Party as the most popular party if the elections take place today with support from 16.8 percent of respondents, meaning it has leapfrogged the traditionally stronger Golkar and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), which secured 16 and 14 percent, respectively.

Qodari said Yudhoyono could simply take on as his running mate current People's Consultative Council speaker Hidayat Nurwahid of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) or another national figure from a minor party to replace Kalla.

Defeat for Golkar in next year's legislative elections could push the party to search for another popular figure to nominate as its own presidential candidate, rather than back Kalla for vice president, Qodari added.

A number of Golkar senior figures have said Golkar will be "very pragmatic" in choosing the party's presidential or vice presidential candidate.

Golkar's pragmatism implies the party, which once served as Soeharto's political vehicle for retaining power for 32 years until his downfall in 1998, is willing to sacrifice policies in order to stay a part of the country's ruling elite.

Golkar deputy secretary-general Rully Chairul Azwar said the party would pick a presidential or vice presidential candidate based on the figure's popularity and electability to ensure he or she won the election.

"There will be chaos if Golkar's local branches want change in the party's leadership and demand an alternative figure for president or vice president," Reform Institute executive director Yudhi Latif said.

However, should the party win the legislative elections, internal demand for an in-house presidential candidate will be irresistible, Qodari said. A Golkar victory would also destroy any hope of a repeat partnership between Yudhoyono and Kalla, he said.

"With most members being very pragmatic, they will nominate the figure who has the highest ratings or popularity in the national polls. And it will not be Kalla," Qodari said.

All recent national surveys have shown Kalla's popularity in the 1 to 3 percent range, while Sultan Hamengkubowono X, also of Golkar, who declared his presidential bid last month, appears to be the most popular Golkar hopeful, securing around 6 percent of voters.

Election candidates expected to fight dirty

Jakarta Post - November 21, 2008

Astrid Wijaya, Jakarta – Negative campaigning is common practice in elections, and all presidential candidates must be ready to come under fire from rival political parties in the run up to the 2009 polls, a discussion has concluded.

Effendi Gazali, a political communications expert at the University of Indonesia, told the discussion that in many elections across the globe parties or candidates often launched negative campaigns, using inaccurate data and malicious attacks to beat out their rivals.

As an example, he cited the epic election battle waged by American presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain, who he said had consistently attacked one another, digging up dirt on previous ties, funding and policies.

"When Dick Cheney suddenly appeared to support McCain, Obama, within seconds, launched a new political advertisement to criticize McCain," Effendi said.

"During the upcoming months, as the elections draw nearer, political advertisements on television could become massive. Everybody should be ready for negative campaigning," he said during a discussion Wednesday on Candidates' Ethical Responsibility for Political Advertisements.

Rizal Mallarangeng, speaking at the same forum and just hours before announcing his decision to withdraw his presidential bid, said he would always be ready to face such negative advertisements.

He said negative campaigning was common practice in US elections, but that he was unsure whether Indonesian presidential candidates were ready to face similar criticism.

Spokesman for the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) Indro Tjahjono said political campaigning should be founded on data.

"We have to use data for every answer we give. Of course, we would not include our failings in published advertisements. Political impressions and marketing image are two different things. They should be differentiated," Indro said.

Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) deputy chairman Fadli Zon said that overseas, a campaign that used false data would be subject to a lawsuit, especially if estimates were presented as raw data.

"For example, when we say food reliance, if we only use estimates, how can anyone believe them? There has to be political education, rather than playing with numbers," Fadli said, referring to advertisements made by Rizal and several other parties.

Democratic Party Leader Anas Urbaningrum said his party was ready to face attacks from other political party campaigns.

"Some other parties have begun to counter our advertisements. Each candidate should be prepared if their track records are questioned. "For us, good advertisements means those backed by adequate and authentic supporting data," Anas said.

All speakers and participants at the discussion agreed that media advertisements – especially those aired on TV – were an effective way to boost the image and popularity of presidential candidates.

"These two months are a 'honeymoon' period for parties as their candidates are only declaring positives about themselves in an effort to introduce themselves," Effendi said.

"Later, there will be a period of branding and so on. Political contracts will likely be seen in January, when parties will launch their detailed programs to the public."

Aburizal still politically powerful, experts say

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie is still widely perceived as politically and financially influential in the country, despite huge debts wreaking havoc on his business empire.

Experts and politicians said Wednesday they believe Aburizal, ranked by Forbes magazine last December as Indonesia's richest man for his $5.4 billion net worth, could survive the current turmoil and even become more powerful.

Members of the Golkar Party – the country's largest, and of which Aburizal is a senior patron – remain in awe of his political reach, despite the battering his group of companies is taking at the stock exchange and from debt-related problems, said Yorris Raweyai, a close aide of party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"We still regard him as a strong, if not the strongest, contender in Golkar's chairmanship battle, along with Pak Jusuf Kalla, (House of Representatives Speaker) Agung Laksono and (Golkar chief patron) Surya Paloh," said Yorris, who chairs the party's youth wing.

Harry Azhar Azis, a Golkar legislator and member of the House's commission on state budget affairs, said Aburizal's strong influence among party members was unaffected by the debt-related problems of his flagship PT Bakrie & Brothers.

"It's not over yet. He's a survivor and I think he will manage to overcome the current problems," he said.

Golkar legislator Yudhi Chrisnandi said that as a young member of the party, he was very proud of Aburizal's success in business and politics.

Many critics accuse Aburizal of using his political position for the benefit of his family's businesses.

In its report last December, Forbes said, "For years, he (Abirizal) has profitably – and controversially – presided as a kingmaker at the lucrative intersection of business and politics in a country often derided as among the world's most corrupt and difficult nations."

Aburizal's political clout came under scrutiny when he sought government protection for one of his companies, PT Lapindo Brantas. Lapindo is widely blamed for triggering a devastating mud volcano in Sidoarjo, East Java, two years ago, which killed 13 people and displaced more than 36,000 others.

His powerful reach was also suspected by critics to be behind the government-ordered suspension of trading in shares of Bumi Resources, a coal mining firm owned by the Bakrie family, for a month to allow Bakrie & Brothers to wrap up a deal to sell a 35 percent stake in Bumi to private equity group Northstar Pacific.

"He's still an asset, not a liability, both for Golkar and the (Yudhoyono-Kalla) administration. Of course, Golkar can still rely on Aburizal for funding, and I believe the businessman can recover," said political expert Fachry Ali.

Paramadina University political observer Bima Arya Sugiarto said Aburizal's value to both Yudhoyono and Kalla depended on how much the minister could contribute financially to their presumed 2009 presidential campaign.

"It's clear Yudhoyono and Kalla helped Aburizal out because of his significant campaign donations (in 2004). I think support from these two indicates they still trust Aburizal can contribute something for them," he said.

PKS admits promoting heroes to woo voters

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2008

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS) has admitted it deliberately glorified Indonesia's national heroes in a series of TV ads that began airing last week to woo voters for the 2009 legislative election.

PKS secretary-general Anis Matta told a discussion Saturday the ads also reflected the party's message of national reconciliation.

The ads, aired in conjunction with Heroes Day, which falls every Nov. 10, sparked controversy for calling former president Soeharto "a national teacher and hero", along with seven other figures.

The national heroes featured in the ads were founding president Sukarno and vice president Mohammad Hatta, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) founder Hasyim Asyari, Muhammadiyah founder Ahmad Dahlan, Masyumi founder Muhammad Natsir, legendary military commander Soedirman and freedom fighter Sutomo.

Critics say Soeharto does not deserve hero status. Branding PKS an opportunist, they said the party aimed to attract sympathy from supporters of the national figures.

Leaders of NU and Muhammadiyah, the country's largest Muslim organizations, have expressed their anger at the ads.

Anis defended the ads, saying the party was trying to educate the public about the nation's history by instilling appreciation for its heroes.

"We don't deny the political motives behind the ads, and that it is part of our campaign," Anis said. "But we think it is good to simultaneously reach our goals of wooing voters and educating people. We are offering added value. We don't mind the rejection, although we think our critics lack logic."

He said the party was pursuing national reconciliation. "We want this nation to eliminate hatred and revenge, and not to only see the dark side of our history. They should acknowledge that those figures are inseparable parts of our history," he said.

Deputy chairman of nationalist party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Firman Jaya Daeli said his party was not concerned by the PKS's portrayal of Sukarno, who has long been associated with the PDI-P, which is chaired by Sukarno's daughter Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Firman urged the Islam-based PKS to take concrete action to realize its goal of "national reconciliation".

The PDI-P once proposed the revocation of a Provisional People's Consultative Assembly decree outlawing the Indonesian Communist Party for the sake of national reconciliation.

Thousands of PKI members and supporters were killed as part of a Soeharto-lead purge in the 1960s, one of the bloodiest pages of the country's history. Families of PKI members and supporters were discriminated against during Soeharto's rule.

Historian JJ Rizal said he regretted the PKS's portrayal of Soeharto as a national hero, which seemed to go against the fact that the party was born in the reform era, a period in which efforts were made to erase Soeharto's legacy.

"It would be understandable if the Golkar Party had advertised Soeharto," he said. Soeharto was Golkar's chief patron until he stepped down in 1998.

Media/press freedom

Internet cafe users to verify identity

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Jakarta – Head of Indonesian Internet Cafe Association's Supervisory Body Judith Monique said Saturday the government should require all internet services users to verify their identity.

"There needs to be a log for users, such as a guest book, at every warnet (internet cafe) so as to provide investigators with leads whenever cybercrime surfaces," Monique said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The National Police Cybercrime Unit head Edy Hartono concurred, adding that the police had already planned on ordering internet cafe owners to set up user logs with detailed identity information.

"To date, most internet cafe operators only register net billing information and user IDs. Since these can be easily manipulated, it creates a conducive environment for criminals," Hartono said.

He added that the police had stepped up measures in publicizing the 2008 Law on Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE), particularly among the internet provider community.

According to legal expert Edmon Makarim, the ITE law allows easier access for the police in investigating cybercrimes.

"Under the ITE, digital evidences are deemed valid in any investigation of alleged internet misuse," Makarim said.

Police urged to back freedom of expression

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008

Blontank Poer, Surakarta – Artists, journalists and activists from non-governmental groups in Surakarta on Tuesday urged the police to guarantee freedom of expression in relation to art and journalistic works and to prevent anyone or any group from restricting them.

"Besides being guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution, many laws also regulate people's freedom in expressing their minds and ideas through various means," said People's Alliance for Freedom of Expression coordinator Kelik Ismunandar.

Kelik gave this statement after seven representatives from the alliance failed to meet Surakarta Regional Police chief Sr. Comr. Taufik Ansorie at Tuesday midday.

They arrived to protest because they thought the police had allowed intimidation to take place against the filming of Lastri by a group of people claiming to act on behalf of Muslims.

The representatives were only received by the commander of the guard post Adj. Comr. Setyo who told them that the police chief and his deputy were not available to meet them.

About 60 representatives from the arts, cultural and journalistic communities as well as activists met in Surakarta on Monday to protest against the alleged intimidation.

During the meeting, they came to the conclusion that the police had done nothing when a number of people threatened those on the set of the Lastri film, even when this continued during the meeting between the Colomadu district authorities, filmmaker Eros Djarot and members of Muslim groups, although the meeting on Nov. 15 was mediated by representatives of Karanganyar regency administration, the police and the military.

Threats against the production of the film have continued to be made without any action being taken by the authorities.

"The police should have secured the film set because it has a permit from the National Police Headquarters. The police cannot ignore the situation," said Abidin from the Social and Research Institute in Surakarta.

A number of groups, claiming to act in the name of Islam, blamed the film for allegedly condoning communism. Residents in Wedi village, Klaten regency, have also opposed filming being carried out in their area, giving similar reasons.

"Members of the hard-line groups have taken over the job and authority of the police. This is strange, because the police have allowed a group of people to walk over them," said Abidin.

A Surakarta artist, Titus, said the police had acted recklessly by apparently justifying the accusations of a number of hard- liners. He considered that had the film Lastri inspired communism, then the film would not have been approved by the film censor board, which also included representatives of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI).

"It's very strange, that they believe the film teaches communism without reading the storyline beforehand. That's the same as putting a person's imagination on trial," said Titus.

Eros preferred to avoid friction by relocating the set. "There's no point debating with those people. We will still finish the film," Eros told the Post.

Indonesian artists protest after Islamists shut down film

Agence France Presse - November 18, 2008

Surakarta – Indonesian artists protested here Tuesday after police bowed to pressure from Islamic hardliners and shut down production of a film about the 1965-66 massacres of communists.

Protesters rallying outside police headquarters in Surakarta, Central Java, said police should protect the filmmakers from religious fanatics rather than shut down the film.

"We have deep concerns that police failed to stop intimidation by militant groups that accused the film of disseminating communist ideology," protest coordinator Kelik Ismunandar told reporters.

He said Islamic militants had threatened the crew three or four times and ordered them to halt production of the film, which focuses on events surrounding an alleged coup in 1965 blamed on the outlawed Communist Party.

The communist plot has never been proven but then-major general Suharto used the coup allegations to launch a massive pogrom against Communist Party members which killed up to 500,000 people.

Islamic groups were tasked with doing much of the killing and Suharto went on to become the country's military dictator for 32 years. The slaughter remains a highly sensitive episode in Indonesian history.

Surakarta police chief Taufik Ansorie, quoted by local newspaper Solo Pos, suggested the filmmakers avoid sensitive topics like the mass slaughter of communists in the 1960s.

"As it is about public wounds, the film has faced lots of resistance. We urge the production to be reviewed," the police chief said, adding: "We are responsible for maintaining security."

Eros Djarot, the director of the film entitled "Lastri" after a female communist activist, said the police were backing militant Islamic extremists over artists whose rights are protected under the constitution.

"I can't understand why the security apparatus bowed to those who want to set up Islamic law. They should have respected our laws. Our laws ensure the freedom of expression of the Indonesian people," he told AFP. "I'll fight this and finish the film. I'll never stop. This is tyranny from minority groups that are threatening our nation."

The Attorney General last year banned schoolbooks that failed to comply with the official version of history by explicitly blaming the Communist Party for the alleged coup.

Debate about the coup was banned under Suharto, who ruled from 1966 until 1998 and died earlier this year.

Historians have suggested the US-backed military orchestrated the alleged coup to tighten its grip on power and wipe out the Communist Party, which had been thriving in mainly Muslim Indonesia.

Hard-liners force halt of PKI film production

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2008

Blontank Poer, Surakarta – Radical groups in Central Java have forced a prominent filmmaker to stop shooting a feature on a past tragedy that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, accusing the work of campaigning for communist ideology.

Director Eros Djarot halted production of his film following threats from a number of groups and residents in Klaten, Karanganyar and Surakarta in Central Java.

The protesters, acting on a self-proclaimed Islamic basis, accused Eros of promoting communism in the film Lastri.

At a press conference Monday, Surakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Taufik Ansorie said the protests were raised in response to the prickly issue of the 1965 Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) uprising.

"The issue is still sensitive for the people of Surakarta, so they protested. The police have no right to stop the filming, but we are responsible for maintaining security," Ansorie told reporters.

Asked whether the police had read the screenplay of the film that tells of the events following the communist purge on Sept. 30, 1965, Ansorie declined to comment.

"Some people are still traumatized by the 1965 incident, that's why we don't want any untoward incidents happening (if filming continues)," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly PKI supporters, were killed following an alleged failed coup blamed on the party. Other reports put the number of dead at almost one million.

The events marked the change of power from left-leaning first president Sukarno to West-leaning Soeharto, a military general.

Eros told The Jakarta Post the police had manipulated the issue to interrupt the film's production.

"The police should not police a work of art. The accusation that Lastri bears communist values is very misleading. I'm afraid the police, including the Surakarta Police chief, don't understand the true meaning of communism itself. As a nationalist, I'm also against communism," he said. "Our film doesn't teach communism, but is a love story set during that political era."

A film crew member said certain groups, claiming to act on behalf of Muslims, had intimidated those on set since the end of October in Wedi district, Klaten.

Lastri has been accused of condoning communism and thus "hurting the feelings of Muslims", Klaten residents say. A number of groups also staged a protest at a filming location in Colomadu district, Karanganyar. The latest protest occurred on Nov. 15, when members of hard-line groups Laskar Hisbullah and the Surakarta Muslim Youth Front rallied at the filming location.

A dialogue, facilitated by the Colomadu district head, the local police force and military command, ended in a stalemate, much to the chagrin of Eros and his colleagues.

Filming was halted on Nov. 16, but then moved to Yogyakarta after Eros received the support of Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

Armed forces/defense

Marines' weapons almost as old as they are

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008

Jakarta – The Marines celebrated their 63rd anniversary here Tuesday, with a military demonstration and parade displaying, among other things, their aging equipment.

"You could see during the Marines' parade that our armory is old. The tanks – marked BTR 50 and PT 76 – were produced in 1958, and also MSK 62 and Retro 88, which are just as old," Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno told journalists after the parade.

The Marines are equipped with tanks, air defense instruments and transport vehicles, mostly produced in the Soviet Union in the 1960s.

"We keep everything in good condition, but we can't guarantee that they can be operated forever," Tedjo said. "We need to modernize the Marines' equipment and weaponry."

He said the advanced development of defense technology worldwide would force Indonesia to gradually upgrade its Marines' armory. As a consequence, the Marines need to become accustomed to the new technology.

The Navy has said it needs at least US$4.5 billion to procure the equipment necessary for upgrading its weaponry but only $1.9 billion has been allocated in the current state budget.

Currently, the bulk of the money for the Indonesian Military goes to routine expenditure such as payroll. Tedjo said there would be a 15 percent increase in salaries next year.

"We will allocate the salary increase from the existing budget. Consequently, the Navy's spending will shrink. With the remaining funds, we will have to prioritize what the Navy needs the most," he said.

The Marines is a vital component of the Navy because of its military operations on land, air and sea. The corps, which has 15,000 soldiers, is prepared to execute military and peacekeeping operations, as well as to assist in disaster alleviation.

"For our border operations, the Navy has consigned five to six fleets to guard our sea borders. If there are trespassers, we will warn them and escort them out of our territory," Tedjo said.

The Marines guard the outer islands of Indonesia, such as Ambalat, Brass, Damarote and Faneldo islands. (pmf)

Military faces long battle to complete reform: Experts

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2008

Jakarta – Military analysts say the Indonesian Military (TNI) must get out of politics and business completely to pave the way for a more professional armed forces.

"The success of TNI's reformation can't be separated from the eradication of its members involvement in politics and business," Andi Widjajantoa, program adviser for the Center for Global Civil Society Studies (Pacivis), said during a seminar and book launch here Monday.

The seminar, organized by Pacivis and attended by, among others, military officers and analysts, focused on the past decade of internal military reforms.

Andi warned the government to keep close eyes on the current trend of retired military officers emerging as candidates in the upcoming 2009 elections.

"We can see how slowly the government has been moving in the process of taking over military businesses" he said. "We urge the government to resolve these problems promptly so that TNI reforms toward professionalism and modernization can't be thwarted," he added

Law No. 34/2004 stipulates that professional military officers must not be involved in business or political practices. The law states that members of the military must submit to government policies that empower democracy, civil supremacy and human rights and must abide by national and international laws.

Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) military expert Ikrar Nusa Bakti said important progress had been made in efforts to reform the military, but added that much still needed to be done.

"There has actually been some good progress during this past decade of TNI reform, such as removing its members from the House of Representatives and state companies, and the enactment of TNI Law no. 34/2004 which stipulates that TNI members must get out of business and politics," he said.

However, he said, legislation related to TNI's main roles and duties was still lacking, as was an up-to-date guide for the military during non-war operations, such as disaster alleviation. Legislation concerning updating equipment and modernizing the military was also lacking, he added.

"The hindrances to making TNI a small, effective, efficient and professional force lie in the inadequate defense budget, uneducated military personnel and military embargo," Ikrar said.

Center for Security and Defense Studies chairman Koesnadi Kardi said TNI reforms toward professionalism should be executed through the enforcement of existing laws on TNI and civilian supremacy over the military.

"Law enforcement is needed to keep TNI on the right track, while civil supremacy is maintained in the management of the military by the Defense Ministry. The TNI then becomes the executor of the government's defense policies," he said.

Koesnadi added that TNI needed to streamline its ranks in order to use its limited defense budget effectively to improve the quality of its members and to modernize its equipment.

"The future development of TNI can not be done by the institution or its members alone, but depends on civil society too. The two parties must be partners and cooperate to eliminate business and political practices toward a more professional TNI," Ikrar added. (pmf)

Economy & investment

Indonesia seizes Century as capital deteriorates

Bloomberg - November 22, 2008

Aloysius Unditu and Leony Aurora – Indonesia seized control of PT Bank Century eight days after the lender delayed meeting a 5 billion rupiah ($413,000) obligation, as its capital has deteriorated.

Century's capital adequacy ratio, which measures capital against risk-weighted assets and is a gauge of a lender's health, has fallen to 2.3 percent, below the minimum 8 percent required by the central bank, said Firdaus Djaelani, chairman of Indonesia's deposit insurance agency, in a telephone interview last night.

"The insurance agency will gradually increase the ratio to at least 8 percent and when it's healthy we will look for new investors," Djaelani said.

Indonesia's deposit insurance agency, which guarantees deposits at banks in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, will have three years to turn around the firm in Indonesia's first bailout since the central bank was given more powers to rescue lenders. Bank Indonesia didn't disclose financial details.

Bank Century will resume operations Nov. 24 after closing on Friday, central bank Governor Boediono said on Nov. 20. Century's shares were suspended by the Indonesia Stock Exchange yesterday.

Public confidence

"This is a right move by the government to ensure that the public maintains confidence in Indonesia's banking system," said David Chang, a director of PT OUB Kay Hian Securities in Jakarta.

Indonesia's 13th-largest bank by assets on Nov. 13 failed to provide funds on time because of a "technical problem," Deddy Triyana, corporate secretary, said then. Banks need to provide funds to a clearing house on a daily basis to ensure matching of debt and credit. The bank settled the obligation later that day.

Indonesia on Nov. 18 enacted a law to allow the central bank to bail out lenders. The new regulations will enable authorities in Indonesia, which spent more than 450 trillion rupiah rescuing lenders in the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, to fund banks in need of liquidity without legal concerns.

"The emergency funding facility, guaranteed by the government, will be given to banks to resolve liquidity problems that may cause systemic problems," according to the central bank's Web site. Owners of banks seeking the facility will have to pledge assets as collateral, it said.

Profit at Bank Century, which had assets of 15.2 trillion rupiah at the end of September, fell 7.7 percent to 51.6 billion rupiah in the first nine months of the year.

PT Bank Mandiri, Indonesia's biggest lender, had assets valued at 318.7 trillion rupiah on Sept. 30.

Bank Century was formed by the merger of PT Bank CIC, PT Bank Pikko and PT Bank Danpac in December 2004. Indonesia has 126 commercial banks.

Rupiah still on shaky footing against dollar

Jakarta Post - November 22, 2008

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The rupiah continued its fall against the US dollar Thursday as dollar demand rose at a time when many preferred the greenback to a lack of confidence in the local currency.

The rupiah slid to 12,475 per dollar, its weakest level since August 1998, before trading at 12,300 at 5:10 p.m. here in Jakarta, according to Bloomberg. It was traded at 12,100 per dollar at 5:02 p.m. on Wednesday.

The currency has dropped by more than 20 percent in the past month. Currency analyst Farial Anwar said the rupiah fell as foreign and local investors were losing confidence in the rupiah.

"They who hold money may choose to buy dollars. Or perhaps they think it is more beneficial to hold dollars."

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati says the rupiah has devalued as people have held onto dollars due to a lack of confidence in other currencies.

"The problem now is not a shortage of liquidity (in dollars), but it reflects instead that there are people who do not want to trade because of a lack of confidence (in other currencies)."

The central bank has said it will maintain the rupiah at a "realistic level".

As of Oct. 31, foreign exchange reserves stood at $50.58 billion, down from $57.11 billion a month earlier, as the central bank has been active in supporting the rupiah to prevent it from a further or deeper fall.

The central bank has also introduced a regulation to limit the purchase of foreign currencies in the equivalent of above $100,000 through spot, forward, or derivative transactions for Indonesian citizens, or for firms, by requiring that they provide underlying transactions and a tax file number.

Foreign parties, meanwhile, can purchase that amount of dollars through spot transactions only, subject to supplying the justifying documentation.

Farial expects the central bank to impose a tight monitoring on the implementation of the regulation to avoid that currency speculators might forge documents to substantiate underlying transactions.

"The central bank needs to control the regulation and sanction those violating it."

Exporters should also bring their dollars into Indonesia, instead of parking them in other countries, he added. "Even state-run companies have been asked by the government to bring their dollars here."

Businesses however said the rupiah decline had not posed a threat to businesses as they had calculated the rupiah at about 12,000 per dollar for imports.

"(The rupiah decline) has been predicted," said Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), adding however that businesses would be severely hit if the rupiah reached 15,000 per dollar.

Indonesia leader demands oil states take crisis action

Agence France Presse - November 22, 2008

Oil-rich states and companies that reaped unprecedented gains when prices skyrocketed have a moral duty to ease the world's economic crisis, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said.

Speaking ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit in Lima, the leader of the world's fourth most populous nation warned on Friday that the crisis stemming from financial turmoil would send more people into poverty as nations plunged into recession.

"At the height of the recent oil crisis, we witnessed what was said to be the greatest transfer of wealth from one set of nations to another in history, involving some 2.3 trillion US dollars annually, enjoyed by petro-states and oil companies," Yudhoyono said. "With this great wealth should also come a moral duty," he said.

Yudhoyono said while he did not agree with nationalization, he believed that "the strong have to help the weak, and that great fortunes should also be utilized for the greater good in the spirit of compassion and human solidarity."

Oil this week tumbled under 50 US dollars for the first time since early 2005 as plunging equities and weak US economic data sparked fresh concern that a global recession would slash demand.

Oil prices have plunged two-thirds since striking record highs above 147 US dollars in July when fears of supply disruptions had helped to send them rocketing.

Yudhoyono noted that while oil prices declined, stock values plunged, impacting investments that had driven economic growth. He said the worsening poverty levels could snowball into a security crisis.

"A poor community is an angry community. Three billion people worldwide, living on two US dollars a day or less, are three billion resentful people.

"Seven hundred million people suffering from chronic malnutrition are seven hundred million disenchanted citizens," he said. "To tackle poverty is to prevent political instability and safeguard our collective future."

Yudhoyono cited World Bank estimates that a one percent decline in developing country growth rates would trap an additional 20 million people in poverty. This is on top of the increase in 100 million of poor people as a result of increased food and fuel prices in the first half of this year.

More than 15 percent of Indonesia's population of 243 million are mired in poverty although the level has been brought to the lowest in 10 years. Yudhoyono said that people needed to see real benefits from free markets.

"It is hard for the ordinary hard-working families to see running texts flashing on their TV screens reporting companies making 70 percent profits whilst, from their home, their incomes fall, their mortgage suffers, their children's education and health are at risk and their hope begins to fade."

Yudhoyono's remarks come despite the staunch support for free trade at the summit by leaders of many of the 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Indonesia eyes domestic growth sources amid crisis

Reuters - November 21, 2008

Lima – Indonesia, expecting a slowdown in economic growth to 6 percent in 2008 in the face of a global economic crisis, intends to turn to its large domestic market to maintain growth, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told executives from Asia and the Americas on Friday.

Yudhoyono did not give figures for new spending, but said Jakarta would boost growth with infrastructure projects like power plants, and fight poverty with greater spending on education and health care.

With global markets weakening and soft prices for the commodities Indonesia exports, "sources of growth will come more from our large domestic market," he said at a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru.

"We also have a strong focus on infrastructure projects," said Yudhoyono. He cited roads, railways and industrial projects to boost development and sustain growth in the Southeast Asian archipelago nation.

12,600 workers face dismissal as global crisis starts to bite

Kompas - November 21, 2008

Jakarta – The threat of a wave of dismissals as a consequence of the global crisis is beginning to be concretely felt by the manufacturing sector. As of Thursday November 20, the government has received requests from several companies that plan to dismiss 12,600 workers and lay of at least 1,200 more.

The request to carry out the dismissals was conveyed to the monitoring and socialisation team overseeing the Joint Ministerial Decree on Preserving the Momentum of National Economic Growth and Anticipating Global Economic Developments(1).

The majority of companies that submitted the request are labour intensive industries located in West Java, West Kalimantan, Riau, East and Central Java.

Anticipating even worse impacts from the crisis, the government followed up the report by sending in a mediating team to the companies. The team, led by department of labour officials will mediate negotiations between employers and labour representatives in order to seek an optimal solution.

One of the companies that made such an announcement is PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), which plan to dismiss 1,000 employees and lay off 1,000 more. According to RAPP Executive Director Rudi Fajar, the decision will begin taking effect this Friday.

The decision was taken by RAPP's management, said Fajar, because the pulp and paper company is experiencing a lack of raw material supplies and is also being hit by a flow on effect of the global crisis. "This choice represents the final option after the company carried out expenditure cost saving in various areas," said Fajar.

The employees that will be subject to dismissals and lay offs, according to Fajar, come from all different levels. In addition to Indonesian labourers, around 35 foreign workers will also be subject to the policy. As of yesterday, the RAPP employed around 4,000 workers.

The industrial situation in the Purbalingga regency of Central Java faces three related problems. "Currently in the handicraft industry, particularly wood, production levels have declined by 30 percent as consequence of the crisis", said Mukodam, the head of Industrial Affairs at the Purbalingga Trade and Industry Office.

Handicraft products such as picture-framing, wood trays, laminating and wardrobes are exported to Australia, the United States and Japan. "Export orders from these countries have stopped. We don't know how long it will be postponed", said the owner of Jasmin Craft, Arif Purnomo.

In response to this situation, Forestry Minister MS Kaban has stated that the government will endeavour to assist the forestry industry by easing licensing, the supply of raw materials and other incentives. The government hopes that these efforts will be able to save the forestry industry.

Seeking a breakthrough

When contacted on Thursday evening, Labour and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno explained that the mediation team will be pushing for bipartite talks while seeking a breakthrough to avoid dismissals. Suparno is asking workers who wish to take part in the mediation process to be patient.

"Dismissals have their procedures, starting from a company proposal to the government, verification of the problems, the reasons, aims and inspection of companies. The dismissals are only valid after the labour offices has approved them", said Suparno.

Confederation of Prosperity Labor Union (KSBSI) President Rekson Silaban said that unity between trade unions and employers in anticipating the impact of the global crisis cannot be shirked.

"The threat of a recession is before our eyes, trade unions must no longer make a fuss about non-substantial issues. The biggest challenge at the moment is how to save companies so that they don't fall into bankruptcy and we can still work", said Silaban.

Seven companies critical Worrying news is also coming from the Nusantara Bonded Zone (KBN) in North Jakarta. The global financial crisis has started to have and affect upon the export activities of industries and factories in the KBN. The latest news is that seven garment factories orientated towards exports to the US are threatened with closure.

According to North Jakarta Mayor Effendi Anas, he will be soon reporting on the actual labour conditions in his area to Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo. This is in order to anticipate the possibility of social unrest as a consequence of company plans to carry out dismissals.

Aside from these seven companies, around 50 businesses in North Jakarta have ceased activity. Out of this total, 16 companies with a work force of as many as 9,600 employees are located in the KBN.

However the secretary of PT KBN, Sentot Yoga Tamtomo, asserted that not one company has yet closed or gone out of business in 2008. Moreover, Tamtomo claimed that he does not know about the seven companies in the KBN that are in a critical condition as a consequence of a lack of orders.

PT KBN covers three business zones, KBN Cakung with 100 investors, KBN Marunda with 40 investors and KBN Tanjung Priok with 8 investors. Around 90 percent of the investors in the three zones are garment producers, 85-90 percent of which export to the US. (ham/hrd/han/CAL)

Notes:

1. The Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB-4) signed by Labour and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris and Home Minister Mardiyanto on October 24, limits laborers' wage from exceeding the rate of economic growth and is expected to discourage local administrations from raising regional minimum wages beyond the capabilities of manufacturing firms.

[Translated by James Balowski.]

Investors pick from Indonesia's best, worst regions

Reuters - November 19, 2008

Sara Webb, Sekayu – When Indonesia shifted power from the capital, Jakarta, to the regions, investors had to start dealing with a confusing constellation of districts, some business- friendly, others downright unwelcoming.

Pick the right province or region – and South Sumatra, with its rubber and palm oil plantations, plus oil, gas and coal deposits, is considered one such area – and there are huge rewards to be reaped in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

But make the wrong choice, and investors can find that their projects stall or founder, thanks to corruption, red tape, conflicting national and local legislation, erratic power supplies, and other poor infrastructure.

"Investors want good roads, they want to be near the port, and have good infrastructure. But it's also important to be in a place where the local leader understands about good economic governance," said Erman Rahman, director for economic programs at the Asia Foundation in Jakarta.

The Asia Foundation, in conjunction with a local research agency, recently assessed and ranked 243 Indonesian districts and cities according to their business-friendliness, providing a sort of Michelin Guide for investors, domestic and foreign.

With direct elections at the district level, Indonesians can put pressure on those local governments that perform poorly, or reelect those that deliver results.

Identifying the provinces, districts, or cities with good governance is crucial for investors in a country like Indonesia, where rampant corruption and befuddling bureaucracy have long held economic growth in check.

Already, a handful of local leaders, for example in Java's Sragen district, Bali's Jembrana, and South Sumatra's Musi Banyu Asin, have acquired a reputation for improving governance, by introducing one-stop licensing systems that cut down the opportunities for graft, and by investing in infrastructure.

Thanks to the efforts of some local leaders, as well as to the anti-graft agency known by its local acronym KPK, Indonesia is beginning to make some headway in dealing with corruption, a problem that permeates almost every level of society.

Free healthcare, education

As regent of Musi Banyu Asin, Alex Noerdin used royalties from local commodities producers to fund much-needed facilities.

The district capital, Sekayu, now has a new hospital, and uses an insurance scheme to provide free health care and treatment for local residents, whose complaints typically range from malaria to traffic or workplace accidents.

There's also a new school, providing free education, plus new sports facilities. Noerdin even brought in a British football coach and Russian water polo coach to encourage children and teenagers to take up sports, and built roads, bridges, and other crucial infrastructure.

"People didn't believe I could do it, but I proved I could," Noerdin said in a recent interview.

This part of Sumatra has attracted big names such as US oil giant Conoco Phillips, Indonesian explorer PT Medco Energi, state coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, and plantations group PT London Sumatra.

Some investors have welcomed Noerdin's pro-business approach. Noerdin was "very supportive and we have heard a lot of other positive things from investors in the area," said Bret Mattes, chief executive of oil and gas firm Star Energy, which has started exploration at the Sekayu block in Musi Banyu Asin.

"Our key drivers for securing Sekayu were technical, but it certainly makes any investment decision easier when the regency and the province are supportive of investment and investors, and have a vision for growth and improvement."

Power struggle

Overall, Musi Banyu Asin ranked fourth out of 243 places for economic governance in the Asia Foundation survey.

When the post of governor for South Sumatra came up earlier this year, Noerdin stood for election and won on promises to extend his free healthcare and education to the whole province.

He said he is considering offering tax breaks and other incentives to attract investors to South Sumatra, and that he wants to tackle the region's power shortages by bringing in Chinese power plant firms. "The most important thing that investors need is consistency of regulations," Noerdin said.

Decentralization, ushered in during 2001 as part of Indonesia's political and economic reforms, has, however, also paved the way for legal uncertainty due to conflicts and discrepancies between central government and local government, particularly over the mining, forestry, and environmental laws.

Archipelago Resources, a U.K.-based gold miner, is one investor that has run into trouble at the regional level.

Its Indonesian unit, PT Meares Soputan Mining, got approval from Jakarta to start commercial production at its Toka Tindung gold mine in North Sulawesi. But it still hasn't been given permission by the provincial government due to environmental concerns, effectively freezing investment of nearly $200 million.

"While central government remains a key part of the overall story, local governments now have a major role in allocating public spending and establishing the regulatory environment," the Asia Foundation said in the governance report.

"Some local governments have used this new freedom to create dynamic business environments, others have struggled with financial management, legal uncertainty, and poor strategic planning," it said, warning that in some cases, the power shift has helped turn mayors and local leaders into "little kings."

[Additional reporting by Telly Nathalia in Jakarta; Editing by Bill Tarrant.]

Rupiah still within 'favorable range'

Jakarta Post - November 20, 2008

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The rupiah's recent heavy falls against the US dollar do not pose a threat yet to the business community, with the fluctuations still within an acceptable range, businesspeople say.

On Wednesday, the rupiah slumped to 12,350 per dollar, its lowest level since September 1998, before recovering to 12,100 at 5:02 p.m. here in Jakarta, Bloomberg reported. The rupiah has dropped by about 20 percent in the past month.

On Jan. 1, the rupiah traded at 9,153 per dollar, central bank figures show, putting the currency's fall at about 30 percent for the year.

"(The rupiah's fluctuation) was predicted earlier," said Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) and owner of the Gemala Group conglomerate. "We have calculated the rupiah at about 12,000 (per dollar) for imports."

However, Sofjan said the business community was concerned about the currency hitting the 15,000 level, and called on the central bank and the government to take all measures to cushion the rupiah from reaching this critical figure.

He suggested the central bank allow the rupiah to fluctuate according to the market, and intervene when necessary.

Indonesia has $50.58 billion in foreign exchange reserves as of Oct. 31.

Bank Indonesia governor Boediono said earlier the bank would maintain the rupiah at a "realistic level". The current level favors exporters by making their products more competitive in the international market, but is hammering local importers.

Thomas Dharmawan, chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Producers Association (Gapmmi), said importers of raw materials remained relatively immune to the impact of the rupiah's decline because the prices of the goods were also plummeting.

"Prices of commodities such as wheat and soybean have fallen by about 50 percent. This compensates for the 30 to 40 percent drop in the rupiah," he said.

"Besides, as other world currencies also fall against the dollar, the prices of their products drop. Only imports from the United States are getting more expensive because of the strengthening dollar."

He said only those companies that directly sold imported finished products in the domestic market would feel the pinch of the rupiah woes. Gapmmi expects the rupiah to bounce back to about 10,500 per dollar by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said people and businesses needed to adjust to the rupiah's current level when planning economic activities. "The problem now is not a shortage of liquidity (in dollars), but of people who don't want to trade because of a lack of confidence (in other currencies)," she said.

Mulyani added world finance ministers would try to restore the confidence by pushing dollar transactions while the US pumps more dollars into the global market. "In the end, the combination of these efforts will ease the pressure on the local currency," she said.

She pointed out that all other global currencies were tumbling against the dollar, with the rupiah still inside a "relatively safe border" compared with other currencies. Australia, India, Singapore and Thailand have all seen their currencies drop by about 40 percent this year, Mulyani added.

Rupiah tips 10-year low before Central Bank intervenes

Jakarta Post - November 19, 2008

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The rupiah bounced back from its weakest level in 10 years on Tuesday as demand for the corporate sector to pay off any year-end overseas obligations begins to build.

The local currency fell to 12,225 per US dollar, its weakest level since September 1998, before regaining some ground to 11,850 at 5:24 p.m. in Jakarta on speculation the central bank had intervened to halt its decline, Bloomberg reported.

Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Boediono said the central bank would maintain the rupiah at a "realistic level". "With the current level, we expect people to start releasing their dollars," Boediono said, without providing details.

Boediono attributed the fall primarily to a high demand for dollars from the corporate sector, including state companies, in mid-November.

Banks have asked Indonesian importers to provide more advanced payments in dollars for the issuance of a letter of credit (L/C) as banks tighten up their financing in the face of the liquidity shortage.

An L/C is a document, usually issued by banks for use in trade financing, that promises payment to a beneficiary against complying documents.

"There are several factors contributing to the decline in the rupiah. In November, there is a high demand for dollars from companies, including those organizing the Islamic haj," Bank Danamon chief economist Anton Gunawan said.

"Meanwhile, importers are being asked to provide more funds for L/Cs as banks are more careful in issuing them. And the central bank's recent regulation, to come into effect on Dec. 1, makes speculators hoard dollars," he said.

The BI regulation requires Indonesian citizens or firms to provide a tax file number and evidence of justifying transactions when purchasing more than $100,000 in foreign currencies via spot, forward or derivative transactions.

Foreigners can purchase foreign currencies above the amount only through spot transactions.

Anton said he expected the rupiah to strengthen against the dollar as the regulation took effect.

"There is always a possibility the rupiah may touch Rp 15,000 per dollar, but will it stay at that level for a long time? I doubt it," Anton said, adding Indonesia's economy remained fundamentally strong. Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $50.58 billion on Oct. 31, are deemed sufficient for the central bank to intervene in the market.

"Foreign exchange reserves are related to imports. And our imports are likely to slow (in the coming months), meaning that we will have enough reserves," Anton said.

Of greater concern to Indonesia is the impact of the drop in the rupiah on the real sector, as the country will start to feel the effects of imported inflation, which is a major threat to the economy.

"Foreign and local investors may shift their money to other countries if the rupiah keeps devaluating. BI and the government need to calm the market," Anton said.

Businesses have demanded the government provide a full guarantee of bank deposits to avoid a bank run to move deposits to overseas banks that have offered the guarantee. Demand is intensifying with the rupiah's ongoing fluctuations against the dollar.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Boediono have repeatedly refused to comment on the issue.

Economic growth slowest in 6 quarters

Jakarta Post - November 18, 2008

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia's third quarter economy grew at the slowest speed in six quarters as slumping commodity prices cut export revenues and the global economic slowdown reduced demand for Indonesian products.

Between July and September, Southeast Asia's largest economy, grew by 6.1 percent against the same period in 2007, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Monday.

"It can be said that there was no increase in exports (in the third quarter of 2008 from the previous three months). But the economic growth of other countries is slowing as well," BPS chairman Rusman Heriawan.

Exports were declining as major importers cut demand in line with with the global economic downturn, the agency said.

Between July and September, the economy was supported by private consumption (57.8 percent), investment (27.5 percent), and government spending (8.5 percent), while net export and imports contributed almost nothing.

Contributors of Indonesia's GDP (in percentage)

Items: Q3 2007 | Q3 2008 Private consumption: 61.7 | 57.8 Government spending: 7.8 | 8.5 Investment: 24.7 | 27.5 Inventory change: 0.8 | 0.5 Statistical discrepancy: 1.7 | 5.8 Exports: 29.0 | 28.6 Subtracted by imports: 25.7 : 28.7

Source: Central Statistics Agency (BPS)

"September represented the peak of economic activities as people's spending rose due to an increase in income," Rusman said.

In September, private consumption rose as people spent more money during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan and ahead of the Islamic Idul Fitri holiday, which took place on Oct. 1.

The transportation and communications sector contributed to the highest growth at 17.1 percent during the third quarter, compared to the same period last year, while the mining sector had the lowest growth at 1.6 percent.

In the first nine months of 2008, Indonesia's economy expanded by 6.3 percent, with the gross domestic product valued at Rp 3,705.3 trillion (US$310.72 billion).

Rusman said Indonesia's GDP would likely exceed Rp 5,000 trillion by the end of the year.

It is estimated that per capita income will reach $2,250 per person per year by the end of the year based on the assumption that GDP would reach Rp 5,000 trillion, with a population of 228.5 million people and an average currency exchange rate of Rp 9,700 per dollar, according to Rusman.

Rusman believed the economy would slow further in the last quarter of 2008, but was still capable of achieving full-year growth of slightly above 6 percent.

"Although the economy is likely to slow to below 6 percent in the fourth quarter (of 2008), overall economic growth will still be above 6 percent for the whole year," he said.

The government has said it will cut the price of subsidized Premium fuel by Rp 500 per liter from Rp 6,000 to Rp 5,500 starting Dec. 1. with the BPS estimating that the cut will help raise people's purchasing power.

Central bank governor Boediono said Indonesia's growth was far better than that of many other countries. "I think we need to be aware for the fourth quarter. But growth in 2008 will be quite good," he said.

Finance Ministry head of fiscal policy Anggito Abimanyu said the ministry expected to record about 6.2 percent growth by the year's end, estimating the economy would expand by "less than 6 percent" in the last quarter of 2008.

Regarding projected economic growth for 2009, the BPS said growth would be less than 6 percent as pessimism clouded businesses and the government. "A 6 percent growth is the maximum," Rusman said.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said Indonesia's economy may slow to as low as 5 percent in 2009 as the world economy feels the wider impact of the recession.

Analysis & opinion

Obama's Indonesia test

Wall Street Journal - November 20, 2008

Democrats on Capitol Hill are obstructing military ties

With all eyes peeled for clues to President-elect Barack Obama's foreign policy, here's an issue to watch: ties between the Pentagon and Indonesia's military. It sounds low-profile, but it's important to American security interests. And to look out for national security on this issue, the incoming Obama Administration will need to stand down liberal Senators and interest groups.

At issue is Democratic obstruction of military ties with Indonesia. Washington has long used such ties to alliance- building effect. Since the 1960s, the US has worked with Indonesian officers in a variety of exchanges ranging from short courses at military colleges to joint training exercises. These programs help Indonesians gain technical expertise as well as learn key values, such as observing human rights and respecting civilian control. In return, the US develops relationships with the officers who lead the military of the world's largest Muslim-majority democracy.

But these programs have fallen victim to liberal interests in Washington. Groups such as the New York-based East Timor and Indonesia Action Network and Amnesty International object to offering military assistance to countries with bad human-rights records. These groups have found allies among Democrats in Congress who are still trying to block improving ties.

Indonesia's military has certainly had human-rights problems in the past. Washington's relationship with Jakarta was first scaled back in the 1990s amid atrocities in East Timor. But since the downfall of President Suharto in 1998, the Indonesian military has made progress on the humanitarian front. President Bush recognized this when he normalized military relations in 2005. Australia and Britain have resumed all military cooperation they had suspended over earlier rights concerns.

That's smart policy given Indonesia's role as a key ally in the global war on terror. Radical groups linked to al Qaeda such as Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf have targeted Indonesia and used its territory as a staging ground for attacks elsewhere. Jemaah Islamiyah's October 2002 attack in Bali killed 202, including American tourists. Jakarta needs US help to suppress the terrorists in its midst. Cutting off ties was shortsighted in the 1990s; after September 11 it's negligent.

Undeterred, Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy (Vermont) and Russ Feingold (Wisconsin) sent a letter in April to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "to express opposition" to US training with Indonesian military units. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees State Department activities, Mr. Leahy has used his influence to stymie military cooperation, even threatening to cut off Indonesia-related spending.

Mr. Leahy's primary concern is Indonesia's elite special-forces unit, Kopassus, which his office says was at the forefront of human-rights abuses in Timor and has since made little progress in humanitarian reform. Yet since 1998, Jakarta has removed many senior Kopassus leaders from their positions for abuses in Timor and elsewhere. Its current officers have passed vetting by the US embassy in Jakarta. More contact with US officers would help strengthen human-rights values.

Meanwhile, this issue is starting to impinge on US-Indonesia ties. In February, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited Indonesia, pledging full military support. The State Department canceled joint military exercises with Kopassus two months later, under pressure from Senator Leahy. In retaliation, Jakarta has stopped cooperating in US counternarcotics efforts in the region.

Now Mr. Obama will need to decide the next step. He can give in to liberal interest groups and Capitol Hill Democrats and allow a critical US alliance to falter. Or he can put pressure on elements of his base to repair a strategically important relationship with a country where he spent part of his childhood and with which he says he feels a special bond. How his Administration handles this issue will say a lot about the tenor of his foreign policy.

Censored by the mob

Jakarta Post Editorial - November 20, 2008

Mob power has taken over the role that the state once played in our recent past in curtailing our freedoms – from freedom of speech and expression and freedom of thought to freedom of religion.

But what is so tragic is that now we are supposed to be living in a democracy, and the state is failing miserably in protecting these freedoms – to the point of even being complicit to some of the mob actions.

Acclaimed film director Eros Djarot became the latest victim of this suppression of freedom. Work on his latest production, Lastri, has been halted because of threats and intimidations from groups who claimed the movie would spread communism.

Eros and his crew were in the Central Java city of Surakarta last week to shoot the movie. Although he had secured permission from the National Police headquarters in Jakarta, the Surakarta Police decided to withhold their permission, citing objections from local people.

As Eros explains, Lastri is the love story of a woman, who as a member of Gerwani (the Indonesian Women's Movement), was caught up in the political turmoil of the time. Gerwani is the women's wing of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) which was outlawed in 1966 after it was accused of an abortive coup in Sept. 1965.

Eros, a nationalist at heart, denies that the film would in anyway propagate communism, but insisted that he needed the historical background of the story and the Surakarta scene to produce the film.

Why this overt concern about a communist revival more than 40 years after the military crushed the PKI and all its affiliated organizations – including Gerwani – baffles the mind.

As a political ideology, communism is as good as dead in this country – and around the world for that matter with China and Vietnam decidedly pro-market capitalist economies.

True, communism, and all its teachings, is still outlawed in this country based on a 1966 decree of the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly. However, students of history, politics and most other social science subjects at any respectable university in this country inevitably would have to read Karl Marx, and hence some exception to the decree has been tolerated for academic purposes.

But what is most irritating about this whole affair is that these groups, who claim to represent the interests of the people in Surakarta, could pass judgment on a film – claiming it to be communist propaganda material – not only before they saw the movie, but before it was even produced.

And why the Surakarta police are going along with them and withholding the permission makes this whole affair a comedy of one tragic error after another.

And why did Eros need permission to shoot the movie in the first place? The very notion that he sought police permission in itself is already a violation of the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech.

But then we have seen this all before in a country that continually professes to be the world's third largest democracy simply because it holds free and fair elections.

Democracy is not only measured by how free your elections are – although this certainly helps.

Democracy is also measured by how much freedom people actually enjoy, and what the state does to ensure that all the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution – including freedom of speech, association, religion and others – are fully respected.

In this regard, the state is failing, and has instead allowed on so many occasions for the power of the mob to prevail at the expense of our freedoms.

The police, whose job it is to ensure that these freedoms are respected and defended, in most cases either just stand by and watch, or even became complicit with the mob. When they do act, it is usually too late. No wonder – reforms aside – the police's image in the public eye remains low.

So what else is new? Eros is just the latest victim of such a display of mob power.

There was the peaceful demonstration for pluralism in Jakarta's Monas area that was violently attacked by a mob using Islamic banners. Fortunately, the perpetrators are now in jail, but one still feels that the police could have prevented the attack in the first place.

There were the recurring attacks against the followers of the Ahmadiyah sect and against their property. Again, the police evacuated the Ahmadiyah followers to safety in order to allow the attackers to vandalize and burn down their houses, school and mosque.

There were the attacks on churches and even Christian schools in Jakarta and other Javanese towns by mobs who resented their presence in their neighborhoods. The police, in the majority of the cases, were nowhere to be seen.

And recently, the House of Representatives endorsed an anti- pornography bill that essentially sanctions vigilante groups to enforce whatever they deem as pornography.

If we allow this to go one, pretty soon Indonesia will be a country ruled by mobs. Then we will have to rethink our claim to be one of the most democratic countries in the world.

Battle lines drawn for Indonesian polls

Asia Times - November 19, 2008

Tom McCawley, Jakarta – Two old rivals are already jostling in Indonesia's biggest political battle, the presidential elections which take place every five years, with the next scheduled for September 2009. Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has vowed to re-contest the seat he won from his former boss, Megawati Sukarnoputri. Next year, she will have a chance to win it back.

A flurry of polls in recent months has sketched a likely showdown between the two in an election likely to echo the themes of 2004's historic vote, when Indonesians directly elected their president for the first time in the country's 59-year post- colonial history.

Yudhoyono, 59, a reformist former army general, has since had to face the agonizing complexities of running the world's third- largest democracy. In stump speeches in villages, cities and TV interviews, he vowed on the 2004 hustings to create jobs, spark economic growth and crack down on endemic graft. In part, he has delivered as promised.

But as international oil prices spiked earlier this year, he was forced to cut subsidies and hike energy prices several times, causing grassroot voters to feel economic pain. "Tell the president the earthquake hurts," said one Yogyakarta night stall owner in the aftermath of the massive 2006 earthquake that claimed thousands of lives, "but inflation and fuel price hikes hurt worse".

Megawati, 61, chairwoman of parliament's second-largest party, the PDI-P, has had four years to ponder the lessons of her last electoral defeat. Other old faces from 2004 promise to make an appearance, including two former generals closely linked to former strongman president Suharto, but they are unlikely to pose a serious challenge to the two front-runners.

Indonesia has a confusing, multi-stage election process. In April 2009, voters will choose candidates for the regional and national parliaments from national parties. Months later, they will vote for a president and a second-round election will follow if no candidate wins 50% of the vote. The myriad parties and candidates makes for a dazzling, complex web of horse-trading and political intrigue. In 2004, the vote went to a second round, with Yudhoyono winning 60.9% over Megawati's 39.1%.

New rules set in October will further complicate the process. Parliament introduced a 25% threshold of the popular vote, or 20% of parliament's seats for a party or coalition of parties to nominate a presidential candidate. Yudhoyono is thus likely to need an alliance with another major party, as his Democrat party only scored 8% in the 2004 elections. Yudhoyono confirmed in September that he would stand for re-election and coyly said it was "likely" incumbent Vice President Josef Kalla, chairman of the powerful Golkar party, would be his running mate.

Indonesia's still nascent science of polling puts Yudhoyono and Kalla as the likely frontrunners for the 2009 election. Polls have consistently showed the two creeping back from second place in mid-year, after the government hiked fuel prices, to a narrow lead in November. A survey by one think-tank, the Indonesian Research and Development Institute (IRDI), released in November, concluded that only Yudhoyono and Megawati had a realistic chance of winning the election. The IRDI survey listed Yudhoyono as the most popular, with 33% of 2,000 respondents in 33 provinces backing him. The poll listed Megawati's popularity at 17.9%.

Yudhoyono's Democrat Party is also gaining voters, according to another poll from the respected Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI). The poll showed the party's approval rating had risen to 16.8%, just outpacing parliament's two largest parties, Golkar with 21.5% and the PDI-P with 20%. The LSI poll said Yudhoyono's personal popularity, which rose to 62% in October-November from 45% in June, helped boost his party's image.

LSI director Saiful Mudjani was quoted as saying the rise was mostly due to the Democrat party's image as graft-free, led by Yudhoyono's clean image. His government has also overseen a major anti-graft campaign which has netted and jailed several high- level government officials on corruption-related charges.

Inflated expectations

There were exceptionally high hopes for the US-educated Yudhoyono after his landslide victory in 2004. With two ministerial portfolios under his belt in previous administrations and a US master's degree, he was the best-qualified president on paper since Bacaruddin Jusuf Habibie in 1998.

He has since raised Indonesia's profile abroad, overseeing a restoration of military ties with the US in 2005 after 14 years of restrictions. Under Yudhoyono, too, Indonesia has had a stronger global diplomatic presence, taking a seat on the United Nations Security Council and winning over powerful allies in Washington and the Middle East.

But governing has proved harder than campaigning. Rival parties in October 2004 circulated insulting text messages calling Yudhoyono a "chicken vegetable", which translated loosely into criticism that he was weak and indecisive. Yudhoyono's fledgling Democrat party only won 8% of the popular vote, propelling him into a sometimes uneasy alliance with the military-linked Golkar and several other parties.

Since then, bickering between parliament's 11 parties has often delayed lawmaking, disrupting bills ranging from the recent anti-pornography law to a long controversial mining bill, which was first tabled in 2001. Meanwhile, the outlying regions have pushed for more autonomy and control over local resources, straining relations with Jakarta.

Yet policy matters outside of Yudhoyono's control, namely the steady rise of international oil prices, which peaked at US$147 in mid-July, have had the biggest impact on his administration's vacillating popularity. Even strongman Suharto, who maintained an authoritarian grip on power during his 32-year rule, was reluctant to cut subsidies on fuel and power.

Yet when oil prices began rising to record levels, Yudhoyono had little choice but to reluctantly approve a series of price rises, which started in 2005 and culminated in May this year. Public opinion polls this year showed a direct link between domestic inflation rates and Yudhoyono's public approval ratings. Some analysts believe that the recent depreciation of the rupiah, which has lost 20% against the US dollar since September, will lead to a new surge in imported inflation in 2009.

Yudhoyono and Kalla (if he accepts the nomination) won't be short of economic ammunition going into the campaign season. In line with the global economy, Indonesia's economic growth is forecast to fall in 2009, but only slightly, dropping from about 6.1% this year to around 5%. The two leaders are also expected to campaign on their high-profile successes, including bringing peace to Aceh province in 2005 and apprehending dozens of Islamist terrorists whose activities had undermined confidence in the economy. An aggressive anti-graft campaign has netted dozens of high-profile officials and even former cabinet ministers.

A major test for Megawati will be whether she can cash in on Yudhoyono's failings. Economic growth of 5% will not be enough to create enough new jobs for new labor market entrants. Her party has a massive local reach throughout Indonesia's 17,000 islands, provinces and regencies, where there is still much resentment towards Jakarta. And Megawati's pedigree as daughter of Indonesia's founding president Sukarno is still a drawcard, particularly in central Java.

Yet critics claim she still maintains a sense that the presidency should be hers by birthright and that she has not shaken her famous aloofness. That could complicate her ability to form alliances, while Yudhoyono's presumed Golkar link will bolster his partnering power. The LSI poll listed former military chief Wiranto as the third most popular candidate with a 5% approval rating. Wiranto, 61, ran a polished campaign in 2004, employing foreign election consultants and a slick media barrage. A former aide of president Suharto, he won 26.2 million votes in the first round of the 2004 elections, or some 15% of the vote. Aides in his new Hanura party say they are confident of winning 15% of the legislative votes this time as well.

Another Suharto-era general, former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto, features in polls as the fourth- or fifth-most popular candidate with a 4.7% approval rating. Prabowo, 57, has had to fight off smears to his reputation due to allegations of human-rights abuses during his command. Yet the presidential aspirant has used advertising effectively, according to the LSI survey, with his Gerindra party enjoying a large national power base among market traders and farmers.

Yet much will depend on the economic mood of market traders, farmers and others. Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, was hovering at seven-year lows of around 11,800 to the dollar this week. The weakness reflects both investors' nervousness over the global and US financial crises and a local scramble for dollars to pay off debts. The value of Indonesia's commodity exports has also taken a hammering, driving down foreign exchange earnings.

Both trends are expected to drive up inflation in the year ahead. The major concern for Yudhoyono, who has a PhD in rural economics from the Bogor Agricultural Institute, will be creating jobs and curbing inflation, tasks which will be complicated by an emerging global economic downturn.

[Tom McCawley is a Jakarta-based freelance journalist.]

Media-savvy ending for Bali bombers

Asia Times - November 18, 2008

Marwaan Macan-Markar, Jakarta – In many crowded neighborhoods of this sprawling city families sat glued to their television sets late into the night of November 8, watching updates on the execution of the three men convicted of the 2002 nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali which left 202 dead.

Among those drawn to the weekend media spectacle was Saida, who runs a furniture business in Jakarta. "Many, many people watched TV that Saturday night to understand what was going on," said the 35-year-old single mother, who, like many Indonesians, has no second name. "There were five people in our house. We went to sleep at two."

This was not the first night she and her neighbors had followed this routine, which ended early on Sunday morning with the execution by firing squad of the three men on the Nusakambangan island prison. "We kept watching the TV for a week, day and night, following the programs about these men." Saida added.

Such intense coverage, led by both the broadcast and print media, has generated a bout of soul-searching in the days after the execution. Sections of the media are expressing regret at the manner in which stories about the Bali bombers – Imam Samudra, 38, and the brothers Amrozi Nurhaqim, 47, and Ali Ghufron, 48 – transformed them into heroes.

"Almost every day for the past month Amrozi and friends received extensive media coverage normally reserved for celebrities facing marital problems or sex scandals," commented The Jakarta Post in a Monday editorial entitled "Good riddance."

"They have become instant celebrities in their own right. Only in Indonesia can a convicted terrorist become a media darling," said the newspaper.

Media excesses included interviews and press conferences given by the death-row trio in a high security prison, stories about their families, and details about one of the Muslim militants getting married even as he awaited the bullets. It was an avenue that gave the condemned men a platform to project themselves as martyrs.

"Originally we had a naive view that if we gave them the space to speak, they would have used the occasion to express remorse," Endy Bayuni, the chief editor of the Jakarta Post said in an interview. "But they used the media access this into a political circus. They openly justified their brutal acts."

Amrozi was dubbed the "smiling assasin" for the fixed grin which appeared on his face as he combined displays of religious piety with threats of violence and a total disregard for the bombers' "infidel" victims during a series of televised court appearances.

Even at the trio's last press conference on October 1, he defiantly threatened: "If I am executed, later there will be retribution," reported the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The coverage has provoked some analysts to raise the issue of ethics in Indonesia, which has one of the freest and most independent media in Southeast Asia. "Many of us think it was unethical for the media, especially TV, to glorify these men," says Dewi Fortuna Anwar, director for programs and research at the Habibie Center, a respected Indonesian think-tank. "They were able to get their militant messages out on prime time."

The impact can already be felt among sections of the public, who have began to say that the three men are martyrs, she said in an interview. "We are proud of our free media, but the media have a role to play in building ethics. It is not the government's role to control the media."

But the television stations that fed the national audience with accounts of the Bali bombers say they were driven by the news value of an event which had taken on dramatic qualities as the public were kept in suspense about the exact date of the execution. The executions were postponed many times, often without a clear explanation by the authorities.

"After the [US president-elect] Barack Obama story in the US, this was the biggest. There was no way we could avoid such news; we could not turn away from it," says Rullah Malik, executive producer of Metro TV, a national broadcaster, which had three reporting teams on the ground covering the story. "We had several programs covering the three men."

He said the station's policy was to "tell it straight, to show that these men are criminals but that they also have families and neighborhoods," he said. "We also wanted to show that their acts are not justified in Islam. It is not jihad as Islam describes it."

The Bali bombers are the first to be executed under Indonesia's tough 2003 anti-terrorism law. It follows a five-year court case, where the men admitted to planning and assisting acts of terror unleashed at nightspots popular with foreign tourists in 2002.

This operation is reported to have been funded by the Jemaah Islamiya, a network of militant Muslims in a country where the majority adhere to a moderate and tolerant form of the faith. That version of Islam was on display in the wake of the media coverage for the bombers, with leading religious leaders making pronouncements that the condemned trio were anything but martyrs.

On the island of Bali, which has a rich Hindu tradition, the executions of the three men who had caused so much pain and suffering with their violent acts, were received with an air of calmness. "The Balinese believe in karma. They did not display any strong reaction," says Hira Jhamtani, a resident of the island and an environmental researcher. "There was a sense of relief, though."

"In fact there was a group that conducted a multi-faith prayer for the victims of Bali as well as for the souls of the Bali bombers," she said. "To them it was a tragic episode that is now over."

But even after their deaths public interest in the three killers did not appear to be sated. Immediately after their executions, TV stations carried live images of hundreds of people receiving the killers' bodies with chants of Allahu Akbar (God is Great) and banners proclaiming them as martyrs, reported The Straits Times. Republika, a widely-read Muslim newspaper, also carried at least one editorial stating that the executions were cruel and that those who carried it out would be punished, reported the newspaper.

A website celebrating them as martyrs also crashed on November 11 due to an overload of visitors after it posted leaked close-up photos of their bodies in funeral shrouds, reported AFP. (Inter Press Service)