Suherdjoko, Semarang, Central Java – A mass rally attended by around 3,000 people to show solidarity to Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar ran safely and peacefully on Friday.

Centered at An-Nuur Mosque in Mungkid, Magelang regency, Central Java, the rally saw no security disruptions and was attended by people from various areas across Java.

Around 2,800 National Police members, supported by personnel from the Indonesian Military and other security units, tightly secured the solidarity action.

After performing Friday prayers, representatives of the rally's participants read out a joint statement, in which they called for an end to violence against the Rohingya people. They ended the demonstration by praying for the safety of their Muslim brothers and sisters in the Rakhine state.

The rally's participants left the An-Nuur Mosque one at a time with tight escort from security officers.

As previously reported, Muslim groups planned to stage a Rohingya solidarity rally at the Borobudur Temple area, which is only around two kilometers from the An-Nuur Mosque. The Central Java Police later asked them to move their rally to the mosque, which is located on Jl.Soekarno-Hatta, Mungkid.

"I come here to express my support and empathy to the Rohingya people," said Hariyadi, a rally participant.

Although the rally plan once triggered worries about security disruptions, the Borobudur Temple was open on Friday. Both local and foreign tourists could enjoy the beauty of the Buddhist temple without experiencing any security problems.

In their security precautions, the police designated Borobudur Temple as the highest security area, called Ring 1. The An-Nuur Mosque was designated Ring 2. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/09/peaceful-rohingya-solidarity-rally-held-near-borobudur-temple.html

Medan Muslims stage mass rally for Rohingya

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2017

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan, North Sumatra – Thousands of Muslims from various organizations, joining hands with the Care for Rohingya Action (APRO) group, staged a rally in front of the Borobudur Temple vihara (Buddhist monastery) on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Medan, North Sumatra, on Friday to protest the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

The rally began after Friday prayers at the Medan Grand Mosque, where participants began their march to the vihara.

Initiated by the North Sumatra chapter of the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), the rally ran peacefully under tight security of more than 1,000 Indonesian Military and National Police personnel.

Rafdinal of Indonesia's second largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah said the rally to the Borobudur vihara aimed to call on Buddhist monks in the nunnery to help convey the wishes of the country's Muslim people, who hoped for Buddhist leaders in Myanmar to take action to end violence against the Rohingya people.

"We are calling on all Buddhist monks at this vihara to immediately convey our stance to their colleague monks in Myanmar that they need to stop the violence against the Rohingya Muslims," said Rafdinal.

Medan Police operation division head Adj. Sr. Comr. Donny S. Sembiring said the solidarity rally for the Rohingya in Medan ran smoothly and peacefully. "We readied 1,700 police personnel to secure the rally." (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/08/medan-muslims-stage-mass-rally-for-rohingya.html

West Papua

Fallout from Indonesian officials confronting media

Radio New Zealand International - September 14, 2017

There's more fallout from a confrontation between media and Indonesian officials at the Pacific Island Forum Leaders summit in Samoa's capital last week after the topic of West Papua was brought up.

A protest supporting West Papua's independence was staged during the summit outside the Forum's venue which upset Jakarta.

Sela Jane Hopgood reports.

Transcript

The co-ordinator of the Samoa First union, Jerome Mika was the person who led the West Papua protest during the Forum summit in Apia. Mr Mika disagreed with comments that followed from the Indonesian government representative, Franzalbert Joku, that the forum was not the place for the Papua issue to be raised.

"The theme of the whole Pacific Leaders Forum was about looking at leadership and being able to find ways to be able to help and prosper our Pacific region, so I think it's important for us to be dealing with issues of West Papua especially when in Samoa we had our independence in 1962 and West Papua's been colonised since 1960s and I think it's important for us to stand up for our Pacific brothers and sisters and we ask as a Pacific Leaders Forum that they consider working through putting West Papua on the decolonisation list."

Indonesia's Ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga, Tantowi Yahya, was alongside Mr Joku at the heated press conference where local journalists were taken to task. He was later asked if it was reasonable to expect Samoan and Pacific journalists not to ask questions about West Papua.

"No, it's not our authority to say that, but our concern was only that we are afraid that those quote unquote additional issues would overshadow the main objective of the conference."

He told ABC that Indonesia sees reporting from international media in regards to West Papua as unbalanced.

"In many ways what happens lately, many that speak of Papua do not really know what happens in Papua today. In other words, they are not well equipped about the information in a balance manner. They have been pampered with informations, which sometimes are fabricated news, twisted news and even hoax and we from Indonesia don't really get the right chance to tell the people about what happened."

The General Secretary for the Pacific Conference of Churches felt the comments made by Mr Joku about West Papua 'doing fine' did not make sense. Reverened Francois Pihaatae was not impressed.

"Whatever the Indonesian say, I will never, never believe that something is fine in West Papua because we have evidences that that the living out everyday, the killing of the people."

Mr Mika found Mr Joku's remarks about the state of West Papua disgusting.

"I think it's arrogant and we won't be bullied by people like the Indonesian representative and I think that it also shows just the sort of behaviour and the condescending behaviour that we are getting as Pacific when we should be standing together for our West Papua brothers and sisters. We should also be speaking out as a collective rather than as an individual."

The West Papua independence issue was not advanced at the Forum summit as hoped by supporters. But several Pacific countries plan to raise their concern about Papua to the United Nations.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201858531/fallout-from-indonesian-officials-confronting-media

Special Autonomy provides for rights justice, says Papuan

Radio New Zealand International - September 14, 2017

A member of the Papua Provincial Legislative Assembly says the Special Autonomy Law provides for a human rights court in Papua and should be pursued.

Laurenzus Kadepa, who is also part of the Legislative Council on Political, Legal and Human Rights, is among those pushing for the establishment of such a court.

Tabloid Jubi quoted him saying both the court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been mandated by the Autonomy Law which Indonesia granted Papua region in 2001. Mr Kadepa said that to date little had been done to get the court off the ground, but he suggested that was the best available option to address Papua's human rights matters.

According to him, many suspected cases of human rights violations by security apparatus that have gone through the general court or in their respective security forces units did not give a sense of justice to victims and their family.

He said the effort to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission or human rights court in Papua needs cross party support in Papua's parliament.

This was echoed by another member of the commission I in the Legislative Council, Tan Wie Long, who stressed the need for unity among all stakeholders regarding this issue.

"Victims of human rights violations must be open to anything that can contribute positively," Tan said.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/339410/special-autonomy-provides-for-rights-justice-says-papuan-legislator

Solomon Islands: Push for West Papua rights recognition successful

Tabloid JUBI - September 14, 2017

Honiara, Jubi – The Solomon Islands has successfully moved a new agenda to include human rights on any agreement Pacific Island Countries signed with Indonesia during the recent Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Milner Tozaka, moved the agenda and was supported by Vanuatu and Tonga during the recent Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Samoa.

Previously, the bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Pacific Island countries only recognised trade relations, but now human rights will be included in any relationship countries in the Pacific have with Indonesia.

In the 48th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting communique, leaders recognised the constructive engagement by the Forum countries with Indonesia with respect to elections and human rights in West Papua and Papua and to continue a dialogue in an open and constructive manner.

In an interview with Island Sun after the Leader Retreat at Taumeasina Island Resort in Apia, Samoa, Tozaka said the Solomon Islands is happy that the West Papuan issue has been included in the communique.

He said the Solomon Islands position on West Papua is still a top priority and will continue to seek further dialogue to present West Papua on top level discussion.

Tozaka said the Solomon Islands is pleased to have the support of Tonga and Vanuatu, among others, in pushing the West Papua issue to the floor for further discussion during the meeting.

More support needed

While acknowledging that the West Papua issue is in the communique, he said the issue is still a long way to achieve and that there needs to be more support.

Tozaka explained that there are a growing number of Free-West Papua movements in many countries in the Pacific region, but the road to the United Nations for presentation of ideas for West Papua depends on respective countries.

He said the present Pacific island countries who supported West Papua have no chance to go as a group to the UN.

"We try to push for a collective effort for this West Papua issue, but what we get was that, individual countries can hold dialogue with UN," Tozaka said.

He said the West Papua issue is gaining momentum given that leaders have put their vote to the West Papua issue in the communique. (Island Sun)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/solomon-islands-push-west-papua-rights-recognition-successful/

Apia confrontation highlights sensitivity over West Papua

Radio New Zealand International - September 14, 2017

Sela Jane Hopgood – A confrontation between media and Indonesian officials in Samoa last week has highlighted the depth of feelings in the region about West Papua.

Pacific Islanders are increasingly speaking out over their concern about reports of human rights abuses in Indonesia's Papua region, and the cause of West Papuan self-determination aspirations.

A protest supporting West Papua's independence was staged during the summit outside the Forum's venue in Samoa's capital Apia, which upset Jakarta.

Following the protest, Indonesia government representatives held a press conference. One of the representatives, Franzalbert Joku, told reporters in a rowdy exchange that the Forum summit was not the place for the Papua issue to be discussed. The sound of raised voices briefly drew local police to the venue of the press conference.

The coordinator of the Samoa First union who had organised the protest, Jerome Mika, later said he disagreed with Mr Joku's comments.

"The theme of the whole Pacific Leaders Forum was about looking at leadership and being able to find ways to be able to help and prosper our Pacific region." he said.

"I think it's appropriate for us to be dealing with issues of West Papua at the Forum. Samoa's independence was in 1962 and West Papua's been colonised since the 1960s.

"It's important for us to stand up for our Pacific brothers and sisters and we ask as a Pacific Leaders Forum that they consider working through putting West Papua on the decolonisation list," he said.

Indonesia's Ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga, Tantowi Yahya, was alongside Mr Joku at the heated press conference where local journalists were taken to task. The ambassador was later asked by the ABC if it was reasonable to expect Pacific journalists not to ask questions about West Papua.

"No, it's not our authority to say that, but our concern was only that we are afraid that those quote unquote additional issues would overshadow the main objective of the conference," he explained.

Mr Yahya indicated that Indonesia sees much of the reporting by international media in regards to West Papua as unbalanced.

"They [media] have been pampered with information, which sometimes are fabricated news, twisted news and even hoax and we from Indonesia don't really get the right chance to tell the people about what happened."

The General Secretary for the Pacific Conference of Churches felt the comments made by Mr Joku about West Papua 'doing fine' did not make sense. Reverend Francois Pihaatae was not impressed.

"Whatever the Indonesians say, I will never, never believe that something is fine in West Papua, because we have evidences that are going out every day that the living of these people is rough, the killing of these people is real."

At the heated Apia press conference, Mr Joku – an indigenous West Papuan – accused Pacific Islanders of being misled on a human rights situation that had largely improved.

"It's regrettable that Pacific Islanders all of the sudden want to address the Papua issue, now," he said.

"The Papua issue has been at the forefront since the late 50s and early 60s. We have seen our worst. Where the hell were the Pacific Island nations when we really needed that kind of expression and that kind of concern coming from them?"

Mr Mika was appalled by Mr Joku's remarks about Pacific Islanders raising concern about the state of West Papua. "I think it's arrogant and we won't be bullied by people like the Indonesian representative," he said.

"I think that it also shows just the sort of behaviour and the condescending behaviour that we are getting as Pacific when we should be standing together for our West Papua brothers and sisters."

The West Papua independence issue was not advanced at the Forum summit as hoped by supporters, but a number of Pacific countries plan to raise their concern about Papua to within the United Nations.

Pacific concerns are due top be heard at the annual session of the UN General Assembly which got underway this week.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/339413/apia-confrontation-highlights-sensitivity-over-west-papua

NGO blasts lenient punishment for police who killed Papuan

Radio New Zealand International - September 13, 2017

Human Rights Watch in Indonesia has expressed disappointment at a lenient punishment for four police officers involved in the killing of a West Papuan last month.

28-year-old Yulianus Pigai died and and up to 16 others were injured when police opened fire to disperse an angry crowd in the Deiyai regency of Papua province.

The incident followed the death of a local villager who was denied help from a local construction firm when he needed to get to hospital

The body of a shooting victim left in front of the Deiyai police station by relatives who called on police to take responsibility for their actions. 02 July 2017. Photo: Supplied

A National Police ethics panel inquiry into the incident found that four officers were guilty of "improper conduct" by deliberately firing on the crowd with live ammunition.

But the panel ruled the officers shouldn't face criminal prosecution. Instead, punishment was limited to demotions and public apologies.

Human Rights Watch said the "administrative wrist-slap for the officers underscores the chronic lack of accountability for abuses by Indonesian security forces in Papua".

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/339333/ngo-blasts-lenient-punishment-for-police-who-killed-papuan

Indonesian Ambassador blames 'fake news' for unbalanced reporting

ABC Pacific Beat - September 12, 2017

The Indonesian Ambassador for New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga says journalists are failing to cover Indonesia's attempts to address human rights violations in West Papua.

Mr Tantowi Yahya was involved in a confrontation with a Samoan journalist at last week's Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Summit, after the journalist interrupted an interview with questions about human rights abuses in the mainly Melanesian province.

Ambassador Yahya says Indonesia acknowledges there have been human rights violations in West Papua but that the incident in Samoa demonstrates a need for balanced perspectives and open-minded reporting.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/pacific-beat/2017-09-13/indonesian-ambassador-blames-fake-news-for/8942058

Wrist-slap for Indonesian police killing in Papua

Human Rights Watch Dispatches - September 11, 2017

Andreas Harsono – "The life of a native Papuan is worth only an apology. This is the law in Indonesia."

That lament, posted on Facebook by Papuan newspaper editor Victor Mambor, expresses the dismay felt by many Papuans at the official response to the latest police killing of an ethnic Papuan youth.

That's because the police officers implicated in the August 1 killing of 28-year-old Yulius Pigai won't face criminal charges. An Indonesian National Police ethics panel inquiry into the circumstances behind police opening fire on protesters in West Papua's remote Deiyai region ruled that four officers were guilty of "improper conduct" by deliberately firing on the crowd with live ammunition, but should not face criminal prosecution. Instead, the ethics panel ruled that punishment of the four should be limited to demotions and public apologies.

The original police account of the incident was that officers opened fire using rubber bullets on rock-throwing protesters who "ran amok" and ignored repeated demands to disperse. Police said three other protesters were wounded in the incident, allegedly sparked by the refusal of PT Putra Dewa Paniai construction company workers to transport a local villager to a hospital.

Papuan villagers at the scene said police opened fire on the protesters without warning and that, in addition to killing Pigai, they wounded seven people, including two children. After the incident, Papuan social media was rife with photographs of shell casings found on the scene of the shooting, challenging the police account that they fired only rubber bullets.

The administrative wrist-slap for the officers underscores the chronic lack of accountability for abuses by Indonesian security forces in Papua. The impunity is compounded by the government's chokehold on the ability of both Indonesian media and foreign correspondents to access and freely report from Papua. Until President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo delivers on his promises to address human rights abuses in Papua, expect apologies, not justice, for future police killings of Papuans.

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/11/wrist-slap-indonesian-police-killing-papua

Remote villagers in Papua protest about online recruitment

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2017

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Dozens of people claiming to be residents of remote villages in Papua rallied at Cenderawasih University in Jayapura on Monday, where almost 2,000 applicants took a written test to become professional supervisors in the Villagers Empowerment and Development Program.

The protesters claimed they could not apply because the Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry only accepted online applications, while their villages did not have internet access yet.

"We suggest that the minister also accept offline applications to accommodate applicants like us who live in remote areas, especially in the Central Mountains, where internet is not available yet," said Danius Wenda from Lanny Jaya.

According to him, there are many youths in the La Pago, Mee Pago and Saireri indigenous areas who hold bachelor degrees and are eligible to apply but unable to because they do not have access to the internet.

"It is a shame to see many local youths in remote regions who have decent capabilities but are jobless," he said.

The head of Papua's Villagers Empowerment Agency, Donatus Mote, echoed the concern. "The protesters' concerns should be taken into account. We have difficulty getting a cellular signal in those remote areas, let alone the internet," he said.

A total of 1,937 applicants took the written test on Monday to fill 634 vacant posts for the professional supervisor position. (bbs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/11/remote-villagers-in-papua-protest-about-online-recruitment.html

Indonesian officials response to Apia protest 'arrogant'

Radio New Zealand International - September 11, 2017

Indonesian officials have been criticised for the manner of their condemnation of a West Papua protest during the Pacific Forum summit in Apia.

A protest in support of West Papua's independence movement was held outside the venue of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders summit in Samoa's capital last week.

Subsequently, Indonesia's Ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga, Tantowi Yahya, condemned the protest in a heated press conference.

"In our perspective, talking about West Papua in this conference is not the place because from the beginning there is no agenda as such," said the ambassador who was attending the summit as part of a large Indonesian delegation.

The Samoa Observer reported that voices were raised during the conference held by Mr Tantowi and another Indonesian government representative, Franzalbert Joku, attracting the attention of police.

Mr Joku, a West Papuan, said the Forum was not the place for the Papua issue to be raised, and accused Pacific Islanders of being misled on a human rights situation that had largely improved.

"It's regrettable that Pacific Islanders all of the sudden want to address the Papua issue, now," he said.

The co-ordinator of the workers union Samoa First, Jerome Mika, who earlier led the protest, said Mr Joku's response to media in regards to West Papua was appalling. "I think it's arrogant and we won't be bullied by people like the Indonesian representative," said Mr Mika.

"It also shows just the sort of behaviour and the condescending behaviour that we're getting as a Pacific when we should be standing together for our West Papua brothers and sisters. We should also be speaking out as a collective rather than as individuals."

A Vanuatu-based West Papuan who had campaigned for independence for decades, Andy Ayamiseba, said he generally respected Mr Joku's efforts to strive for a better Papua within the Indonesian system. But Mr Ayamiseba noted Mr Joku's "amateur reaction" at the press conference.

"As far as I am concerned this explained that the Indonesian lobby in the Pacific Region has come to a dead end," Mr Ayamiseba said.

Tuilaepa defends forum leaders over West Papua

Samoa's prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has defended the brief wording about West Papua in the communique from last week's Pacific Islands Forum leaders summit.

The previous two Forum summits agreed for Pacific leaders to push Indonesia's government on the matter of human rights abuses in Papua region. However Jakarta knocked back the Forum's aim of a fact-finding mission to Papua.

Despite this, the communique from last week's summit said leaders noted "constructive engagement" with Jakarta on Papua and that they would "continue a dialogue in an open and constructive manner".

Speaking after he and fellow Pacific leaders concluded their summit, Tuilaepa denied a suggestion that the language used was weak.

"It's the most powerful wording we could find. You know, these issues are very sensitive," said the Samoan prime minister whose government recently embarked on a trade relationship with Indonesia.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Foreign Minister indicated there was concern in the Pacific Islands about the West Papua situation, and stressed the importance of keeping the lines of communication open.

According to Gerry Brownlee, engagement with Jakarta over West Papua was predominantly about human rights issues.

"Of course if you think about Timor Leste started out as being a similar dialogue with the Indonesian government and I think what it is really saying is (there's) no desire to see this escalate into out-and-out warfare," he said.

While, the Apia Forum did not advance the West Papua issue to any significant degree, regional countries with the Forum who are concerned about Papua are taking it up at the United Nations level.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/339177/indonesian-officials-response-to-apia-protest-arrogant

Deiyai case verdict: Is this a state or a flower garden?

Tabloid JUBI - September 10, 2017

Jayapura, Jubi – The verdict of Deiyai shootings' trial by the Police Commission of Police's Code of Ethics (KKEPP) against nine members of the Police or Brimob responsible for the shooting on August 1, 2017 in Oneibo, Tigi District, Deiyai, is criticized by Papuan Customary Council (DAP).

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian was urged to explain the reason for the perpetrators' verdict with only asked to give apologies.

"Is this law or flower garden state? I ask Mr. President Jokowi to order the Chief of Police to check the panel of ethics code of the Papua Police, otherwise the foreign party will come to Papua," said Secretary II of DAP, John NR Gobay to Jubi in Jayapura, Friday, (September 1)

John asserted, Indonesia is a country of law; it is not a garden of flowers whose beauty alternates according to the season. "This is a joke or a verdict? I ask the police chief to explain the verdict," Gobay said.

This light sentence, he said, is an affront to Mee's ethnic self-esteem and native Papuans (OAP). "As if shooting my younger brother Yulianus Pigai was just fine," he said irritably.

Separately, Chairman of the Special Committee Parliament Deiyai, Alfret Pakage explains, eventhough the vicm's family had received 'compensation' or 'mourn' money from the Regency's Government of Deiyai it disn't mean the provision of law to nine perpetrators elements reduced.

"I affirm that the donation from Deiyai Government was not only given to the family of victims, but also given to the security apparatus and it was witnessed by Paniai Police Chief Supriyagung," explained Alfret Pakage.

The compensation money was not to pay for the 'head of Yulianus Pigai' but the agreement was it used as 'mourn money' for the dead and medical purposes for the injured.

"The money given to the security apparatus is for security and return fare for Brimob unit from Deiyai, so again I affirm that the compensation money is not only given to the family of victims but also given to the Police and Brimob," Pakage said.

Four members of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) were found guilty in this case. All four are only sanctioned to apologize and be transferred. They are former Chief of Police Tigi Superintendent One Maing Raini and Commander of Mobile Brigade (Danton Brimob) Brigade Iptu Aslam Djafar along with two members, Ajun Inspector Dua Esra Sattun and Brigadier Chief Victor Manggaprouw.

While the other five members of Brimob are found not guilty by the consideration of having taken the police action in accordance with standard operating procedure (SOP) which refers to Article 15 Paragraph 3 of the Chief of Police Regulation No. 1 of 2009 on the Use of Strength in Police Actions. (*)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/deiyai-%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8Bcase-verdict-state-flower-garden/

Not wearing helmet, student was beaten by Nabire police

Tabloid JUBI - September 10, 2017

Nabire, Jubi – A high school student in Nabire suffered a head injury and bleeding, allegedly due to a rattan blow by one of the Nabire police's force.

The victim, Bryan Kowi, said he was with his friend Meki Wona sitting on a motorcycle in front of the Public Works Office. Because there was a cop from the direction of Anthony Junior School, they ran to the regent's office, using a motorcycle without wearing a safety helmet.

"There is police officer and hit my body and head with rattan without any words," Bryan told Jubi, Tuesday (September 5).

According to him, it was his friend who was riding a motorcycle. Rattan blows initially targeted his friend, but then it hit his head. "My head was leaking and my back was bruised and I was taken to the nearest hospital," he said.

Bryan's parents, Esther Mandosir, admitted to Jubi that his son did make mistakes, but police action has been excessive. As a result of the beating, Bryan suffered seven stitch of on his head.

"If our child broke the rules because he did not wear any helmet, so it should be arrested, but do not hit him!" he said.

According to Esther, the family had visited Nabire Police Station, but disappointed with the answers they obtained.

"We've been there (Nabire Police station) but they're only ask apology, there's no action from the leadership of the subordinates, while according to my pediatrician my son is seriously injured," she said.

Until the news is written, there is no response from the police when Jubi try to confirm. (*)

Source: http://tabloidjubi.com/eng/not-wearing-helmet-student-beaten-nabire-police/

LIPI, Kopassus team up for biodiversity exploration

Jakarta Post - September 9, 2017

Theresia Sufam, Bogor, West Java – Scientists from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences' (LIPI) Biology Research Center and the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) have joined hands to explore the biodiversity of forests across Indonesia during this year's Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) expedition.

The 2017 NKRI Papua South Corridor Exhibition aims to discover new species of flora and fauna.

LIPI deputy chairperson for Biodiversity Sciences, Enny Sudarmonowati, said many islands Indonesian islands were rich with biodiversity that has yet to be documented.

She added that the involvement of Kopassus in the mission had reassured participating scientists of their safety and allowed them to enter areas that were difficult to reach.

"We have conducted joint exploration activities with Kopassus personnel in forests in Maluku, Papua, Sulawesi, Sumatra and Sumba [East Nusa Tenggara]," Enny said on Thursday during a public expose of the results of LIPI's biology research projects.

The event is part of the Bioresources Science Week Fair held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of LIPI's Biology Research Center.

"We have found many rare and unique plants that can potentially be used as herbal medicine or ornamental plants. One of the rare plants is an orchid species in Maluku, which is currently being identified by orchid scientists at the Bogor Botanical Gardens," Enny said.

The Papua South Corridor Expedition is the seventh NKRI expedition. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/09/lipi-kopassus-team-up-for-biodiversity-exploration.html

Indonesia says protesters in Samoa should have had govt approval

Radio New Zealand International - September 8, 2017

Indonesia's Ambassador to Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand, Tantowi Yahya, says protesters supporting West Papua independence should have sought a government permit of approval to stage the action.

At least 30 local people supporting the West Papua independence movement took part in a peaceful protest this week in front of the hotel where the Pacific Island Forum leaders summit is held in Samoa.

A member of Mr Yahya's delegation also accused one senior journalist of asking provoking questions in support of the West Papua issue. The Ambassador said the reporter's questions were based on outdated information.

West Papua was one of the issues raised by the civil society delegation in this week's Forum leaders meeting. But Ambassador Yahya said the issue of Papua was not on the agenda at this Forum meeting.

"First it will not bring any relevant issues which connects to the agenda and the second, it's kind of, in our perspective talking about Papua in this conference is not in place because from the beginning there is no agenda as such that will be concerning the issue of Papua," he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian foreign affairs official Franzalbert Joku accused the Pacific Island countries, Australia and New Zealand of failing to help West Papuans when they needed help.

Mr Joku, who is in Samoa because Indonesia is a Forum dialogue partner, said the Forum meeting is not the place to raise the West Papua issue.

He said Pacific Island countries were now questioning West Papua's integration into Indonesia in 1969 when the process had been relegated to the history pages.

Mr Joku went on to say West Papuans had never seen Samoans and Fijians, adding they should not pretend that they wanted to help.

Pacific Islands countries most critical of Indonesia's West Papua policy, such as Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, didn't become independent before 1978.

The Indonesian delegation is among other Pacific Island Forum dialogue partners, such as the United States, China, and Japan.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/338958/indonesia-says-protesters-in-samoa-should-have-had-govt-approval

Aceh

Indonesian woman caned after adultery conviction in Aceh sharia

ABC News - September 12, 2017

Samantha Hawley, Indonesia – Just months after two gay men were publicly caned in the Indonesian province of Aceh, a woman has received hospital treatment after receiving 100 lashes.

The 30-year-old woman, Mazidah, who goes by one name, had received the caning after being found guilty of adultery by a sharia court. She had been charged with being in a private place in the presence of a man she was not married to.

The public caning of the pair and a third offender, a man accused of indecent behaviour against a minor, took place in the city of Lhokseumawe south-east of the capital Banda Aceh.

Strict sharia law is in place across Aceh, but it is the first time a flogging has taken place in the city since 2006.

Thousands of residents, including children, are reported to have watched on as the punishment was delivered to the offenders on a stage outside the city's grand mosque after Friday prayers last week.

According to reports by the local press, and an account given to the ABC by a witness, at times the caning had to be stopped for each of the three offenders because they were screaming in agony.

Public canings on the rise

In May, the public caning of two gay men gained world-wide attention in what human rights groups described as a new low.

Vigilantes had found the men having sex after entering a private apartment room and reported them to authorities. The men in the 20s each received more than 80 lashes of the cane outside a mosque in Banda Aceh.

The Jakarta-based Institute of Criminal Justice Reform has found the number of public canings in ultra-conservative Aceh has been increasing with 339 known cases last year alone.

Human Rights Watch has demanded the Indonesian Government remove sharia law in Aceh, arguing it is in breach of United Nations rights conventions.

Under sharia law, which is not in place anywhere else across the Indonesian archipelago, drinking alcohol, gambling, adultery, homosexuality and displays of affection outside of marriage are among listed crimes.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-12/indonesian-woman-caned-after-adultery-conviction-in-sharia-court/8894080

Human rights & justice

Wiranto on Munir: We should be talking about development now

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2017

Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – As activists howled over the government's lethargy in resolving the murder case of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, the country's chief security minister said on Friday there were many other things that should be discussed other than the slain activist.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto was about to attend Friday prayers at the Jakarta State University when reporters ambushed him and asked him about the Munir case, which remains unresolved after 13 years.

"You should have talked about our development, or our plundered territory. Why talk only about [Munir]?" Wiranto replied to questions from reporters on Friday.

Munir was the co-founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras). He was known for his crusade to bring to justice to those responsible for the abduction of pro-democracy activists during the last days of the New Order regime in 1998.

He died from arsenic poisoning during a Garuda Indonesia flight to the Netherlands in September 2004. Wiranto's office has been appointed by Jokowi to lead the settlement of cases of human rights abuse in the country.

The retired general, in his capacity as commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI), then ABRI, during the country's transition period from the New Order Era to the Reform Era between 1998 and 1999, has been accused of being responsible for the Trisakti and Semanggi shootings, as well as the disappearance of pro-democracy activists.

Wiranto has denied the accusations. (ary)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/08/wiranto-on-munir-we-should-be-talking-about-development-now.html

1965 anti-communist purge

State Film company says anti-communist film can gauge public

Tempo - September 14, 2017

Syafiul Hadi, Jakarta – The director of commerce and operations at the state-owned State Film Production company (PFN) Elprisdat M. Zen says that calls for the film "Crushing the G30S PKI" to be shown again as it was during the New Order era is something good.

According to Elprisdat, showing the film will open up space for discussion, not function as a claim to historical truth.

"That's the function of a film like this right. [I could] be a trigger to open up discussion", said Elprisdat at the Coordinating Ministry for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs on Thursday September 14.

Elprisdat explained that he has no problem with calls on the part of social media users for the film titled "The Betrayal of the September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party" film to be shown again.

In fact by showing the film he said, we will be able to see the public's reaction and whether or not people do indeed still really hate something that smacks of the past or not. "For me it's okay. After all we can test the waters can't we", he said.

According to Elprisdat, the film could be used to gauge the issue. He also says that the film can be used to compare what happened in the past and is happening now. "We cannot just ignore it right, what was most certainly bad in the past and what is good now", he said.

With regard to several other films that differ from the government's official version of events, they could be used as a comparison. In fact these other versions are something good that can help to resolve issues and generate discussion. "Rather than us burying it, leaving it un-clarified", he said.

Elprisdat acknowledges that the G30S-PKI film shows the events of 1965 from the government's view point. According to Elprisdat this won't be a problem if the film is just broadcast as something to watch.

"It doesn't mean that we are claiming that it's the truth. What will in fact emerge through this is a crystallization of which side is correct", he said.

Crushing the Betrayal of the G30S-PKI was produced by the PFN during the era of President Suharto's leadership. The film, which was made in 1984 and directed by Arifin C. Noer, tells the story of how the PKI carried out a coup d'etat on September 30, 1965.

The film also shows the actions of the military in crushing the PKI. Since the reform era that began in 1998, the wide-screen film that was routinely shown by the state-owned television station TVRI in late September each year has no long been broadcast.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "PFN Tak Masalah Bila Film G 30 S PKI Diputar Kembali".]

Source: https://nasional.tempo.co/read/news/2017/09/14/078909096/pfn-tak-masalah-bila-film-g-30-s-pki-diputar-kembali

Prabowo confidant Fadli Zon says broadcasting G303-PKI film again

Hidayatullah - September 11, 2017

Muhammad Abdus Syakur – The discourse about or proposal that the film on the September 30 Movement-Indonesian Communist Party (G30S/PKI) rebellion be shown again and broadcast nationally on television each year has surfaced once again.

As is widely known, the film depicts the tragic abduction of six army generals and one junior officer by rebels from the PKI that took place on the night of September 30 and October 1, 1965.

Gerindra Party deputy chairperson and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Fadli Zon says that he agrees with the proposal to show the film again.

"I absolutely agree", Zon tweeted on Monday September 11 via his official Twitter account.

Zon claims that the film presents many historical truths about the PKI rebellion. "As a historian I believe that there are many historical truths recorded in the film", said Zon.

Zon also asserted the truth of the PKI's brutality in carrying out the rebellion against the government of the time. "The PKI launched a rebellion that was full of cruelty and brutality", he said on one of his Twitter accounts @fadlizon.

As has been reported, in lead up to this year's anniversary of September 30, a discourse about and proposal that the G30S/PKI film be shown again has resurfaced, particularly among social media users.

Some netizens believe that the film needs to be shown again nationally in order to remind the Indonesian people of the history of the PKI rebellion.

"The G30S-PKI rebellion, please show it again @TVRINasional [the state owned television station]", tweeted @rizarahmadhani1 yesterday.

Re-showing the G30S/PKI film is also seen as continuing to strengthen the government in its efforts as cited by President Joko Widodo who recently called on the military to "clobber the PKI" [See: http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/indonesia/indoleft/2017/kompas_jokowiantipancasilaandcom_190517.htm].

"I'd like to watch the G30S/PKI REBELLION again, show it on national television again... give pak @jokowi more spirit/enthusiasm to clobber the PKI", tweeted netizen @andrie_jkt82 recently.

Notes

In September 1998, the government dropped the requirement for all TV stations to broadcast the film "Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI" (The Betrayal of the September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party), a dramatisation of the New Order's version of the events surrounding the alleged communist coup in 1965. The film, one of the most effective pieces of propaganda produced by the Suharto dictatorship, had been a compulsory program for all stations every September 30 since its release in 1984.

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was "Muncul Usulan Pemutaran Kembali Film G30S/PKI, Fadli Zon Setuju".]

Source: http://www.hidayatullah.com/berita/nasional/read/2017/09/11/123365/muncul-usulan-pemutaran-kembali-film-g30spki-fadli-zon-setuju.html

Labour & migrant workers

Non-cash toll will affect 10,000 workers in Jakarta

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2017

Jakarta – The implementation of e-payment systems at tollgates has met resistance from worker unions, as the system will affect some 20,000 workers, half of whom are in Jakarta, who stand to lose their jobs.

Indonesian Workers Union Association (Aspek) and the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI) said on Thursday that they rejected the implementation of unmanned automatic-payment tollgates.

KSPI chairman Said Iqbal said as state-owned companies, toll road operators should prioritize creating jobs instead of proceeding with the automation, adding that the country was not prepared for full automation with high unemployment.

"Each gate [around the country] employs five people for three shifts every day, if all of the gates are automated, they are all going to lose their job," the chairman said on Thursday.

By Oct. 31, all tollgates will go cashless, while in Jakarta the system has been implemented gradually since Tuesday.

Aspek president Mirah Sumirat said automation would not significantly increase efficiency because the main cause of traffic congestion was the volume of vehicles, location between toll exits and the arterial road, as well as the number of big vehicles.

"Operators can proceed transactions at the rate of three to four seconds per vehicle, so it has nothing to do with time efficiency," she said.

State-owned toll operator Jasa Marga president director Desi Arryani reportedly said her company would not layoff the toll road operators and would instead move them to other working units. Said, however, said "layoffs are just a matter of time." (dis)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/14/non-cash-toll-will-affect-10000-workers-in-jakarta.html

Freedom of speech & expression

Journalist reported for likening Megawati to Suu Kyi

Jakarta Globe - September 9, 2017

Jakarta – Investigative journalist Dandhy Dwi Laksono has been reported by the youth wing of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, to the East Java Police for allegedly insulting former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and President Joko Widodo in a Facebook post. Dandhy likened Megawati to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, by suggesting there was a similarity between the two once prominent opposition figures who became leaders of their countries. Also in how they mishandle conflicts – Suu Kyi in Rakhine State, Megawati in Papua. According to the post, since Megawati's return to power through her party's win and the choice of Jokowi as president, there have been far more arrests in the province that has a history of separatist movements.

Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) activist Damar Juniarto said the role of social media in democracy is endangered if those who express their own opinions are reported to police.

"People will end up thinking that by saying something bad they can be accused of insult. Similarly, saying something good can also lead to accusations. There's always a chance to get accused," Damar said in Jakarta on Friday (08/09), as quoted by state news agency Antara.

He added such circumstances make people unwilling to express opinions, as their freedom to do so would not be protected.

Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) director Asfinawati said Dandy's post should be seen as criticism, not an attack, as no incitement to hatred is found there.

According to Damar, this year six activists have been reported for violating the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law by expressing their views online.

In 2016, 10 activists were reported. Most of them worked in the field of anticorruption, environment and investigative journalism.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/journalist-reported-likening-megawati-suu-kyi/

Fake news & hate speech

Police investigate connection of woman linked to hoax syndicate

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2017

Jakarta – The National Police are investigating whether there is a connection between a housewife suspected of being linked to Saracen, a news syndicate accused of spreading hoaxes and fake news, and the Jakarta governor-elect Anies Baswedan.

The police's cybercrime division arrested housewife Asma Dewi on Monday on suspicion of uploading hoaxes and hate speeches on her Facebook account, as well as transferring Rp 75 million [US$5,682] to Saracen.

On her Facebook account, Asma made a post stating that she supported Anies and running mate Sandiaga Uno in the polarizing Jakarta gubernatorial election in April.

"[Investigation into her link to Anies] will be one of our points in further investigating the case," police spokesman Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

However, he said the police did not want to make any preliminary conclusion about a possible connection.

The police, Setyo further said, had yet to find any evidence that Asma was active in Tamasya Al-Maidah (Al-Maidah Tour), in which conservative Muslim groups deployed members to "safeguard" polling stations during the runoff election on April 19.

Muslim conservative groups supported Anies in the election against incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who was later imprisoned for blasphemy. (agn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/12/police-investigate-connection-of-woman-linked-to-hoax-syndicate-with-anies.html

Fake news a concern as Indonesians lap up social media

Channel News Asia - September 12, 2017

Chandni Vatvani, Jakarta – Whether they are tweeting or posting, Indonesians love social media.

According to Instagram, the country is its largest market in the Asia Pacific. Twitter too, says Indonesians are among its top five users worldwide, and Facebook – the social media favourite of Indonesians – says the country is home to its fourth-largest user base.

According to Facebook, which owns Instagram, Indonesians also tops the global list when it comes to posting Instagram Stories, a feature allowing users to post photo or video status updates that can only be viewed within 24 hours. Indonesians in fact, post Instagram Stories twice as much as the global average.

TV personality Asyifa Latief first posted on Instagram in 2012. Four years, and more than 400 posts later, the 29-year old public figure and entrepreneur has amassed more than one hundred thousand followers.

This pales in comparison to Indonesia's most followed celebrity on Instagram, singer, Ayu Tingting, whose has amassed nearly 22 million followers. But in a digital world where popularity is currency, Asyifa likens her followers to "treasure".

"They are like real-time feedback each time I post something," she said. "Every time I post something, be it funny or serious stuff, or on social causes I campaign for, they speak to me – they try to convince me that they're there."

Asyifa also explained that they are not only there to comment on the highs of her life. "We're here to talk to you, to collaborate with you or like, to give you feedback whether or not it's good or bad," she said of her followers.

A 'social' society

Asyifa is one of Instagram's 45 million monthly active users in Indonesia – a figure which has more than doubled from a year ago, while Facebook says there are some 115 million users in Indonesia per month.

"According to the surveys that we have conducted, it's pretty consistent," said Hellen Katherina, Executive Director, Media at The Nielsen Company Indonesia. "Those who are going online, interacting on social media is the top activity – because Indonesians like to chat."

She added: "We love to chat; outside the big cities, you'll still see people gathering around coffee shops or street stalls. So it's just a matter of moving the offline chats into the online space."

A Nielsen Consumer Media View survey conducted in several key Indonesian cities showed Internet penetration stands at 44 per cent, up from 26 per cent five years ago, indicating that Indonesians are increasingly accessing content via digital media.

A Nielsen Cross-Platform report also showed that 94 per cent of respondents preferred using smartphones to access the Internet. And as they become increasingly more affordable, together with their mobility, smartphones are often used to access the Internet all day.

Fighting fake news

But as online accessibility continues to grow, social media has also been plagued by an onslaught of fake news and negative content.

Authorities recently lifted a ban on encrypted-messaging app Telegram, after blocking it in July over concerns it was being used to spread radical and terrorist propaganda.

Telegram has agreed to cooperate with Indonesia on a set of measures to clamp down on such material, and they are not the only ones.

Indonesia's Minister of Communications and Information, Rudiantara, recently met with representatives from Twitter, Facebook and Google to discuss the issue, so that the companies can all work together with the government and stem the spread of negative content.

"This is not the regime of censorship or something like that but we really have to protect Indonesia," Rudiantara told journalists at a press conference. "Particularly in addressing the content with radicalism, terrorism, drugs or something like that – that will become the priority for us."

It is not just the government which is ramping up efforts to regulate the digital space. The Indonesian Ulema Council, the country's most influential Islamic authority, issued an edict in June forbidding Muslims from spreading hate speech, fake news, pornographic material and racial slurs on social media.

Earlier this year, the Communications Ministry also blocked 11 websites, mostly for spreading hate speech and fake news.

It is estimated that more than 130 million out of 255 million Indonesians now use the Internet. As more users come on board, authorities are hoping that their attempts to make the digital space a safe one will be fruitful. – CNA/rw

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/fake-news-a-concern-as-indonesians-lap-up-social-media-9207596

Police probe Saracen funding

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2017

Jakarta – The National Police continue to dig deeper into the Saracen group, an online syndicate accused of creating and spreading hoax news and hate speech for money, including by investigating their funding over the past three years.

"We are still investigating Saracen. We are looking back about three or four years ago to investigate their funding," National Police spokesman Rikwanto said on Saturday as quoted from kompas.com.

The police have teamed up with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to investigate at least 14 bank accounts allegedly used in the Saracen campaign.

"We are still waiting for the results from the PPATK to see what has being going on with the bank accounts, including whether there were flows of funds," Rikwanto added.

Police have named at least three suspects in the case, individuals who had allegedly acted as the group's administrators since July and spread hate speech and hoaxes on social media.

The group is believed to have been involved in spreading hoaxes and hate speech against President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo" and former Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, among others.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian previously promised to solve the case and bring all the culprits before the law. (ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/10/police-probe-saracen-funding.html

Blasphemy & shariah law

NasDem politician detained over 'blasphemous' Facebook post

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2017

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – A NasDem Party councilor in Tanjungjabung Barat regency in Jambi province has been detained on charges of inciting hostility toward Muslims after writing a Facebook post deemed to be blasphemous.

Riano Jaya Wardhana, who heads the NasDem Party's branch in the regency, has been accused of "defaming Islam and Muslims" for criticism he allegedly wrote in a Facebook post about the way some Muslims had treated former Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is now in prison for blasphemy.

He allegedly said: "I am personally disgusted by Muslims, who practice the same faith as me but are senseless, as if they are the most righteous; they abuse religion [...] and do not forgive other people, as if they are as bad as the devil."

"We detained him on Wednesday for further investigation," Tanjungjabung Barat Police chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Alfonso Dolly Gelbert Sinaga said on Thursday, adding that the suspect had been charged under Article 28 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.

The article criminalizes those accused of disseminating information aimed at causing hatred for or hostility toward individuals and/or groups based on ethnicity, religion, race and intergroup affiliation. It has been increasingly used to prosecute people accused of making so-called blasphemous remarks on social media.

Riano was reported to the police by Ahmad bin Kurdi of the Tanjungjabung Barat Muslim Community Alliance in May. He claims his account had been hacked and that he never wrote the controversial Facebook post. (ary)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/14/nasdem-politician-detained-over-blasphemous-facebook-post.html

Surveys & opinion polls

Jokowi's approval rating remains high

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2017

Safrin La Batu, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's approval rating has remained high, according to a new poll by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), despite his failure to reduce inequality.

In the CSIS poll, the results of which were released on Tuesday, 68 percent of 1,000 respondents interviewed between Aug. 23 and 30 claimed they were satisfied with Jokowi's performance. Only 67 percent and 51 percent said so in similar surveys in 2016 and 2015, respectively, according to the think tank.

The CSIS measured public perception of Jokowi's performance in three sectors: the economy, law enforcement and infrastructure and maritime development.

Jokowi scored the highest in infrastructure and maritime development, with 75 percent of respondents saying they approved of Jokowi's work in the sector.

"Physical development such as infrastructure development has been [highly] appreciated by the people," CSIS executive director Philips Vermonte said.

Meanwhile, 64 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with law enforcement under Jokowi, even though he has been criticized for his failure to protect the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which is currently under attack from politicians.

Jokowi is also perceived to be doing better with the economy, with respondents saying they were satisfied with the economy rising from 47 percent last year to 57 percent this year, even though the poverty rate has hovered around 10 percent in the last two years.

The poverty rate in March hit 10.64 percent, down 0.06 point from 10.7 percent in September 2016, while the Gini ratio was 0.393, down only 0.001 point from September last year.

"Even though the public think nothing has changed with regard to the economy, the level of support [for Jokowi] remains high. There's a level of trust that has not changed," Vermonte said. (ary)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/12/jokowis-approval-rating-remains-high.html

Environment & natural disasters

Samsung won't partner with Korindo following outrage over forest

Monga Bay - September 14, 2017

Hans Nicholas Jong – Under fire from watchdogs and consumers of its smartphones, Samsung said it would not pursue a joint venture with Korindo, itself the target of an NGO campaign for destroying rainforests in Indonesia.

Korindo was previously outed in a Mighty Earth report for using fire to clear dense forests in Indonesia's Tanah Papua region, home to birds-of-paradise and tree kangaroos.
Papua is the last frontier for oil palm plantation firms like Korindo, and they move east in search of land on which to expand.
Samsung will stay away from any joint venture with a Korean-Indonesian conglomerate, Korindo, amid an NGO campaign highlighting Korindo's rainforest destruction for palm oil in Indonesia's Tanah Papua region.

Samsung's announcement that it would partner with Korindo in the logistics sector had been widely reported in the Korean media. The joint venture was not directly related to Korindo's palm oil operation, for which it has burned and cleared vast tracts of forestland in Papua and elsewhere to make way for its plantations, NGO Mighty Earth has exposed.

Mighty has continued to pressure Korindo, most recently targeting its business partners in other sectors. Mighty and consumer group SumOfUs launched an online petition calling on Samsung to cut ties with Korindo, and it amassed more than 73,000 signatures, including 15,000 from users of Samsung phones.

The petition was hand-delivered to Samsung's main office in Seoul, ahead of the company's launch of its new Galaxy Note 8 phone last month.

That was part of a "week of action" surrounding the Galaxy Note 8's launch in which over 2,000 Samsung customers sent emails to the electronics giant from their Samsung devices. Over 10,000 people took action online, and nearly 1 million people viewed online ads about Samsung's connection to rainforest destruction, according to Mighty.

"I own two of your TVs and recently switched my Galaxy back to Apple because of your Korindo involvement," said one of the many personalized emails to Samsung. "As long as you continue to have an environmentally irresponsible ethos I will not be a customer, and I will share that with my friends and on social media."

After that, Samsung's logistics arm sent a letter to Mighty, dated Aug. 31 and seen by Mongabay, saying it had no plan to establish a partnership with Korindo – and denying it had ever reached an agreement with Korindo in the first place.

"Although it is true that there was a news article dated June 19th, 2017 reporting 'a strategic partnership with Korindo Group' on the global logistics business, we, Samsung SDS, would like to inform you that there has not been any business dealings between Samsung SDS and Korindo Group, nor has there been a concrete plan or intention to pursue any further business opportunities between the two, except to the extent that certain meetings were previously held only to navigate potential business opportunities and nothing more," read the letter.

The joint venture had been reported by various Korean news outlets, complete with a photo of executives from both firms shaking hands in front of a banner displaying their corporate logos. Korindo posted the articles on its website.

Despite Samsung's decision to cut ties with Korindo, Samsung still has a direct stake in the oil palm sector. It owns two plantations on Indonesia's main western island of Sumatra, part of a joint venture with the Ganda Group, which is controversial for its stake in a company that bulldozed people's homes in 2011 to make way for its plantation.

"Samsung has taken the first step to delink its business from rainforest destruction. Now it must go all the way," Lapidus said. "Samsung needs to remedy its human rights abuses on its own palm oil plantations and require its joint venture partner, Ganda Group, to adopt a strict forest conservation policy aligned with the industry standard for responsible production."

As for Korindo, Lapidus said she hopes it "wakes up to the reality that even from a business perspective, it can't continue to allow deforestation."

Source: https://news.mongabay.com/2017/09/samsung-wont-partner-with-korindo-following-outrage-over-forest-destruction-in-indonesia/

Mentawai residents oppose permit for industrial forest

Jakarta Post - September 14, 2017

Syofiardi Bachyul, Padang – The residents and regency administration of the Mentawai Islands have opposed the decision made by the central government and West Sumatra provincial administration to grant an industrial forest (HTI) permit for a company in Siberut Island.

The HTI permit was given to private firm PT Biomass Andalan Energi for 20,030 hectares.

At least 50 Mentawai residents, mostly college students, protested in front of the West Sumatra Environment Agency on Wednesday to express their opposition.

At the same time as the residents' protest, the agency was holding a meeting to discuss the environmental impact analysis (Amdal). The group demanded the agency not proceed with the meeting, arguing that granting the permit would be disadvantageous to Mentawai.

"Since the 1970s, the production forest concession has only resulted in floods," said Daudi Silvanus Satoko, who led the protest on Wednesday.

Acting Environment Agency head Siti Aisyah, who met with protestors, said her office would not dare to issue a permit that did not follow proper procedure as it would create a legal fallacy. The meeting to discuss the Amdal, she said, had been attended by representatives from various stakeholders.

Not only the residents, but the Mentawai Islands regency administration also urged the central and provincial governments not to proceed with the plan.

Mentawai deputy regent Kortanius Sabeleake said that the regency administration had sent a letter to the Environment and Forestry Ministry to lodge a protest. However, no response has yet been received.

"The regency administration doesn't have any power regarding permit issuance, we were not given a say in the matter even though the location is in our regency," he said, adding that such a policy did not favor the people who had owned their land on the island for a long time.

He said the lands managed by local people on Siberut Island had been decreasing. Some 127,715 ha of land out of the island's total area of 386,715 ha are now concession areas for three companies. Some 190,500 ha are for Siberut National Park and 33,341 ha are for other purposes. The remaining land that could be used by 37,000 residents was 34,071 ha.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/14/mentawai-residents-oppose-permit-for-industrial-forest.html

Under EU attack, top palm oil producers rethink trade strategy

Reuters - September 13, 2017

Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur – Facing a backlash in Europe over palm oil's environmental toll, the world's top producers are scrambling to find new markets and even striking unusual barter deals, such as exchanging Sukhoi jets for the edible oil.

The European Union is the second-largest palm oil export destination after India for both Malaysia and Indonesia, which dominate production in a global market worth at least $40 billion.

But palm has come under increasing fire in Europe over its impact on forest destruction, encouraging producers to look at new markets ranging from Africa to Myanmar.

Threatened by crumbling demand in Europe, the industry is waging a public relations battle and pushing producers to enter more price-sensitive markets, where Indonesia should have an advantage over Malaysia due to its lower production costs.

"Our principle is we will not let go of even one tonne of trade contract or potential demand palm has globally," Indonesia's deputy Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Musdhalifah Machmud told Reuters.

Musdhalifah said palm oil sales were being brought up in "every trade negotiation" Indonesia conducts.

Palm oil is used in thousands of household products, from snack foods to soaps, as well as to make biodiesel.

But the demand boom has spread plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia across an area of more than 17 million hectares – an area greater than the size of Portugal and Ireland. They are mostly carved out of rainforests, which critics say has lead to an increase in the greenhouse gases that warm the planet.

Environmental activists have pressured consumer companies into demanding that their palm suppliers adopt more environmentally sustainable forestry practices. But in Europe, politicians say the industry's standards on sustainability do not go far enough.

So far, palm oil sales to the European Union have held up. Indonesian exports rose about 40 percent to 2.7 million tonnes in the first half of 2017 from a year earlier.

Indonesia's overall palm exports were worth $18 billion last year, with EU sales accounting for 16 percent, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) said. For Malaysia, the EU made up nearly 13 percent of exports, government data showed.

'Imported deforestation'

Europe is particularly concerned about the soaring use of oils, including palm, as a biodiesel fuel. Once regarded as a green alternative, an EU-commissioned report now says it creates more emissions than fossil fuels.

France said in July it will reduce the use of palm in biofuels over concerns of "imported deforestation", prompting concerns from Indonesia that other European countries could follow suit.

In Germany, the environment ministry said it will press to amend an EU renewables directive to take account of the study showing "palm oil and soyoil caused, in comparison to other biofuels, very much higher greenhouse gas emissions per energy unit through indirect land use change."

The European parliament In April voted to phase out unsustainable palm oil by 2020. The resolution endorsed a single Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) plan for Europe-bound palm and other vegetable oil exports to ensure they are produced in an environmentally sustainable way.

In addition to environmental damage, the industry has come under fire over frequent reports of land grabs, child labor and harsh working conditions. Some of the annual forest fires that send shrouds of smoke over parts of Southeast Asia have broken out on palm oil concessions that burn forests to clear land. Indonesian Trade minister Enggartiasto Lukita in May warned his EU counterparts that he might ask Jakarta not to buy Airbus planes in retaliation, the Jakarta Post reported.

GAPKI Chairman Joko Supriyono told a United Nations sustainability meeting in New York last week that Indonesian palm oil plantation governance met international standards.

Meanwhile, Indonesia is looking at new palm oil markets in Africa offering barter trades with palm oil. Lukita told reporters on a visit to Nigeria he had proposed to swap palm oil for crude oil.

Indonesia signed a preliminary deal last month with Russia's Rostec to exchange commodities, including palm, as part of a $1.14 billion payment for 11 Sukhoi jets.

Indonesia's Vegetable Oil Association executive director Sahat Sinaga said palm oil producers will open a marketing and research company in Russia, aiming to increase exports of 920,000 tonnes in 2016 by 4-5 percent per year up to 2023.

The group is also planning to open a storage facility in Pakistan, which imports 1-2 million tonnes of palm from Indonesia a year, anticipating further growth in demand.

Malaysia more vulnerable

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) says it will increase efforts to diversify into new markets such as Myanmar, the Philippines and West Africa regardless of the EU Resolution.

Malaysia's plantation industries and commodities minister Mah Siew Keong said in June he met EU commissioners and members of parliament for talks. The ministry did not respond to a request for further comment.

Malaysia is more reliant on palm oil exports than Indonesia, shipping out more than 90 percent of its palm oil last year, compared to about 70 percent in Indonesia.

Production costs in Malaysia are also 10-15 percent higher than in Indonesia, analysts estimate.

"If EU doesn't take up palm for biodiesel, demand for palm oil globally will fall and prices will be affected on the downside... which will impact everyone equally," said Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations research at CIMB Investment Bank.

[Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg.]

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/business/eu-attack-top-palm-oil-producers-rethink-trade-strategy/

Walhi slams forestry ministry for failing to manage North Sumatra's

Jakarta Globe - September 13, 2017

Jakarta – A large chunk of protected forest in Padang Lawas district in North Sumatra, which has been illegally occupied and converted into large-scale commercial plantations by dozens of companies, has received widespread public attention as a local environmental organization has openly questioned the government's commitment to takeover, collect profits and re-plant on the troubled land.

The land within the so-called "Register 40" area, which encompasses 177,000 hectares, has been exploited for decades by planters even though Soekarno, the country's first president, granted it "protected forest" status, forbidding any transformation of the land by private persons and companies, including plantation owners.

Indeed, as many as 29 plantation companies, local cooperatives and private palm oil farmers have set up operations on area within Register 40.

To try to restore the land's original protected status, local communities have taken up arms in past decades in an attempt to drive out planters, claiming Register 40 land was handed down by ancestors and thus should not be tampered with. Lawsuits between palm oil companies and the government have also played out in Jakarta courts.

From unexecuted court ruling to misery of profit collections

Dana Tarigan, the executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) branch in North Sumatra, questioned the government's commitment to manage Register 40 and reforest the land to prevent further damage to the environment wrought by the numerous palm oil plantations. Walhi is a member of the Friends of the Earth International network.

The government scored a victory in a legal battle against Darianus Lungguk Sitorus, an influential businessman, and a handful of local cooperatives over the right to manage 47,000 hectares of land within Register 40. In 2007, a Supreme Court ruling demanded that the then-Ministry of Forestry (President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo created the present-day Ministry of the Environment and Forestry) takeover the land.

Darianus, who passed away in August, was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2005 after being found guilty for "forest encroachment" after two companies he was affiliated with, Torganda and Torus Ganda, began operations on the land. He served four and a half years in prison before being released in mid-2009.

However, despite the court's ruling, the forestry ministry has yet to takeover the land and still allows occupant companies to continue their operations within Register 40. Companies and farmers alike have been granted permission to grow their palm oil crops for one life-cycle, which can last for more than 30 years.

Palm oil is widely regarded as one of the most profitable oilseed crops, and the ministry expects companies still operating on Register 40 to hand over part of their proceeds to the government.

"My question is where is the money? Any profits from the use of the land within that area should go to the state coffer and the government should have been able to use that money to reforest the area," Dana told the Jakarta Globe via telephone interview on Tuesday (12/09).

Surprisingly, some state-owned companies also operate within Register 40, including Perkebunan Nusantara IV, Perkebunan Nusantara II and Inhutani IV.

Dana said that during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which took place in June, he met with Forestry Ministry officials to remind them that all occupants on Register 40 land, including government-run companies, are running illegal operations and should be sanctioned.

He added that the government should not hesitate to evict all occupants on Register 40 and recover profits from their operations in a bid to fund the cost of reforestation.

Ministry: 'No cherry picking'

Djati Witjaksono, the spokesman for the Environment and Forestry Ministry, said the ministry never intended to chery pick" in executing the mandate from the 2007 Supreme Court ruling.

He said the ministry is working to identify possible sanctions for companies believed to have occupied the land illegally.

"We have priority scale, we are working on it, there may be some facing heavy [sanctions], moderate, or there are some that may just be administratively sanctioned," Djati said.

The ministry is currently preparing to takeover land operated by Torganda within Register 40.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/walhi-slams-forestry-ministry-failing-manage-north-sumatras-protected-register-40-land/

Textile waste pollutes West Jakarta waterways: Residents

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2017

Jakarta – Residents of Jl. Yunus 2 in North Sukabumi district, Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, have complained about waste allegedly produced by a local textile factory and demanded that it be closed down.

"Residents are demanding that it be closed because the waste has severely polluted the waterways," neighborhood unit (RT) 005 head Mulyadi told kompas.com, adding that he had notified relevant authorities, such as the Jakarta Environment Agency and the West Jakarta mayor.

He said that he, other RT heads and officials of the environment agency would conduct an impromptu inspection of the textile company on Monday.

Mulyadi said three RTs had reportedly been affected by the waste, which appeared in many colors and smelled. He added that waterways had been affected for the past month, hampering residents in their daily activities. (fac)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/11/textile-waste-pollutes-west-jakarta-waterways-residents.html

Five named suspects in Jambi land, forest fires

Jakarta Post - September 9, 2017

Jon Afrizal, Jambi – The Jambi Police have named five people as suspects during their investigation into seven land and forest fire cases, which occurred from January to August.

Jambi Police spokesperson Comr. Wirmanto Dinata said three out of the seven cases were handled by the Tebo Police while two cases were investigated by the Batanghari Police. The East Tanjungjabung Police and the Muarojambi Police handled one case each.

Three land and forest burners were named suspects by the Tebo Police while two others were declared suspects by the Muarojambi Police and the East Tanjungjabung Police.

"They were all named individual suspects. There has been no corporation named suspect in the land and forest fire cases," Wirmanto said on Friday.

He said three case reports handled by the Tebo Police and another report tackled by the East Tanjungjabung Police were all still under investigation. Meanwhile, the investigation by the Muarojambi Police had been completed, in which both suspect and evidence had been handed over to prosecutors.

"Two reports handled by the Batanghari Police are still in the investigation stage and no one has been declared as a suspect," said Wirmanto.

Fires reported in the seven dossiers cover 6.5 hectares of land, of which 2.5 ha is located in Tebo and another 2 ha is in Batanghari. East Tanjungjabung and Muarojambi has 1 ha each.

"We are calling on all land owners and companies not to clear land using slash and burn methods. We will impose tough sanctions on anyone found guilty of committing such illegal practices," he said. (ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/09/five-named-suspects-in-jambi-land-forest-fires.html

Rupert Murdoch's Aussie papers linked to deforestation in Indonesia

Eco Business - September 8, 2017

Vaidehi Shah Friday – Environmental campaigners have found that The Australian and Courier Mail newspapers in regional Queensland are printed on paper linked to illegal deforestation and human rights abuses in Indonesia.

In a campaign launched on September 1, Tasmania-based advocacy group Markets for Change and Washington DC-headquartered Mighty Earth said that the owning company of the two publications, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, buys paper from Indonesian paper manufacturer Aspex.

Aspex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Korean-Indonesian agribusiness conglomerate The Korindo Group, which has businesses ranging from palm oil and paper to construction, to real estate, financial services, and building wind towers.

An investigation by Mighty Earth last year revealed that Korindo's palm oil arm was burning ecologically precious tracts of forest in Indonesia's remote Papua province, as well as violating the rights of local indigenous communities by grabbing land without their consent, and destroying their forest livelihoods.

While the company has committed to a moratorium on forest clearing until an independent assessment – though it did briefly break this ban in February – has identified areas that have a high carbon stock and high conservation value, it has yet to make progress on implementing more stringent environmental and social impact policies.

Measures that environmentalists are calling for include the institution of a no deforestation policy, restoring forests to compensate for the land they cleared after issuing a moratorium on deforestation, resolving conflicts with communities, and being transparent about its concession boundaries, suppliers, and sustainability practices.

The Australian connection

Deborah Lapidus, campaign director, Mighty Earth, told Eco-Business that the investigation was sparked by a reference to Aspex on the website of Australia-based paper products company Oceanic Multitrading; the firm says it imports Aspex newsprint – that is, the cheap paper used to make newspapers – into Australia.

Through further research, trade data analysis and collaboration with a paper supply chain expert, investigators determined that Aspex newsprint was used to produce The Australian and Courier Mail in regional Queensland. News Corp has confirmed that it sources some newsprint from the firm.

Lapidus explained that this was not an active decision by News Corp, but rather a "holdover issue" from the media giant's acquisition of APN News and Media's regional Queensland publications last December.

APN had an existing trade relationship with Aspex in the regional Queesland market, which News Corp inherited, Lapidus said. For the rest of its print publications, News Corp sources sustainable newsprint from the Norwegian pulp and paper firm Norse Skog's Australian business.

News Corp's head of environment Tony Wilkins told Mighty Earth and Markets for Change in a letter dated July 19 that "the only paper we procure from Aspex is 100 per cent recycled fibre content newsprint and this is Forest Stewardship Council certified".

Source: http://www.eco-business.com/news/rupert-murdochs-aussie-papers-linked-to-deforestation-in-indonesia/

Indonesia to increase palm oil production to 42 million tons by

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2017

Jakarta – As the world's biggest exporter of palm oil, Indonesia plans to increase production to 42 million tons by 2020 to maintain its global lead, according to a top industry player.

Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI) chairman Joko Supriyono said in New York on Wednesday that Indonesia had a lot of room to increase production, especially in improving the productivity of palm oil plantations.

"As a market leader, we will focus on increasing production. We will pursue this through increasing the productivity of our existing plantations, not through the expansion of new plantation areas," he said during the launch of the Good Growth Partnership at the UN.

The new program, managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), brings together an integrated approach to the sustainable production of agricultural commodities, with a focus on palm oil, beef and soy.

Joko said the productivity of smallholder plantations, which account for over 40 percent of palm oil production, was currently half or even one third of the productivity levels exhibited by corporations.

Therefore, by improving the productivity of smallholders, Indonesia will maintain its lead in the world market, he said. "Together with the government, we are ready to help the smallholders increase their productivity," Joko said.

Indonesia produced 35 million tons of palm oil last year, around 55 percent of global production. Environmentalists have criticized Indonesia's palm oil expansion over the past 20 years, which they claim has degraded forests and peat land.

Responding to the criticism, the government has halted the issuance of licenses for new plantations. "We support the moratorium, to protect primary forests and peat land. But as an industry, we have to continue to grow," Joko said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/08/indonesia-to-increase-palm-oil-production-to-42-million-tons-by-2020.html

Health & education

Jakarta to require all hospitals to partner with BPJS

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2017

Ivany Atina Arbi and Agnes Anya, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration plans to require all hospitals in the capital to become partners of the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

The administration is considering making a partnership a requirement for the extension of hospital permits and accreditation.

"If they are private hospitals, there will be a requirement that forces them to join BPJS. It will [come into effect] next year," said Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat on Tuesday. From the registered 160 private hospitals in Jakarta, only 64 cooperate with the BPJS.

The move aims to comply with a government expectation that all hospitals partner with BPJS by 2019, he explained.

Also in 2019, he added, the city administration plans to apply a healthcare program, called universal health care. "Moreover, we have consistently given BPJS' third-class services to all Jakartans," Djarot said.

BPJS Kesehatan and the Jakarta administration have agreed to team up to provide universal health care by Jan. 1, 2019 at the latest.

With the agreement, which was signed in 2016, the city administration is required to list all Jakartans as participants of the National Health Insurance-Healthy Indonesia card (JKN-KIS).

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/12/jakarta-to-require-all-hospitals-to-partner-with-bpjs.html

Dead baby's parents demand apology from hospital

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2017

Jakarta – Parents of Tiara Deborah Simanjorang, an infant who died after reportedly being turned away by a West Jakarta hospital because of financial constraints, have demanded an apology from the hospital.

Rudianto Simanjorang and Henny Silalahi visited the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) on Monday to seek help in voicing their concerns over their daughter's death.

"I am speaking out to prevent other children from having to experience the same as my child experienced, and the KPAI is the right place for it. I hope children will not be discriminated against," Henny told journalists at the KPAI office.

The parents, who have Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) cards, claim that Deborah died on Sept. 3 after Mitra Keluarga Hospital refused further treatment because they could not afford the Rp 11 million (US$835.60) initial payment.

The family's lawyer, Birgaldo Sinaga, said he expected the KPAI to collaborate with other state institutions to test the effectiveness of the healthcare system. "We don't ask for [financial] compensation. What we really want is that the hospital admit its mistake and apologize," he said.

Birgaldo said the family hoped no other hospitals would make the same mistake. "We don't intend to sue the hospital, but if it doesn't listen to our aspirations, we could opt for legal action," he added. (yon)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/11/dead-babys-parents-demand-apology-from-hospital.html

Baby dies after being denied intensive care over down payment

Jakarta Globe - September 10, 2017

Jakarta – Mitra Keluarga Karyasehat, Indonesia's largest listed hospital operator by market capitalization, came under the spotlight over the weekend when details of the tragic death of a 4-month-old baby girl at one of its hospitals went viral on social media.

The baby, who was reportedly diagnosed with heart abnormalities and experienced breathing problems, died in the emergency room of Mitra Keluarga Kalideres Hospital in West Jakarta on Sept. 3, after waiting for about six hours to be transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit of another hospital.

Although the Kalideres hospital had an available pediatric intensive care unit at the time, it refused to admit the baby because her parents could not afford the required down payment.

The hospital issued a statement on Friday (08/09) saying that the baby immediately received emergency treatment to stabilize her condition upon her arrival at the emergency unit at 03.40 a.m.

The doctor in attendance assessed that her condition was "very critical" and suggested treatment in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit.

Birgaldo Sinaga, who first mentioned the tragedy in a Facebook post on Friday, alleged that the hospital asked for a down payment of Rp 19.8 million ($1,500) and refused to settle for a lower amount, delaying the baby's treatment for hours. The Facebook post has been shared more than 28,100 times since.

The baby's father, Rudianto Simanjorang, reportedly offered the hospital Rp 5 million, which was all he had available in his bank account at the time, and promised to come up with the remainder later in the day, because it was still very early in the morning to ask around for money, Birgaldo wrote.

The hospital management was adamant however, that he should pay the full amount before the baby would be admitted.

It did continue treatment of the girl in the emergency unit and also helped the family search for other hospitals that accept patients covered by the Social Security Agency for Health (BPJS Kesehatan).

At around 09:00 a.m., the baby's family finally located a hospital willing to accept a BPJS patient, but her condition suddenly deteriorated and she died, despite doctors performing cardiac and lung resuscitation on her for more than 20 minutes.

"Above all, convey our deepest sense of concern and condolences to the family of Mr. Rudianto Simanjorang and Mrs. Henny Silalahi," Mitra Keluarga said in the statement.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/baby-dies-after-being-denied-intensive-care-over-down-payment/

Fewer than half of Jakarta hospitals partnering with BPJS Kesehatan

Jakarta Post - September 10, 2017

Jakarta – Jakarta Health Agency head Koesmedi Priharto has said that fewer than half of hospitals in Jakarta have partnered with the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

"There are around 90 hospital that have partnered with the BPJS from a total of 189 hospitals," Koesmedi said on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com.

He said the only hospitals that had been partnering with THE BPJS were local public hospitals (RSUD) and state-owned hospitals as there was no obligation for private hospitals to do so.

However, he said that private hospitals were also supposed to partner with the BPJS because of the planned universal health coverage targets for 2019. By that time, every citizen should be a member of the BPJS Kesehatan program.

"It's a matter of coverage, if they [private hospitals] do not partner [with the BPJS], then they will not be able to get patients," Koesmedi said.

According to the BPJS official website bpjs-kesehatan.go.id the BPJS Kesehatan in cooperation with Jakarta administration is seeking to realize the goal of universal health coverage by Jan. 1, 2019.

Under the cooperation, the city administration will register all Jakartans, without exception, as participants of the National Health Insurance-Healthy Indonesia card (JKN-KIS). (dis)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/10/fewer-than-half-of-jakarta-hospitals-partnering-with-bpjs-kesehatan.html

LGBT & same-sex marriage

Indonesia removes job notice barring LGBT people, saying gays have

Pink News - September 14, 2017

Joseph Patrick McCormick – The Indonesian Attorney General has rescinded a job notice which banned LGBT people. The widely condemned job notice had also said that gay men have a "mental illness".

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo's office this week withdrew the notice. It had been condemned by the country's National Human Rights Commission. The organisation's commissioner Muhammad Nurkhoiron had said: "Such a policy should not be used by any state institutions, including the Attorney General's Office."

This is a change of direction for Indonesia, where LGBT people have feared a crackdown for some time.

There are fears of a crackdown against LGBT people in Indonesia after twelve women were evicted from a shared home in West Java earlier this month.

The women had been renting a house in Tugu Jaya together. But authorities acted on complaints from neighbours, saying that their living arrangement was "unfeminine" and "against the teaching of Islam."

Religious leaders and an Islamic youth group had complained to police, resulting in a raid last Saturday. They were given three days to leave the premises.

The Human Rights Watch reports that no legal justification was given for the raid and the forced eviction.

"What's most offensive about this incident is that police and government officials steamrollered privacy rights and rule of law to appease the bigotry of a few neighbours," Andreas Harsono, an Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

"Evicting these women based on prejudiced assumptions of their sexual identity," he continued, "threatens the privacy of all Indonesians and has no place in a country whose motto is 'unity in diversity."

An anonymous village official had told Human Rights Watch: "It's not acceptable to have female couples living together. Some have short hair, acting as the males. Some have long hair, acting as the females. It's against sharia [Islamic law]. It's obscene."

"Personally, I am worried," said Yulita Rustinawati, from the LGBT advocacy group Arus Pelangi, saying they are worried about a further crackdown on LGBT people. "It's like we are criminals. Everything that we do now becomes risky, even living with our partners."

Indonesia earlier this year moved the flogging of LGBT people away from the public eye, but continues to punish LGBT people. Amnesty International earlier this year urged Indonesia to stop the caning and arrests of LGBT people.

Several public floggings have taken place this year of people, and two men were given 83 lashes each for being together. The punishment came a day after 141 men were arrested in Jakarta, the capital, for having a "gay sex party".

Now the Human Rights Watch has said that the floggings continue, but that authorities in the Aceh Province have moved them away from being public.

Media reports suggest that Acehnese leaders are worried that videos of May's flogging, which were widely circulated online, make the province unappealing for investors.

Anti-LGBT discrimination is said to be costing Indonesia as much as $12 billion every year, according to a recent study. The losses are a result of barriers to employment, education, healthcare, as well as "physical, psychological, sexual, economic and cultural violence" suffered by LGBT citizens.

France has been urged by human rights groups to put pressure on Indonesia to do more to protect the rights of LGBT+ people.

A Muslim leader in Indonesia earlier this year called for a boycott of Starbucks over the company's CEO's acceptance of LGBT rights. Malaysian leaders later joined in calls for the boycott.

Earlier this year, Malaysia's health ministry defended its intention to hold a competition on the best ideas for "preventing" homosexuality and transgender identities.

The most populous province in Indonesia also this year launched a special police team to crack down on those suspected of being LGBT.

Source: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/09/14/indonesia-removes-job-notice-barring-lgbt-people-saying-gays-have-mental-illness/

Indonesia's Attorney General rejects LGBT discrimination

Human Rights Watch Dispatches - September 14, 2017

Andreas Harsono – Indonesia's Attorney General's Office announced this week that it had rescinded a job notice that not only barred lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) applicants, but suggested homosexuality was a "mental illness."

Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission had urged the attorney general to withdraw the job notice. Its commissioner, Muhammad Nurkhoiron, denounced the "mental illness" argument, saying that, "Such a policy should not be used by any state institutions, including the Attorney General's Office."

This shift in tone was an important reversal for a government that for the past year and a half has taken virtually no action to stand up for Indonesia's beleaguered LGBT community.

Beginning in January 2016, public officials fueled a flurry of anti-LGBT incidents across Indonesia with noxious and hateful rhetoric. This has included police raids on suspected gatherings of LGBT people, the restriction of international groups providing aid to LGBT-related nongovernmental organizations, and the closure of public transgender events. Authorities forcibly evicted LGBT people from their homes, and Islamist militants attacked LGBT activists.

There were also subtle bureaucratic shifts – with Indonesian government agencies and health professional associations joining the anti-LGBT chorus. For example, the National Children's Protection Commission issued a decree against "gay propaganda" and called for censorship of LGBT-related information. The national professional association for psychiatrists proclaimed same-sex sexual orientation and transgender identities "mental illnesses." And the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, called for criminalization of LGBT behavior and activism as well as forced "rehabilitation" for LGBT people. Several universities also banned LGBT applicants from enrolling as students.

In October 2016, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo broke his long silence on escalating anti-LGBT rhetoric by defending the rights of the country's LGBT community. He declared that "the police must act" against actions by groups or individuals to harm LGBT people or deny them their rights, and that "there should be no discrimination against anyone."

But until the attorney general corrected its job ad this week, no government agency had taken action to dial back the anti-LGBT bigotry compromising the safety and freedoms of many Indonesians. The attorney general's move should stand as an example of leadership for the rest of the government.

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/14/indonesias-attorney-general-rejects-lgbt-discrimination

Corruption & abuse of power

AGO has no intention to erode KPK's prosecution power: Spokesperson

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2017

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Wednesday it had no intention to erode the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) power to prosecute graft convicts.

AGO spokesperson M. Rum rejected previous media reports, which stated Attorney General HM Prasetyo supported the House of Representative's moves to scrap the anti-graft body's powers.

"The Attorney General has never said that [the AGO] wanted to erase the [KPK's] prosecution powers," Rum said as quoted by Antara in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Rum said Prasetyo's statement about the KPK's prosecution powers during his meeting with the House's Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, was only made in response to questions raised by lawmakers regarding the difference between law enforcement systems for corruption eradication in Indonesia and its two neighboring countries – Malaysia and Singapore.

"There was no statement made, which suggested prosecution tasks [of graft convicts] should be taken over by the AGO," Rum asserted.

He said law enforcement agencies, including the AGO, the National Police and the KPK, should be synergized and support each other.

During the meeting with the Commission III on Monday, Prasetyo compared Indonesian's law enforcement system on corruption eradication with those implemented in Singapore and Malaysia, where AGOs are the only entities endowed with prosecution authority.

"The AGOs in Singapore and Malaysia are the only law enforcement bodies that have the final say regarding prosecution of corruption cases. They told us that an institution with powerful, limitless control will tend to become arbitrary," Prasetyo said during the hearing. (afr/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/13/ago-has-no-intention-to-erode-KPKs-prosecution-power-spokesperson.html

Police question 12 witnesses in Novel's libel case

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2017

Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have questioned 12 witnesses as part of an investigation into an act of defamation allegedly committed by senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan.

Novel's direct supervisor at the anti-graft body, Brig. Gen. Aris Budiman, who filed the report with the police on Aug. 21 against Novel for circulating a slanderous statement via email among KPK employees, was among the 12 persons grilled by police investigators.

Other witnesses in the preliminary police investigation were current and former KPK staffers, said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono on Tuesday.

Novel has not yet been named a suspect in the case, pending the results of a meeting set to be held soon to determine whether the report merits further investigation.

"Let's just see where it will lead us [on whether Novel will be named a suspect]," Argo said at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday.

Aris, a high-ranking police officer seconded to the KPK as its director of investigation, claimed the email saying he had "no integrity" had insulted him.

Meanwhile, Novel is still receiving medical treatment in Singapore after an acid attack severely injured his eyes in April. The police have yet to name any suspects responsible for the attack. (ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/12/police-question-12-witnesses-in-novels-libel-case.html

AGO supports House's move to erode KPK's power

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2017

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has thrown its support behind the House of Representatives' move to scrap the powers of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Attorney General M. Prasetyo on Monday signaled the AGO's support for the House in its bid to revoke the KPK's prosecution powers.

If successful, this would mean that only the AGO would have the full authority to decide whether or not a graft case should be taken to the prosecution stage.

Prasetyo compared Indonesian's law enforcement system on corruption eradication to the ones in operation in Singapore and Malaysia, where attorneys general are the only entities endowed with prosecution authority. Prasetyo believes the KPK is too powerful with too much authority.

"The AGOs in Singapore and Malaysia are the only law enforcement bodies that have the final say regarding prosecutions in corruption cases. They told us that an institution with powerful, limitless control will tend to become arbitrary," Prasetyo during a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission III, which oversees human rights, security and legal affairs, on Monday.

Prasetyo stated that although the KPK had considerable reach in its powers for eradicating corruption, he had not seen any significant improvement in Indonesia's Corruption Perception Index.

"In other countries, the law enforcers work well in harmony. They don't compete with each other. It's time for us to learn from their practices," Prasetyo said. (foy/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/12/ago-supports-houses-move-to-erode-KPKs-power.html

Lawmakers, KPK get involved in war of words

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2017

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – A hearing between lawmakers and leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Tuesday became heated after lawmakers claimed that KPK commissioners were responding to the questions put to them in an inappropriate manner.

Members of House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs began bombarding the antigraft body with fiery criticism after KPK commissioner Saut Situmorang suggested that House Commission III deputy chairman Benny Harman, who was directing the meeting, take notes and write down his comprehension of the KPK's work.

"You don't understand the explanation because you don't write it down," Saut said, responding to Benny, who interrupted Saut while he was attempting to explain the mechanisms used to follow up on reports and tip-offs from the public on alleged graft cases.

Saut's remarks quickly raised protest from other Commission III members. Lawmaker Erma Suryani Ranik lambasted Saut for his "disrespectful response".

"You must respect the chairman of the meeting. All of us must do so," said Erma from the Democratic Party.

Other lawmakers, including Wenny Warouw from the Gerindra Party, expressed a greater degree of anger, and shouted at Saut.

"The chairman of the meeting asked you to give an explanation. You don't need to be defensive," said Wenny, a former police general who later questioned the mechanisms used by the KPK, which he claimed were not in line with the work of police officers investigating cases. (ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/12/lawmakers-KPK-get-involved-in-war-of-words.html

I won't let 'anyone' weaken KPK: Jokowi

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2017

Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has reiterated his commitment to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Monday, stressing that the anti-graft body, in its capacity as an institution mandated to combat corruption, must be instead strengthened.

The president made the statement in response to the latest move by lawmakers, who suggested that the KPK be suspended.

"I have to emphasize that I won't let [anyone] weaken the KPK. Therefore, we have to defend the KPK together," Jokowi said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

He also emphasized that the KPK was an independent body, and thus must be free of any branches of power in fulfilling its tasks.

"The KPK is an an institution highly trusted by the people. We have to strengthen it to accelerate corruption eradication efforts," said the president.

Last week, senior lawmaker Henry Yosodiningrat of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the KPK should be "frozen" temporarily to make way for a complete evaluation of the anti-graft body.

"If needed, the KPK should be temporarily deactivated. Then we should let the corruption eradication agenda handled by the National Police and the Attorney General's Office," Henry said.

In response, PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto clarified that his party was "not in a position to dissolve the KPK."

The KPK is currently investigating a number of corruption cases, including the multi-trillion-rupiah, high-profile e-ID graft case that has implicated dozens of high-ranking politicians, one of which is House of Representatives Speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto. (foy/bbs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/11/i-wont-let-anyone-weaken-KPK-jokowi.html

AGO wants same authority as KPK

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2017

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has told the House of Representatives that it needs the authority to wiretap suspects without a court warrant, similar to the authority of the Commission Eradication Commission (KPK).

During a hearing with House Commission III overseeing human rights, security and legal affairs on Monday, Attorney General M. Prasetyo said the KPK had higher enforcement authority than the AGO and the National Police.

"KPK's red-handed arrests are always a result of surveillance via interception. [The KPK] really relies on operations that lead to red-handed arrests," Prasetyo told lawmakers.

"[The AGO] should have similar authority. We have a nationwide network and more experience [than the KPK]," he added.

Prasetyo also said the KPK should focus on supervision and coordination rather than enforcement.

"In the future, the House should rethink the authority of [the KPK, police and AGO] so we don't compete with each other," Prasetyo said, adding that the KPK could be deemed successful if it helped restore public trust in the AGO and the police.

Numerous lawmakers have proposed amendments to the KPK Law, which anticorruption activists believe is part of systematic attempt to undermine the antigraft body.

Commission III members, for example, have suggested that KPK's prosecution power should be scrapped. Some legislators recently called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to suspend KPK operations. (foy/bbs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/11/ago-wants-same-authority-as-KPK.html

Setya 'skips' KPK questioning as e-ID graft suspect

Jakarta Post - September 11, 2017

Kharishar Kahfi, Jakarta – House of Representatives Speaker and Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto has been unable to fulfill the summons of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for Monday's questioning as a suspect in the high-profile electronic identity (e-ID) graft case, apparently due to ill health.

Golkar secretary general Idrus Marham said Setya could not attend the questioning because of illness.

"A doctor's examination last night showed Pak Novanto experienced rising blood sugar levels after exercising, causing kidney and heart problems," Idrus said at KPK headquarters in South Jakarta.

Idrus had visited KPK headquarters to submit the doctor's letter to KPK investigators on Setya's behalf.

"Thus, the doctor recommended that he not attend the questioning," he added, and that Setya had been receiving treatment at Siloam Hospital in Central Jakarta since Sunday evening.

Monday's session would have been Setya's first questioning as a suspect in the e-ID case. With Rp 2.3 trillion (US$175 million) in estimated state losses, it is one of the biggest graft cases in the country to date.

Last week, Setya filed a pretrial motion at the South Jakarta District Court to challenge the KPK's decision to name him a suspect.

Idrus dismissed claims that Setya was buying time until the pretrial session had started on Tuesday. "In his current condition, I think [Setya] won't come to the pretrial session tomorrow either," Idrus said. (bbs)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/11/setya-skips-KPK-questioning-as-e-id-graft-suspect.html

Police to question five 'witnesses' in slander report on Novel

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2017

Jakarta – While the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is proceeding with an internal ethics inquiry into its police-affiliate investigation chief, Brig. Gen. Aris Budiman, the Jakarta Police has summoned five individuals in its investigation into defamation charges that Aris has filed against KPK senior investigator Novel Baswedan.

The police has summoned the five witnesses from the KPK in connection with a report Aris filed against Novel, in which he accuses the senior investigator of circulating a slanderous statement by email in the KPK employees association. Novel chairs the association.

Jakarta Police Special Crimes head Sr. Comr. Adi Deriyan said on Thursday that the five KPK investigators who were summoned were aware of Nove's email, which criticized the system for recruiting police officers as KPK investigators.

"A few of the witnesses received the email, while the others knew about the email when Aris discussed its content with them," Adi said, adding that two of the five witnesses had been summoned on Thursday.

Adi dismissed speculations that the investigation into Aris' report intended to divert the public's attention from Novel, the ongoing investigation into the acid attack against him, and the e-ID case. Novel was the key KPK investigator in the e-ID scandal, which has implicated several top government officials, including House of Representatives Speaker Setya Novanto.

As of Thursday, two reports had been filed against Novel: Aris's report and another by the National Police's deputy director of corruption, Sr. Comr. Erwanto Kurniadi. (rdi)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/08/police-to-question-five-witnesses-in-slander-report-on-novel.html

Islam & religion

NU to train 1,000 Jakarta preachers with peaceful Islam

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2017

Jakarta – Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is composing a draft curriculum to train 1,000 preachers in Jakarta to spread peaceful Islamic teachings.

Maksum Machfiedz, the deputy head of NU's central executive board, said it was expected the training would be conducted in November, with the cooperation of the Jakarta administration.

"The curriculum will explain how we can make Islam Nusantara [Islam of the Archipelago] a central practice of Muslims in Indonesia. All preachers must understand the problems in society [...] when they deliver their sermons," Maksum told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Islam Nusantara is a concept developed by NU to propagate peaceful Islam throughout the world. The concept is based on cultural and pluralist approaches.

Maksum said around 1,000 preachers would participate in the training, which would be delivered in several stages. All technical aspects of the training were still being arranged, he added.

"After signing an agreement with the Jakarta administration last Friday, we plan to discuss all things related to the training with our subordinates. In NU, we will discuss it with our dakwah [missionary endeavor] institutions," Maksum said.

All funds needed for the training would be covered by the Jakarta administration, he went on.

Maksum said he was certain that with the training, preachers could help subdue sectarian and religious tensions among Muslims in Jakarta, or at least among NU cadres. (yon/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/13/nu-to-train-1000-jakarta-preachers-with-peaceful-islam.html

Land & agrarian conflicts

Kendeng farmers demand govt take action

Jakarta Post - September 12, 2017

Jakarta – Dozens of farmers from the Kendeng karst area in Central Java staged another protest on Tuesday against the operation of a cement factory in their neighborhood.

Their second protest this month, they demanded that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo protect their rights by making state-owned cement manufacturer PT Semen Indonesia cease operations in Kendeng.

The farmers claim the company continues to operate despite the ongoing second phase of an environmental impact analysis that will determine whether the factory can operate.

They also demanded the government "ensure those campaigning for the environment are free from any form of intimidation and criminalization," said Ngatiban, who represents the farmers, in a press release received by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday,

On Tuesday, local authorities, including from the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), planned to tear down a tarpaulin tent erected by the farmers across from the State Palace in Central Jakarta, kompas.com reported.

A number of officials from the office of the presidential chief of staff, who went to the scene to meet with the protesters, immediately stepped in and prevented the authorities from pressing ahead with the plan.

Jokowi previously ordered the factory to suspend its operations while various institutions, such as the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and local administrations, carried out an assessment. (ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/12/kendeng-farmers-demand-govt-take-action.html

Jakarta & urban life

In flood-prone Jakarta, will 'giant sea wall' plan sink or swim?

Reuters - September 14, 2017

Bangkok – Indonesia's bustling capital, Jakarta, is sinking faster than any other city in the world. But an ambitious plan to build a giant wall to keep out the encroaching sea has come under fire from fishermen who fear for their catches and homes, and water experts who say it doesn't do enough to tackle land subsidence.

The city's northern areas have sunk 4 meters in the past 40 years, Japanese experts say, while some "hot spots" are said to be dropping as much as 20 centimeters a year.

The 10 million residents of the low-lying coastal city, built on a swampy plain, are exposed to tidal and seasonal flooding. In 2013, parts were submerged under nearly two meters of water after a heavy monsoon storm.

Jakarta's vulnerability to floods – already exacerbated by population growth, urbanization and changing land use – rises with every centimeter the ground falls.

Experts and residents agree that over-extraction of groundwater for drinking and commercial use is largely responsible for the land subsidence.

What they don't agree on is how to tackle it. An iconic infrastructure project that is supposed to ease Jakarta's flooding woes is mired in uncertainty.

The Dutch, regarded as the foremost authorities on the concept of "living with water," are lending their expertise via the flood prevention plan involving a giant sea wall that will close off Jakarta Bay, which could cost up to $40 billion.

Critics, however, say the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) program does not address land subsidence – the underlying reason for flooding.

At the same time, "the government is throwing away access to the sea" for tens of thousands of people in the bay who rely on fishing and fish-processing, said Ahmad Marthin Hadiwinata of the Indonesia Traditional Fisherfolk Union.

He worries that local residents will be evicted from their homes to make way for the new infrastructure.

Unveiled in 2014 – and better known as the "Great Garuda" or "Giant Sea Wall" – the project involves raising and strengthening the existing onshore embankment of Jakarta Bay, as well as constructing a 15-mile outer sea wall and developing real estate on artificial islands reclaimed from the ocean.

Seen from the air, the mega construction project was initially shaped like a garuda, the bird-god of Hindu mythology that is Indonesia's national symbol.

But the design was changed in response to opposition and a government request to incorporate another project led by private developers to build 17 artificial islands, said Victor Coenen, Indonesia representative for Witteveen+Bos, a Dutch engineering consultancy leading the NCICD consortium.

Its partners, which also include South Korea, are now awaiting the government's decision on the final plan, he added.

A June document outlining an updated NCICD master plan, seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, confirmed the new design and emphasized the importance of stopping land subsidence, as well as addressing water and sanitation issues.

The Ministry of National Development Planning did not respond to requests for comment.

Fishermen suffer

The NCICD is one of many water projects the Dutch have embarked on in their former colony. In May, Indonesia gave the go ahead to Dutch companies to build the world's largest tidal power plant in eastern Indonesia.

Three Dutch non-profit groups – Both ENDS, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and the Transnational Institute – said in an April report that the NCICD threatened the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people and had failed to follow design guidelines that would apply in the Netherlands, calling it a "pseudo-solution."

Hadiwinata from the Fisherfolk Union said local communities also object to a lack of consultation and impact assessments.

At least 25,000 fishermen have been hit by work already done for the project and other land reclamation initiatives along Jakarta Bay, which have caused sedimentation, he added.

They have to go further to find fish, whose numbers are now very low, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Many, including Hadiwinata, are hoping Anies Baswedan, who won a hard-fought election for the post of Jakarta governor in April, will stop or modify the project when he takes office in October. Work was suspended for several months in 2016 amid regulatory and environmental concerns.

During his campaign, Baswedan was vocal about his opposition to the NCICD but has said nothing since. He was not available to comment for this article.

Coenen said stopping land subsidence is important but could take 15 to 20 years, meaning Jakarta should work on flood prevention at the same time. The future of the crowded city's flood protection lies offshore because it has no space for flood basins, he added.

"It's only a question of how far offshore you go, how big you want to build, and how long you want it to last, because the smaller the scheme, the shorter the lifetime will be," he said.

The project's first phase of strengthening the existing embankment along Jakarta's shoreline, which began in 2014, is about a third complete, Coenen said.

Learning from Tokyo

Critics of the NCICD are hoping a three-year project to study and stop land subsidence, agreed in July between Indonesia and Japan's international development agency JICA, could help.

It involves developing better monitoring systems to measure where subsidence is worst and groundwater extraction heaviest, raising awareness of the dangers, and undertaking mitigation measures such as regulating groundwater usage.

It may be one to two years before there is reliable, consolidated data on land subsidence, but the findings will feed into the NCICD, JICA said.

"Tokyo started regulating groundwater usage in the 1960s," said Jun Hayakawa, JICA's expert on water resource management. "By the early 1970s, the groundwater extraction and land subsidence stopped."

If most of Jakarta's groundwater usage can be prohibited, the city may soon see results, he said.

But this depends on how quickly the local and national governments can adopt regulations and provide alternative water sources, he added. That could be a major stumbling block.

Indonesian water expert Nila Ardhianie said around 65 percent of Jakarta's residents are forced to use groundwater because the piped water system only covers about a third of the population. But she puts a larger share of the blame for land subsidence on commercial use by hotels, malls and businesses.

Nearly every large government building also draws on deep groundwater wells, even though many have piped water, because groundwater is free for public buildings in Jakarta, according to Dutch think tank Deltares.

Under the current system, operated by a city-owned water company and two private firms, universal access to piped water would be achieved only by 2022, too late to stop groundwater extraction in time to brake further land subsidence, the report from the Dutch non-profits said.

Tokyo also had to build sea walls but they were raised gradually, said JICA's Hayakawa, suggesting Jakarta could do the same. "We need sea walls to protect the lives and assets of people in Jakarta," he said.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/flood-prone-jakarta-will-giant-sea-wall-plan-sink-swim/

Rally against motorcycle ban canceled

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2017

Ivany Atina Arbi, Jakarta – Around 5,000 motorcyclists, who previously planned to hold a protest against the city administration's policy to expand the ban on motorcycles on Jl. Sudirman this Saturday, have canceled the plan following the administration's decision to revoke the regulation.

Alliance Against Motorcycle Restrictions (GAMPAR) founder Rio Octaviano said in a statement on Friday that the alliance appreciated the administration's revocation.

"Regarding the protests on Sept. 9, we have decided to instead conduct a press conference at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute office [in Menteng, Central Jakarta]," Rio stated.

The Jakarta administration, in revoking the ban on the use by motorcycles of the thoroughfare stretching from Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat to the Senayan traffic circle on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta, said it would wait for the completion of all construction projects along the road, such as the MRT.

The administration previously planned to conduct a trial ban starting on Sept. 12 before officially imposing the now-revoked ban on Oct. 11.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/08/rally-against-motorcycle-ban-canceled.html

Retail & service industry

Indonesia retail sales fall 3 pct y/y in July – Central bank

Reuters - September 11, 2017

Jakarta – Indonesia's retail sales in July declined 3.3 percent from a year earlier, the first contraction in nearly six years, a central bank survey showed on Monday. In June, retail sales grew 6.3 percent on a yearly basis.

Respondents in the survey said sales of food and beverages as well as home furnishing and electronic appliances were particularly weak in July, Bank Indonesia wrote in the survey report.

The last month showing a contraction was September 2011, when BI said sales were 5.9 percent below a year earlier.

Consumption has been weak in Indonesia this year. Traditionally, there are strong sales ahead of the holidays at the end of the Muslim fasting month, and then a period of weak consumption. This year, the fasting month ended in late June.

The survey of 700 retailers in 10 major cities projected that in August, retail sales would rebound and grow 5.3 percent from a year earlier.

Respondents expect price pressures to increase in the next three to six months, but they also expect better sales by January 2018, the survey found. (Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-economy-retail/indonesia-retail-sales-fall-3-pct-y-y-in-july-c-bank-survey-idUSJ9N1G1024?rpc=401&

Police & law enforcement

AGO soon to establish directorate for terrorism, drug crimes

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2017

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is set to establish two new directorates, which will handle drug offenses and terrorism and transnational crimes.

The two directorates will be set up under the office of the junior prosecutor for general crimes at the AGO.

"This is in line with the President's decision to allow us to complete the AGO's organizational structure, based on the results of the examination and approval of the administrative and bureaucratic reform minister [Asman Abnur]," Attorney General HM Prasetyo said as quoted by Antara in an event in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Prasetyo took the opportunity to call on all prosecutors to carry out their prosecution tasks seriously, including declaring a case dossier "P19" (incomplete) or "P21" (complete).

"Based on the results of our monitoring, many prosecutors have worked unprofessionally [...] They do not pay attention to the importance of the fulfillment of all judicial aspects of a case, along with existing regulations," said Prasetyo.

He went on to say it had often been the case that because of personal interests, including the extending of promises or unlawful gifts from certain parties, prosecutors agreed to engineer case closures, putting their professional integrity at stake.

Prasetyo said it was time for all prosecutors in Indonesia to stop having such poor attitudes. (afr/ebf)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/13/ago-soon-to-establish-directorate-for-terrorism-drug-crimes.html

Fishing & maritime affairs

Indonesia's dating app for polygamists makes waves online

The Star Online - September 9, 2017

Jakarta – Polygamy has long been a subject of controversy in Indonesia, so when online dating website-cum-application AyoPoligami was launched, it quickly caught the attention of internet users.

Launched on April 12 this year, AyoPoligami came equipped with, as its name implies, a polygamy-related feature: a column in which a member could disclose their marital status along with a disclaimer of their spouse's permission to be polygamous.

Elma Adisya, an intern at web magazine Magdalene, came across the application while writing an article about the effects of polygamy on children. Her published article then went viral, resulting in users, such as Miranti Adelia, downloading the app.

When Elma tried the application for the first time, she found that AyoPoligami was dominated by male members. Miranti, however, noted that female users existed. "They might be imposters, posing as someone else or doing research like me," she said.

In regards to the user experience design (UX) and user interface design (UI), both were reported as having frequently lagged.

"The interface, which was dominated by a dark-colored tone, was too much as it showed a husband with a few wives," said Miranti, a digital art director for a private company.

During their research, Elma and Miranti encountered different types of men. Elma said not all members joined AyoPoligami with their spouse's permission.

Miranti, meanwhile, interacted with men ranging from those who were polite to those who seemed polite but later engaged in so-called sex chats, while others seemingly had no clear intentions.

AyoPoligami owner and founder Lindu Cipta Pranayama told The Jakarta Post that the app was developed based on his personal experiences on several dating websites. "At first, we developed a dating website for singles, but during the development period, the issue of polygamy arose," said Lindu.

Based on his observations, polygamy can destroy a marriage when the husband does not inform his wife about the intention to have a second wife. "It hurts women," he added.

AyoPoligami is said to be designed for those looking for a serious relationship. However, as the dating site's popularity increased, so did its number of fake accounts, as well as the frequency in which sex chats occurred.

After consulting his ustad (Islamic teacher), he deleted the accounts of all current members, with plans to relaunch the platform on Oct. 5.

Lindu said the new version of AyoPoligami would include more filtering features. For example, those wanting to register will need to provide a valid identification card, disclose their marital status and provide a letter of permission to remarry from their first partner.

He said that with or without AyoPoligami, polygamy will always be controversial, hence the decision to require a partner's permission.

Lindu also shared that he met his wife, whom he married on Sept. 10, via the app, which gave him the motivation to continue developing the online dating service. "I wanted it to be a trusted online dating website," he said.

– The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2017/09/09/indonesias-dating-app-for-polygamists-makes-waves-online/

Banking & finance

Redenomination bill not to be deliberated this year

Jakarta Post - September 13, 2017

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's (BI) hopes of lawmakers deliberating the redenomination bill this year have been dashed.

A House of Representatives plenary session on Wednesday approved six bills to be included in the revised National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) for this year, namely bills on water resources, on copyright of printed and recorded work, on tax consultant, on social work practices, on music and on customary land rights.

"The government is not yet willing [to propose the redenomination bill] because of the approaching political years [in 2018 and 2019]," House Legislative Body (Baleg) deputy chairman Firman Subagyo said.

The government, he said, had to comprehensively disseminate information about the bill to avoid public misunderstanding that could lead to social unrest. "If the bill was approved now to become a law, the psychological risk would have to be contained."

The bill on redenomination, if approved, will slash three zeroes off the local currency.

BI Governor Agus Matowardojo revived the idea of rupiah redenomination, which was first floated in 2013, stressing that this year was the best time to start the process, considering the sound and stable economic condition.

However, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government would not propose the bill for deliberation at the House this year. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has gone as far as saying the policy would not be implemented in the near future.

"It seems that the government won't deliberate it even next year," Firman said. (ags)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/13/redenomination-bill-not-to-be-deliberated-this-year.html

Taxation & state budget

State budget deficit at 1.65% of GDP by August

Jakarta Post - September 8, 2017

Prima Wirayani, Jakarta – Indonesia's state budget deficit stood at Rp 224.35 trillion (US$16.9 billion) or 1.65 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) up to August, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has told House of Representatives Commission XI, which oversees finances.

The figure is lower than the Rp 261.47 trillion or 2.09 percent of GDP recorded in the corresponding period last year.

"We are trying to improve the state budget's performance and gradually increase its credibility," she said on Thursday.

The government in its revised state budget projects a full-year deficit of 2.92 percent, far higher than the initial target of 2.41 percent. However, it is still convinced that it can keep the deficit below 2.67 percent of the GDP through efficiency measures. Read also: Weak revenue collection the real problem, not deficit

Up to August, the government has spent Rp 695.66 trillion, almost 51 percent of its earmarked allocation of Rp 1,367 trillion.

Meanwhile, as much as Rp 502.60 trillion, more than 55 percent of the targeted regional transfers, has been disbursed.

On the revenue side, the government has collected Rp 780.04 trillion in tax revenue, which is 53 percent of the targeted full-year total of Rp 1,472.7 trillion.

"There is quite strong annual growth [on the revenue side], so we are quite optimistic [about achieving the target]," Sri Mulyani said. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/09/08/state-budget-deficit-at-1-65-of-gdp-by-august.html

Analysis & opinion

Widodo rides a popular populist wave

Asia Times - September 14, 2017

John McBeth, Jakarta – With his popularity steadily rising, an unusual phenomenon in the middle of a presidential term and with a worryingly stagnant economy, little now appears to stand in the way of Indonesia's everyman leader Joko Widodo from winning a second term at the 2019 election.

President Widodo's approval rating stands at 68.3% in the latest Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) poll, despite policies that disturb the business community and point the country in the direction of more state and bureaucratic control.

More important, rival opposition leader Prabowo Subianto finds himself losing ground and now without the support of media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who was expected to contribute some of the big bucks to Prabowo's repeat bid for the presidency.

Widodo pursues a brand of populist politics which notably does not rely on good governance, sound planning or an understanding of the outside world. Instead, it rests on what it takes for him to survive and to keep a generally compliant citizenry on his side.

A former senior government official says it is a formula that is working given the effectiveness of the president's social media team and the fact that he seems to be facing few serious challenges to his leadership and his chances of re-election.

"What he knows now is that he is the president," says the same official, pointing to Widodo's early background as a hometown mayor. "It is typical of someone going about managing power when he has never had power before. He loves power and he plays it well."

The CSIS poll, released on September 12, shows Widodo holding virtually the same approval rating as he did in a similar survey last year, and well ahead of the 50.6% recorded in the second year of his presidency in 2015.

With his dissatisfaction rating down to an all-time low of 31.5%, the survey has Widodo gaining 51.9% of the national vote if an election was held today, while Prabowo's electability slipped to 25.8% from 28% in 2015.

A poll taken last June by the respected Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) saw Widodo winning with 53.7% of the vote, comfortably ahead of Prabowo at 32.7%. Two other surveys in past months have a similar gap between the two leading players.

An ethnic Javanese to the core, Widodo continues to play things close to his chest, aware that the palace leaks like the proverbial sieve and clearly reluctant to put his trust in anyone except a small coterie of advisers from his hometown of Solo.

One example of that has been a long-rumored Cabinet reshuffle, thought to involve several key figures in his administration, which was to have taken place in early August.

The president even discussed the timing with his aides, but not the changes he had in mind. Now he seems to have put it on hold, though one senior government source told Asia Times this week it was still "imminent."

The retired official and other experienced observers believe Widodo sees the government's current infrastructure program as the way to secure his place in history and something he can continue to build on if he wins a second term.

Under construction simultaneously, Jakarta's new mass rail transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and a host of other projects may now be causing traffic chaos across the capital, but they are all timed to be in operation before the 2019 election.

The president leans heavily on his ministers to deliver, which may explain why Energy and Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati declared victory in contract negotiations with US mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold before any of the most contentious issues had been resolved.

Public relations are a big part of the president's arsenal. His publicity team is led by former cabinet secretary Adi Widjajanto, a reputed cyber expert, and information specialist Sony Subrata, the head of a marketing and advertising group.

Well-placed sources say universities are under instructions from the palace to conduct as many panel discussions and seminars as they can with students and community figures, all aimed at casting the president in a positive light with a younger generation of voters.

They are doing something right. The CSIS poll shows 70.9% of respondents think development conditions are 70.9% better in 2017 than they were five years ago in the middle of predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second term.

Widodo's path to re-election appears to have become a lot smoother since Tanoesoedibjo publicly switched his support to Widodo, albeit in the face of two legal cases being held over his head by the Attorney-General's Office.

Given his ethnic Chinese background, the tycoon's ambitions to become a national political player have been a puzzle, particularly after the downfall of Jakarta governor Basuki Purnama earlier this year on politicized blasphemy charges, which according to some he had a hand in.

If finance minister Indrawati still has the Freeport hot potato to contend with in the months ahead, she has a much bigger problem trying to pump prime an economy that remains stuck at around 5% growth.

That may be good enough for many countries, but not for Indonesia. If the government is unable to boost sluggish investment and provide more employment, the country is in danger of being mired in a middle-income trap.

Surprisingly, with little progress being made in reducing poverty or growing social inequality, 56.9% of the respondents in the latest CSIS poll said they were satisfied with the economy, up from 30% in 2015 and 46.8% last year.

But if conservative Islamic influences were once perceived to be a threat to Widodo's re-election – and may still be if he makes a campaign misstep – most analysts now believe a further slowdown in the economy could be the greater danger.

Widodo's apparent instructions to maintain government spending, much of it for cherished infrastructure projects, means the 2017 budget deficit will come dangerously close to the 3% limit allowed under the constitution.

On a macro level, serious concern rests with an anticipated short-fall in revenues, largely because of lower commodity prices and the failure of a series of deregulation packages to attract the foreign investment needed to boost higher-value manufacturing.

There is also little evidence so far to show that the nine-month tax amnesty has achieved its purpose of broadening the tax base. Indeed, some businesses complain that with tax receipts reaching only 32% of the 2017 target by June, the taxman has returned to his old practice of hunting in the zoo.

Economists and businessmen say while fiscal policies are run well with the funds available, the actual economy is not. Everything that is being done, they say, amounts to a major reversal of the reforms of the early 1990s and a return to tighter state control.

Sometimes the government has gone too far. The Mines and Energy Ministry was recently forced to scrap a fresh regulation which would have further expanded the scope of its intrusion into the internal affairs of companies under its purview.

Even domestic consumption, the economy's main driver, appears to have softened. Although spending varies according to individual sectors, economists say the bottom 40% of the population has seen a significant fall in real income.

The purchasing power of middle to upper income consumers has remained relatively stable, but Indonesians have been avoiding major purchases because of ongoing business uncertainty and a fear of the taxman's knock.

Tellingly, while many professed to being happy with the economy, 62% of the CSIS respondents thought family economic conditions to be either unchanged or worse off. That would have brought a frown to Widodo's face.

Source: http://www.atimes.com/article/widodo-rides-popular-populist-wave/

Rockefeller and the demise of Ibu Pertiwi

Indonesia Expat - September 12, 2017

Kerry B. Collison – It was towards the end of my tour at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta when, in 1969, West Papua became the twenty-sixth province of Indonesia after the so-called 'Act of Free Choice' sponsored by the UN saw the transfer of official administration from the Netherlands to Indonesia.

I have found in my travels that few understand the history of West Papua, and concerned with the growing number of nations voicing their support for the United Nations to revisit the flawed plebiscite, I decided to write this story, part-fact, mostly fiction, in an attempt to offer an insight into a scenario that could bring Australia and Indonesia into conflict.

Jakarta should indeed be concerned that they could eventually lose the resource-rich territory – an event that could drag Australia into conflict with its restive neighbour.

Over the five decades that Indonesia has held official control of West Papua, the indigenous population has endured a repressive and unjust system of Javanese-colonial occupation. Based on reports filed by church organizations, missionaries and West Papuan diaspora, Indonesian security forces continue to commit gross human rights abuses against the indigenous population with estimates of civilians killed reaching half a million since occupation commenced.

There has always been a deeply-felt sense of kinship and common heritage amongst the Melanesian Spearhead Group of nations towards West Papua. Vanuatu has always been a place of refuge for West Papuan dissidents and independence activists.

Indonesia has been aware of this support within the Vanuatu body politic for many years, and has recently sought to counter it. This open diplomatic confrontation was evidence that Indonesia's diplomatic offensive over West Papua was well underway.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) came into being on July 17, 1986 as a result of an informal meeting of Heads of Government of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and a representative of the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS).

The member states are Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, the Kanak and Socialist Liberation Front of New Caledonia. In 2015, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) a coalition of West Papuan organisations was made an observer of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

The ULMWP had since applied for full membership, hoping it would give their movement greater political recognition. This is unlikely to succeed as the leaders of the MSG voted to make Indonesia an associate member, paving the way for stronger cooperation between Jakarta and Melanesian countries. Indonesia's membership of the MSG has giving them a greater influence in Melanesian politics than the ULMWP.

In January 2017 the MSG commenced discussions to provide full membership to the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

It is Indonesia's view that West Papua already falls under their (Indonesian republic) representation in the MSG and strongly opposes this consideration because it regards West Papua as an integral part of its territory.

Although the MSG's core philosophy supports decolonisation and greater independence in Melanesia the potential inclusion of the ULMWP is problematic with Indonesia's associate membership (granted on the basis of the Melanesian identity of five of its provinces).

Currently, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu openly favour the ULMWP's inclusion whilst Fiji and Papua New Guinea remain undecided. Papua New Guinea and Fiji's hesitancy can be understood as Fiji continues to share strong trade links with Indonesia and currently receives aid for the MSG's regional police academy in Fiji. Papua New Guineans support West Papuan liberation. However, as PNG has extensive trade and border relations with Indonesia and would wish to maintain these without any diplomatic disturbances Port Moresby continues to vacillate on the issue.

In September 2016 history was made for West Papua at the United Nations General Assembly when seven Pacific Island nations raised the issue of West Papuan independence. These countries were Nauru, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Palau.

Ireland, Guinea and the Netherlands have now added their voices to the cause. In April of this year a global petition for West Papuan self-determination was launched in Papua New Guinea. This historic petition was originally launched at the British parliament in Westminster on January 27, 2017.

The petition calls upon the UN Secretary General to – "appoint a Special Representative to investigate the human rights situation in West Papua; – put West Papua back on the Decolonisation Committee agenda and ensure their right to self-determination – denied to them in 1969 – is respected by holding an Internationally Supervised Vote (in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolutions 1514 and 1541 (XV))."

Political support in New Zealand for an independent West Papua also continues to grow after eleven members of Parliament from across four political parties signed the Westminster Declaration in May 2017, calling for West Papua's right to self-determination to be legally recognised through an indigenous Papuan vote.

October 19, 2011 five thousand academics, politicians, church leaders, and senior tribal leaders established the Federal Republic of West Papua (FRWP) during the 3rd Papua Congress. They determined its objectives, and elected a president and a prime minister. The Indonesian government immediately charged the President, Prime Minister and organizers of the Congress, with subversion, and they were all incarcerated.

ASEAN member states remain reluctant in acknowledging the growing possibility that Indonesia may be challenged with losing yet another of its provinces following former President Habibie's misstep that precipitated East Timor's gaining independence from its Javanese, colonial masters.

Indonesia continues to pressure Australia to caution its Pacific Island neighbours against interfering in the West Papua issue and to urge them to withdraw support for West Papuan membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, warning that the issue could pose a 'stumbling block' to closer bilateral ties if Canberra fails to adopt a stronger public defence of Indonesia's position.

Although all Australian governments since 1962 have supported Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua, the growing international support for independence is highly likely to continue to negatively impact upon Australia-Indonesia relations in the future, recalling Australia's support for East Timor's independence from Indonesia in 1999. Jakarta believes that Australia will eventually support West Papuan independence or has strategic designs on the province.

We can be certain that Jakarta would not readily surrender West Papua as it did East Timor. Papua New Guinea could also become victim to any conflict arising from a territorial fight and that would certainly invoke existing arrangements between PNG and Australia requiring boots on the ground to protect its borders.

[Kerry B. Collison's latest book Rockefeller and the Demise of Ibu Pertiwi will soon be available in hard copy print on demand, and uploaded worldwide as an eBook.]

Source: http://indonesiaexpat.biz/lifestyle/rockefeller-demise-ibu-pertiwi/